Special Protection Areas

Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are designated under the European Commission Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (The Birds Directive). All European Community member States are required to identify internationally important areas for breeding, over-wintering and migrating birds and designate them as Special Protection Areas (SPAs).

There are currently 15 SPA sites designated in Northern Ireland and 11 of them are featured on the map below.

Pass the cursor over one of the red dots and the site name will appear. Always keep the top of the map in view, otherwise the site names will not appear. To find out details about each site, click on the red dot.