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Site description (2004 baseline):

A tropical grassland, internationally known for the largest concentration of Blackbuck Antilope cervicapra, is now famous for the largest population of harriers Circus spp. in the world during winter, and also for one of the largest breeding populations of the Lesser Florican Sypheotides indica in monsoon. The existence of a large, regular winter roost of harriers Circus spp. has been known since the mid-1980s, and assessments of the number of birds present at the peak period have ranged up to 2,000 (Clarke 1993). Velavadar National Park is just above sea level, located 18 km from the Gulf of Cambay and 35 km north of the city of Bhavnagar. Velavadar is at a lower elevation than its surroundings and therefore remains submerged for a longer duration when cyclones strike the coast (Dharmakumarsinhji 1978). The present area of the Park was a private vidi (grassland) of the erstwhile princely State of Bhavnagar (Jhala 1991). This IBA falls under Semi-arid Gujarat-Rajwada Biotic Province of the Semi- Arid Biogeographical Zone as per the classification of Rodgers et al. (2000). The high tidal zone of the Gulf of Khambat constitutes the boundary to the south of the Park, while wastelands and agricultural fields surround the other sides. Thirty-nine species of grasses and 46 species of sedges, shrubs and trees represent the diversity of flora. Sporobolus virginicus, S. coromandelianus, S. maderaspatenus, and Dicanthium annulatum are the dominant grasses. Prosopis chilensis shrubs cover large areas of the Park. Among the medium sized trees and shrubs, Salvadora, Acacia nilotica, Zizyphus, Capparis and Suaeda are common.

AVIFAUNA: Over 185 species of birds have been recorded from this area (Akhtar 1998). The area has been reported as the largest roosting ground in the world for four species of harriers, which migrate to the Park: Western Marsh Circus aeruginosus. Montagu’s C. pygargus, Hen C. cyaneus, and Pallid C. macrourus harriers. It also has the largest concentration of Lesser Florican during the monsoon. Up to 40 territorial male floricans have been found in and around Velavadar (Anon. undated). Another threatened bird is White-browed Bushchat or Stoliczka’s Bushchat Saxicola macrorhyncha which has been recently confirmed from this site. During winter, Macqueen’s Bustard Chlamydotis macqueeni (Near Threatened) is also found in this area in small numbers. Velavadar has been selected on the basis of A1 criteria (presence of significant numbers of the highly endangered Lesser Florican) and A4ii criteria (very high concentration of harriers).

OTHER KEY FAUNA: Over 15 species (excluding rodents and bats) of mammals, 9 species of reptiles and several species of insects have been recorded in the Park (Dharmakumarsinhji 1978, Natarajan and Rahmani 1997, Singh 2001), which has one of the largest populations of Blackbuck in India. More than 1,300 were counted in 1988-89 (Jhala 1991).

Wolf Canis lupus is the top carnivore in the area. Other animals include Bluebul Boselaphus tragocamelus, Golden Jackal Canis aureus, Hyena Hyaena hyaena, Jungle Cat Felis chaus and Indian Fox Vulpes bengalensis.

MAIN THREATS: Livestock grazing; Invasion of exotic Prosopis chilensis; Expansion of coastal zone; Use of pesticide.

The growth of Prosopis chilensis may attain problematic proportions, if it remains unchecked. Eradication of Prosopis in the Park is a regular management practice. Blackbuck and Bluebull feed on Prosopis pods in winter and disperse seeds in the Park through their droppings. This results in the germination of seedlings, which are removed annually once they become visible in the extensive grass cover. During 1995-2000, Prosopis was eradicated from about 300 ha. Now the grass cover has been extended to over 1,200 ha. Charaching is not a very big problem, especially of birds, but use of pesticide in the surrounding agricultural fields is unregulated and could be having negative impacts on the harrier and floricans, as both feed on insects. This aspect needs to be studied and monitored.

Key contributors: Y. V. Jhala, H. S. Singh and I. R. Gadhvi.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Velavadar National Park (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/velavadar-national-park-iba-india on 22/11/2024.