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BS029
Southern Great Lake
Location Bahamas, San Salvador
Central coordinates 74o 30.59' West  24o 0.42' North
IBA criteria A2, A4i, B4i
Area 1,530 ha
Altitude 0 - 3m
Year of IBA assessment 2007

Bahamas National Trust (Partner Designate)



Ornithological information The Great Lake occupies a considerable proportion of the inland of this island, accessable from only a few places. Here can be found Double-crested Cormorants, egrets and herons. West Indian Woodpeckers present on San Salvador.

Site description San Salvador is a small island only 5 miles by 12 miles with a population of less than 1,000 persons. It contains a high proportion of wetlands.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species Season Period Population estimate Quality of estimate IBA Criteria IUCN Category
Laughing Gull Larus atricilla breeding  2006  common breeding pairs  medium  A4i  Least Concern 
Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica breeding  2006  5 breeding pairs  medium  B4i  Least Concern 
Bahama Woodstar Calliphlox evelynae resident  2007  present [units unknown]  -  A2  Least Concern 
Thick-billed Vireo Vireo crassirostris resident  2006  present [units unknown]  -  A2  Least Concern 
Bahama Mockingbird Mimus gundlachii resident  2007  present [units unknown]  -  A2  Least Concern 
Pearly-eyed Thrasher Margarops fuscatus resident  2007  present [units unknown]  -  A2  Least Concern 

Habitats

IUCN habitat Habitat detail Extent (% of site)
Wetlands (inland)   major
Shrubland   -

Land use

Land-use Extent (% of site)
not utilised major

Other biodiversity The Endangered San Salvador Rock Iguana is the smallest West Indian Rock Iguana and it is believed that there are only approximately 500 individuals survivors. They can be found on nearby remote cays and in the interior lake areas.

Management considerations Resort development is always an underlying threat to habitat destruction and disturbance to birds. The expanded airport has recently caused considerable habitat destruction.

Conservation response 

Further web sources of information 

Site profile from Important Bird Areas in the Caribbean: key sites for conservation (BirdLife International 2008)

References White, A.W. 1998b. A Birder's Guide to the Bahama Islands (including Turks and Caicos). American Birding Association. Colorado Springs, CO. 302pp. Bainton, Aileen M. and Anthony W. White. 2006. A Bibliography of Birds, Ornithology and Birding in The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands. Media Enterprises Ltd. Nassau, Bahamas. 96pp.

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Southern Great Lake. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 21/05/2013

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife