Ireland Ramsar wetland
Pettigo Plateau
78 bird species recorded; the most in September.
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
0 species in January.0 species in February.1 species in March.3 species in April.5 species in May.12 species in June.25 species in July.0 species in August.32 species in September.2 species in October.5 species in November.6 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.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
78 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).
- 78Speciesrecorded more than once
- 10Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 0ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 611Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 175 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 5Raptors
- 6Waders
- 5Gulls & seabirds
- 11Ducks & geese
- 3Herons, ibises & grebes
- 41Songbirds
- 7Other 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 78 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
- Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
- Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
- Common BuzzardButeo buteo
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
Waders6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
- Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
- Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
- European Golden PloverPluvialis apricaria
- Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
Gulls & seabirds5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Common GullLarus canus
- European Herring GullLarus argentatus
- Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
- Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
Ducks & geese11 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
- Red-breasted MerganserMergus serrator
- Mute SwanCygnus olor
- GoosanderMergus merganser
- Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
- Eurasian TealAnas crecca
- Tufted DuckAythya fuligula
- Whooper SwanCygnus cygnus
- Greylag GooseAnser anser
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
Herons, ibises & grebes3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
Songbirds41 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- European RobinErithacus rubecula
- Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
- GoldcrestRegulus regulus
- Coal TitPeriparus ater
- Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
- Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
- Hooded CrowCorvus cornix
- Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis
- DunnockPrunella modularis
- Northern RavenCorvus corax
- Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
- White WagtailMotacilla alba
- Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
- European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
- Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
- Great titParus major
- Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
- BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula
- Eurasian MagpiePica pica
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Common Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus
- European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
- SkylarkAlauda arvensis
- Eurasian TreecreeperCerthia familiaris
- Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
- BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
- Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
- Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
- RookCorvus frugilegus
- Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
- Sedge WarblerAcrocephalus schoenobaenus
- Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
- Common Grasshopper WarblerLocustella naevia
- Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- European GreenfinchChloris chloris
- Western JackdawColoeus monedula
- WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
- WhitethroatSylvia communis
Other birds7 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Willow PtarmiganLagopus lagopus
- Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
- Common CuckooCuculus canorus
- Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus
- Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- Red-legged PartridgeAlectoris rufaNT
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 September.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan6°/3°134 mm
- Feb7°/2°105 mm
- Mar8°/3°97 mm
- Apr11°/5°76 mm
- May14°/7°98 mm
- Jun16°/10°105 mm
- Jul17°/11°118 mm
- Aug17°/11°126 mm
- Sep15°/10°106 mm
- Oct12°/7°128 mm
- Nov9°/5°136 mm
- Dec7°/3°139 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Pettigo Plateau.
Nature reserve in County Donegal, Ireland
Pettigo Plateau is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Ireland.
It is also a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive.
78 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 611 open records.
The most recorded are the European Robin, the Eurasian Wren and the Goldcrest.
8 species come for the summer, 2 for the winter and 0 only pass through.
The most species are recorded in September.
Get there and watch
- The Archesplace to stay · 11 km · 3 within 10 km
- Donegalnearest town · 12 km in a straight line
- Donegal Airport (CFN)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 54 km in a straight lineCar hire at CFN airport (Donegal)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
- 1visitor centres within 6 kmInformation Office
- 3places to stay within 10 kmThe Arches, Lough Eske Castle Hotel, Harvey’s Point
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- campsites within 10 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 Pettigo Plateau.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas64 mountains within 25 kmBlue Stack · 18 kmGaugin Mountain · 22 kmSilver Hill · 22 kmCroveenananta · 23 kmCoaghubbrid · 23 kmBinbane · 24 kmClogher North · 24 kmBoultypatrick · 25 km
Lakeyas10 lakes within 15 kmDunragh Lough0.6 km² · 1.3 kmLough Derg8.1 km² · 5.0 kmLough Avehy0.4 km² · 7.6 kmRath Lough0.3 km² · 8.8 kmLough Vearty0.4 km² · 9.4 kmTullynasiddagh Lough0.4 km² · 9.9 kmLough Golagh0.5 km² · 11 kmLough Eske3.5 km² · 11 km
Darkskyas1 dark-sky places within 30 kmLough DergBortle 2 · 4.5 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Other places nearby.
Pettigo Plateau
Ireland
- 42Birdyas Score
- 78Species
- 10Migrants
- 0Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q99626113) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 611 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, Darkskyas |
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?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
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canyons
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caves
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viewpoints
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birdwatching
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