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UK220
Noss
Location United Kingdom, Scotland
Central coordinates 1o 0.99' West  60o 8.70' North
IBA criteria A4ii, A4iii, B1ii, B2, B3, C3, C4
Area 342 ha
Altitude 0 - 181m
Year of IBA assessment 2007

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds



Site description An island located off the east coast of Bressay, which in turn lies off the east coast of mainland Shetland. The eastern part of the island slopes steeply. One of the largest seabird colonies in Britain.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species Season Period Population estimate Quality of estimate IBA Criteria IUCN Category
Northern Gannet Morus bassanus breeding  1998  8,017 breeding pairs  good  A4ii, B1ii, B2, C3  Least Concern 
Great Skua Stercorarius skua breeding  2001  432 breeding pairs  good  A4ii, B1ii, B3, C3  Least Concern 
Common Guillemot Uria aalge breeding  2000  45,782 individuals  good  B1ii, C3  Least Concern 
A4iii Species group - seabirds breeding  1998-2001  47,409 breeding pairs  good  A4iii, C4   

Protected areas

Protected area Designation Area (ha) Relationship with IBA Overlap with IBA (ha)  
Noss Birds Directive 344 is identical to site 342  
Noss National Nature Reserve 313 is identical to site 313  
Noss Site of Special Scientific Interest 344 is identical to site 313  

Habitats

IUCN habitat Habitat detail Extent (% of site)
Shrubland Heathland  -
Grassland   -
Coastline Sea cliffs and rocky shores  -

Land use

Land-use Extent (% of site)
agriculture 100%

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Noss. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/05/2013

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife