Swan Island Special Protection Area (SPA) incorporates and coincides with the Swan Island National Nature Reserve (NNR ) boundary.
The 0.1ha island is located within Larne Lough, which is situated on the north east coast of Northern Ireland.
The island is sited 550m from the west shore of the lough and 3.1km from the mouth.
The island is formed by stabilising shingle, gravel and stones overlain by a thin layer of soil. Swan Island qualifies under Article 4.1 of EC Directive 79/409 on the Conservation of Wild Birds by supporting, in summer, nationally important breeding populations of the Annex 1 species: roseate and common tern citation (.PDF 82.28Kb)
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Small numbers of both sandwich and Arctic terns also breed at this site.
For the most recent water bird species information and also seabird species.