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

The site was identified as important in 1994 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo	LC	winter	1991	2,603-8,000 individuals	A4i, B1i
Crab-plover Dromas ardeola	LC	passage	1993	135 individuals	B3
Saunders's Tern Sternula saundersi	LC	breeding	1993	8-12 breeding pairs	B3
Saunders's Tern Sternula saundersi	LC	passage	1993	14,000 individuals	A4i, B1i, B3
White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa	LC	breeding	1993	120-250 breeding pairs	B3
White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa	LC	passage	1993	8,000 individuals	A4i, B1i, B3
Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis	LC	passage	1993	4,800 individuals	A4i, B1i
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	LC	passage	1993	2,000-3,000 individuals	A4i, B1i

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (1994) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1994. The most recent assessment (2013) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Residential and commercial development	likely in short term (within 4 years)	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	A management plan exists but it is out of date or not comprehensive	Not assessed	low

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		major (>10)
Desert		minor (<10)
Marine Neritic		minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
military	major (>10)
urban/industrial/transport	minor (<10)
tourism/recreation	minor (<10)
fisheries/aquaculture	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Abu Ali (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/abu-ali-iba-saudi-arabia on 23/11/2024.