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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
European Shag Gulosus aristotelis	LC	breeding (1999)	500 breeding pairs	B3
Razorbill Alca torda	LC	breeding (1999)	2,910 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
European Shag Gulosus aristotelis	500 / 690 (breeding pairs)	73	near favourable
Razorbill Alca torda	2,910 / 3,239 (individuals)	90	near favourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
No known threats	happen­ing now	few individ­uals/small area (<10%)	no deteri­oration (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Some of site covered (10–49%)	A manage­ment plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Very little or no conservation action taking place	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1995	Sanda Islands	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	42
2014	Clyde Sea Sill	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR) (UA)	13

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

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
not utilised	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sanda Island (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sanda-island-iba-united-kingdom on 06/01/2025.