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

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Crab-plover Dromas ardeola	LC	resident (1993)	present	B3
Sooty Gull Larus hemprichii	LC	resident (1993)	15 pairs	B3
White-eyed Gull Larus leucophthalmus	LC	breeding (1982)	present	A1, B2
Sooty Falcon Falco concolor	VU	breeding (1993)	40 pairs	B2

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
No known threats	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Little/none of area covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Not assessed	very low

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

Land use	% of IBA
fisheries/aquaculture	major (>10)
other	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Al-Wajh Bank (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/al-wajh-bank-iba-saudi-arabia on 24/12/2024.