Data Zone
Country/territory: Iran, Islamic Republic of
IBA criteria met: A4i, B1i, B2, B3 (1994)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 11,800 hectares (118.00 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 1994 | not assessed | medium | not assessed |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (1994 baseline)
A 55 km stretch of coast along the Straits of Hormoz, c.10-70 km east of Bandar Abbas, incorporating three river deltas. The site includes extensive intertidal mudflats (over 1 km wide), significant stands of mangrove at the river mouths and along adjacent creeks, long sand beaches, low sandbars and sand spits, and two large shallow bays, Khor Tiab and Khor Kolahy, near the mouth of the Rud-i Minab in the east. The rivers flow only after erratic rainfall in the interior, usually in winter. The waters of the Rud-i-Shirin and Rud-i-Minab are fresh, but the Rud-i-Shur is somewhat brackish. Mangrove Avicennia marina occurs at the river mouths, and fringes the tidal creeks. 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. There are a few small settlements, generally with date gardens. Fishing is important.
Key biodiversity
See box for key species. An extremely important wintering area for shorebirds and gulls, notably Haematopus ostralegus, Limosa lapponica, Numenius arquata and Larus cachinnans/L. argentatus. The site may also be important for breeding herons and egrets including Ardea goliath and Ardeola grayii. The adjacent plains and woodland have a typical Baluchi avifauna with several Indo-Malayan species at or near their western limit, notably Gyps bengalensis, Francolinus pondicerianus, Athene brama, Dendrocopos assimilis and Acridotheres tristis. Common winter visitors include Phylloscopus inornatus humei.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Acknowledgements
Data-sheet compiled by Dr D. A. Scott, reviewed by Dept of Environment.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Rud-i-Shur, Rud-i-Shirin and Rud-i-Minab deltas (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/rud-i-shur-rud-i-shirin-and-rud-i-minab-deltas-iba-iran-islamic-republic-of on 23/12/2024.