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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 ('triggering') IBA criteria.

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

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Leach's Storm-petrel Hydrobates leucorhous	VU	breeding (1999)	45,433 pairs	B1i, B2, C2, C6
Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis	LC	breeding (1999)	68,448 pairs	A4ii, B1ii, C3
Northern Gannet Morus bassanus	LC	breeding (1999)	61,340 pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B2, C3
Great Skua Catharacta skua	LC	breeding (1999)	168 pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B3, C3
Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	VU	breeding (1999)	143,264 pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B2, C3
Razorbill Alca torda	LC	breeding (1999)	1,689 birds	B3
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding (1999)	341,941 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
Hydrobates leucorhous	45,433 / 3,200 (pairs)	100	good
Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis	68,448 / 63,000 (pairs)	100	good
Northern Gannet Morus bassanus	61,340 / 60,500 (pairs)	100	good
Great Skua Catharacta skua	168 / 145 (pairs)	100	good
Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	143,264 / 130,000 (pairs)	100	good
Razorbill Alca torda	1,689 / 3,821 (birds)	45	poor
A4iii Species group - seabirds	341,941 / 275,738 (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%)	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 compre­hensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	The conservation measures needed for the site are being compre­hensively and effectively implemented	high

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1957	St Kilda	National Nature Reserve (II)	99
1964	St Kilda	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK) (IV)	99
1976	St Kilda	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve (-)	100
1986	St Kilda	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed) (UA)	100
2005	St Kilda	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR) (UA)	9
2011	St Kilda	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR) (UA)	9

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Shrubland	83	Heathland
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	10
Grassland	5	Humid grasslands
Artificial/Terrestrial	2	Other urban and industrial areas

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	98
military	2

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: St Kilda (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/st-kilda-iba-united-kingdom on 22/12/2024.