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The site was identified as important in 2000 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
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	non-breeding	1991	1,000 individuals	B1i, C2
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	breeding	1996	518 breeding pairs	A4i, B1i, B3, C2
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica	NT	passage	1991	4,000 individuals	A4i, B1i, C2
Dunlin Calidris alpina	NT	non-breeding	1994	40,000 individuals	A4i, B1i, C3
Common Redshank Tringa totanus	LC	breeding	1996	331 breeding pairs	B2
Little Tern Sternula albifrons	LC	breeding	1996	22 breeding pairs	B2, C6
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea	LC	breeding	1996	1,062 breeding pairs	C6
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	non-breeding	1991	41,000 individuals	A4iii, C4

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2000) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2000. The most recent assessment (2010) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Melanitta nigra	80,000	32,000	individuals	40	unfavourable
Melanitta fusca	11,000	500	individuals	5	very unfavourable
Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator	354	324	individuals	92	favourable
Common Crane Grus grus	2	2	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo	1,760	1,760	individuals	100	favourable
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	518	169	breeding pairs	33	very unfavourable
Dunlin Calidris alpina	24	21	breeding pairs	88	near favourable
Little Tern Sternula albifrons	30	30	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Common Tern Sterna hirundo	8	8	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea	1,062	661	breeding pairs	63	unfavourable
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	304	55	breeding pairs	19	very unfavourable

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1966	Læsø	Fredet ved afgørelse, exl. Kirkeomgivelser	2
1977	Læso	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	100
1983	Læsø; sydlige del	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	100
1992	Læsø Kommune	§3 beskyttet natur (alle søer, moser, vandløb, heder, enge mv)	6
1998	Strandenge på Læsø og havet syd herfor	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	100
2005	Waters around Læsø	Baltic Sea Protected Area (HELCOM)	100
2007	Strandenge på Læsø og havet syd herfor	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR)	73

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Intertidal		60
Shrubland	Heathland	25
Artificial/Terrestrial	Forestry plantations	15

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
unknown	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: South Læsø (Denmark). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/south-læsø-iba-denmark on 23/11/2024.