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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	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 birds	A4i
Purple Heron Ardea purpurea	LC	breeding (2003)	250–500 birds	A4i
Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus	NT	breeding (2003)	100–300 birds	A1, A4i
Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmaeus	LC	breeding (2003)	300–600 birds	A4i
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo	LC	breeding (2003)	1,000–5,000 birds	A4i
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida	LC	breeding (2003)	2,000–5,000 birds	A4i
Black Tern Chlidonias niger	LC	breeding (2003)	4,000–6,000 birds	A4i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	passage (2003)	20,000-49,999 birds	A4iii

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

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	very low

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1967	Novinskiy	Zakaznik (IV)	18
1978	Northen Part of Caspian Sea	State Reservation (-)	82

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

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

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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 23/12/2024.