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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 IBA criteria.

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

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
European Shag Gulosus aristotelis	LC	breeding (2000)	1,207 breeding pairs	A4i, B1i, B3, C3
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii	LC	breeding (2000)	1 breeding pairs	C6
Common Tern Sterna hirundo	LC	breeding (2000)	147 breeding pairs	C6
Common Tern Sterna hirundo	LC	breeding (2007)	117 breeding pairs	C6
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea	LC	breeding (2000)	1,526 breeding pairs	C2, C6
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea	LC	breeding (2007)	2,256 breeding pairs	C2, C6
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	LC	breeding (2000)	1,950 breeding pairs	A4i, B1i, B2, C2, C6
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	LC	breeding (2007)	1,413 breeding pairs	C2, C6
Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	VU	breeding (2003)	55,674 breeding pairs	B1ii, B2, C3
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding (2000–2003)	77,163 breeding pairs	A4iii, C4
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	breeding (2000–2003)	11,401 breeding pairs	A4iii, C4

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 key species' populations)
Species	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
European Shag Gulosus aristotelis	1,207 / 1,020 (breeding pairs)	100	favourable
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus	665 / 1,380 (breeding pairs)	49	unfavourable
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii	0 / 2 (breeding pairs)	0	not assessed
Common Tern Sterna hirundo	117 / 250 (breeding pairs)	47	unfavourable
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea	2,256 / 3,070 (breeding pairs)	74	near favourable
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	1,413 / 1,950 (breeding pairs)	73	near favourable
Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	55,674 / 34,700 (breeding pairs)	100	favourable
A4iii Species group - seabirds	77,163 / 54,182 (breeding pairs)	100	favourable
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	11,401 / 14,155 (breeding pairs)	81	near favourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
No known threats	happen­ing now	few individ­uals/small area (<10%)	no deteri­oration (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A compre­hensive and appropriate manage­ment plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the popul­ations of qualify­ing bird species	The conservation measures needed for the site are being comprehensively and effectively implemented	high

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
-	Farne Islands (NT)	Reserve (-)	100
1925	Farne Islands	Nature Reserve (Ia)	21
1958	Northumberland Coast	Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (V)	100
1983	Farne Islands	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	100
1992	North Northumberland	Heritage Coast (V)	100
1993	Farne Islands	National Nature Reserve (IV)	100
2005	Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR) (UA)	100

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Grassland	-	Mesophile grasslands
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	-

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Farne Islands (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/farne-islands-iba-united-kingdom on 13/01/2025.