Data Zone
Country/territory: Iran, Islamic Republic of
IBA criteria met: A1, A4i, A4iii, B1i, B2 (1994)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 1,200 hectares (12.00 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 1994 | not assessed | low | not assessed |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (1994 baseline)
Lake Kobi (Ghopi Bob Ali) is a shallow, eutrophic, fresh to brackish lake with seasonally flooded marshes, on the plains 30 km south of Lake Uromiyeh and c.25 km north-east of Mahabad. The wetland receives its water from local rainfall, several springs, seepages and temporary watercourses fed by snow-melt, overflowing when full into marshland to the north and west. It regularly freezes in winter. The lake supports abundant submerged vegetation; there are extensive sedge marshes around much of the shore, and Phragmites beds occur in the south and to the north-west, together with some grassland. The whole area is surrounded by rolling steppic hills, with scattered settlements and cultivation to the north and south. Grazing of livestock and wildfowl hunting occur. Land ownership is public.
Key biodiversity
See box for key species. The marshes support a variety of breeding waterfowl, notably Nycticorax nycticorax, Ardeola ralloides, Egretta garzetta, Plegadis falcinellus and Aythya nyroca, and there was a breeding colony of Podiceps nigricollis at the lake in 1972. The lake is an extremely important staging area for ducks, Fulica atra and shorebirds in autumn, regularly holding in excess of 100,000 birds. Species in especially high numbers have included Phoenicopterus ruber, Anas querquedula, A. clypeata, Aythya ferina and F. atra. Large numbers of ducks and F. atra stay on through very mild winters when the lake remains unfrozen. However the figures for F. atra given below date from the 1970s, and in recent years less than 2,000 have been recorded, a major decline.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Acknowledgements
Data-sheet compiled by Dr D. A. Scott, reviewed by Dept of Environment.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lake Kobi (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-kobi-iba-iran-islamic-republic-of on 23/12/2024.