• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important 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 List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos	LC	breeding	2003	6 breeding pairs	B2, C6

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2007) may differ.

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
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Energy production and mining	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Some of site covered (10-49%)	No management planning has taken place	Very little or no conservation action taking place	negligible

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1971	Foinaven	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	48
1975	Loch Stack and River Laxford	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	2
1980	North-West Sutherland	National Scenic Area	40
1987	Eriboll	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	2
1996	Foinaven	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	48
2010	Foinaven	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	100

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Shrubland	Heathland, Scrub	major (>10)
Wetlands (inland)	Blanket bogs, Fens, transition mires and springs, Standing freshwater, Water fringe vegetation	major (>10)
Grassland	Alpine, subalpine and boreal grassland	minor (<10)
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	Inland cliffs	minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
hunting	-
tourism/recreation	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Foinaven (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/foinaven-iba-united-kingdom on 24/11/2024.