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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
Western Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus	LC	resident (1996)	30 breeding pairs	C6
Scottish Crossbill Loxia scotica	LC	resident (2006)	abundant	A1, B2, C1, C6

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 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
1986	Kinveachy Forest	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	100
2003	Cairngorms	National Park (V)	79

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Forest	-	Broadleaved deciduous woodland; Native coniferous woodland
Shrubland	-	Heathland
Wetlands (inland)	-	Rivers and streams; Fens, transition mires and springs

Land use	% of IBA
hunting	75
forestry	25

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kinveachy Forest (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kinveachy-forest-iba-united-kingdom on 08/01/2025.