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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
Northern Gannet Morus bassanus	LC	breeding (1999)	44,110 pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B2, C3
European Shag Gulosus aristotelis	LC	breeding (2001)	1,089 pairs	A4i, B1i, B3, C3
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus	LC	breeding (1999–2002)	7,492 pairs	A4i, B1i, B3, C3
Arctic Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus	LC	breeding (1999–2001)	10,988 pairs	A4i, B1i, C3
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii	LC	breeding (2000)	2 pairs	B2, C6
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii	LC	breeding (2006)	5 pairs	B2, C6
Common Tern Sterna hirundo	LC	breeding (1999–2000)	313 pairs	C6
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	LC	breeding (2000)	300 pairs	B2, C6
Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	VU	breeding (1998–1999)	72,115 pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B2, C3
Razorbill Alca torda	LC	breeding (2001)	4,768 birds	B1ii, B3, C3
Common Murre Uria aalge	LC	breeding (1999–2001)	36,417 birds	B1ii, C3
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding (1999–2002)	145,356 pairs	A4iii, C4
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	breeding (1999–2002)	27,669 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 (2013) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
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
Most of area (50–90%) covered (including the most critical parts for important bird species)	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not compre­hensive and are limited by resources and capacity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
-	Fidra	RSPB Reserve (-)	7
1952	Bass Rock	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	5
1956	Isle of May	National Nature Reserve (II)	38
1956	Isle of May	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	38
1960	Inchmickery	Nature Reserve (Ia)	1
1972	Forth Islands	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	15
1972	Inchmickery	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	3
1988	Fidra	Nature Reserve (Ia)	5
2005	Isle of May	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR) (UA)	19
2011	Forth Islands	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR) (UA)	35

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

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100
tourism/recreation	80

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Firth of Forth Islands (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/firth-of-forth-islands-iba-united-kingdom on 23/12/2024.