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• Text account
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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2007 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus	LC	winter (2001–2006)	341 birds	B1i, B3, C2
Greylag Goose Anser anser	LC	winter (2001–2006)	3,968 birds	A4i, B1i, C3
Spotted Crake Porzana porzana	LC	breeding (1992)	2 pairs	C6

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2007. The most recent assessment (2007) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus	341 / 185 (birds)	100	good
Greylag Goose Anser anser	3,968 / 4,490 (birds)	89	moderate
Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons	200 / 410 (birds)	49	poor

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Energy production and mining	likely in short term (<4 years)	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not compre­hensive and are limited by resources and capacity	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1971	Loch Watten	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	32
1984	Broubster Leans	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	13
1984	Loch of Wester	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	5
1985	Loch Heilen	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	8
1986	Loch Scarmclate	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	8
1996	Loch of Mey	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	4
1999	Loch Calder	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	31
2007	Broubster Leans	Nature Reserve (IV)	10

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Grassland	-	Humid grasslands
Wetlands (inland)	-	Standing freshwater; Blanket bogs; Fens, transition mires and springs

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
forestry	-
tourism/recreation	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Caithness Lochs (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/caithness-lochs-iba-united-kingdom on 23/12/2024.