Lough Swilly including Blanket Nook and Inch Lake (Ireland)

IE005

Lough Swilly including Blanket Nook and Inch Lake

Current view: Data table and detailed info

IBA Justification

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
Mute Swan Cygnus olor	LC	winter	2002-2006	199-288 individuals	B1i
Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus	LC	winter	2004-2006	1,946-3,177 individuals	A4i, B1i, B3, C2, C6
Brent Goose Branta bernicla	LC	winter	2002-2006	222-340 individuals	B1i, C3
Greylag Goose Anser anser	LC	winter	2002-2006	1,056-2,743 individuals	B1i, C3
Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons	LC	winter	2002-2006	626-1,383 individuals	B1i, C2, C6
Greater Scaup Aythya marila	LC	winter	2002-2006	32-70 individuals	B2
Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata	LC	winter	2002-2006	7-50 individuals	C6
Common Tern Sterna hirundo	LC	breeding	2001	89 breeding pairs	C6
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	LC	breeding	2001-2005	239 breeding pairs	B2, C6
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	winter	2002-2006	23,960-31,867 individuals	A4iii, C4

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

IBA Protection

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
-	Blanket Nook	Wildfowl Sanctuary	-
-	Lough Swilly	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	-
1995	Lough Swilly SPA	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	39
2000	Lough Swilly SAC	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	74

Habitats

Habitat¹	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Terrestrial	Highly improved re-seeded landscapes, Arable land	10
Grassland	Humid grasslands, Mesophile grasslands	10
Marine Intertidal		major (>10)
Marine Neritic		major (>10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use

Land use	% of IBA
hunting	95
fisheries/aquaculture	80
agriculture	20

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lough Swilly including Blanket Nook and Inch Lake (Ireland). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lough-swilly-including-blanket-nook-and-inch-lake-iba-ireland on 23/11/2024.