• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (baseline)
The site includes all important dune areas along the western part of the Belgian coast and encompasses the saltmarshes and mudflats of the River IJzer estuary. Habitats range from sand-beaches, shifting dunes, fixed dunes with herbaceous vegetation, wet and dry depressions with Lycium barbarum, Salix repens and wooded areas. The site consists of several large zones separated from each other by urbanized areas.

Key biodiversity
This is an important staging site for migrating passerines. The site supports nationally important numbers of migrating and wintering waders. Galerida cristata breeds at the site (20 pairs, which is 20-25% of the Flemish population).

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Important Bird Area factsheet: Westkust. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/698 on 08/06/2023.