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The site was identified as important in 2005 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
Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius	CR	passage	2007	2 individuals	A1
Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis	EN	breeding	2005	3-5 breeding pairs	A3
Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca	VU	breeding	2005	6-9 breeding pairs	A1, A3
Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus	NT	breeding	2005	95-140 breeding pairs	A1, A3
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni	LC	breeding	2005	150-200 breeding pairs	A1
Saker Falcon Falco cherrug	EN	breeding	2005	15-19 breeding pairs	A1

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2005) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2005. The most recent assessment (2012) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis	7	3	breeding pairs	43	unfavourable
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus	17	1	individuals	6	very unfavourable
Milvus migrans	1	3	individuals	100	favourable
Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus	3	5	individuals	100	favourable
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni	18	16	breeding pairs	89	near favourable
Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus	20	5	individuals	25	very unfavourable
Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo	1	1	individuals	100	favourable
Saker Falcon Falco cherrug	19	1	breeding pairs	6	very unfavourable

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Shrubland	good (> 90%)	moderate (70-90%)	near favourable
Grassland	good (> 90%)	moderate (70-90%)	near favourable
Forest	good (> 90%)	moderate (70-90%)	near favourable
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Wetlands (inland)	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Artificial/Terrestrial	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Climate change and severe weather	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant deterioration	low
Residential and commercial development	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant deterioration	low
Energy production and mining	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant deterioration	low
Biological resource use	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant deterioration	low
Natural system modifications	happening now	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
Some of site covered (10-49%)	No management plan exists but the management planning process has begun	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1971	Ulutauskiy	Zakaznik	10

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Grassland	Humid, Steppes & dry calcareous	78
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	Scree, boulders & bare rocky areas	15
Shrubland	Low bushes	3
Forest	Flood-plain	2
Wetlands (inland)	Rivers & streams, Standing fresh water	2
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable land, Highly improved reseeded grasslands	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
rangeland/pastureland	15
hunting	10
nature conservation and research	minor (<10)
energy production and mining	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ulytau Mountains (Kazakhstan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ulytau-mountains-iba-kazakhstan on 23/11/2024.