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

The site was identified as important in 2003 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
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus	LC	breeding	2003	250-300	A4i
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax	LC	breeding	2003	1,000-1,500 individuals	A4i
Purple Heron Ardea purpurea	LC	breeding	2003	250-500 individuals	A4i
Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus	NT	breeding	2003	100-300 individuals	A1, A4i
Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmaeus	LC	breeding	2003	300-600 individuals	A4i
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo	LC	breeding	2003	1,000-5,000 individuals	A4i
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida	LC	breeding	2003	2,000-5,000 individuals	A4i
Black Tern Chlidonias niger	LC	breeding	2003	4,000-6,000 individuals	A4i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	passage	2003	20,000-49,999 individuals	A4iii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2003) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2003. The most recent assessment (2013) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Mute Swan Cygnus olor	1,673	1,110	individuals	67	unfavourable
Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula	230	163	individuals	71	near favourable
Smew Mergellus albellus	205	415	individuals	100	favourable
Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina	4,750	2,715	individuals	58	unfavourable
Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca	2	22	individuals	100	favourable
Gadwall Mareca strepera	45	3	individuals	7	very unfavourable
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos	30	20	individuals	67	unfavourable
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra	1,500	1,450	individuals	97	favourable
Eurasian Bittern Botaurus stellaris	1	1	individuals	100	favourable
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax	4	64	individuals	100	favourable
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea	4	262	individuals	100	favourable
Purple Heron Ardea purpurea	26	71	individuals	100	favourable
Great White Egret Ardea alba	442	1,203	individuals	100	favourable
Little Egret Egretta garzetta	10	8	individuals	80	near favourable
Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus	258	787	individuals	100	favourable
Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus	1,500	31	individuals	3	very unfavourable
Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmaeus	17	2,000	individuals	100	favourable
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo	1,340	518	individuals	39	very unfavourable
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus	891	1,330	individuals	100	favourable
Pallas's Gull Larus ichthyaetus	245	587	individuals	100	favourable
Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans	447	593	individuals	100	favourable
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia	1	3	individuals	100	favourable
Western Marsh-harrier Circus aeruginosus	3	6	individuals	100	favourable
White-tailed Sea-eagle Haliaeetus albicilla	57	22	individuals	39	very unfavourable

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	negligible

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1967	Novinskiy	Zakaznik	18
1978	Northen Part of Caspian Sea	State Reservation	82

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Wetlands (inland)	Rivers & streams, Standing brackish & salt water, Standing fresh water, Water-fringe vegetation	95
Grassland	Mesophile grassland & tall grass steppe	5

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100
fisheries/aquaculture	-

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kazakhstan portion of the river Volga's Delta - Zhambay (Kazakhstan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kazakhstan-portion-of-the-river-volgas-delta--zhambay-iba-kazakhstan on 23/11/2024.