Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
Remnants of broadleaved forests (
Quercus,
Tilia,
Ulmus,
Fagus, etc.) in the lowland river delta of north-eastern Azerbaijan; the site also extends into Dagestan (Russia). Sand beaches along Caspian coast have been largely lost (inundated) since mid-1980s˜a few pebble beaches remain. Main land-uses around, and to some extent within, forest patches are crop-growing and cattle-grazing, while increasing numbers of tourists and others frequent the Caspian coast.
Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria:
Haliaeetus albicilla (1-2 breeding pairs still present on the Dagestan side of this site). Other breeding species include
Ciconia nigra,
Aquila pomarina,
Alcedo atthis (30+ pairs), and
Coracias garrulus (50+ pairs). There is a congregation of seabirds off the delta from July to August (some thousands, but never counted) including
Pelecanus sp. (some tens).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Threats come from fragmentation of the forests for agriculture and disturbance from tourism. There is also some poaching.
National None
International None
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Samur river delta (Azerbaijan). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/samur-river-delta-iba-azerbaijan on 04/01/2025.
