Rockabill (619)
Ireland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2024
National site name: Rockabill
Central coordinates: Latitude: 53.6000, Longitude: -6.0167
System: terrestrial, marine
Elevation (m): 0 to 25
Area of KBA (km2): 13.92451
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Two small, rocky islands approximately 7km off the north coast of County Dublin. The lighthouse present on one island was automated in 1989 and the dwellings are used by BirdWatch Ireland employees (tern wardens) from April to August.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: Rockabill is important for breeding seabirds and supports the largest breeding colony of <i>Sterna dougallii</i> in the north-east Atlantic and, thus, in Europe. It<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> is of significance for Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii), Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), Black Guillemot (Cepphus grylle). </span><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">For further details regarding 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.</span></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 |
|---|---|---|
| Shrubland | 10 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 20 | |
| Marine Neritic | 30 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 40 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Since 1989 BirdWatch Ireland have, with NPW, managed the tern colony and there is presently very little disturbance.<p></p>
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Only in the future |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Problematic native species/diseases | Named species | Ongoing |
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