The latest sightings not only tempt people into travelling hundreds of miles, but can also indicate potential arrivals at other locations. But it hasn't always been like this.

Birding has changed over the last 150 years. During the latter half of the 19th century, bird study took on a new momentum with works from famous names like Ussher, Warren and Barrington.

In fact the work of Barrington, in collating the sightings and casualties from all of the country's lighthouses and lightships, gave us the first real indications of the scale of migration.

Into the modern era
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, many great advances were made in the understanding of migration patterns and the occurrences of rarer species.

But birdwatching in the 30's, 40's and 50's was still the interest of a few. They communicated mostly by letter, and rarely travelled outside their immediate areas to see birds.

However, in the 60's, came a new breed of birdwatcher, keen to travel to experience a bird they had never seen before. Terms like 'twitching', (travelling to see a new bird that someone else has found) found their way into the language of these young enthusiasts.

As the numbers of birders increased, the volume of news on rare sightings also increased. But there was a problem - the more birders out in the field, the bigger the volume of news to be spread, and the larger 'the grapevine'.

By the late 80's it became apparent to some that 'the grapevine' was beginning to fall apart. Not only that, many young birders never heard any news because they were not 'on the grapevine'.

Fulfilling a need
It was time to try and remedy this and, in August 1990, the Birds of Ireland News Service (B.I.N.S.) was established. This was the first attempt to centralise all the news from around the country, and via a unique telephone service, to make this news available to all.

Here at last was an efficient information source that gave news 365 days a year, that could be accessed at any time, night or day.

In 1997, the B.I.N.S. line was extended to birders in Northern Ireland and, by the end of the 20th century, had become a familiar name in Irish birding.

So, as we go into the 21st Century, and B.I.N.S. reaches its 10th anniversary, what lies in store for the next few decades? As the technology of communications grows, the Birds of Ireland News Service grows with it.

Already mobile phones allow news to be updated much more rapidly. News is indeed the lifeblood of modern Irish birding and BINS will continue to be at its heart.

Ireland's leading supplier of Zeiss, Swarovski, Opticron and Leica binoculars and telescopes

The Birds of Ireland News Service is the foremost source of rare bird news in Ireland.

To find out how to phone for up-to-the-minute news, click here.

For the latest rare bird news, click here.