Swan Island, County Antrim
| Swan Island | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 54°49’27"N, 5°47’6"W |
| Grid reference: | J424997 |
| Area: | ¼ acre |
| Data | |
Swan Island is a tiny island of County Antrim, measuring just a quarter of an acre, within the Larne Lough Area of Special Scientific Interest near Larne. The island is formed by stabilising shingle, gravel and stones overlain by a thin layer of soil. It is sited 600 yards from the west shore of the lough and two miles from the mouth. The “Area of Special Scientific Interest” is also an “Special Protection Area”[1] because it regularly supports internationally important numbers of light-bellied Brent geese in winter.
Swan Island, which was classified as an SPA in its own right in 1992, qualifies because, in summer, it supports nationally important breeding populations of rosate and common tern.[2][3]
The bur chervil, a nationally rare species, can also be found in significant abundance on Swan Island.[4] Small numbers of both sandwich terns and Arctic terns also breed at this site.
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