Special Protection Areas
All the Special Protection Areas in Ireland
Special protection Areas
“Every summer 24 species of seabird, numbering over half a million individuals, seek out suitable breeding habitat principally on mainland cliffs and on marine islands…
Ireland is situated along the east Atlantic flyway for waterbirds that breed in more northerly latitudes. It is our typical mild and wet winters that make the wetlands of Ireland such an important resource for over three-quarters of a million of these waterbirds each year.
Over 50 species of waterbird migrate here either on passage to more southerly resorts or to spend the entire winter here. They seek out the relatively undisturbed wetland areas for ice-free feeding conditions and for safe roosting opportunities.”
Special Protection Area: Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare
Special Protection Areas exist under the The EU Birds Directive, and are sometimes even more difficult to see than a Special Area of Conservation, or Natural Heritage Area, as those who need the space most are only part-time habiters.
Being an island nation, our coastal habitats make up a large proportion of our SPA’s, along with wetlands and lakelands.
Special Protection Area: Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry
The development of Irish SPA sites has been in place since 1985, which has led to Ireland’s SPA Network now encompassing over 597,000 hectares of marine and terrestrial habitats.
Special Protection Area: Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry
Interested in seeing what Special Protection Areas exist in your area?
Download my PDF booklet of county maps of Ireland’s Special Protection Areas here.
The Open Data for the Special Protection Areas can be found here.
This project is funded through the Open Data Engagement Fund. This is a competitive fund designed to provide support towards promoting the use of open data on the national Open Data Portal data.gov.ie.
Learn more about the fund here.