Ireland Ramsar wetland
Dundalk Bay
128 bird species recorded; the most in February.
Goalkeeper750 · CC BY-SA 4.0
This month here
60 species in January.69 species in February.31 species in March.40 species in April.26 species in May.40 species in June.7 species in July.24 species in August.22 species in September.7 species in October.44 species in November.29 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
NT
NT
NT
NT
NT
NT
NT
VU
VU
NTNTNT
VUNTNT
NTNTVU- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
128 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 128Speciesrecorded more than once
- 40Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 5ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 2,005Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 5Raptors
- 2Owls
- 18Waders
- 16Gulls & seabirds
- 17Ducks & geese
- 7Herons, ibises & grebes
- 52Songbirds
- 11Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 128 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common BuzzardButeo buteo
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
- Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- MerlinFalco columbarius
Owls2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Western Barn OwlTyto alba
Waders18 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegusNT
- Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
- RedshankTringa totanus
- Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
- DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
- Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosaNT
- Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
- Bar-tailed godwitLimosa lapponicaNT
- Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
- Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- European Golden PloverPluvialis apricaria
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
Gulls & seabirds16 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
- European Herring GullLarus argentatus
- Black GuillemotCepphus grylle
- Red-throated LoonGavia stellata
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Black-legged kittiwakeRissa tridactylaVU
- Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
- Common GullLarus canus
- Northern gannetMorus bassanus
- Common MurreUria aalge
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- FulmarFulmarus glacialis
- RazorbillAlca torda
- Little TernSternula albifrons
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
Ducks & geese17 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common ScoterMelanitta nigra
- Brent GooseBranta bernicla
- Red-breasted MerganserMergus serrator
- Common ShelduckTadorna tadorna
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Mute SwanCygnus olor
- Velvet scoterMelanitta fuscaVU
- Eurasian TealAnas crecca
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Long-tailed duckClangula hyemalisVU
- Whooper SwanCygnus cygnus
- Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
- Eurasian WigeonMareca penelope
- Greater ScaupAythya marila
- Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
- Greylag GooseAnser anser
- Common EiderSomateria mollissimaNT
Herons, ibises & grebes7 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
- ShagPhalacrocorax aristotelis
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritusVU
Songbirds52 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- White WagtailMotacilla alba
- Hooded CrowCorvus cornix
- RookCorvus frugilegus
- European GreenfinchChloris chloris
- European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
- Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
- Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis
- European RobinErithacus rubecula
- Western JackdawColoeus monedula
- Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
- Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
- Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
- Eurasian MagpiePica pica
- Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
- DunnockPrunella modularis
- Great titParus major
- European Rock PipitAnthus petrosus
- BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula
- YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella
- Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
- BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- GoldcrestRegulus regulus
- Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
- Coal TitPeriparus ater
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
- Common Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus
- Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
- TwiteLinaria flavirostris
- SkylarkAlauda arvensis
- RedwingTurdus iliacus
- WhitethroatSylvia communis
- Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
- White-throated DipperCinclus cinclus
- Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
- Northern RavenCorvus corax
- Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
- Eurasian TreecreeperCerthia familiaris
- Sedge WarblerAcrocephalus schoenobaenus
- BramblingFringilla montifringilla
- Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
- Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
- FieldfareTurdus pilaris
- Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
- Common Grasshopper WarblerLocustella naevia
- Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
- Bohemian WaxwingBombycilla garrulus
Other birds11 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
- Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- CootFulica atra
- Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
- Stock DoveColumba oenas
- Common CuckooCuculus canorus
- Grey PartridgePerdix perdix
- European SwiftApus apus
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in February.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan7°/4°92 mm
- Feb7°/3°74 mm
- Mar8°/4°76 mm
- Apr11°/6°63 mm
- May14°/8°74 mm
- Jun16°/11°85 mm
- Jul18°/12°90 mm
- Aug18°/12°101 mm
- Sep16°/10°82 mm
- Oct13°/8°108 mm
- Nov10°/6°106 mm
- Dec8°/4°97 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Dundalk Bay.
Large (33 km2), exposed estuary on the east coast of Ireland
Dundalk Bay is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Ireland.
128 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 2,005 open records.
The most recorded are the Common Scoter, the Great Cormorant and the White Wagtail.
12 species come for the summer, 26 for the winter and 2 only pass through.
5 are threatened worldwide, including Black-legged kittiwake, Velvet scoter and Grey Plover.
The most species are recorded in February.
Get there and watch
- Gyles Quay Caravan and Camping Parkcampsite · 4.3 km · 1 within 10 km
- Ivy House B&Bplace to stay · 7.7 km · 20 within 10 km
- Blackrocknearest town · 7.7 km in a straight line
- Dublin Airport (DUB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 58 km in a straight lineCar hire at DUB airport (Dublin)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 1campsites within 10 kmGyles Quay Caravan and Camping Park
- 20places to stay within 10 kmIvy House B&B, Green Gates B&B, Keernaun House B&B and 17 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Dundalk Bay.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas24 mountains within 25 kmCarrigahoulla · 15 kmClermont Carn510 m · 15 kmSlievemartin · 16 kmSlieve Foy589 m · 16 kmKnockdillon · 17 kmCastlecoo Hill · 18 kmFieldstown Hill · 21 kmSlieve Gullion573 m · 24 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Dundalk Bay
Ireland
- 60Birdyas Score
- 128Species
- 40Migrants
- 5Threatened
Calf of Man Bird Observatory
Isle of Man · 94 km
- 79Birdyas Score
- 180Species
- 98Migrants
- 7Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q3633048) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 2,005 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Islandyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
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