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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
Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus	LC	winter	2001-2006	5,459	A4i, B1i, C3
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	winter	2001-2006	21,007 individuals	A4iii, C4

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
Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus	4,630	5,459	individuals	100	favourable
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata	1,660	941	individuals	57	unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Climate change and severe weather	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Biological resource use	past (and unlikely to return) and no longer limiting	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A management plan exists but it is out of date or not comprehensive	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1956	Cree Estuary	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	99
1996	Wigtown Bay	Local Nature Reserve	75
2010	Crook Of Baldoon	Nature Reserve	1

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Intertidal		major (>10)
Marine Neritic		major (>10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	10

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Wigtown Bay (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/wigtown-bay-iba-united-kingdom on 27/11/2024.