Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site lies about 25 km south-west of Annaba and consists of a shallow, seasonally flooded depression in the flood-plain of the Oued Seybouse. In the nineteenth century there was a large freshwater lake on the site, regarded as ‘one of the great freshwater lakes of the Maghreb’ and the site with the richest concentrations of breeding waterbirds of any in Algeria. It was the key site in Algeria for
Marmaronetta angustirostris which was ‘breeding in countless numbers’. The lake was drained in 1937 and its ornithological value declined dramatically. In the late 1970s, the site was dry for much of the year (May 1976 and January 1978), but in the early 1980s, an annual closure of the sluice on the outflow channel was instituted to retain winter floods. The water is released slowly down-stream to permit springtime irrigation and the slow fall in the lake levels also produces good spring and summer grazing on the lake shore. As a result, the lake now frequently holds water in the winter and beds of
Scirpus maritimus,
S. lacustris and
Eleocharis sp. have developed in the depression, with patches of
Juncus sp. The site is heavily grazed when not inundated and is surrounded by arable land. There is some hunting.
See Box for key species. Since the re-flooding in the early 1980s, the site regularly holds total numbers of wintering waterbirds in excess of 20,000 (60,000 unidentified ‘ducks’ in 1989 and 35,000 in 1981). This is now one of the most important wintering sites in North Africa for
Anser anser with several recent records exceeding 10,000 birds. In addition to those in the Box, species recorded regularly during the 1980s and 1990s in significant numbers include
Anas crecca (10,000 in 1980),
A. platyrhynchos (4,850 in 1994) and
A. acuta (6,500 in 1981). There are also thousands of wintering
Vanellus vanellus and
Pluvialis apricaria, which continued to use the site even during the years when it was largely dry (mixed flock of 5,000 in 1976/77), one record of ‘innumerable’
Gallinago gallinago in 1978 and up to 3,000
Larus ridibundus. Other wintering species include
Tachybaptus ruficollis,
Egretta garzetta,
Casmerodius albus and
Circus aeruginosus.There are nineteenth century breeding records for
Marmaronetta angustirostris (reported as ‘very common’), ‘masses’ of breeding
Aythya nyroca and
Oxyura leucocephala. Other species recorded breeding in the nineteenth century include
Ardea cinerea,
Ardeola ralloides,
Nycticorax nycticorax,
Plegadis falcinellus,
Platalea leucorodia,
Anser anser,
Anas strepera,
Netta rufina and ‘thousands’ of breeding
Porphyrio porphyrio. More recently, there are records from the 1980s of breeding
Ardea purpurea,
Bubulcus ibis,
Ciconia ciconia (‘in number’) and
Glareola pratincola and it has been suggested that
Marmaronetta angustirostris may still breed in the remains of the lake. Raptors recorded from the site include
Gyps fulvus,
Neophron percnopterus,
Milvus migrans,
Circaetus gallicus,
Circus aeruginosus,
C. pygargus,
Buteo rufinus,
Aquila clanga,
Hieraeetus pennatus and
Pandion haliaetus.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The retention of water in the depression after winter floods has clearly gone a long way towards reinstating Lac Fetzara as an important wintering site for waterbirds. The current hydrological management is considered to be a good example of the wise use of wetlands and the potential exists to return the site to its former status as one of the most important wetlands in North Africa. The value of the reinstated wetland for breeding birds is less clear and it may be necessary to adapt the hydrological regime to stop the lake drying out completely in the summer months before Lac Fetzara will become a regular breeding site for waterbirds once again. There may also be a need for some regulation of hunting and other disturbance. Maintaining higher water-levels in the lake may lead to some loss of grazing area, but this is likely to be compensated for by increased production and higher-quality grazing on surrounding land.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lac Fetzara (Algeria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lac-fetzara-iba-algeria on 23/12/2024.
