• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important in 2016 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 List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Mute Swan Cygnus olor	LC	breeding	1997	present	A4i
Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis	VU	winter	1997	present	A4i
Black Scoter Melanitta americana	NT	winter	2004	present	A1, A4i
Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator	LC	passage	1997	present	A4i
Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus	LC	winter	1986	min 3,744 individuals	A4i
Common Pochard Aythya ferina	VU	breeding	1997	present	A4i
Baikal Teal Sibirionetta formosa	LC	breeding	1997	present	A1
Falcated Duck Mareca falcata	LC	breeding	1997	present	A3, A4i
Red-crowned Crane Grus japonensis	VU	breeding	1997	present	A1
Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata	LC	passage	1997	present	A4i
Arctic Loon Gavia arctica	LC	winter	1997	present	A4i
Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus	VU	non-breeding	2002-2015	20-100 individuals	A1
Short-tailed Shearwater Ardenna tenuirostris	LC	non-breeding	2000-2003	200,000-1,000,000 individuals	A4ii
Sooty Shearwater Ardenna grisea	NT	non-breeding	2000-2003	200,000-1,000,000 individuals	A1, A4ii
Red-faced Cormorant Urile urile	LC	breeding	2015	min 1,466 individuals	A4i
Japanese Cormorant Phalacrocorax capillatus	LC	breeding	2015	min 1,342 individuals	A4i
Red Knot Calidris canutus	NT	passage	1997	present	A4i
Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea	CR	passage	1997	present	A1
Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla	VU	passage	1997	present	A4i
Mew Gull Larus canus	LC	passage	1997	present	A4i
Rhinoceros Auklet Cerorhinca monocerata	LC	breeding	2002-2005	min 750,000 individuals	A4ii
Spectacled Guillemot Cepphus carbo	LC	breeding	2005-2015	min 5,100 individuals	A4ii
Common Murre Uria aalge	LC	passage	1997	present	A4ii
Blakiston's Eagle-owl Bubo blakistoni	EN	resident	1997	present	A1
Steller's Sea-eagle Haliaeetus pelagicus	VU	breeding	1997	present	A1, A3

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2016) may differ.

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
-	Vulkan Mendeleeva	Nature Monument	<1
-	Kunashirskiy kustarnikovyi reliktovyi les	Nature Monument	-
-	Yuzhno-Kuril'skiy reliktovyi les	Nature Monument	-
-	Lagunnoozerskiy les	Nature Monument	-
1982	Malye Kurily	Zakaznik (Federal)	1
1984	Kurilsky	Zapovednik	3

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Forest	Mixed broadleaf-coniferous forest (temp/boreal	major (>10)
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		major (>10)
Marine Intertidal		major (>10)
Marine Neritic		major (>10)
Shrubland		major (>10)
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban areas	minor (<10)
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lesser Kuril Ridge and Kunashir Island (Russia (Asian)). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lesser-kuril-ridge-and-kunashir-island-iba-russia-(asian) on 22/11/2024.