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

The site was identified as important in 2011 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
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax	LC	breeding	2008	146 breeding pairs	C2, C6
European Shag Gulosus aristotelis	LC	resident	2007-2010	35-42 breeding pairs	C6
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	resident	1996	10,000-19,999 breeding pairs	A4iii, C4

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2011) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2011. The most recent assessment (2008) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	very high
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	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
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	Not assessed	Not assessed	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1992	Illes Medes	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	100
1997	El Montgrí- Les Medes - El Baix Ter	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	100
2001	Islas Medas	Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (Barcelona Convention)	100
2006	El Montgrí- Les Medes - El Baix Ter	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	100
2010	Marina de Les Medes	Reserva Natural Parcial	100
2010	Del Montgrí, les Illes Medes i el Baix Ter	Parque Natural	100
2010	Les Illes Medes	Reserva Natural Integral	52

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		90
Marine Neritic		-
Shrubland	Sclerophyllous scrub, garrigue and maquis	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
tourism/recreation	100

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Medas islands (Spain). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/medas-islands-iba-spain on 23/11/2024.