Ducks, Geese & Swans in Belfast
Our list for Belfast has 13 ducks, geese & swans recorded regularly there: 7 residents, 4 winter visitors and 2 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Belfast in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 13, most common first
MallardAnas platyrhynchosResidentCommon50–65 cmRecorded all year
Eurasian TealAnas creccaWinter visitorCommon34–38 cmRegularly Jun–Apr
Common ShelduckTadorna tadornaResidentCommon58–67 cmRecorded all year
Tufted DuckAythya fuligulaResidentCommon40–47 cmRegularly Nov–Sep
Mute SwanCygnus olorResidentCommon140–160 cmRegularly Apr–Feb
Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeataResidentCommon44–51 cmRecorded all year
EiderSomateria mollissimaResidentCommon50–71 cmRecorded all year
Greylag GooseAnser anserResidentCommon75–90 cmRecorded all year
Eurasian WigeonMareca penelopeWinter visitorCommon42–51 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
GadwallMareca streperaWinter visitorCommon46–56 cmRegularly Aug–Jun
Brent GooseBranta berniclaWinter visitorCommon55–66 cmRegularly Sep–May
Red-breasted MerganserMergus serratorPassage migrantCommon52–58 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
GoldeneyeBucephala clangulaPassage migrantUncommon40–51 cmRegularly Dec–Feb
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Eurasian Teal 34–38 cm
- Tufted Duck 40–47 cm
- Goldeneye 40–51 cm
- Eurasian Wigeon 42–51 cm
- Northern Shoveler 44–51 cm
- Gadwall 46–56 cm
- Red-breasted Merganser 52–58 cm
- Mallard 50–65 cm
- Eider 50–71 cm
- Brent Goose 55–66 cm
- Common Shelduck 58–67 cm
- Greylag Goose 75–90 cm
- Mute Swan 140–160 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
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