Cork Harbour (599)
Ireland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2024
National site name: Cork Harbour
Central coordinates: Latitude: 51.8650, Longitude: -8.2833
System: terrestrial, marine
Elevation (m): 0 to 5
Area of KBA (km2): 36.54503
Protected area coverage (%): 67.20
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A large, very sheltered sea bay including several river estuaries situated in County Cork. Intertidal mudflats are extensive with some areas of saltmarsh. There are three to four adjoining small freshwater or brackish lagoons and two large areas of open water, Lough Mahon and Lower Harbour, which are separated by Great Island. Large centres of human habitation lie adjacent to this site, including Cork city, which is a major port. Cork harbour and port form the largest industrial area on Ireland's south coast.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: <span style="font-style: normal;">Cork Harbour regularly supports over 20,000 waterfowl. It is one of the most important sites in Ireland for breeding <i>Sterna hirundo</i> and formerly for wintering <i>Podiceps cristatus</i> (286 birds, 1996), </span>and others.<p style="font-style: normal;"></p><div>This site meets IBA criteria for Common Tern (<i>Sterna hirundo), </i>Little Egret (<i>Egretta garzetta</i>), Eurasian Oystercatcher (<i>Haematopus ostralegus</i>), Northern Lapwing (<i>Vanellus vanellus</i>), Eurasian Curlew (<i>Numenius arquata</i>), Bar-tailed Godwit (<i>Limosa lapponica</i>), Black-tailed Godwit (<i>Limosa limosa</i>), Red Knot (<i>Calidris canutus</i>). The site also hosts populations of other species. For details regarding other breeding seabirds, where population numbers don't currently meet IBA criteria, 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.</div>
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 5 | |
| Grassland | 10 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 5 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Ongoing road, urban and industrial development has led to considerable loss of intertidal habitat, including mudflat. Additional threats to habitat quality are infestation of mudflats by non-native cord-grass <i>Spartina</i>, intertidal shellfish cultivation, and pressure from recreation and amenity interests. Whitegate oil refinery poses an ongoing pollution threat. Given the damage to this site and ongoing pressures from development, the inclusion of unprotected wetland areas within the Special Protection Area is critical.<p></p>
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