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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
Eurasian Dotterel Eudromias morinellus	LC	breeding (1992)	70 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.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	likely in long term (>4 years)	whole of popul­ation/area (>90%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high

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90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1972	Drumochter Hills	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	100
2003	Cairngorms	National Park (V)	35

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Forest	-	Broadleaved deciduous woodland
Grassland	-	Steppes and dry calcareous grassland
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	-	Scree & boulders; Inland cliffs
Shrubland	-	Heathland
Wetlands (inland)	-	Standing freshwater; Rivers and streams; Blanket bogs; Fens, transition mires and springs

Land use	% of IBA
hunting	100
agriculture	50

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Drumochter Hills (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/drumochter-hills-iba-united-kingdom on 05/12/2024.