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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2011 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Greylag Goose Anser anser	LC	winter (2006)	24,023 birds	A4i, B1i, C3
Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis	LC	resident (2006)	10–30 pairs	C2, C6
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse Pterocles alchata	LC	resident (1987)	min 50 pairs	C6
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax	NT	resident (2006)	min 500 birds	A1, C1
Great Bustard Otis tarda	EN	resident (2006)	2,501 birds	A1, B2, C1, C2, C6
White Stork Ciconia ciconia	LC	breeding (2006)	72 pairs	C6
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	resident (2006)	min 257 pairs	B1i, C2, C6
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus	LC	breeding (2006)	min 309 pairs	B1i, C2, C6
Western Marsh-harrier Circus aeruginosus	LC	resident (2006)	7 pairs	C6
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus	LC	breeding (2002)	40–45 pairs	C2, C6
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni	LC	breeding (2006)	556 pairs	B1iii, B2, C2, C6

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2011. The most recent assessment (2008) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happe­ning now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Biological resource use	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A compre­hensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not compre­hensive and are limited by resources and capacity	high

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1986	Villafáfila	National Game Reserve (IV)	100
2006	Lagunas de Villafafila	Reserva Natural (IV)	100

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Terrestrial	90	Arable land
Wetlands (inland)	10	Standing brackish and salt water

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100
agriculture	95
hunting	80

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Villafáfila (Spain). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/villafáfila-iba-spain on 24/12/2024.