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• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important in 2011 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
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	resident	2009	2-146 breeding pairs	C2, C6
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus	LC	resident	2009	54-132 breeding pairs	B2
Slender-billed Gull Larus genei	LC	resident	2006-2009	423-431 breeding pairs	B2, C2, C6
Audouin's Gull Larus audouinii	VU	winter	2008	3-420 individuals	A1, C1, C6
Audouin's Gull Larus audouinii	VU	resident	2008-2010	700-3,823 breeding pairs	A1, A4i, B1i, B2, C1, C2, C6
Little Tern Sternula albifrons	LC	breeding	2007-2009	45-101 breeding pairs	B2, C2, C6
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida	LC	breeding	2009	13 breeding pairs	C6

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2011) may differ.

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1989	Lagunas de la Mata y Torrevieja	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	92
1990	Lagunas de la Mata y Torrevieja (ZEPA)	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	89
1996	Lagunas de la Mata y Torrevieja	Parque Natural	93
2011	Parque Natural Lagunas de La Mata-Torrevieja	Zonas Húmedas	89
2014	Llacunes de la Mata i Torrevieja	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	92

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		90
Shrubland	Scrub	10

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
urban/industrial/transport	40
water management	20
not utilised	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mata and Torrevieja lagoons (Spain). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mata-and-torrevieja-lagoons-iba-spain on 23/11/2024.