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The site was identified as important in 2009 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
Hazel Grouse Tetrastes bonasia	LC	resident	2000-2009	5-20 breeding pairs	C6
Black Stork Ciconia nigra	LC	breeding	2000-2009	1-2 breeding pairs	C6
Osprey Pandion haliaetus	LC	passage	2000-2009	10-20 individuals	C6
European Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus	LC	breeding	2000-2009	1-5 breeding pairs	C6
Middle Spotted Woodpecker Leiopicus medius	LC	breeding	2000-2009	5-10 breeding pairs	C6

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2009) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2009) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Hazel Grouse Tetrastes bonasia	30	10	breeding pairs	34	very unfavourable
Osprey Pandion haliaetus	15	15	breeding pairs	100	favourable

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Forest	poor (40-69%)	poor (40-69%)	very unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Natural system modifications	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	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
1981	Pont Misère-Barrage de retenue	Humid Zone	8
1981	Lac de la Haute-Sûre / Neunhausen-Ningserboesch	Forest Reserve	13
1981	Lac de la Haute-Sûre / Insenborn-Buurgknapp	Forest Reserve	3
1981	Lac de la Haute-Sûre / Mecher-Schlaedchen	Forest Reserve	4
1989	Boulaide/Bauschleiden-Paaffels	Humid Zone	6
1996	Vallée supérieure de la Sûre / Lac du barrage	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	92
1999	Parc Naturel de la Haute-Sûre / Naturpark Öewersauer	Parc Naturel	73
2002	Vallée supérieure de la Sûre et affluents de la frontière belge à Esch-sur-Sûre	Zones protégées d'intérêt communautaire - Zones Oiseaux ZPS	88
2003	Vallée de la Haute-Sûre	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	100
2004	Vallée supérieure de la Sûre / Lac du barrage	Zones protégées d'intérêt communautaire - Zones Habitats ZSC	84
2010	Vallée supérieure de la Sûre et affluents de la frontière belge à Esch-sur-Sûre	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	100
2014	Bruch - Pont Misère	Zones protégées d'intérêt national - Réserve naturelle	22

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Forest	Broadleaved deciduous woodland, Native coniferous woodland, Alluvial and very wet forest	51
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable land, Forestry plantations	25
Wetlands (inland)	Standing freshwater, Rivers and streams	10
Grassland	Mesophile grasslands	9
Shrubland	Scrub	5

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
forestry	71
water management	10
rangeland/pastureland	9
agriculture	5
hunting	-
nature conservation and research	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Upper Valley of the Sure (Luxembourg). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/upper-valley-of-the-sure-iba-luxembourg on 23/11/2024.