Data Zone
Country/territory: Ireland
IBA criteria met: B1i, B2, C3 (2009)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 606 ha
Site description (2000 baseline)
The Broadmeadow river estuary is situated immediately north of Malahide and east of Swords in County Dublin. The site is divided by a railway viaduct and protected from the sea by a large sand-spit. There are sand- and mudflats within the outer estuary. However, inland of the viaduct, only the extreme inner part of the estuary drains at low tide; saltmarsh is present here.
Key biodiversity
This is an important site for wintering waterfowl. Many other species occur in numbers of national importance, including Tadorna tadorna (534 birds, 1995), Bucephala clangula (390 birds, 1996), Mergus serrator (171 birds, 1996), Haematopus ostralegus (1,343 birds, 1995), Pluvialis apricaria (4,000 birds, 1996) and Calidris alpina (1,850 birds, 1996).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Malahide/ Broadmeadow Estuary (Ireland). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/malahide-broadmeadow-estuary-iba-ireland on 23/11/2024.