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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
Leach's Storm-petrel Hydrobates leucorhous	VU	breeding	2001	15 breeding pairs	C6
Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis	LC	breeding	2000	21,106 breeding pairs	B1ii, C3
European Shag Gulosus aristotelis	LC	breeding	2000	2,277 breeding pairs	A4i, B1i, B3, C3
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea	LC	breeding	2000	950 breeding pairs	C6
Great Skua Catharacta skua	LC	breeding	2000	2,293 breeding pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B3, C3
Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	VU	breeding	2000	22,500 breeding pairs	B1ii, B2, C3
Razorbill Alca torda	LC	breeding	2000	2,121 individuals	B3
Common Murre Uria aalge	LC	breeding	2000	41,435 individuals	B1ii, C3
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding	2000-2001	76,012 breeding pairs	A4iii, C4

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.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis	46,800	21,106	breeding pairs	46	unfavourable
European Shag Gulosus aristotelis	2,400	2,277	breeding pairs	95	favourable
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea	1,000	107	breeding pairs	11	very unfavourable
Great Skua Catharacta skua	2,170	2,293	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	48,000	22,500	breeding pairs	47	unfavourable
Razorbill Alca torda	6,194	2,121	individuals	35	very unfavourable
Common Murre Uria aalge	37,463	41,435	individuals	100	favourable
A4iii Species group - seabirds	127,014	76,012	breeding pairs	60	unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	Unknown	Not assessed	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1956	Foula	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	84
1980	Shetland	National Scenic Area	100
1990	Foula Coast	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	18
1996	Foula	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	100
2011	Foula	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR)	6

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Grassland		-
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		-
Wetlands (inland)	Fens, transition mires and springs	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	90

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Foula (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/foula-iba-united-kingdom on 22/11/2024.