Data Zone
The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2007 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demoiselle Crane Anthropoides virgo | LC | breeding (2007) | 40–45 pairs | A3 |
| Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis | EN | breeding (2007) | 40–50 pairs | A3 |
| Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus | NT | breeding (2007) | 20–40 pairs | A1, A3 |
| Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni | LC | breeding (2007) | 100–200 pairs | A1 |
| Saker Falcon Falco cherrug | EN | breeding (2007) | 2–4 pairs | A1 |
| Black Lark Melanocorypha yeltoniensis | LC | breeding (2007) | 200–400 pairs | A3 |
Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2007. The most recent assessment (2011) is shown below.
| IBA conservation assessment | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment | State | Pressure | Response |
| 2011 | very poor | not assessed | very low |
| Whole site assessed? | State assessed by | Accuracy of information | |
| yes | population | poor | |
| State (condition of the trigger species' populations) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Actual vs Reference (units) | % remaining | Result | ||
| Common Quail Coturnix coturnix | 1 / 1 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Rock Dove Columba livia | 3 / 1 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Oriental Turtle-dove Streptopelia orientalis | 2 / 2 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus | 1 / 1 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Mew Gull Larus canus | 1 / 1 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Eurasian Eagle-owl Bubo bubo | 1 / 60 (pairs) | 2 | very poor | ||
| Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis | 16 / 50 (pairs) | 32 | very poor | ||
| Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos | 1 / 1 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis | 1 / 1 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Milvus migrans | 2 / 1 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Eurasian Buzzard Buteo buteo | 5 / 2 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus | 16 / 30 (pairs) | 54 | poor | ||
| Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni | 1 / 200 (pairs) | 1 | very poor | ||
| Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus | 23 / 3 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Eurasian Magpie Pica pica | 7 / 3 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Eurasian Jackdaw Corvus monedula | 22 / 7 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Rook Corvus frugilegus | 30 / 16 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| White-winged Lark Alauda leucoptera | 2 / 2 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis | 1 / 1 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris | 1 / 1 (birds) | 100 | good | ||
| Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Designation | Planning | Action | Result |
| Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | very low |
| Habitat | % of IBA | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 55 | Steppes & dry calcareous |
| Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) | 30 | Inland cliffs |
| Shrubland | 10 | Low bushes |
| Desert | 5 | Desert & semi-desert - clay; Desert & semi-desert - salty |
| Land use | % of IBA |
|---|---|
| rangeland/pastureland | minor (<10) |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ayak-Bestau Hills (Kazakhstan). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ayak-bestau-hills-iba-kazakhstan on 25/12/2024.