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Site description (2004 baseline):

Samaspur Wildlife Sanctuary, with an area of about 800 ha of perennial wetland, is located in the Salon tehsil of Rae Bareily district. Salon wetland was renamed as Samaspur Bird Sanctuary in 1987. The lake is ‘S’ shaped, and comprises six small connected lakes namely Samaspur, Mamani, Mamani Gram Samaj, Gorwa Hasanpur, Hakganj and Rohania lakes. The seventh lake, Bissaiya is close by but not connected with the main waterbody. It also forms a part of the Sanctuary. Samaspur wetlands are perennial and receive water from rain (average 850 mm per annum) and from the terminal end of irrigation canals (Rahmani 1992). As they are depressions, water from surrounding areas is drained into these jheels. Of the 800 ha declared as Samarspur Bird Sanctuary, only about 207 ha is under water, the remaining area is dryland where the Forest Department has done some plantations. It also includes 271 ha of private land which has crop fields and orchards. These crops fields, orchards, wastelands (locally called usar) and pastures, along with jheels, create a mosaic of habitats that results in high bird species diversity. In one day of birdwatching in December 1987, 112 species were identified (Rahmani 1992).

AVIFAUNA: This IBA plays hosts to more than 110 bird species. Among those recorded were 14 species of ducks, 13 species of waders, four species of storks and 10 species of raptors. Ducks and waders were seen in thousands. About 80,000 waterfowl were estimated during a visit in 1987 (Rahmani 1992). Many of these species occur in much higher numbers than their 1% biogeographic population threshold, recently calculated by the Wetlands International (2002) on the basis of total biogeographic populations of waterbirds. A pair each of Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus and Pallas’s Fish-Eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus regularly breeds in this Sanctuary (Rahmani 1992). Despite Samaspur jheels being such an important bird refuge of northern India, detailed work has not been conducted on the bird life of this site.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: More than 10 fish species of economic importance are reported from this Sanctuary (Rahmani 1992). As agricultural fields and villages surround the area, no large wild mammal presently of conservation concern is found here.

MAIN THREATS: Fishing; Drainage; Livestock grazing; Siltation; Pesticides.

Due to agriculture in the adjacent areas, water run-off from the fields enters the lakes and results in eutrophication. Another problem is the spread of Eichhornia crassipes, which is fast invading the waterbody, restricting the free movement of waterfowl. Between 1993-98, 31 cases of illegal hunting were reported from the area. The real figure could be much higher. Non-linkage of Bissaiya Lake with other wetlands is one of the hurdles in implementing management options, since the continuity of the site disrupted. Illegal fishing by the people of surrounding villages has also been reported. Livestock grazing in the surrounding land causes soil erosion, which enhances siltation of the lake (source: Uttar Pradesh Forest Department).

Key contributor: Asad R. Rahmani.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Samaspur Bird Sanctuary (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/samaspur-bird-sanctuary-iba-india on 22/11/2024.