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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
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus	LC	breeding (2005)	500 individuals	B3

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
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus	250 / 400 (breeding pairs)	63	unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	happen­ing now	whole popul­ation/area (>90%)	moderate deteri­oration (10–30% in 3 gener­ations)	very high
Energy production and mining	likely in short term (within 4 years)	few individ­uals/small area (<10%)	moderate deteri­oration (10–30% in 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	Unknown	Not assessed	very low

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

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	100

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Rothiesholm Peninsula, Stronsay (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/rothiesholm-peninsula-stronsay-iba-united-kingdom on 15/01/2025.