SPA Species
- Listed rare and vulnerable species such as those mentioned below.
- Regularly occurring migratory species, such as ducks, geese and waders.
- Wetlands, especially those of international importance, which attract large numbers of migratory birds each year. (Internationally important means that 1% of the population of a species uses the site, or more than 20,000 birds regularly use the site.)
The Annex 1 species which occur in Ireland :
- Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata)
- Black-throated Diver (Gavia arctica)
- Great Northern Diver (Gavia immer)
- Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea)
- Storm Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus)
- Leach's Storm-petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa)
- Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
- Bewick's Swan (Cygnus bewickii)
- Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)
- Greenland White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons flavirostris)
- Barnacle Goose (Branta ruficollis)
- Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
- Merlin (Falco columbarius)
- Peregrine (Falco peregrinus)
- Corncrake (Crex crex)
- Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria)
- Dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii)
- Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)
- Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)
- Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)
- Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)
- Mediterranean Gull (Larus melanocephalus)
- Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)
- Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii)
- Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
- Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea)
- Little Tern (Sterna albifrons)
- Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)
- Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
- Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca)
- Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus)
- Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
- Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)
Some of the listed species occur in high numbers and densities, and their home grounds are obviously worth protecting. However, scare breeding birds such as waders, birds of prey and chough, occur at very low density where designation of sites is a more difficult, although necessary, exercise.
