Data Zone
Country/territory: Kazakhstan
IBA criteria met: A1, A4i (2007)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 1,059 hectares (10.59 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2004 | moderate | medium | not assessed |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2004 baseline)
Three islands in the Bukhtarma reservoir, 4-5 km from the shore. The islands are located approximately 20 km from the town of Samarskoe, opposite the small village of Palatzy. The most southern island is named "Bezymyanny" ("No-named"), the others are "Sredny" ("Middle") and "Cherepashy" ("Tortoise"). The islands are covered with steppe grass vegetation, one of islands has scarce poplar groves along the shore and is rich in herbs. There are stones and small rocks on the highest points of the islands. One of the islands has a strip of 20 m wide sand dunes (up to 6 m high). Between two of the islands, there are sparse reedbeds.
Key biodiversity
There are breeding colonies of Dalmatian Pelican, Cormorant, Common Tern, Yellow-legged Gull, Great Black-headed Gull (small groups), Black-headed Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Little Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper.
Non-bird biodiversity: Passerines typical for low-mountain steppe of Altay, rodents etc.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Tortoise Islands (Kazakhstan). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tortoise-islands-iba-kazakhstan on 23/12/2024.