Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
A vast area of steppe around the border settlement of Ras al-Ayn, through which the seasonal Khabur river flows in winter and spring, north-west of Al-Hasakah. Much of the steppe along the Khabur valley is now under irrigated cultivation of wheat and cotton. Trees and scrub occur along the Khabur river, especially at Ras al-Ayn where there is a patch of c.100 ha of dense
Salix bushes, fed by a very powerful, sulphurous hot spring.
See box for key species.
Streptopelia turtur is a passage migrant in large numbers at Ras al-Ayn.
Anser albifrons occurs in winter. There is almost no information on the site since the mid-1970s. Likely species are indicated by extrapolating from the adjacent Ceylanpinar area in Turkey (see Grimmett and Jones 1989). Other likely breeding species include
Buteo rufinus,
Aquila chrysaetos,
Burhinus oedicnemus,
Pterocles alchata and
Merops superciliosus, as well as a variety of waterfowl along the Khabur river.
Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals: Gazella subgutturosa (rare) may still occur. Reptiles: Varanus griseus (rare) may still occur.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The widespread conversion since the 1970s of semi-natural steppe or traditional dryland farming areas to permanent, irrigated cultivation of wheat and cotton monoculture, with associated use of pesticides, has probably led to declines in bustard populations, as it has elsewhee. In the mid-1970s 10,000 ha in this area were irrigated and a further 39,000 ha were earmarked for irrigation. The Khabur river is apparently now saline, presumably as a result of waste-water discharge from irrigation projects. The
Salix woodland at Ras al-Ayn is considered likely to be still intact.
Data-sheet compiled by M. I. Evans.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ras al-Ayn (Syria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ras-al-ayn-iba-syria on 22/12/2024.
