Key partners
We’re working alongside DAERA, NIRSG, CAFRE, IGCT, NI Water, Ulster Wildlife, PPN.
Feature
Our vision for the Antrim Plateau Priority Landscape
Find out how we’re leading farmer-focused conservation projects to safeguard vulnerable upland wader species and blanket bog habitats.
On this page
Our vision for the Antrim Plateau sees a landscape cared for by generations of hill farmers, where clean water bubbles though the bog, echoing the sound of Curlews.
About the Antrim Plateau Priority Landscape
The Antrim Plateau Priority Landscape extends across 41,519.5ha (hectares) of upland farmland, including 20,000ha of peatland. There are two main areas of priority in the region.
The first is Glenwherry, which is a vital habitat for breeding wading birds including Lapwings, Snipe and up to 23% of Northern Ireland’s (NI) breeding population of Curlews. The second is the Garron Plateau, which is one of the largest contiguous blocks of blanket bog in Ireland.
Where is the Antrim Plateau?
The Antrim Plateau covers 40 miles of upland habitats between Ballycastle and Ballyclare, Northern Ireland. It consists of two large, designated sites: the Antrim Hills Hen Harrier and Merlin Special Protected Area (SPA), with sections in the north and south of the plateau, and Garron Plateau SAC/ASSI in north Antrim.
Key habitats and species
Key habitats
- Blanket bog, upland heath and grassland.
Key species
- Curlews, Lapwings, Hen Harriers, Merlins, Golden Plovers (historically on Garron), Cuckoos, Whinchats, Snipe, Irish Hares, Irish Ladies Tresses Orchids and Lesser Butterfly Orchids.
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Designations
Antrim Hills Hen harrier and Merlin SPA
The Antrim Hills site comprises of two land units. The northern, larger section extends between Carnanmore and Soarne’s Hill and includes Ballypatrick Forest, Slieveanorra Forest, Breen Wood and Glenariff/Cleggan Forest. The southern section is made of the are bounded by Capanagh, Ballyboley and Douglas Top, which includes Glenwherry.
Antrim Hills qualifies under Article 4.1 of the Directive (79/409/EEC) by supporting nationally important populations of Hen Harriers and Merlins.
Garron Plateau SAC & ASSI
The Garron Plateau is the largest area of intact blanket bog in NI. It forms an important part of the Antrim Hills SPA and is an important area for breeding Hen Harriers and Merlins.
In this area, the 1937ha Dungonnell Reservoir catchment has been the focus of a highly successful Sustainable Catchment Management (SCAMP) peatland restoration project, in partnership with NI Water.
Why this area is important
Biodiversity
The Antrim Plateau is a vital stronghold for biodiversity. It supports around 60 pairs of breeding Curlews; the largest population outside of nature reserves on the Island of Ireland. The area is designated as an SPA for both Hen Harriers and Merlins and remains one of the last places in the country where both can be regularly observed.
For several decades, RSPB NI has worked in partnership across the Plateau, combining science-led restoration, landowner collaboration and targeted conservation. The result is a landscape where ecological recovery is delivered at scale, protecting priority species, restoring peatland habitats, and securing long-term environmental benefits.
Ecosystem services
Our work in the Antrim Plateau also represents one of the most significant examples of landscape-scale conservation in the UK and Ireland. Covering approximately 20,000ha of blanket bog, it demonstrates how coordinated, long-term management across a wide landscape can deliver benefits for nature, climate, and people.
This extensive peatland system provides essential ecosystem services. Its deep peat soils store vast quantities of carbon, helping to mitigate climate change. Healthy blanket bog also regulates and filters water, improving water quality across surrounding catchments.
Through restoration of damaged peatlands, re-wetting programmes, and our advisory work with landowners, conservation efforts have improved habitat condition and strengthened the resilience of this internationally important landscape.
Why are we prioritising this landscape?
We’re prioritising the Antrim Plateau because it delivers impact at scale. It stands as a model site for collaborative work with landowners and key stakeholders to produce significant results for habitat restoration, high nature value farmland and sustainable conservation action.
The Plateau holds a large proportion of Northern Ireland’s upland breeding waders and provides a refuge for nationally threatened raptor species. By prioritising action here, we can deliver measurable, long-term benefits for climate resilience, biodiversity recovery and sustainable land management at landscape scale.
What are the threats and opportunities?
Threats
- Changes in land use; agricultural improvement, drainage, over and under-grazing, abandonment/scrub encroachment, afforestation, and peat extraction, inappropriate development e.g. wind farms, planting on deep peat, etc.
- Climate change (including associated impacts such as increase of Heather Beetles and Ticks) and the potential for colonisation of invasive species.
- Anti-social activities (such as Hare coursing).
- Lack of consistent conservation personnel and funding for conservation action between projects and future agri-policy.
- Currently there are no higher Agri-environment Schemes (AES) available, meaning many farmers can’t be financially rewarded for nature-friendly farming practices.
- Lack of SPA designation for breeding waders, meaning continued pressure from loss and fragmentation of habitat, commercial forestry and wind farms.
Opportunities
- Suitable management of existing habitat for the benefit of waders through ongoing work with landowners.
- Future AES, partnership working on large projects, community engagement and acquisition.
- Delivery of conservation action through future agricultural policy.
- SPA designation for Curlews; removal of conifers on or next to wader sites; development of ecological network approach; multi-annual funding from national and international sources.
- Acquisition – we have no reserves in the Priority Landscape, but sites have been outlined in the Acquisition Strategy.
- Delivery of conservation action through future agricultural policy; development of nature recovery network approach; multi-annual funding from national and international sources.
What are we trying to achieve with this work?
1.The Antrim Plateau will be an example of ecosystem system services delivery.
2.The efficient use of public money ensures hill farms make a living.
3. Sustainable populations of breeding waders, Hen Harriers, Irish Ladies-tresses orchids and Irish Hares.
The story so far...
- For over 30 years, RSPB NI has worked with farmers and landowners across the Antrim Plateau. Together, we’ve built a strong, trusted network and have steadily expanded the land under conservation advice.
- This partnership focuses on land management that benefits breeding waders, supported by practical habitat works such as rush cutting, scrub clearance and the creation of wet features.
- Since 2002, annual breeding wader surveys have provided robust long-term data that guides targeted, evidence-based conservation action.
- The RSPB currently leads two Environmental Farming Scheme groups, the Antrim Hills Curlew Initiative and the Garron Plateau Peatland Protection and Restoration Project. These support 92 active members, alongside advisory work with a further 45 farmers outside agri-environment schemes.
- In total, over 10,000ha of upland farmland are covered by surveys and advice. Recent projects, including the EU-funded Curlew LIFE project, increased Curlew productivity by 240%, demonstrating the impact of sustained, landscape-scale conservation.
- We have also recently secured PeacePlus funding which will allow us to continue and expand this work into the wider landscape for the next four years.
How can you help
Keep an eye on this page for updates.