Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
A 12-km stretch of mainly rocky coast c.30 km north-north-east of Al-Ladhiqiyah (Lattakia) on the road to Al-Basit, extending north from the sheer limestone cliffs of Jabal Tarnajah (Ras al-Janzir) to the rocky headland of Ras al-Basit. There are 2 km of sand beach with seagrass beds offshore, and the 10-km-deep hinterland comprises well-wooded hills and narrow river valleys and plains. The area itself is also well-wooded, with coastal slopes covered in garigue, and there are a number of small, dammed lakes, including Ballouran Dam (25 ha). About 2,000 people live in and around Umm al-Tuyyur village, which is surrounded by a cultivated plain. Some fishing occurs offshore.
Breeding species include
Tachybaptus ruficollis (less than 10 pairs),
Pernis apivorus (probable),
Circaetus gallicus,
Accipiter gentilis (probable),
Buteo buteo (possibly breeding in 1980s),
Falco subbuteo (possibly breeding in 1980s),
Larus cachinnans (c.15–30 pairs on a small island off Ras al-Basit: the only colony in Syria),
Apus affinis,
Hippolais olivetorum and
Emberiza cia.
Falco eleonorae is a non-breeding summer visitor in small numbers (3–5, June). The area is known locally to be especially attractive to migrant birds, of unspecified type, due to the good cover of woodland.
Non-bird biodiversity: No information.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
In 1991 large areas of forest were destroyed by a fire (Baumgart 1991b). Sand extraction for the building trade occurs on the coast, as well as illegal dynamite fishing offshore. There is some hunting. The coastal zone (c.500 ha) was proposed as a nature conservation area by a Task Force of the UNEP Regional Activity Centre for Mediterranean Specially Protected Areas in 1989 (Jeudy de Grissac 1989), including a strict nature reserve within it.
Data-sheet compiled by M. I. Evans.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Umm al-Tuyyur (Syria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/umm-al-tuyyur-iba-syria on 23/11/2024.
