• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important 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 List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Little Egret Egretta garzetta	LC	non-breeding	-	4,500 individuals	A4i
Western Reef-egret Egretta gularis	LC	non-breeding	-	1,000 individuals	A4i
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	winter	-	3,750 individuals	A4i
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus	LC	non-breeding	-	4,400 individuals	A4i
Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula	LC	winter	-	3,000 individuals	A4i
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea	VU	winter	-	6,900 individuals	A4i
Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus	LC	winter	-	10,100 individuals	A4i
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia	LC	winter	-	5,100 individuals	A4i
Little Tern Sternula albifrons	LC	winter	-	2,750 individuals	A4i
Black Tern Chlidonias niger	LC	winter	-	18,100 individuals	A4i
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii	LC	winter	-	650 individuals	A4i
Common Tern Sterna hirundo	LC	winter	-	11,900 individuals	A4i
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	LC	winter	-	5,100 individuals	A4i
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus	LC	non-breeding	-	2,600 individuals	A4i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	non-breeding	-	50,000-99,999 individuals	A4iii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2001) may differ.

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	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Egretta garzetta	4,500	4	individuals	1	very unfavourable
Egretta gularis	1,000	17	individuals	2	very unfavourable
Himantopus himantopus	4,400	33	individuals	1	very unfavourable
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea	6,900	96	individuals	2	very unfavourable
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia	5,100	85	individuals	2	very unfavourable
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	5,100	22	individuals	1	very unfavourable
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus	2,600	58	individuals	3	very unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	high
Pollution	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Residential and commercial development	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Transportation and service corridors	likely in short term (within 4 years)	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Whole area of site (>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	% overlap with IBA
1992	Songor Lagoon	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	100
2011	Songor	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	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 23/11/2024.