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• Text account
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• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important 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 List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Arctic Loon Gavia arctica	LC	breeding	2001-2005	8 breeding pairs	C6
Merlin Falco columbarius	LC	breeding	2007	unknown	C6

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2007) may differ.

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	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Melanitta nigra	25	17	breeding pairs	68	unfavourable
Arctic Loon Gavia arctica	8	8	breeding pairs	100	favourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Energy production and mining	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Very little or no conservation action taking place	negligible

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1964	Garry Falls	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	<1
1980	Knoydart	National Scenic Area	4
1987	Quoich Spillway	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	<1
2001	River Moriston	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	<1
2005	West Inverness-shire Lochs	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	5
2007	West Inverness-shire Lochs	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	5

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Terrestrial	Forestry plantations	-
Forest	Broadleaved deciduous woodland, Native coniferous woodland	-
Grassland	Steppes and dry calcareous grassland	-
Shrubland	Heathland	-
Wetlands (inland)	Standing freshwater, Rivers and streams, Water fringe vegetation, Fens, transition mires and springs	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
fisheries/aquaculture	-
forestry	-
hunting	-
water management	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: West Inverness-shire Lochs (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/west-inverness-shire-lochs-iba-united-kingdom on 23/11/2024.