#Birds of Ireland

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

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

Birds of Ireland: Lapwing
Birds of Ireland: Lapwing
Did you know that the lapwing was declared Ireland's national bird back in 1990?

Sun, 16 Mar, 2025

Dunlin feeding on the shore
Birds of Ireland: Dunlin
A dunlin is about the size of a starling and both sexes are similar — they have a relatively long, thin, slightly downcurved dark beak and relatively long dark legs.

Mon, 10 Mar, 2025

Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola)
Anja Murray: Shy — and red-listed — woodcock still on legal hunting list
In 2023, the Government reviewed which birds can legally hunted in Ireland and when. The review resulted in four species of duck being removed from the quarry list — birds that can be shot during open season. Many expected that woodcock would also be removed from this list because of its red-listed conservation status, but not so

Wed, 26 Feb, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Redshank
Birds of Ireland: Redshank
Usually seen on estuaries and wetland, redshanks are very noisy when disturbed

Mon, 24 Feb, 2025

Linnet In Habitat
Birds of Ireland: Linnet
A linnet's flight call is squeaky — like a wet cork rubbed against glass

Mon, 17 Feb, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Grey Heron
Birds of Ireland: Grey Heron
The sounds of grey herons at nest during day and at night are like a fairy-tale monster or someone getting sick! 

Mon, 10 Feb, 2025

Climate change affecting British birds
Birds of Ireland: Chaffinch
A chaffinch's song lasts about three seconds and is repeated; it starts with buzzing notes, slows, descends into a jumble, and finally a flourish

Tue, 04 Feb, 2025

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