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

Site description (2007 baseline)
Potworks Dam IBA is in south-east Antigua, c.2 km north of the village of Bethesda and Bethesda Dam IBA (AG012). The reservoir dam was under construction in 1969 when the area flooded as a result of exceptionally heavy rains. The dam site filled with water before preparation of the site was finished, but is considered a municipal reservoir and is an important source of water for domestic and agricultural use. Due to the very shallow sides to the reservoir and frequent droughts, the shoreline fluctuates greatly over time, reducing opportunities for the establishment of aquatic vegetation. Land surrounding most of the reservoir is former sugar cane estate land that is now farmed or grazed (primarily by free-roaming cattle).

Key biodiversity
The planted woodland and shrublands around parts of this IBA support populations of four (of the 11) Lesser Antilles EBA restricted-range birds that occur in Antigua. However, Potworks Dam is most notable for its waterbirds and numerous Neotropical migratory shorebirds. Over 100 Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis and 50 Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps can be found, but the numbers of Laughing Gull Larus atricilla are globally significant, and Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis are regionally so.

Non-bird biodiversity: Nothing recorded.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Potworks Dam (Antigua and Barbuda). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/potworks-dam-iba-antigua-and-barbuda on 22/11/2024.