Hermaness, Saxa Vord and Valla Field (United Kingdom)

UK159

Hermaness, Saxa Vord and Valla Field

Current view: Data table and detailed info

IBA Justification

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
Northern Gannet Morus bassanus	LC	breeding	1999	16,386 breeding pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B2, C3
Great Skua Catharacta skua	LC	breeding	2001	1,074 breeding pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B2, C3
Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	VU	breeding	2002	27,949 breeding pairs	B1ii, B2, C3
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding	1999-2002	66,832 breeding pairs	A4iii, C4

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

IBA Conservation

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.

IBA conservation assessment
Year of assessment	State	Pressure	Response
2007	unfavourable	very high	low
Whole site assessed?	State assessed by	Accuracy of information
yes	population	good

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Northern Gannet Morus bassanus	12,000	16,386	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Great Skua Catharacta skua	1,220	1,074	breeding pairs	89	near favourable
Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	19,100	27,949	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle	380	243	individuals	64	unfavourable
A4iii Species group - seabirds	70,610	66,832	breeding pairs	95	favourable

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

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Most of site (50-90%) covered (including the most critical parts for important bird species)	Unknown	Unknown	low

IBA Protection

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1955	Hermaness	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	32
1955	Hermaness	National Nature Reserve	31
1972	Norwick	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	<1
1980	Shetland	National Scenic Area	42
1984	Norwick Meadows	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	<1
1988	Saxa Vord	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	1
1999	Hermaness; Saxa Vord and Valla Field	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	54
2000	Valla Field	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	20
2011	Hermaness, Saxa Vord and Valla Field	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR)	4

Habitats

Habitat¹	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Grassland	Humid grasslands	-
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		-
Shrubland	Heathland	-
Wetlands (inland)	Blanket bogs	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	100

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Hermaness, Saxa Vord and Valla Field (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/hermaness-saxa-vord-and-valla-field-iba-united-kingdom on 23/11/2024.