Iniskea Islands

Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

Redshank (Tringa totanus)

Little Gull (Sterna albifrons)

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)

Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea)

Inishkea South

Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus)

Inishmurray Island

Eider (Somateria mollissima)

Inishmurray is a mystical island 4 miles off the Sligo coast in Donegal Bay. A well preserved 6th century monastic settlement dominates the centre of the island. The last inhabitants deserted the island for the comforts of the mainland in 1957. Inishmurray is a low lying island composed of Carboniferous shale/sandstone rocks, 1 mile long and 0.5 mile wide at its broadest point, comprising of 233 acres. There are no trees and few shrubs on the island. Due to the fact that there are no people, foxes or rats living on the island, ground nesting birds breed successfully with minimal predation. The island is an important wintering ground for barnacle geese (100-500 individuals). During the summer the breeding population comprises of varying numbers of Arctic and common tern, shag (100+ pairs), herring gull (100+ pairs), great black backed gull (100+ pairs), and eider (100+ individuals), black guillemot (10+ individuals), storm petrels (100+ pairs), lesser black-backed gull (35+ pairs) and fulmar (80+ pairs).


Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)


Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)


Fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis)


Fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis)


Fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis)


Fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis)


Eider (Somateria mollissima)


Black Guillemot (Cepphus grylle)

Birds of Great Saltee Island

Spending a day on a remote, uninhabited, marine island is always an exhilarating experience. Some islands provide a peaceful and tranquil respite from the hustle and bustle of daily human activity – just lie back and take in the sound of the waves lapping on the shore. Islands with seabird colonies, however, are far from peaceful. But these bird cities are exciting and enthralling – the incessant screeching and cawing, the wheeling, ducking and diving. The birds take little notice of you as you wander about among them. Visions of Charles Darwin on the Galapagos Islands spring to mind. For wildlife enthusiasts these islands are magical, heavenly places. Great Saltee Island is one such place, lying just over 3 miles off the coast of Wexford in the South East of Ireland. Uninhabited since 1905 the island is 219 acres in size and is the summer home for at least 40,000 seabirds. The island holds internationally important numbers of many species, as described in Seabird Populations of Britain and Ireland: Results of the Seabird 2000 Census (1998 – 2002). Of particular note are the following (breeding adults): 3,800 gannet (Morus bassanus), 300 Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), 4,200 kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), 21,400 common guillemot (Uria aalge), 3,200 razorbill (Alca torda) and 3,000 puffins (Fratercula arctica). Below are a few pictures from a trip to the island last summer:


Puffin (Fratercula arctica)


Razorbill (Alca torda)


Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)


Guillemot (Uria aalge)


Gannet (Morus bassanus)

Great Skua (Stercorarius skua)

There are only a few breeding pairs of great skua (Stercorarius skua) found in Ireland. The first pair was recorded during the seabird census of Britain and Ireland conducted between 1998 and 2002 (Seabird populations of Britain and Ireland: Results of the seabird 2000 Census). Since this time a few pairs have bred regularly on remote islands off the coast of Co. Mayo. Seabird 2000 reported the worldwide distribution of Great Skua as follows (breeding pairs): Scotland 9600, Ireland 1, Faroes 270, Iceland 5400, Norway 440, Russia 10. When breeding, skuas are highly territorial and can be extremely aggressive, as seen in the 2nd picture. This bird swooped within inches of my head making it pretty difficult to photograph. At the time I didn't realise there were skuas on the particular island - had I known I would not have disturbed them. Skuas are opportunistic feeders often following trawlers and taking discarded fish. They may also kill small seabirds or steal food from gannets and other birds (kleptoparasitism).