Skerries Islands (614)
Ireland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Skerries Islands
Central coordinates: Latitude: 53.5667, Longitude: -6.0833
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 30
Area of KBA (km2): 2.17092
Protected area coverage (%): 99.68
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A group of three small islands (Shenicks, St Patricks and Colt) and surrounding sea, situated 1-2 km east of Skerries, in north County Dublin.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: The site is important for waterfowl and shorebirds. Phalacrocorax carbo breeds in numbers of national importance (350 pairs, 1996).
Habitats
Land use: fisheries/aquaculture (70%) | nature conservation and research (20%) | not utilised (30%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Neritic | 70 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 20 | |
| Grassland | 10 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Day-trippers from Skerries can cause disturbance to birds. Shenick Isle (6.3 ha) is a bird reserve managed by BirdWatch Ireland. The site is a proposed Special Protection Area (Skerries Islands, 62 ha).