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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2001 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Little Egret Egretta garzetta	LC	non-breeding (-)	4,500 birds	A4i
Western Reef-egret Egretta gularis	LC	non-breeding (-)	1,000 birds	A4i
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	winter (-)	3,750 birds	A4i
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus	LC	non-breeding (-)	4,400 birds	A4i
Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula	LC	winter (-)	3,000 birds	A4i
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea	VU	winter (-)	6,900 birds	A4i
Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus	LC	winter (-)	10,100 birds	A4i
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia	LC	winter (-)	5,100 birds	A4i
Little Tern Sternula albifrons	LC	winter (-)	2,750 birds	A4i
Black Tern Chlidonias niger	LC	winter (-)	18,100 birds	A4i
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii	LC	winter (-)	650 birds	A4i
Common Tern Sterna hirundo	LC	winter (-)	11,900 birds	A4i
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	LC	winter (-)	5,100 birds	A4i
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus	LC	non-breeding (-)	2,600 birds	A4i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	non-breeding (-)	50,000-99,999 birds	A4iii

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2001. The most recent assessment (2019) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
Egretta garzetta	4 / 4,500 (birds)	1	very poor
Egretta gularis	17 / 1,000 (birds)	2	very poor
Himantopus himantopus	33 / 4,400 (birds)	1	very poor
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea	96 / 6,900 (birds)	2	very poor
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia	85 / 5,100 (birds)	2	very poor
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	22 / 5,100 (birds)	1	very poor
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus	58 / 2,600 (birds)	3	very poor

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Pollution	happe­ning now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Residential and commercial development	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Biological resource use	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low
Transportation and service corridors	likely in short term (<4 years)	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Very little or no conservation action taking place	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
2011	Songor	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve (UA)	47

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
fisheries/aquaculture	-
nature conservation and research	-
urban/industrial/transport	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Songor Ramsar Site (Ghana). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/songor-ramsar-site-iba-ghana on 23/12/2024.