Birds in Antrim
Our list for Antrim has 163 bird species recorded regularly there: 69 residents, 35 summer visitors, 19 winter visitors, 37 passage migrants and 3 scarce visitors
The list comes from 84,000 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.
- Species on our list
- 163
- In October
- 114
- Common
- 105
- Busiest month
- May
What's special about Antrim
vs Northern IrelandThe birds recorded far more often here than across Northern Ireland, as a share of all bird records. These are the ones Antrim is worth visiting for.
Eurasian Woodcock2.2×Winter visitor · 0.17% of records here, 0.08% across Northern Ireland
Pink-footed Goose2.2×Passage migrant · 0.23% of records here, 0.11% across Northern Ireland
Snow Bunting2.2×Winter visitor · 0.15% of records here, 0.07% across Northern Ireland
Greater White-fronted Goose2.2×Winter visitor · 0.14% of records here, 0.07% across Northern Ireland
Twite2.2×Summer visitor · 0.49% of records here, 0.22% across Northern Ireland
Brambling2.2×Passage migrant · 0.11% of records here, 0.05% across Northern Ireland
Great Skua2.2×Summer visitor · 0.31% of records here, 0.15% across Northern Ireland
Atlantic Puffin2.1×Summer visitor · 0.38% of records here, 0.18% across Northern Ireland
This month: October
GBIF · OctMost likely
Share of all bird records in Antrim in October, 2019–2024. “Arriving now” are the birds whose share rises most from last month. Each month links to that month’s page.
Near you this week
The birds most likely around your town or postcode right now, from the same records, for a square about 9 km across.
The bird calendar for Antrim
Month by monthWhen each bird is around, through the year. The darker the square, the closer that month is to the bird’s busiest. Filter by summer or winter visitors to see the seasons turn over.
| Bird | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hooded Crow | ||||||||||||
| European Robin | ||||||||||||
| Eurasian Wren | ||||||||||||
| European Herring Gull | ||||||||||||
| Blackbird | ||||||||||||
| Pied Wagtail | ||||||||||||
| Jackdaw | ||||||||||||
| Common Starling | ||||||||||||
| Black-headed Gull | ||||||||||||
| Woodpigeon | ||||||||||||
| House Sparrow | ||||||||||||
| Eurasian Oystercatcher | ||||||||||||
| Rook | ||||||||||||
| Magpie | ||||||||||||
| Chaffinch | ||||||||||||
| Barn Swallow | ||||||||||||
| Mallard | ||||||||||||
| European Goldfinch | ||||||||||||
| Blue Tit | ||||||||||||
| Great Cormorant | ||||||||||||
| Great Tit | ||||||||||||
| Greylag Goose | ||||||||||||
| Song Thrush | ||||||||||||
| Dunnock | ||||||||||||
| Meadow Pipit | ||||||||||||
| Grey Heron | ||||||||||||
| Common Gull | ||||||||||||
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | ||||||||||||
| Eider | ||||||||||||
| Great Black-backed Gull |
The year in Antrim
Records by month| January | 5,233 |
|---|---|
| February | 4,392 |
| March | 5,501 |
| April | 8,236 |
| May | 10,169 |
| June | 9,613 |
| July | 7,683 |
| August | 7,356 |
| September | 6,143 |
| October | 6,832 |
| November | 6,036 |
| December | 6,617 |
May has the most records (10,000). Records follow birdwatchers as well as birds: a busy month means more people out looking, as well as more birds passing through.
By family
12 of 27How common
More of Northern Ireland
- Birds in Down132 species
- Birds in Derry119 species
- Birds in Belfast107 species
- Birds in Armagh97 species
All 163 birds, A to Z
- Arctic Jaeger
- Arctic Tern
- Atlantic Puffin
- Bar-tailed Godwit
- Barn Swallow
- Barnacle Goose
- Black Guillemot
- Black Redstart
- Black-headed Gull
- Black-tailed Godwit
- Blackbird
- Blackcap
- Blue Tit
- Bonaparte's Gull
- Brambling
- Brent Goose
- Bullfinch
- Buzzard
- Canada Goose
- Carrion Crow
- Chaffinch
- Chiffchaff
- Coal Tit
- Common Gull
Show all 163 birds
- Common Kingfisher
- Common Loon
- Common Merganser
- Common Pheasant
- Common Raven
- Common Redpoll
- Common Sandpiper
- Common Scoter
- Common Shelduck
- Common Snipe
- Common Starling
- Common Swift
- Common Tern
- Coot
- Cuckoo
- Curlew
- Dipper
- Dunlin
- Dunnock
- Eider
- Eurasian Collared Dove
- Eurasian Jay
- Eurasian Oystercatcher
- Eurasian Siskin
- Eurasian Skylark
- Eurasian Teal
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow
- Eurasian Wigeon
- Eurasian Woodcock
- Eurasian Wren
- European Goldfinch
- European Herring Gull
- European Robin
- European Shag
- European Storm-petrel
- Fieldfare
- Fulmar
- Gadwall
- Garden Warbler
- Glaucous Gull
- Goldcrest
- Golden Plover
- Goldeneye
- Grasshopper Warbler
- Great Black-backed Gull
- Great Cormorant
- Great Crested Grebe
- Great Skua
- Great Spotted Woodpecker
- Great Tit
- Great White Egret
- Greater Scaup
- Greater White-fronted Goose
- Greenfinch
- Greenshank
- Grey Heron
- Grey Plover
- Grey Wagtail
- Greylag Goose
- Hen Harrier
- Hooded Crow
- Horned Grebe
- House Martin
- House Sparrow
- Iceland Gull
- Jack Snipe
- Jackdaw
- Kestrel
- Kittiwake
- Lapland Longspur
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Linnet
- Little Egret
- Little Grebe
- Little Gull
- Long-tailed Duck
- Long-tailed Tit
- Magpie
- Mallard
- Manx Shearwater
- Meadow Pipit
- Mediterranean Gull
- Merlin
- Mistle Thrush
- Moorhen
- Mute Swan
- Northern Gannet
- Northern Lapwing
- Northern Pintail
- Northern Shoveler
- Peregrine Falcon
- Pied Wagtail
- Pink-footed Goose
- Pochard
- Purple Sandpiper
- Razorbill
- Red Crossbill
- Red Kite
- Red Knot
- Red-breasted Merganser
- Red-throated Loon
- Redshank
- Redwing
- Reed Bunting
- Ring Ouzel
- Ringed Plover
- Rock Dove
- Rock Pipit
- Rook
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Sabine's Gull
- Sand Martin
- Sanderling
- Sandwich Tern
- Sedge Warbler
- Short-eared Owl
- Snow Bunting
- Song Thrush
- Sooty Shearwater
- Sparrowhawk
- Spotted Flycatcher
- Stock Dove
- Stonechat
- Tree Pipit
- Treecreeper
- Tufted Duck
- Twite
- Water Rail
- Western Marsh-harrier
- Wheatear
- Whimbrel
- Whinchat
- White-tailed Sea-eagle
- Whitethroat
- Whooper Swan
- Willow Warbler
- Woodpigeon
- Yellow-browed Warbler
- Yellowhammer
Questions
4What birds is Antrim known for?
Compared with the rest of Northern Ireland, Antrim stands out for Eurasian Woodcock, Pink-footed Goose, Snow Bunting and Greater White-fronted Goose. Each is recorded at least 2.1 times as often here as across Northern Ireland, as a share of all bird records (2019–2024).
How many birds are on Birdfact's list for Antrim?
163 species, each recorded regularly in Antrim (in at least 3 of the 6 years 2019–2024): 69 residents, 35 summer visitors, 19 winter visitors, 37 passage migrants and 3 scarce visitors. The list includes only birds with a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur in Antrim, and rarer vagrants are not listed.
What birds can I see in Antrim in October?
114 species on our list for Antrim are recorded regularly in October. Of these, the most often recorded are Hooded Crow, European Robin, Rook, Jackdaw and Eurasian Wren.
What are the most common birds in Antrim?
Of the birds on our list, the ones birdwatchers record most often in Antrim are Barn Swallow, European Herring Gull, Hooded Crow, European Robin and Blackbird.
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











