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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2013 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.

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

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus	LC	breeding (1993)	10 breeding pairs	B2
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia	LC	breeding (1993)	6 breeding pairs	B1i, B2
Goliath Heron Ardea goliath	LC	resident (1995–2002)	2 breeding pairs	B2
Brown Booby Sula leucogaster	LC	breeding (1995–2002)	600 breeding pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B2
Crab-plover Dromas ardeola	LC	breeding (1995–2002)	830 breeding pairs	A4i, B1i, B3
Sooty Gull Larus hemprichii	LC	breeding (1995–2002)	435 breeding pairs	B3
White-eyed Gull Larus leucophthalmus	LC	breeding (1995–2002)	721 breeding pairs	A1, A4i, B1i, B2
Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus	LC	breeding (1995–2002)	4,975 breeding pairs	B1i
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia	LC	breeding (1995–2002)	5 breeding pairs	B2
White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa	LC	breeding (1995–2002)	2,200 breeding pairs	A4i, B1i, B3
Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis	LC	breeding (1995–2002)	250 breeding pairs	B1i, B2
Osprey Pandion haliaetus	LC	resident (1995–2002)	min 100 breeding pairs	B2
Sooty Falcon Falco concolor	VU	breeding (1993)	1 breeding pairs	B2
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding (1995–2002)	9,196 breeding pairs	A4iii

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

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happen­ing now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Little/none of site 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)
urban/industrial/transport	minor (<10)
other	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Islands north of Al-Hudaydah (Yemen). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/islands-north-of-al-hudaydah-iba-yemen on 13/01/2025.