SPA description
(information as published 2001)
Mingulay and Berneray
Mingulay and Berneray are adjacent islands that lie at the
southern end of the Outer Hebrides off the north-west coast of
Scotland. Mingulay, the more northerly, is larger, rising to 275 m
with sheer cliffs of up to 210 m. Berneray rises to about 190 m.
There are a number of adjacent stacks. The islands are largely
covered by maritime grassland, with some machair and heath. They
are an important breeding site for a diverse assemblage of
seabirds, comprising especially auks and gulls. These seabirds feed
in the surrounding waters of the south Minch, outside the SPA.
Qualifying species
For individual species accounts visit the Species
Accounts section
This site qualifies
under Article 4.2 of the Directive (79/409/EEC) by
supporting populations of European importance of the following
migratory species:
During the breeding season;
Razorbill Alca torda, 11,323 pairs representing at
least 2.0% of the breeding population (Count as at 1985)
Assemblage qualification: A seabird assemblage of
international importance
The area qualifies under Article 4.2 of the
Directive (79/409/EEC) by regularly supporting at least 20,000
seabirds
During the breeding season, the area regularly supports
110,000 individual seabirds including: Puffin Fratercula
arctica, Guillemot Uria aalge, Kittiwake Rissa
tridactyla, Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis, Fulmar
Fulmarus glacialis, Razorbill Alca torda.
Note:
Many designated sites are on private land: the listing of
a site in these pages does not imply any right of public
access.
Note that sites selected for waterbird species on the basis of
their occurrence in the breeding, passage or winter periods also
provide legal protection for these species when they occur at other
times of the year.