Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
Two small, flat, fossil-coral islands in the Red Sea (12 ha and 2.7 ha), south-west of Qunfudah town. Rainfall is light and erratic, but there is often a heavy dew and the islands are exceedingly well vegetated, with thickets up to 3 m tall of
Salvadora and
Suaeda; on more open ground there is
Cyperus,
Atriplex and
Zygophyllum.
See box for key species. Other breeding birds include
Butorides striatus (2 pairs),
Egretta gularis (7 pairs),
Pandion haliaetus (2 pairs) and
Streptopelia roseogrisea (c.500 pairs). Small numbers of
Pelecanus rufescens roost on the beaches in winter.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The islands have long been protected by traditional hunting laws, and are now also formally protected by NCWCD. It is not known whether hunting and egg-collecting occur, nor whether there is disturbance by other visitors.
Data-sheet compiled by Dr Stephen F. Newton.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Umm al-Qamari (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/umm-al-qamari-iba-saudi-arabia on 23/11/2024.
