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The site was identified as important in 2000 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
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse Pterocles alchata	LC	breeding	1996	150-170 breeding pairs	B2, C2, C6
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax	NT	winter	1996	1,600 individuals	A1, C1
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax	NT	breeding	1996	450-500 breeding pairs	A1, B2, C1, C6
Purple Heron Ardea purpurea	LC	breeding	1991	10-50 breeding pairs	C2, C6
Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinus oedicnemus	LC	breeding	1991	300 breeding pairs	B2, C6
Little Owl Athene noctua	LC	breeding	1991	100 breeding pairs	B2
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus	LC	breeding	1991	10 breeding pairs	C6
Black Kite Milvus migrans	LC	breeding	1991	50 breeding pairs	C6
European Roller Coracias garrulus	LC	breeding	1991	70 breeding pairs	B2, C6
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni	LC	breeding	1996	42-50 breeding pairs	A1, C1, C6
Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra	LC	breeding	1996	10-30 breeding pairs	C6
Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla	LC	breeding	1991	1,000 breeding pairs	C6

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2000) may differ.

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
-	Mare de lanau	Terrain acquis par un conservatoire d'espaces naturels	<1
-	La Poitevine	Private Reserve	<1
-	FR248	Nature Reserve	<1
1970	Camargue	Parc naturel régional	4
1991	LA CRAU	Terrain acquis par le Conservatoire du Littoral	3
1996	Crau centrale - Crau sèche	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	63
1996	Marais de la vallée des Baux et marais d'Arles	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	2
2001	Coussouls de Crau	Réserve naturelle nationale	17
2001	Les Coussouls de Crau	Nature Reserve	18
2003	Crau	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	98
2007	Alpilles	Parc naturel régional	11
2009	Poitevine-Regarde-Venir	Réserve naturelle régionale	1
2012	L'Ilon	Réserve naturelle régionale	<1
2017	MARAIS DE L’ILON	Land acquired by Conservatoire du Littoral (national seaside and lakeside conservancy)	<1

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Grassland	Steppes and dry calcareous grassland, Humid grasslands	90
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable land, Perennial crops, orchards and groves	10
Shrubland	Sclerophyllous scrub, garrigue and maquis	5
Wetlands (inland)	Standing freshwater, Water fringe vegetation	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
hunting	-
tourism/recreation	-
urban/industrial/transport	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Crau (France). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/crau-iba-france on 22/11/2024.