As of 2021, some 350 species of bird have been recorded in the wild on the Isle of Man, a self-governing island in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. Over 100 species breed there, including significant populations of red-billed chough, peregrine falcon and hen harrier.[1]
A variety of seabirds breed on the coastal cliffs such as Atlantic puffin, black guillemot, black-legged kittiwake, European shag and northern fulmar.[2] The island gives its name to the Manx shearwater which formerly nested in large numbers on the Calf of Man. The colony disappeared following the arrival of rats but the shearwaters began to return in the 1960s.[2] The Ayres in the north of the island have colonies of little tern, Arctic tern and common tern.[2]
Moorland areas on the island are home to willow ptarmigan, Eurasian curlew, and northern raven.[2] Woodland birds include long-eared owl, common treecreeper, Eurasian blackcap and common chiffchaff. There is little native woodland on the island and several species found in Great Britain, such as tawny owl, European green woodpecker and Eurasian jay, do not breed on the isle of Man.
Many birds visit the island during the winter and migration seasons including waders such as purple sandpiper, ruddy turnstone, and European golden plover.[2] Wintering wildfowl include small numbers of whooper swan. A bird observatory was established on the Calf of Man in 1959 to study the migrating and breeding birds. By the end of 2001, 99,042 birds of 134 species had been ringed there.[3] Numerous rarities have been recorded there including mourning dove and white-throated robin.
The English names are those recommended by the International Ornithological Congress (IOC).[4] Species marked as A are those for which the Manx Ornithological Society (MOS) requires a written description in order to accept a record.[5]
- (A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs on the Isle of Man
- (I) Introduced - a species introduced to the Isle of Man as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions.
Failed introductions such as black grouse or escapee species which were briefly established in the wild such as red-winged laughingthrush are not included on the list.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Mark. Isle of Man, fatbirder.com. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Garrad, Larch S. (1972) The Naturalist in the Isle of Man, David & Charles, Newton Abbot.
- ^ Manx National Heritage (2012) The Work of the Observatory. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ Gill, F. & D. Donsker, eds. (2012) IOC World Bird Names (v 3.1). Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ Manx Birdlife (2009) The Manx List 2009 - Categories A, B and C Archived 31 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 August 2012.