The Breeding Waders EIP is rolling out a headstarting programme for the Dunlin in association with Fota Wildlife Park.

The bird’s breeding populations have plummeted by over 90% over recent decades due to the degradation of their wet pool breeding habitats in upland and coastal areas, as well as heightened risk from predation.

The Dunlin is a small wader that relies on camouflage for protection while incubating and rearing their young.

Headstarting is the gathering of eggs from wild nests for transport them to a controlled environment for incubation and rearing.

Eight eggs will be targeted in the first leg of the Breeding Waders EIP headstarting project.

Once the chicks reach 12 days after hatching, they are to be transported to a release facility from where they will be released back into the wild when conditions are deemed suitable.

Input has been received from the first ever headstarting project involving the Dunlin, which began in Sweden in 2023.

Minister of State for Nature Christopher O’Sullivan hailed the project as a a “landmark for Irish conservation”.

“Over the lifetime of this project NPWS will invest over €17.5 million in this project to support a range of new approaches to give these beautiful birds their best chance to survive and thrive in our landscapes once more,” he said.