Ireland Ramsar wetland
Lough Iron
98 bird species recorded; the most in June and from December to January.
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
This month here
37 species in January.25 species in February.11 species in March.8 species in April.25 species in May.36 species in June.6 species in July.5 species in August.11 species in September.26 species in October.2 species in November.39 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
VU
NT
VU
VU
NTVU- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
98 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).
- 98Speciesrecorded more than once
- 25Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 1ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 1,468Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 56 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 6Raptors
- 2Owls
- 6Waders
- 6Gulls & seabirds
- 16Ducks & geese
- 5Herons, ibises & grebes
- 44Songbirds
- 13Other 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 98 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
- Common BuzzardButeo buteo
- Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus
Owls2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Western Barn OwlTyto alba
Waders6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
- Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
- Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
- Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
- RedshankTringa totanus
- European Golden PloverPluvialis apricaria
Gulls & seabirds6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
- Common LoonGavia immer
- European Herring GullLarus argentatus
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
- Common GullLarus canus
Ducks & geese16 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Mute SwanCygnus olor
- Tufted DuckAythya fuligula
- Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
- Whooper SwanCygnus cygnus
- Eurasian TealAnas crecca
- Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
- Common PochardAythya ferinaVU
- Eurasian WigeonMareca penelope
- Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
- GadwallMareca strepera
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Red-breasted MerganserMergus serrator
- Pink-footed GooseAnser brachyrhynchus
- Greater ScaupAythya marila
- Red-crested pochardNetta rufina
Herons, ibises & grebes5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
Songbirds44 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
- European RobinErithacus rubecula
- Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
- Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
- Western JackdawColoeus monedula
- RookCorvus frugilegus
- Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
- Hooded CrowCorvus cornix
- White WagtailMotacilla alba
- Eurasian MagpiePica pica
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Coal TitPeriparus ater
- Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
- Great titParus major
- Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
- Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
- DunnockPrunella modularis
- BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- GoldcrestRegulus regulus
- Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
- Common Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus
- European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
- Northern RavenCorvus corax
- Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
- Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
- RedwingTurdus iliacus
- BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
- Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
- European GreenfinchChloris chloris
- SkylarkAlauda arvensis
- WhitethroatSylvia communis
- FieldfareTurdus pilaris
- Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
- Sedge WarblerAcrocephalus schoenobaenus
- Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
- Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
- Eurasian TreecreeperCerthia familiaris
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- Common Grasshopper WarblerLocustella naevia
- European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
- Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
Other birds13 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
- Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus
- CootFulica atra
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
- European SwiftApus apus
- European Water RailRallus aquaticus
- Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
- Common CuckooCuculus canorus
- Willow PtarmiganLagopus lagopus
- Grey PartridgePerdix perdix
- Common QuailCoturnix coturnix
- Stock DoveColumba oenas
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 June and from December to January.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan7°/2°93 mm
- Feb7°/2°74 mm
- Mar9°/2°74 mm
- Apr12°/4°67 mm
- May15°/7°78 mm
- Jun18°/10°87 mm
- Jul19°/11°94 mm
- Aug18°/11°101 mm
- Sep17°/9°83 mm
- Oct13°/7°100 mm
- Nov9°/4°103 mm
- Dec7°/3°99 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Lough Iron.
Lake on the River Inny, Ireland
Lough Iron is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Ireland.
98 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 1,468 open records.
The most recorded are the Eurasian Wren, the European Robin and the Eurasian Blackbird.
9 species come for the summer, 14 for the winter and 2 only pass through.
1 are threatened worldwide, including Common Pochard.
The most species are recorded in June and from December to January.
Get there and watch
- Harbour Campingcampsite · 5.0 km · 3 within 10 km
- Inny River Lodgeplace to stay · 3.5 km · 11 within 10 km
- An Muileann gCearrnearest town · 13 km in a straight line
- Dublin Airport (DUB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 83 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
- 2marked trails within 4 kmThe Royal Canal Way, National Famine Way
- 3car parks within 3 km
- 1restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 3campsites within 10 kmHarbour Camping, Lough Derravaragh Holiday Park
- 11places to stay within 10 kmInny River Lodge, Lake Lodge.ie, Feericks Hotel and Restaurant and 8 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 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 Lough Iron.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas9 mountains within 25 kmKnockeyon216 m · 12 kmHill of Uisneach · 14 kmRandoon125 m · 16 kmHill of Ben191 m · 19 kmBen of Fore217 m · 19 kmMullaghmeen261 m · 21 kmNoggin Hill168 m · 22 kmKnocknure · 23 km
Riveryasthe river nearbyRiver Brosna122 kmRiver Inny52 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Other places nearby.
Lough Iron
Ireland
- 47Birdyas Score
- 98Species
- 25Migrants
- 1Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q6686126) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 1,468 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, Lakeyas, Riveryas |
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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birdwatching
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