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Country/Territory |
United Kingdom |
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Administrative region(s) |
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Central coordinates |
55o 37' North 1o 38' West Map
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Area |
101 ha |
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Altitude |
0 - 19m |
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Criteria |
A4i, A4iii, B1i, B1ii, B2, B3, C2, C3, C4, C6 |
Site description A group of islands and rock stacks lying between 2 km and 6 km off the Northumberland coast at Bamburgh. Vegetation is limited to pioneer species due to the maritime conditions and the impact of large numbers of seabirds. |
Habitats and percentage cover | Coastline | - | Grassland | - |
| Land-use and percentage cover | nature conservation and research | 100 |
Birds The IBA supports large numbers of breeding seabirds, especially terns and auks. It holds 54,200 breeding seabirds and 14,200 breeding waterbirds on a regular basis, and is nationally important for breeding Phalacrocorax carbo (225 pairs, 1995, 3%), Somateria mollissima (1,450 pairs, 1989, 5%), Rissa tridactyla (6,300 pairs, 1995, 1%) and Uria aalge (19,000 pairs, 1995, 3%). |
| Species | Season | Year | Min | Max | Units | Quality | Criteria | European Shag
(Phalacrocorax aristotelis) | breeding | 1995 | 1020 | 1020 | breeding pairs | good | A4i, B1i, B3, C2, C3 | Lesser Black-backed Gull
(Larus fuscus) | breeding | 1995 | 1380 | 1380 | breeding pairs | good | B1i, B3, C3 | Sandwich Tern
(Sterna sandvicensis) | breeding | 1995 | 1840 | 1840 | breeding pairs | good | A4i, B1i, B2, C2, C6 | Roseate Tern
(Sterna dougallii) | breeding | 1995 | 2 | 2 | breeding pairs | good | C6 | Common Tern
(Sterna hirundo) | breeding | 1995 | 250 | 250 | breeding pairs | good | C6 | Arctic Tern
(Sterna paradisaea) | breeding | 1995 | 3070 | 3070 | breeding pairs | good | C2, C6 | Atlantic Puffin
(Fratercula arctica) | breeding | 1993 | 34700 | 34700 | breeding pairs | good | B1ii, B2, C3 | | |
Protection status National High International High. IBA partly or wholly overlaps with the following national designated areas. Site of Special Scientific Interest: The Farne Islands. Overlaps with international designated areas: 101 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Farne Islands, 101 ha). |
Conservation issues Threats include soil erosion caused by visitors and the Fratercula arctica and seal colonies, disturbance caused by intense visitor pressure and over-fishing. The National Trust manages the islands, and the surrounding waters are of great value in terms of marine conservation. A management plan exists for the site. |
Threats and importance | aquaculture/fisheries | unknown | natural events | medium | recreation/tourism | medium |
Recommended Citation BirdLife International (2009) Important Bird Area factsheet: Farne Islands, United Kingdom. Downloaded from the Data Zone at http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010 |
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