Current view: Text account
Site description (2006 baseline):
Site location and context
The IBA consists of a group of 3 lakes to the west and south-west of Scherbakty village (by the shore of the lake of the same name), in Lebyazinskiy district. The first is 2 km to the west and the last, and most remote, is 6 km to the south. Overall the lake complex extends over a distance of 10 km. The approximate area occupied by the lakes is 2.7 x 1.3 km (maximum 3.2 x 1.8 km,), 1.2 x 0.5 km (1.4 x 0.7 km), and 2.8 x 1.7 km (3.2 x 2.2 km). The lakes are closed, bitter-salty in separate natural depressions with poorly developed littoral vegetation. Only on the eastern bank of the southerly lake is there any substantial growth of reeds, forming a system of inlets and spits. The surrounding landscape is primarily abandoned crop fields with patches of trees.
The site supports a small breeding waterbird community but is important during migration as a stopover site.
Moderate grazing by cattle, sheep and horses over 10-15% of the area. A minor part of the area (less than 5%) are cereal fields.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Possible threats are disturbance and hunting during autumn migration. Currently these occur at a moderate scale, with no or an imperceptible impact.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
None.
None.
Mixed - partly state, partly private (farmers).
Daniel Masur, Kati Sevke (Greifswald University, Germany) and Vladimir Pereskokov (Pavlodar regional wildlife protection service) conducted the survey in October 2006 and provided their data.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Shcherbakty Lakes (Kazakhstan). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/shcherbakty-lakes-iba-kazakhstan on 22/11/2024.
