Skip to content
birdyas
EN

Ireland Ireland Ramsar wetland

The Gearagh

139 bird species recorded; the most in January.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec94at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Ceoil · Public domain

This month here

94 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

Eurasian Teal
Eurasian TealAnas creccaWinter visitorKoshy Koshy from Faridabad, Haryana, India · CC BY 2.0
Eurasian CurlewNT
Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataWinter visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Great White Egret
Great White EgretArdea albaWinter visitorCalibas · CC BY-SA 3.0
Common Wood Pigeon
Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbusSummer visitorTristan Ferne from UK · CC BY 2.0
Eurasian Wigeon
Eurasian WigeonMareca penelopeWinter visitorПочта России · Public domain
Redwing
RedwingTurdus iliacusWinter visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Hooded Crow
Hooded CrowCorvus cornixResidentCommonists · CC BY-SA 4.0
European Robin
European RobinErithacus rubeculaResidentCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eurasian Blue Tit
Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusResidentSławek Staszczuk · CC BY-SA 3.0
Grey Heron
Grey HeronArdea cinereaResidentVassilios Vescoukis · CC BY-SA 4.0
Common Kingfisher
Common KingfisherAlcedo atthisResidentCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eurasian Blackbird
Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merulaResidentKahvilokki · CC BY-SA 4.0
Northern LapwingNT
Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusResidentAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Goosander
GoosanderMergus merganserWinter visitorTony Hisgett · CC BY 2.0
Goldcrest
GoldcrestRegulus regulusResidentMissy Osborn from New Forest, England · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dunnock
DunnockPrunella modularisResidentSmalljim · CC BY 3.0
Black-headed Gull
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusResidentDiliff · CC BY-SA 3.0
Rook
RookCorvus frugilegusResidentKim Hyun-tae · CC BY 4.0
Little Egret
Little EgretEgretta garzettaResidentBirdman1 · CC BY 2.5
Eurasian Wren
Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytesResidentAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian MagpiePica picaResidentAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Common Snipe
Common SnipeGallinago gallinagoResidentHobbyfotowiki · CC0
Whooper Swan
Whooper SwanCygnus cygnusWinter visitorPascal Aleixandre · CC BY-SA 3.0
Common Goldeneye
Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangulaWinter visitorCalibas · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

139 species, counted.

59out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 139Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 50Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 3ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 5,306Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 72 mAltitudeabove the sea
  • 7Raptors
  • 3Owls
  • 22Waders
  • 8Gulls & seabirds
  • 28Ducks & geese
  • 8Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 51Songbirds
  • 12Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 139 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors7 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Common BuzzardButeo buteo
  • Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
  • Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
  • Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
  • OspreyPandion haliaetus
  • Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus
  • MerlinFalco columbarius
Owls3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Western Barn OwlTyto alba
  • Long-eared OwlAsio otus
  • Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
Waders22 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
  • Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
  • Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
  • DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
  • European Golden PloverPluvialis apricaria
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
  • Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
  • Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosaNT
  • Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
  • RedshankTringa totanus
  • Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
  • Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegusNT
  • RuffCalidris pugnax
  • Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
  • Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
  • Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos
  • Little StintCalidris minuta
  • Jack SnipeLymnocryptes minimus
  • Bar-tailed godwitLimosa lapponicaNT
  • Lesser yellowlegsTringa flavipesVU
  • Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
  • Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
Gulls & seabirds8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
  • Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
  • European Herring GullLarus argentatus
  • Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
  • Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
  • Common GullLarus canus
  • Common LoonGavia immer
  • Arctic TernSterna paradisaea
Ducks & geese28 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Mute SwanCygnus olor
  • MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  • Eurasian TealAnas crecca
  • Greylag GooseAnser anser
  • Whooper SwanCygnus cygnus
  • Eurasian WigeonMareca penelope
  • Tufted DuckAythya fuligula
  • GoosanderMergus merganser
  • Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
  • Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
  • Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
  • Common PochardAythya ferinaVU
  • Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
  • Pink-footed GooseAnser brachyrhynchus
  • Barnacle GooseBranta leucopsis
  • GadwallMareca strepera
  • Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
  • Greater ScaupAythya marila
  • Northern PintailAnas acuta
  • Canada GooseBranta canadensis
  • Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
  • SmewMergellus albellus
  • BuffleheadBucephala albeola
  • Common ShelduckTadorna tadorna
  • American WigeonMareca americana
  • Brent GooseBranta bernicla
  • Green-winged tealAnas carolinensis
  • Long-tailed duckClangula hyemalisVU
Herons, ibises & grebes8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Grey HeronArdea cinerea
  • Little EgretEgretta garzetta
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
  • Great White EgretArdea alba
  • Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
  • Eurasian BitternBotaurus stellaris
  • Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
Songbirds51 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Hooded CrowCorvus cornix
  • Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
  • European RobinErithacus rubecula
  • Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
  • Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
  • GoldcrestRegulus regulus
  • Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
  • RookCorvus frugilegus
  • Great titParus major
  • Eurasian MagpiePica pica
  • White WagtailMotacilla alba
  • Western JackdawColoeus monedula
  • DunnockPrunella modularis
  • Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
  • Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
  • Common Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus
  • BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula
  • Coal TitPeriparus ater
  • Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  • European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
  • Eurasian TreecreeperCerthia familiaris
  • RedwingTurdus iliacus
  • European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
  • Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
  • Barn swallowHirundo rustica
  • House SparrowPasser domesticus
  • BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
  • Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
  • Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
  • Northern RavenCorvus corax
  • Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
  • Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis
  • European GreenfinchChloris chloris
  • FieldfareTurdus pilaris
  • Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
  • Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
  • Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
  • Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
  • Sand MartinRiparia riparia
  • Sedge WarblerAcrocephalus schoenobaenus
  • White-throated DipperCinclus cinclus
  • Eurasian Penduline TitRemiz pendulinus
  • YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella
  • Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
  • SkylarkAlauda arvensis
  • Carrion CrowCorvus corone
  • Common Grasshopper WarblerLocustella naevia
  • Common FirecrestRegulus ignicapilla
  • WhitethroatSylvia communis
  • Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus
  • BramblingFringilla montifringilla
Other birds12 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
  • Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
  • Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus
  • Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
  • European SwiftApus apus
  • European Water RailRallus aquaticus
  • CootFulica atra
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
  • Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major
  • Stock DoveColumba oenas
  • Common CuckooCuculus canorus

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species in January.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan948°/3°117 mm
  2. Feb628°/3°88 mm
  3. Mar689°/3°86 mm
  4. Apr6312°/5°78 mm
  5. May6514°/7°84 mm
  6. Jun5917°/10°90 mm
  7. Jul6718°/11°96 mm
  8. Aug5818°/11°102 mm
  9. Sep5916°/10°89 mm
  10. Oct7113°/8°120 mm
  11. Nov6510°/5°124 mm
  12. Dec678°/4°124 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

The Gearagh.

Nature reserve and ramsar site in County Cork, Ireland

The Gearagh is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Ireland.

139 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 5,306 open records.

The most recorded are the Hooded Crow, the Eurasian Wren and the European Robin.

18 species come for the summer, 29 for the winter and 3 only pass through.

3 are threatened worldwide, including Common Pochard, Lesser yellowlegs and Long-tailed duck.

The most species are recorded in January.

The Gearagh apr2016
Ceoil · Public domain

Get there and watch

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

The Gearagh seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 1bird hides within 6 kmClosed, dangerous
  • 47car parks within 3 km
  • 6restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • 7places to stay within 10 kmTig Lammax, Coolcower House, Hillview House B&B and 4 more
  • observation towers within 6 km
  • marked trails within 4 km
  • visitor centres within 6 km
  • viewpoints within 5 km
  • campsites within 10 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around The Gearagh.

The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas41 mountains within 25 km
Kilbarry Hill · 5.0 kmKnockaunnagorp · 6.1 kmMusheramore644 m · 14 kmMullaghanish694 m · 15 kmClaragh Mountain · 19 kmCaherbarnagh · 20 kmPaps of Anu670 m · 24 kmNowen Hill535 m · 24 km
Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 km
Carrigadrohid Lake5.2 km² · 2.3 kmLough Allua1.1 km² · 13 km
Riveryasthe river nearby
Lee90 kmRiver OwenabueRiver Bride

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The place, as people saw it.

The Gearagh 1 crop
me · Public domain
The Gearagh apr2016b
Ceoil · CC0
The Gearagh
Chewymango · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other places nearby.

The Gearagh

Ireland

  • 59Birdyas Score
  • 139Species
  • 50Migrants
  • 3Threatened

Eirk Bog

Ireland · 46 km

  • 44Birdyas Score
  • 86Species
  • 29Migrants
  • 0Threatened

See the guide

Ballyallia Lake

Ireland · 110 km

  • 57Birdyas Score
  • 133Species
  • 55Migrants
  • 2Threatened

See the guide

The Raven Nature Reserve

Ireland · 187 km

  • 82Birdyas Score
  • 195Species
  • 85Migrants
  • 9Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q24196938) · CC0
Birds5,306 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
See these recordsgbif.org
SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas, Islandyas, Lakeyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.