Birds of Ireland

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#Birds of Ireland

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>The cuckoo seems to be making landfall in Ireland earlier, following a perilous 10,000km journey from Africa. Last year, our first official sighting was reported in Ballygunner, Co Waterford, on April 2, a week earlier than in 2024.</p>

outdoors

April arrivals: Cuckoo among signs of the advancing summer

Many regular spring/summer visitors to Ireland are already here. Swallows, swifts and house martins, are all getting busy having returned to Ireland where they nest, lay eggs and raise their chicks.

<p>Goldcrests are the national bird of Luxembourg</p>

outdoors

Birds of Ireland: Goldcrest

<p>Brent geese flying in Dublin Bay. Picture: Tom Honan</p>

outdoors

Are brent geese becoming city geese?

Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) eating red berries

outdoors

Birds of Ireland: Blue tit

Summing up our swan squad successes

outdoors

Summing up our swan squad successes

Birds of Ireland: Blackcap

outdoors

Birds of Ireland: Blackcap

Winter weather Jan 8th 2026

Iridescent kingfishers need clear rivers — can we help?

We need to rethink our disregard for water quality, and to get busy restoring Ireland’s rivers to good health

Wed, 14 Jan, 2026

Birds of Ireland: Chiffchaff

Birds of Ireland: Chiffchaff

Chiffchaffs of all ages have green-grey upperparts, their underside is light yellow-grey, and they have a thin, dark eye stripe with a narrow, dull supercilium ('eyebrow')

Sat, 10 Jan, 2026

Birds of Ireland: Short-eared owl

Birds of Ireland: Short-eared owl

Short-eared owls have stiff wingbeats and glide. They are often seen hunting in broad daylight and are regularly seen on the ground

Sat, 27 Dec, 2025

Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus)

Birds of Ireland: Hen harrier

Hen harriers are a scare breeding species — but are becoming a rare breeding species. The ones that are found here are found all year round on uplands, woodlands, and wetland

Sat, 20 Dec, 2025

robin bird

Christmas pre-tinsel: when plants — and robins — ran the show

Strip Christmas of its baubles, batteries and Amazon deliveries, and what you’re left with is, at heart, a festival of plants. Trees dragged indoors. Mistletoe hung from the ceiling. Berries admired but (wisely) not eaten.

Fri, 19 Dec, 2025

Aquatic habitats in such poor condition even adaptable species like herons may struggle

Aquatic habitats in such poor condition even adaptable species like herons may struggle

Since the start of this millennium, Ireland has lost around half a million waterbirds — almost 40% of the total population

Wed, 17 Dec, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Buzzard

Birds of Ireland: Buzzard

Buzzards are a scarce breeding species but are found here all year round

Sat, 06 Dec, 2025

Merlin (Falco columbarius)

Birds of Ireland: Merlin

A merlin is an agile flier when hunting and their pointed wings are visible. They look smaller and darker than a kestrel

Sun, 16 Nov, 2025

a Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) sitting on a post with its wings extended.

Birds of Ireland: Peregrine

Peregrines have slate-grey upperparts and a dark 'teardrop' below their eyes

Sat, 15 Nov, 2025

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

Birds of Ireland: Sparrowhawk

This bird of prey flies with rapid wingbeats but does not hover

Sat, 08 Nov, 2025

More exotic birds are winging their way to Ireland

More exotic birds are winging their way to Ireland

Jim Wilson, a former national chairman of Birdwatch Ireland, says several new species have already established a foothold here, and he expects more to follow suit.

Sun, 02 Nov, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Barn owl

Birds of Ireland: Barn owl

Barn owls of all ages have a flat, white heart-shaped face and large, black eyes

Sat, 25 Oct, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Fulmar

Birds of Ireland: Fulmar

Fulmars have a stout cigar-shaped body and both sexes appear similar

Sat, 11 Oct, 2025

Geese taken over the soccer field

Anja Murray: Charismatic waterbirds arriving from afar this winter

One of the best things about October is the return of wintering birds, each species with their own backstory and life strategies

Wed, 01 Oct, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Storm petrel

Birds of Ireland: Storm petrel

A storm petrel flutters puppet-like with legs pattering and running on the surface when hunting. They have an erratic flight

Sun, 21 Sep, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Manx shearwater

Birds of Ireland: Manx shearwater

Manx shearwater are often seen feeding with gannets and kittiwake, forming large flocks called 'rafts' on the water

Sat, 13 Sep, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Shag

Birds of Ireland: Shag

A shag's breeding plumage features distinctive forward-curling dark crown tufts and they have all-dark iridescent plumage with a thin yellow patch below the eye

Sat, 06 Sep, 2025

Three European goldfinch or simply the goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) on a bird feeder with Nyjer seeds.

Light pollution tricking urban birds into staying awake longer each day

Researchers were ‘shocked’ to discover some species settling down for sleep 50 minutes later than rural counterparts

Sun, 24 Aug, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Cormorant

Birds of Ireland: Cormorant

Both male and female cormorants look similar — with a strong, grey, hook-tipped beak and a thick snake-like neck

Sat, 23 Aug, 2025

Glaucous Gull at the Baltic Sea Coast in Sweden

Birds of Ireland: Glaucous Gull

An adult Glaucous Gull [Faoileán glas | Larus hyperboreus] has a wing span of more than 1.5 metres

Sat, 16 Aug, 2025

When close up is too close — who's the worst culprit for invading wild birds' space?

When close up is too close — who's the worst culprit for invading wild birds' space?

It is illegal to disturb and/or photograph nesting birds without a licence from the National Parks and Wildlife Service

Thu, 31 Jul, 2025

ANIMALS Seagull 1

Birds of Ireland: Black-headed gull

A black-headed gull has a noisy, high-pitched call which includes a thin-sounding, drawn-out kaaww — and they also engage in softer 'chatter'

Sun, 27 Jul, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Common gull — or mew gull

Birds of Ireland: Common gull — or mew gull

In flight the white wing tips are noticeable on adult birds

Sat, 19 Jul, 2025

The birds of County Donegal — some doing well and others almost gone... with climate change likely to see them out

The birds of County Donegal — some doing well and others almost gone... with climate change likely to see them out

Ralph Sheppard is an ecologist living in Donegal, where he has been monitoring the birds since the 1950s. This is an extract from his book The Birds of County Donegal

Mon, 30 Jun, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Great Black-backed Gull

Birds of Ireland: Great Black-backed Gull

This is the largest Irish gull and has a wing span of up to 160 centimetres

Sun, 29 Jun, 2025

DENIS SCANNELL

Birds of Ireland: Moorhen

Moorhens are rarely seen in flight — when frightened or in danger, they run along water surface with neck outstretched and wings flapping furiously

Sun, 22 Jun, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Water Rail

Birds of Ireland: Water Rail

A water rail's voice is the easiest way to identify this secretive bird — it's a loud grunting/squealing pig-like call from a reed bed or other waterside vegetation, mainly at dawn/dusk and at night

Sun, 15 Jun, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Coot

Birds of Ireland: Coot

An adult coot has a conspicuous white beak and forehead shield; black plumage; dark red eye; and large, lobed green-grey feet

Sun, 08 Jun, 2025

Seabirds in trouble due to fewer sand eel and sprat

Seabirds in trouble due to fewer sand eel and sprat

Puffins must now travel ever longer distances to harvest fish for their chicks. Flying long distances, with fish held in the bill, is an additional burden on stressed parents. Chicks are undernourished and their survival rates fall

Thu, 05 Jun, 2025

Greater Spotted Woodpecker on tree through branches

Like a phoenix... rare woodpecker spotted in city park

Have you heard a woodpecker 'drumming' on trees in Phoenix Park in Dublin — or elsewhere across the country?

Thu, 29 May, 2025

Spring weather April 2nd 2025

Birds of Ireland: Woodpigeon

Woodpigeons are fat-looking and are found here all year around in woodlands, on farmland, and in gardens

Sun, 25 May, 2025

Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

Birds of Ireland: Collared dove

The collared dove is one of the more recent doves and pigeons to arrive in Ireland: it was unheard of here before 1957 and is now widespread and common

Mon, 19 May, 2025

Did other birds copy owls' state-of-the-art navigation system?

Did other birds copy owls' state-of-the-art navigation system?

A new harrier biology study says these large daylight-hunting hawks have evolved an auditory system similar to owls

Thu, 15 May, 2025

Kingfisher in Northumberland Park

Birds of Ireland: Kingfisher

In flight, kingfishers look like a blue flash; they have a low, straight, buzzing flight with occasional gliding. They dive from branches and other perches over water

Mon, 12 May, 2025

eurasian skylark

Larks — nearly invisible in a sunny sky but worth listening for

'The music soars within the little lark, And the lark soars.' Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Wed, 07 May, 2025

Why do sand martins sometimes reject last year's nest burrows?

Why do sand martins sometimes reject last year's nest burrows?

The sand martins are back from Africa now and it seems to be a lottery whether they return to previously dug tunnels or whether they dig new ones

Thu, 01 May, 2025

Adult nestling barn swallows (Hirundo rustica)

Birds of Ireland: Swallow

Swallows are summer migrants from Africa to Ireland, arriving here in spring and departing in autumn. If the weather is good they will often rear two or even three broods of young.

Sun, 27 Apr, 2025

Chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocora

Clever, playful, and communicative — lots to like about the crow family

Each of the seven crow species that occur in Ireland have a lot of very similar traits, including an impressive ability to reason and to learn

Wed, 23 Apr, 2025

Common Swift (Apus apus).

Birds of Ireland: Swift

Swifts are so adapted to an aerial existence that they cannot take off from level ground or perch on a wire or twig. Their tiny feet and claws are designed for clinging onto vertical surfaces

Sun, 20 Apr, 2025

Anja Murray: Off-leash dogs can cause havoc with wild birds

Anja Murray: Off-leash dogs can cause havoc with wild birds

Dogs running through areas where birds are feeding or nesting can stress, exhaust and even kill threatened species

Wed, 16 Apr, 2025

Couple of rooks / crows collecting nesting material

Birds of Ireland: Rook

Rooks have have black plumage with a purple-blue sheen — and they have untidy-looking feathers around their thighs (like ‘shaggy trousers’)

Sun, 13 Apr, 2025

Two,Eurasian,Magpies,,Pica,Pica,,On,Moss,Covered,Branch,In

Birds of Ireland: Magpie

Glossy black and white bodies and wings with a beautiful iridescent blue-green sheen on their back and tail feathers, both sexes of magpies appear similar

Sun, 30 Mar, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Oystercatcher

Birds of Ireland: Oystercatcher

If you can spot a large group of waders 'wheeling' over an estuary it can be a great sight

Sun, 23 Mar, 2025

Hedgerows are a haven for nesting birds — and are protected during nesting season

Hedgerows are a haven for nesting birds — and are protected during nesting season

Legal restrictions on cutting hedgerows between March and August 31 are to protect bird life during the nesting season, and to protect vegetation and wildlife habitats during the months of growth and reproduction

Thu, 20 Mar, 2025