Son-Kul Lake


Country/territory: Kyrgyzstan

IBA criteria met: A1, A4i, A4iii (2010)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here

Area: 30,000 hectares (300.00 km2)

IBA conservation status
Year of assessment (most recent) State (condition) Pressure (threat) Response (action)
2013 not assessed high low
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Site description (2006 baseline)
Territory includes high mountainous lake Son-Kul and coastal wetland areas

Key biodiversity
Criterion A1 is applied to the site because of Black stork, Bar-headed goose, Saker falcon, Demoiselle crane, birds of prey: Bearded and Himalayan vultures, Golden eagle, are in Red List of Kyrgyzstan. Criterion A4iii is applied because of waterfowl and waterbirds that use lake during migration and molting. Also here is the breeding colony of Black-headed gull and the highest mountainous breeding population of Demoiselle crane.The lake is one of the breeding sites of Bar-headed goose, Black stork and large raptors. Ruddy shelduck and waders are concentrated here during the passage and molting. Site hosts 190 bird species.

Non-bird biodiversity: Territory hosts more than 30 species of mammals such as Grey marmot, Fox, Wolf, Argali and Siberian Ibex. The Lake is home for 7 species of fish. Plant life presented here is ca. 300 species of plants mainly different species of sedges and fescue, reedmace and others along the shores.

Acknowledgements
Data-sheet compiled 29-09-2006 by S. V. Kulagin (NABU), received by BirdLife Cambridge May 2008, translated by Tsovinar Hovhannisyan in summer 2010, entered into WBDB by Rory McCann in autumn 2010.


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Son-Kul Lake (Kyrgyzstan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/son-kul-lake-iba-kyrgyzstan on 23/12/2024.