Birds in Galway
180 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
Our list for Galway has 180 bird species recorded regularly there: 74 residents, 28 summer visitors, 39 winter visitors, 33 passage migrants and 6 scarce visitors.
The list comes from 172,000 birdwatchers' records from 2019–2024, shared through the eBird Observation Dataset on GBIF. A bird is listed when it was recorded in at least 3 of the 6 years and has a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur here than are listed; the months show when it is recorded most years.
Birds to see in Galway in September
135 species on our list are recorded regularly this month. These are the ones birdwatchers record most often.

European Herring Gull
Resident

Hooded Crow
Resident

European Robin
Resident

Black-headed Gull
Resident

Pied Wagtail
Resident

Grey Heron
Resident

Mallard
Resident

Curlew
Resident
Arriving in September: Common Loon, Brent Goose, Whooper Swan, Red-throated Loon, Curlew Sandpiper, Northern Pintail, Merlin, Spotted Flycatcher and 12 more.
Through the year
Species recorded regularly in Galway each month: most in September (135), fewest in November (113). Choose a month to see its birds.
All 180 birds on the list
Showing 116–138 of 180 species

Eurasian Siskin
Spinus spinusLC
Recorded all year

Greater Scaup
Aythya marilaLC
Regularly Oct–Apr

Northern Pintail
Anas acutaLC
Regularly Sep–Apr

Eurasian Jay
Garrulus glandariusLC
Recorded all year

Little Tern
Sternula albifronsLC
Regularly Apr–Aug

Hen Harrier
Circus cyaneusLC
Regularly Aug–Mar

Pochard
Aythya ferinaVU
Regularly Aug–Jun

Common Scoter
Melanitta nigraLC
Regularly Nov–Jul
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Yellow-browed Warbler
Phylloscopus inornatusLC
Regularly Oct

Goldeneye
Bucephala clangulaLC
Regularly Nov–Mar

Mediterranean Gull
Ichthyaetus melanocephalusLC
Regularly Dec–Oct

Merlin
Falco columbariusLC
Regularly Sep–Apr

Ruff
Calidris pugnaxLC
Regularly Aug–Oct

Spotted Flycatcher
Muscicapa striataLC
Regularly May–Oct

Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Regularly Sep–Mar

Western Marsh-harrier
Circus aeruginosusLC
Regularly Jul–Apr

White-tailed Sea-eagle
Haliaeetus albicillaLC
Regularly Jun–Mar

Water Rail
Rallus aquaticusLC
Regularly Mar–Jan

Greater White-fronted Goose
Anser albifronsLC
Regularly Oct–Feb

Common Merganser
Mergus merganserLC
Regularly Dec

Arctic Jaeger
Stercorarius parasiticusLC
Regularly Apr–Oct

Corncrake
Crex crexLC
Regularly Apr–Jun

Great Skua
Stercorarius skuaLC
Regularly Apr–Oct
Frequently Asked Questions
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made