The Skerries Islands Colt, Shenick and St. Patrick's Islands are small lowlying uninhabited islands situated between 0.5 km and 1.5 km off the north Dublin coast. There are the remains of an early christian church on St. Patrick's Island and of a Martello Tower on Shenick Island which is owned by Birdwatch Ireland.
Rockabill is one of the most important tern colonies in Europe. Rockabill consists of two small, low-lying, granitic islets situated c. 7 km off the Co. Dublin coast. The islands are normally separated by a narrow channel but connected at low spring tides. The smaller island, known as the Bill, is very exposed and is sparsely vegetated. A lighthouse is situated on the main island.
From the NPWS website - see the website links.
Names:
Colt Island - Inis Coilt
Rockabill - Cloch Dábhiolla (two bill rock)
St. Patrick's Island - Inis Pádraig
Shenick's Island - Oileán Sionnaigh (Fox Island)
Books:
None found yet.
Websites:
NPWS re Rockabill NPWS re Colt, Shenick and St. Patrick's Islands
Wikipedia - Rockabill
Skeries Historical Society
Shenick Island
Martello Towers
Rockabill Light
St. Patrick's Island
Access:
Skerries SeaTours
Visitors to Rockabill are strictly controlled
Rockabill - Breeding Birds
The islands host large numbers, breeding seabirds, in particular, arctic, roseate and common terns.| Bird | Rockabill | |
| Roseate Tern | 611 pairs | |
| Arctic Tern | 89 pairs | |
| Common Tern | 610 pairs | |
| Kittiwake | 111 pairs | |
| Black Guillemot | 55 pairs | |
| Source NPWS website. The figures indicate the scale of the poplulation. | ||
St. Patrick's and Shenick - Breeding Birds
The Cormorant population was only established in the early 1990s and when taken together with the colonies on nearby Lambay and Ireland's Eye comprises about 35% of the total Irish population. Large gulls breed on Colt Island but there has been no census in recent years.| Bird | St. Patrick's | Shenick |
| Fulmar | 10 pairs | 25 pairs |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | 150 pairs | |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 1 pair | 25 pairs |
| Cormorant | 558 pairs | |
| Shag | 100 pairs | |
| Herring Gull | 150 pairs | 120 pairs |
| Source NPWS website. The figures indicate the scale of the poplulation. | ||
Overwintering Birds
In winter, the islands regularly support a range of species. The following counts are the average annual peaks over the five winters 1995/96 to 1990/00.| Bird | Number | |
| Cormorant | 391 | |
| Brent Goose | 242 | |
| Wigeon | 205 | |
| Mallard | 205 | |
| Oystercatcher | 463 | |
| Ringed Plover | 66 | |
| Golden Plover | 240 | |
| Grey Plover | (15 | |
| Lapwing | 238 | |
| Purple Sandpiper | 46 | |
| Dunlin | 42 | |
| Snipe | 27 | |
| Curlew | 327 | |
| Turnstone | 242 | |
| Blackheaded Gull | 110 | |
| Herring Gull | 560 | |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 250 | |
| Short-eared Owl | 'Several' | |
| Source NPWS website. The figures indicate the scale of the poplulation. | ||