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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 1994 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Black Stork Ciconia nigra	LC	passage (1991)	5,000 birds	A4i, B1i
Black Stork Ciconia nigra	LC	winter (1991)	50–100 birds	B1i
White Stork Ciconia ciconia	LC	passage (1991)	200,000 birds	A4i, B1i, B2
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax	LC	breeding (1991)	380–400 pairs	A4i, B1i
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis	LC	resident (1991)	500–600 pairs	A4i, B1i
Little Egret Egretta garzetta	LC	breeding (1991)	480–510 pairs	A4i, B1i
Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola	LC	passage (1991)	250 birds	A4i, B1i
Black-winged Pratincole Glareola nordmanni	NT	passage (1991)	200 birds	A1, B2
European Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus	LC	passage (1991)	12,000 birds	B2
Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes	LC	passage (1991)	15,000 birds	B2
Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus	LC	breeding (1991)	100–125 pairs	B3
A4iv Species group - soaring birds/cranes	n/a	passage (1991)	232,000 birds	A4iv, B1iv

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1994. The most recent assessment (2013) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Little/none of area covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	very low

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1969	Ha-Hof Ha-Shaqet	Nature Reserve (IV)	1
1969	Tel Saharon	Nature Reserve (IV)	<1
1970	Ge'on Ha-Yarden	Nature Reserve (IV)	1
1972	Ge'on Ha-Yarden Kefar Ruppin	Nature Reserve (IV)	<1
1974	Nahal Tavor	Nature Reserve (IV)	1
1988	Ge'on Ha-Yarden Hamadya	Nature Reserve (IV)	1

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Terrestrial	major (>10)
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	minor (<10)
Grassland	minor (<10)
Shrubland	minor (<10)

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	4
agriculture	major (>10)
fisheries/aquaculture	minor (<10)
rangeland/pastureland	minor (<10)
military	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Northern lower Jordan valley (Israel). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/northern-lower-jordan-valley-iba-israel on 25/12/2024.