Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
A large stretch of intertidal mudflats on the southern Red Sea coast, c.40 km south of Jizan. The flats are fringed in places with mangrove
Avicennia and saltmarsh, and an upwelling of fresh water in the marsh creates the only known coastal wet grassland (c.800 ha) in the region. The area is favoured for grazing by camels.
See box for key species. This is the only known regular wintering site for
Pluvialis fulva in Saudi Arabia (January max. 36). The site has been visited only for Asian Waterfowl Census counts, and virtually nothing is known of its breeding species or of its importance for waders during migration. Aerial surveys have indicated that the intertidal zone from Jizan southwards is the most important wader area along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast, and this site is a good representative of this almost untouched coastal habitat.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The wet grassland (and to some extent the mangrove and saltmarsh) are heavily grazed and trampled by camels, leading to habitat destruction and disturbance. The site is a proposed Special Nature Reserve in the NCWCD System Plan for Protected Areas.
Data-sheet compiled by P. Symens.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Khawr Wahlan (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/khawr-wahlan-iba-saudi-arabia on 27/12/2024.
