Magharee Islands, Mucklaghmore and Illaunbarnagh (589)
Ireland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2024
National site name: Magharee Islands, Mucklaghmore and Illaunbarnagh
Central coordinates: Latitude: 52.3333, Longitude: -10.0333
System: terrestrial, marine
Elevation (m): 0 to 22
Area of KBA (km2): 3.67627
Protected area coverage (%): 98.80
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The Magharee Islands, comprising a group of six islands and several additional islets and shallow reefs, are situated 2km off the northern end of the Castlegregory peninsula in County Kerry. They are uninhabited, except for holiday visitors. The largest islands, Illauntannig and Illaunimmil, were inhabited in the past and are still grazed by sheep and cattle. The site encompasses the surrounding waters.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: <span style="font-style: normal;">The site supports breeding seabirds and formerly was of importance for Barnacle Goose (</span><i>Branta bernicla</i><span style="font-style: normal;">). Black Guillemot (</span><i>Cepphus grylle</i>) occurs in high enough numbers to meet IBA criteria. <br><br>For further details regarding breeding seabird species, please see the project report from Auchincloss and Handley (2024), or the records associated with 'Populations' in BirdLife's WBDB. Existing IBA boundary used for 2024 reassessment. Seabird data was the primary focus when reassessing sites in the 2024 reassessment.
Manageability of the site: Site identified based on BirdLife International's Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, under which manageability is strongly recommended but not explicitly documented
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 5 | |
| Marine Neritic | 85 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 10 |
Additional information
References: Auchincloss & Handley, 2024. Ireland: Important Bird and Biodiversity Area identification for seabirds (Report).<br><br>Beal, Martin, Steffen Oppel, Jonathan Handley, Elizabeth J. Pearmain, Virginia Morera-Pujol, Ana P. B. Carneiro, Tammy E. Davies, et al. ‘track2KBA: An R Package for Identifying Important Sites for Biodiversity from Tracking Data’. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 12, no. 12 (December 2021): 2372–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13713.<br><br>Critchley, Emma Jane, W. James Grecian, Adam Kane, Mark J. Jessopp, and John L. Quinn. ‘Marine Protected Areas Show Low Overlap with Projected Distributions of Seabird Populations in Britain and Ireland’. Biological Conservation 224 (August 2018): 309–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.06.007.<br><br>Giralt Paradell, O., Cañadas, A., Bennison, A., Todd, N., Jessopp, M., Rogan, E. (2024). Aerial surveys of cetaceans and seabirds in Irish waters: Occurrence, distribution and abundance in 2021-2023. Department of the Environment, Climate & Communications and Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage, Ireland. 260pp<br><br>Handley, Jonathan, Marie-Morgane Rouyer, Elizabeth J. Pearmain, Victoria Warwick-Evans, Katharina Teschke, Jefferson T. Hinke, Heather Lynch, et al. ‘Marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for Penguins in Antarctica, Targets for Conservation Action’. Frontiers in Marine Science 7 (20 January 2021): 602972. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.602972.
Contributors: Site identified based on Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas by the BirdLife International Partnership