Summer Birdwatching Spots in Ireland

Check out these Summer Birdwatching Spots chosen by MKO ornithologists – from resident favourites to exciting migrants, there’s something for everyone. So grab your binoculars and get ready for an adventure!

 

County Location This location is good for spotting…
Antrim Rathlin Island Corncrake, Puffin, Kittiwake, Gannet, Razorbill and Guillemot
Clare Mounthshannon Harbour White-Tailed Eagle (Holy Island)
Cork Harpers Island Wetlands Nesting Sand Martin Wall
Cork Glengarriff and Garinish Island White-tailed Eagle
Donegal Tory Island Corncrake, Puffin and Breeding Waders
Donegal Inch Wetland Reserve Colony of Sandwich Tern and Black-headed Gulls
Donegal Blanket Nook Swallows, House Martins, common terns and swifts, Great Spotted Woodpecker or Kingfisher, and Yellowhammer
Dublin Ireland’s Eye Cormorant, Herring Gull, Kittiwake, Gannet, Guillemot, and Razorbill
Dublin Rogerstown Estuary and Turvey Nature Reserve Various
Dublin Dalkey Island Arctic Tern, Breeding Gulls and Oystercatchers
Galway Lough Derg (Portumna) White-Tailed Eagle
Galway Inisbofin Corncrake
Kerry View from Castlegregory to Maherees Islands Common, Arctic, Little and Sandwich Terns
Kildare Pollardstown Fen Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Water Rail, Snipe, Little Grebe, Kestrel, and Buzzard
Louth Lurgangreen (Dundalk Bay) Common Sandpiper, Terns, Wheatear, Gulls, and Osprey (regularly occurring, but not breeding)
Mayo Annagh Marsh, Belmullet Red-necked Phalarope and Lapwing
Offaly Lough Boora Grey Partridge, Breeding Waders e.g. Lapwing
Waterford Ardmore Cliff Walk Kittiwake Colony, Chough, Kestrel and occasionally Peregrine
Wexford Great Saltee Gannet, Puffin and Manx Shearwater, Razorbill, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Shag, Great Black-backed Gull and Fulmar
Wexford Our Lady’s Island Lake Roseate Tern, Sandwich Tern, Arctic Tern, Common Tern and Mediterranean Gull and Black-headed Gull
Wicklow Kilcoole Little Tern Colony
Wicklow Avoca Red Kite
Wicklow East Coast Nature Reserve Roseate Tern, Sandwich Tern, Arctic Tern, Common Tern Mediterranean Gull and Black-headed Gull
Wicklow Wicklow Mountains Peregrine, Merlin, Red Grouse, Great Spotted Woodpecker