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• Text account
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The site was identified as important in 2003 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species'):

Species	Current IUCN Red List Category	Season	Year(s)	Population estimate at site	IBA criteria met
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus	LC	breeding	2003	250-300	A4i
Black-crowned Night-heron Nycticorax nycticorax	LC	breeding	2003	1,000-1,500 individuals	A4i
Purple Heron Ardea purpurea	LC	breeding	2003	250-500 individuals	A4i
Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus	NT	breeding	2003	100-300 individuals	A1, A4i
Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmaeus	LC	breeding	2003	300-600 individuals	A4i
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo	LC	breeding	2003	1,000-5,000 individuals	A4i
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida	LC	breeding	2003	2,000-5,000 individuals	A4i
Black Tern Chlidonias niger	LC	breeding	2003	4,000-6,000 individuals	A4i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	passage	2003	20,000-49,999 individuals	A4iii

The current IUCN Red List category may differ from that which was valid at the time of IBA criteria assessment (2003).

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Scientific name	Common name	Reference population	Actual population	Units	% of population remaining	Result
Cygnus olor	Mute Swan	1673	1110	individuals	67	unfavourable
Bucephala clangula	Common Goldeneye	230	163	individuals	71	near favourable
Mergellus albellus	Smew	205	415	individuals	100	favourable
Netta rufina	Red-crested Pochard	4750	2715	individuals	58	unfavourable
Aythya nyroca	Ferruginous Duck	2	22	individuals	100	favourable
Mareca strepera	Gadwall	45	3	individuals	7	very unfavourable
Anas platyrhynchos	Mallard	30	20	individuals	67	unfavourable
Fulica atra	Common Coot	1500	1450	individuals	97	favourable
Botaurus stellaris	Eurasian Bittern	1	1	individuals	100	favourable
Nycticorax nycticorax	Black-crowned Night-heron	4	64	individuals	100	favourable
Ardea cinerea	Grey Heron	4	262	individuals	100	favourable
Ardea purpurea	Purple Heron	26	71	individuals	100	favourable
Ardea alba	Great White Egret	442	1203	individuals	100	favourable
Egretta garzetta	Little Egret	10	8	individuals	80	near favourable
Pelecanus crispus	Dalmatian Pelican	258	787	individuals	100	favourable
Pelecanus onocrotalus	Great White Pelican	1500	31	individuals	3	very unfavourable
Microcarbo pygmaeus	Pygmy Cormorant	17	2000	individuals	100	favourable
Phalacrocorax carbo	Great Cormorant	1340	518	individuals	39	very unfavourable
Larus ridibundus	Black-headed Gull	891	1330	individuals	100	favourable
Larus ichthyaetus	Pallas's Gull	245	587	individuals	100	favourable
Larus cachinnans	Caspian Gull	447	593	individuals	100	favourable
Hydroprogne caspia	Caspian Tern	1	3	individuals	100	favourable
Circus aeruginosus	Western Marsh-harrier	3	6	individuals	100	favourable
Haliaeetus albicilla	White-tailed Sea-eagle	57	22	individuals	39	very unfavourable

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected-area designation	Management planning	Other conservation action	Result
Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	negligible

For more information about IBA conservation status, please click here

Protected area (PA)	PA designation	PA area (ha)	Relationship of PA with IBA	Overlap of PA with IBA (ha)
Novinskiy	Zakaznik	45,000	protected area overlaps with site	45,000
Northen Part of Caspian Sea	State Reservation	7,000,000	protected area overlaps with site	203,480

Habitat (IUCN level 1)	Habitat detail	Extent (% of site)
Grassland	Mesophile grassland & tall grass steppe	-
Wetlands (inland)	Rivers & streams, Standing brackish & salt water, Standing fresh water, Water-fringe vegetation	-

For more information about the IUCN Habitat classification, please click here.

Land-use	Extent (% of site)
fisheries/aquaculture	-
nature conservation and research	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kazakhstan portion of the river Volga's Delta - Zhambay. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kazakhstan-portion-of-the-river-volgas-delta--zhambay-iba-kazakhstan on 03/12/2023.