Monach Islands (United Kingdom) IBA | Details

UK202

Monach Islands

Current view: Data table and detailed info

IBA Justification

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 ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis	LC	winter (1984–1988)	760 birds	B1i, B2, C2
Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle	LC	breeding (2002)	819 birds	B1ii, B2, C3

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	good	high	low
Whole site assessed?	State assessed by	Accuracy of information
yes	population	good

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle	819 / 425 (birds)	100	good

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	happening now	whole of population/area (>90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 generations)	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not comprehensive	Very little or no conservation action taking place	low

IBA Protection

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1961	Monach Isles	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	97
1966	Monach Isles	National Nature Reserve (IV)	100
2005	Monach Islands	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR) (UA)	41
2014	Monach Isles	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR) (UA)	13

Habitats

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Grassland	major (>10)	Humid grasslands; Machair
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	major (>10)

Land use

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	100

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Monach Islands (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/monach-islands-iba-united-kingdom on 23/12/2024.