Birding Ireland
Birds Ireland A to Z
Some of the birds that you will find in Ireland are widespread and well known. The Robin, the House Sparrow and the Blue Tit are common throughout Ireland. Other common birds in Ireland that you will see regularly, include the Herring Gull, the Rook and the Starling. However, the variety of bird types in Ireland will change throughout the year. In fact, many birds migrate to Ireland in Spring and remain throughout the summer. Among these birds are the Swallow, the Swift, the House Martin and the Sand Martin.
Other less well known birds that arrive in Spring, include the Wheatear, the Greenshank and the Puffin (when it returns to breed). Rare birds that visit during Spring and Autumn, make Ireland an attractive destination for birding.
Rare Visitors
Over the last few years there have been some very unusual sightings of rare birds here. For example, a Yellow-crowned Night Heron arrived in the small village of Belcarra in County Mayo in May and remained for remained for 7 weeks. A Black-winged Pratincole caused great excitement in 2023 when it spent most of the month at Lough Swilly in County Donegal. An Egyptian Vulture turned up in July 2021 in the same location and was subsequently seen in Wicklow and Mayo.
Large numbers of birders visited Portrane, Dublin in June 2022, when a Least Tern was recorded in Ireland for the first time. It is unlikely that it would have spent time there but for the great work done by Tom Kavanagh of Birdwatch Ireland in establishing a “Little Tern” colony in Portrane.
More to Come
The gallery below contains my own photographs of the birds of Ireland. They are listed in alphabetical order. The list will keep growing as I visit more locations during 2024. You may see some photographs that I have taken abroad, but these are only of birds that can also be seen Ireland! I hope this helps you to identify birds you see in your garden, or when you are out walking. If you want more information about the different birding locations in Ireland, and where the photographs were taken, please click here: Bird Watching Locations Ireland
