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• Reference and further resources

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
Northern Gannet Morus bassanus	LC	breeding (1998)	8,017 pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B2, C3
Great Skua Catharacta skua	LC	breeding (2001)	432 pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B3, C3
Common Murre Uria aalge	LC	breeding (2000)	45,782 birds	B1ii, C3
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding (1998–2001)	47,409 pairs	A4iii, C4

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 trigger species' populations)
Species	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
Northern Gannet Morus bassanus	8,017 / 7,300 (pairs)	100	good
Great Skua Catharacta skua	432 / 425 (pairs)	100	good
Common Murre Uria aalge	45,782 / 38,955 (birds)	100	good
A4iii Species group - seabirds	47,409 / 41,766 (pairs)	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%)	rapid decline (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	very high
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium

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 compre­hensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	Not assessed	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1955	Noss	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	92
1955	Noss	National Nature Reserve (IV)	92
2011	Noss	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR) (UA)	15

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Grassland	-
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	-
Shrubland	-	Heathland

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	100

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Noss (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/noss-iba-united-kingdom on 24/12/2024.