SNH Forth & Borders 3rd Floor East INCHMICKERY Silvan House Site of Special Scientific Interest 231 Corstorphine Road SITE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT EH12 7AT

Tel. 0131 316 2600 Site code: 804 Email. [email protected]

Purpose This is a public statement prepared by SNH for owners and occupiers of the SSSI. It outlines the reasons it is designated as an SSSI and provides guidance on how its special natural features should be conserved or enhanced. This Statement does not affect or form part of the statutory notification and does not remove the need to apply for consent for operations requiring consent. We welcome your views on this statement.

Description of the site Inchmickery Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is a small island lying roughly in the middle of the of Forth, approximately 4km north west of Granton Harbour, Edinburgh. It is formed by a volcanic intrusion and rises 14m above sea level. The SSSI also includes the Cow and Calves, a small group of rocks 300m to the north. Inchmickery is covered by a large number of concrete fortifications built during the two world wars.

The site was originally designated as an SSSI for its nationally important breeding colonies of roseate and Sandwich terns and for its regionally important colony of common terns. The tern colony reached a peak in the mid 1970s with over 1400 pairs of the three species. However, none of these species now breed on Inchmickery, their decline being largely due to the increasing gull population, although roseate terns have also suffered a Europe-wide crash. Common terns and roseate terns nest now nest on one or more islands within the Forth while Sandwich terns currently don’t breed locally.

Inchmickery has considerable numbers of nesting lesser black-backed gulls and herring gulls as well as smaller numbers of fulmar and shag. The island is one of several islands underpinning the Forth Islands SPA, the others being the , the , Forth Islands SSSI and Long Craig Island. This SPA is designated for its internationally important breeding seabird colonies which the Inchmickery birds all contribute to. Eider also breed in good numbers while a very small number of puffins may breed on the island. Inchmickery and its associated rocks are used as high tide roosts by a variety of waders. Currently the seabird colonies on Inchmickery are either stable or increasing.

Natural features of Condition of feature* Other relevant Inchmickery SSSI (and date monitored) designations

Herring gull (Larus argentatus), Favourable, maintained Forth Islands breeding (June 2001) SPA Lesser black-backed gull (Larus Favourable, maintained Forth Islands fuscus), breeding (June 2008) SPA Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), breeding Favourable, maintained Forth Islands (June 2004) SPA Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), Unfavourable recovering Forth Islands breeding (June 2001) SPA *Condition relates to Forth Islands SPA as features have not yet been monitored on Inchmickery alone.

Features of overlapping Natura Condition of feature SPA sites that are not notified as natural (date monitored) features of Inchmickery SSSI Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) 1, Favourable, declining Forth Islands SPA breeding (June 2009) Common tern (Sterna hirudina)1, Favourable, maintained Forth Islands SPA breeding (June 2003) Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)1, Favourable, declining Forth Islands SPA breeding (March 2010) Gannet (Morus bassanus)1, Favourable, maintained Forth Islands SPA breeding (July 2004) Guillemot (Uria aalge)1, Favourable, maintained Forth Islands SPA breeding (June 2007) Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)1, Unfavourable, declining Forth Islands SPA breeding (June 2007) Puffin (Fratercula arctica)1, breeding Favourable, maintained Forth Islands SPA (April 2003) Razorbill (Alca torda)1, breeding Favourable, maintained Forth Islands SPA (June 2007) Roseate tern (Sterna dougallii)1, Unfavourable, declining Forth Islands SPA breeding (July 2009_ Sandwich tern (Sterna sandvicensis)1, Unfavourable, declining Forth Islands SPA breeding (June 2003) Seabird assemblage, breeding Unfavourable, declining Forth Islands SPA (July 2004) 1 Does not breed on Inchmickery SSSI

Military structures on Inchmickery Eider nesting within building

Past and present management Inchmickery was heavily fortified during the First and Second World Wars with many gun emplacements. It is said that these were designed to make the island resemble a battle cruiser from a distance. These fortifications were scheduled as Monuments of National Importance in 1974. Since the army left in 1943 little has been done on the island other than management for the birds.

Terns have nested on Inchmickery since at least the mid 19th century and until fairly recently bred in large numbers. In the 1950s there were “thousands” of common terns and the roseate population was between four and five hundred pairs. As late as 1976 there were 100 pairs of roseate terns, 566 pairs of sandwich terns and 635 common tern pairs. The major decline started in the late 1970s and by the mid 1990s there was only one pair of roseate terns and a few common terns left. The last terns bred in 1998.

The rise in gulls, which had previously not nested on Inchmickery, mirrors the decline in terns. The gulls prevent terns nesting successfully by competing for nests sites (the gulls arrive before the terns return from their wintering sites) and by eating tern eggs and chicks.

In 1963 Inchmickery island was declared a Wild Bird Sanctuary under the Protection of Birds Act 1954. This became an Area of Special Protection when the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 was introduced. Under this The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) who manage the island can control access and to this end issue permits for access between 1st May and 31st August.

Managed by the RSPB, herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls were culled between 1972 and 1989 in order to allow terns to nest. This control was by means of nest and egg removal and the poisoning of adult birds with alphachloralose baits. Culling appears to have been fairly successful for the duration of the cull period but it has not had a long term effect on gull numbers.

In the early 1970s a number of the walls were removed and several small plots of nettles were treated with herbicide in order to increase the area available for nesting

terns. In the early 1990s the RSPB carried out a programme of experimental substrate manipulation including the treatment of nettles with herbicide in order to create grassy swards, the stripping of turf and laying gravel on top of plastic sheeting in order to provide suitable nesting areas for terns, particularly roseates. Nest boxes were also installed for the roseate terns. None of this habitat management was successful in increasing the number of breeding terns. This was probably due to the high gull population which was not being controlled by this period.

In 2007 the RSPB started a new management programme with the hope of encouraging terns to return to the island to breed. The work carried out included setting up an “exclusion” zone from which all gull nests and eggs were removed and within which it was hoped the terns would breed. Disturbance measures were also carried out to keep the gulls away. Habitat management and tern nest boxes were also planned. After three years this management was reviewed. It was felt that no progress had been made in attracting terns back and the scale of the work would have to be expanded. The cost of this work, without any guarantee of success, was felt to be too great and the management was stopped.

The notification of the site has now been changed to reflect the absence of terns and the importance of the other species which contribute to internationally important populations of the Forth Islands SPA.

The Forth Seabird Group visits the island annually to count the breeding seabirds as per other islands.

Objectives for Management (and key factors influencing the condition of natural features) We wish to work with the owner to protect the site and to maintain and where necessary enhance its features of special interest. SNH aims to carry out site survey, monitoring and research as appropriate to increase our knowledge and understanding of the site and its natural features.

The EU Habitats and Birds Directives oblige Government to avoid, in SACs and SPAs, the deterioration of natural habitats and the habitats of species, as well as disturbance of the species for which the areas have been designated, in so far as such disturbance could be significant in relation to the objectives of these Directives. The objectives below have been assessed against these requirements. All authorities proposing to carry out or permit to be carried out operations likely to have a significant effect on the European interests of this SSSI must assess those operations against the relevant Natura conservation objectives (which are listed on our website through the SNHi - SiteLink facility).

1. Maintain the breeding seabird populations on Inchmickery and Cow and Calves. Many factors involved in the success or otherwise of seabird populations will be outwith the scope of site management. These include pollution; winter mortality rates of adult birds; and the availability and suitability of summer food supplies which can be affected by fisheries and climate change. Minimising disturbance on the islands is essential to maintaining and increasing the breeding populations. The difficulty in accessing the islands is beneficial in this regard. Currently the seabird colonies on Inchmickery are

either stable or increasing and so do not require management in the foreseeable future

2. Manage the island in a manner which may allow the future return of terns. The primary species for which the site was originally notified, terns, no longer breed, largely as a result of an increase in the gull population which has occurred throughout the Firth of Forth. Due to lack of success and cost the recent gull management has been stopped. As the gulls, shags and fulmar are also protected natural features of the European important SPA we must give conservation management priority to them. We will however aim to maintain physical conditions suitable for nesting terns should, for any reason, pressure from breeding gulls diminishes in the future which may allow terns to return.

Other factors affecting the natural features of the site

None noted at present.

Date last reviewed: 15 February 2011