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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
Greylag Goose Anser anser	LC	winter (1989–1994)	5,650 individuals	A4ii, B1i, C3

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 key species' populations)
Species	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
Greylag Goose Anser anser	0 / 5,650 (individuals)	0	very unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium

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90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A manage­ment plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	medium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
1965	Loch Spynie	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	100

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Wetlands (inland)	100	Standing freshwater; Water fringe vegetation; Fens, transition mires and springs

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	major (>10)
tourism/recreation	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Loch Spynie (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/loch-spynie-iba-united-kingdom on 19/01/2025.