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The site was identified as important in 2009 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Little Egret Egretta garzetta	LC	winter	2002-2006	22-44 individuals	C6
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa	NT	winter	2002-2006	424-667 individuals	B1i, C3

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2009) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2009) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Eurasian Wigeon Mareca penelope	1,435	650	individuals	46	not assessed
Egretta garzetta	44	40	individuals	91	favourable
Eurasian Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria	885	1,133	individuals	100	not assessed
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata	908	891	individuals	99	not assessed
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa	496	615	individuals	100	favourable
Dunlin Calidris alpina	1,361	560	individuals	42	not assessed
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia	21	22	individuals	100	not assessed
Common Redshank Tringa totanus	337	560	individuals	100	not assessed

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Pollution	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Transportation and service corridors	past (and unlikely to return) and no longer limiting	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A management plan exists but it is out of date or not comprehensive	Very little or no conservation action taking place	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1995	Blackwater Estuary SPA	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	62
1996	Blackwater Estuary	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	94
1998	Blackwater River (Cork/Waterford) SAC	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	81

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Grassland	Humid grasslands	25
Marine Intertidal		major (>10)
Marine Neritic		major (>10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
fisheries/aquaculture	75
agriculture	25

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Blackwater estuary (Ireland). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/blackwater-estuary-iba-ireland on 23/11/2024.