CITATION INCHMICKERY SITE OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST City of Edinburgh Site code: 804 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE: NT 207805, NT 206810 OS 1:50,000 SHEET NO: Landranger Series 66 1:25,000 SHEET NO: Explorer Series 350 AREA: 5.36 hectares NOTIFIED NATURAL FEATURES Biological : Birds: Herring gull (Larus argentatus), breeding : Birds: Lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus), breeding : Birds: Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), breeding : Birds: Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), breeding DESCRIPTION Inchmickery Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is a small collection of islands lying roughly in the middle of the Firth of Forth, approximately 4km north-west of Granton Harbour, Edinburgh. The site comprises the small island of Inchmickery and the Cow and Calves, a small group of rocks a short distance north of the island which remain partly dry at high tide. The island holds large numbers of herring and lesser black backed gulls which are part of the internationally important populations spread throughout the various islands of the Forth. Smaller numbers of shag and fulmar also nest on the island and are also part of internationally important populations. The island was originally notified for holding the largest concentration of breeding terns in the Lothian area. The colony included common terns Sterna hirundo, Sandwich terns Sterna sandvicensis and roseate terns Sterna dougallii. The last terns nested on the island in 1998. NOTIFICATION HISTORY First notified under the 1949 Act: 1972 Re-notified under the 1981 Act: 22 August 1985 Notification reviewed under the 2004 Act: 15 February 2011 REMARKS Measured area of site corrected (from 4.8 ha) Inchmickery SSSI is part of Forth Islands special protection area (SPA) designated for the birds listed below. Birds: Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea), breeding Common tern (Sterna hirundo), breeding Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), breeding Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), breeding Gannet (Morus bassanus), breeding Guillemot (Uria aalge), breeding Herring gull (Larus argentatus), breeding Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), breeding Lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus), breeding Puffin (Fratercula arctica), breeding Razorbill (Alca torda), breeding Roseate tern (Sterna dougallii), breeding Sandwich tern (Sterna sandvicensis), breeding Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), breeding Seabird assemblage, breeding .