• Summary
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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
Sand Partridge Ammoperdix heyi	LC	resident	1991	present	A3, B3
Common Crane Grus grus	LC	passage	1991	350 individuals	A4i, B1i
Desert Tawny Owl Strix hadorami	LC	resident	1991	8 breeding pairs	A3, B3
Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus	NT	non-breeding	1991	1 individuals	B2
Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus	EN	breeding	1991	7-14 breeding pairs	B2
Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus	LC	resident	1991	8-18 breeding pairs	B2
Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotos	EN	non-breeding	1991	1-2 individuals	B2
Lesser Spotted Eagle Clanga pomarina	LC	passage	1991	5,000-10,000 individuals	B2
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni	LC	passage	1991	29 individuals	A1, B2
Sooty Falcon Falco concolor	VU	breeding	1991	3-5 breeding pairs	A3, B3
Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus	LC	breeding	1991	4 breeding pairs	B2
Brown-necked Raven Corvus ruficollis	LC	resident	1993	present	A3
Desert Lark Ammomanes deserti	LC	resident	1993	present	A3
Pale Rock Martin Ptyonoprogne obsoleta	LC	resident	1993	present	A3
Arabian Babbler Argya squamiceps	LC	resident	1991	present	A3, B3
Tristram's Starling Onychognathus tristramii	LC	resident	1991	200 breeding pairs	B3
Hooded Wheatear Oenanthe monacha	LC	resident	1991	10 breeding pairs	A3, B3
Blackstart Oenanthe melanura	LC	resident	1993	present	A3
White-crowned Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga	LC	resident	1993	present	A3
A4iv Species group - soaring birds/cranes	n/a	passage	1991	14,000-19,000 individuals	A4iv, B1iv

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

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
-	Mezada (Harhava)	National Park	1
1980	Kanee springs	Nature Reserve	<1
1981	Tel Qeriyyot	Nature Reserve	2
1988	En Gedi	Nature Reserve	2
1994	Nahal Abbuv	Nature Reserve	2
2002	Atiqot En Gedi	National Park	<1
2003	Midbar Yehuda	Nature Reserve	93
2008	Berekhat Samar	Nature Reserve	-

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Desert		major (>10)
Artificial/Terrestrial		minor (<10)
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		minor (<10)
Wetlands (inland)		minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
rangeland/pastureland	major (>10)
nature conservation and research	major (>10)
agriculture	minor (<10)
tourism/recreation	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Judean desert (Israel). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/judean-desert-iba-israel on 23/11/2024.