Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
A major lagoon (900 × 600 m) on the Sahil al Jazir coastal plain, land-locked and predominantly freshwater, and surrounded by flat, sandy terrain including dunes. Aquatic vegetation includes
Potamogeton and
Ruppia; salt-tolerant dwarf shrubs and woody-based herbs are abundant around the site, becoming sparse away from the water. Human population density is low. Nomadic pastoralism is widely practised, and fishing is important in the coastal people's economy.
See box for key species. The site is rich in duck and roosting seabirds and shorebirds in winter and during migration. Up to c.600 duck occur in winter (the highest number in central Oman), including
Aythya nyroca (see box), as well as good numbers of gulls and terns:
Larus cachinnans/
L. argentatus (140, January),
Sterna nilotica (50, November),
S. caspia (80, January),
S. bergii (300, May) and
S. sandvicensis (350, January). At least 121 species have been recorded, though the site is rather underwatched due to its remoteness.
Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals: Gazella gazella (V) is regularly seen. Flora: the terrestrial vegetation shows a high degree of endemism.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The area is part of the proposed North Jazir National Nature Reserve (15,000 ha) which is part of the proposed natural World Heritage Site (see also sites 019 and 023).
Data-sheet compiled by Simon Albrecht; summary bird data supplied by Oman Bird Records Committee (per Jens Eriksen).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Khor Dirif (Oman). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/khor-dirif-iba-oman on 23/12/2024.
