Wicklow Head, situated a mile south of Wicklow town, is a rocky headland with sheer cliffs and inlets. The site includes the adjacent waters. There is a coastguard station and lighthouse on the headland.
Key biodiversity
There are nationally important colonies of breeding seabirds, mostly Rissa tridactyla (1,125 pairs, 1994), with smaller numbers of Alca torda (191 birds, 1994), Uria aalge (244 birds, 1994), Fulmarus glacialis and Phalacrocorax aristotelis.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Walkers may cause some disturbance to birds, while fishing in surrounding waters may deplete the prey stock of seabirds, with implications for their breeding success. On the basis of its breeding seabirds, this site has been proposed as a Special Protection Area (Wicklow Head, 134 ha) by NPW and should be designated in the near future.
