Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
Eirk bog is situated in the Owenreagh valley, 1 km north of Moll's Gap and 3 km south-west of Killarney National Park (site 079) in County Kerry. It is a classical example of an intermediate bog, between blanket and raised bog.
Eirk bog provides wintering habitat for a small flock of
Anser albifrons flavirostris, which is now the only regular flock of this species in the south-west of the country, and that is the basis for the designation of the site as a Special Protection Area.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Overgrazing by sheep and deer pose a potential threat to the site. The IBA lies within a proposed candidate Special Area for Conservation (Eirk Bog; area not known).
National High
International High13 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Eirk Bog, 16 ha). 13 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Eirk Bog, 13 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Eirk bog (Ireland). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/eirk-bog-iba-ireland on 25/12/2024.
