United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
Important Bird Areas in Europe – United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man ■ UNITED KINGDOM, THE CHANNEL ISLANDS AND THE ISLE OF MAN IAN FISHER, DAVID GIBBONS, GUY THOMPSON AND DAVE PRITCHARD Breeding colony of Guillemot Uria aalge and Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla on the Farne Islands (IBA 023). (PHOTO: PAUL GORIUP) ■ THE UNITED KINGDOM GENERAL INTRODUCTION given the differences in selection criteria. Though IBA boundaries are often the same as SPA or Ramsar Site boundaries (where relevant), The United Kingdom comprises Great Britain (England, Scotland this is not always the case. Many of the 61 sites added since the 1992 and Wales) and Northern Ireland, covering over 244,000 km2. It is inventory qualify because they hold important populations of species a densely populated and industrialized country, with diverse of European conservation concern. Since some of these species are landscapes, over 85% of which are used for agriculture or forestry. not yet identified in legislation for special protection, the Maritime influences are important, and the climate is warmer and corresponding sites may have no designation status at all. wetter than at the same latitudes in central or eastern Europe. Separate overviews are presented for the Channel Islands (p. 815) The United Kingdom has 287 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) which and for the Isle of Man (p. 817); data for these sites are not included cover more than 31,000 km2, representing over 12% of its surface within this UK overview text or the accompanying tables and figures. area (Table 1, Map 1). Of these, 80 are in England (covering over 9,000 km2), 17 are in Northern Ireland (over 1,900 km2), 173 are in Scotland (over 18,000 km2) and 17 are in Wales (over 2,000 km2).
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