Troup, Pennan and Lion's Heads SPA

Status: Designated

Description

Site overview

This site is a 9 km stretch of sea-cliffs along the Banff and Buchan coast of Aberdeenshire in north-east Scotland.  The cliffs rise to 150 m and provide ideal nesting sites for seabirds, which feed in the waters offshore. The site is particularly important for its number of gulls and auks.

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MPA Type

Special Protection Area

Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are strictly protected sites designated uner European legislation. They are established to protect rare and vulnerable birds and for regularly occurring migratory species.

Designation date

1 March 1997

Surface Area

33.70 km2 (13.01 mi.2)

Perimeter

53.85 km (33.46 mi.)

  • Razorbill (Alca torda)

    A migratory bird that breeds on coastal cliffs and spends the rest of the year at sea feeding on small fish like sandeel, sprat and herring.

    Source: Marine Scotland
  • Northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)

    Almost gull-like, this grey and white seabird is related to the albatrosses. It flies low over the sea on stiff wings.

    Source: RSPB
  • Black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)

    A small cliff nesting seabird named for it its nasal “ki-ti-waak”” callnotes. The population is declining in some areas

    Source: possibly due to a shortage of food fish like
  • Seabird assemblage (Seabird assemblage)

    Important areas where a number of seabird species occur in significant numbers.

    Source: JNCC
  • Common guillemot (Uria aalge)

    One of the most common birds breeding on sheer, crowded cliffs known as ‘seabird cities’. This seabird only comes to land to breed and spends the rest of its life at sea.

    Source: RSPB
  • Herring gull (Larus argentatus)

    Herring gulls are large, noisy gulls found throughout the year around our coasts and inland around rubbish tips, fields, large reservoirs and lakes, especially during winter. Though they seem to be everywhere, populations continue to decline.

    Source: RSPB

  • Marine areas, Sea inlets

Did you know?…

Over 170 parliamentarians from across the political spectrum signed up to our Marine Charter calling for a network of ‘marine protected areas’ in UK Seas

An area over 9 times the size of Wales is now in marine protected areas in the UK, but less than 1% is considered by MCS scientists to be well managed

Over half a million people have voiced their support for ‘marine protected area’ designation in the UK through our campaigns