Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
The site covers c.40 km of shore on the Straits of Hormoz, 120 km south-east of Bandar Abbas: an extensive complex of tidal creeks, mudflats, mangrove swamps, sandbanks and low muddy offshore islands and sandbars at the mouths of the Rud-i-Gaz (26°30'N 57°00'E) and the Rud-i-Hara (26°50'N 56°40'E). The rivers flow only after erratic rainfall in the interior (usually in winter). Extensive stands of mangrove
Avicennia marina occur at the mouths of the rivers, along tidal creeks and as a broad fringe along the landward side of coastal sandbars. The adjacent arid plain supports a sparse woodland of
Acacia,
Prosopis,
Ziziphus and
Tamarix with large areas of bare sandy flats. Land ownership is public. The area is remote, with only a few tiny fishing villages nearby.
See box for key species. An extremely important wintering area for shorebirds, notably
Haematopus ostralegus,
Limosa lapponica,
Numenius arquata and
Tringa totanus, along with smaller numbers of
Platalea leucorodia and
Dromas ardeola. The site may also be important for breeding herons and egrets including
Ardea goliath and
Ardeola grayii. The adjacent sandy plains and thorn woodland support a typical Baluchi avifauna including
Dendrocopos assimilis and
Calandrella raytal.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
There is no legal protection, though the area was designated a Ramsar Site in 1975. No threats are known.
Data-sheet compiled by Dr D. A. Scott, reviewed by Dept of Environment.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Rud-i-Gaz and Rud-i-Hara deltas (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/rud-i-gaz-and-rud-i-hara-deltas-iba-iran-islamic-republic-of on 23/11/2024.
