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TR080
Gavur Lake
Location Turkey, Gaziantep,Kahramanmaras
Central coordinates 36o 50.00' East  37o 18.00' North
IBA criteria A1, A4iii
Area 6,650 ha
Altitude 490 m
Year of IBA assessment 2004

Doga Dernegi (Partner Designate)



Ornithological information Prior to drainage the site held enormous numbers of passage waterbirds.

Site description The site lies south of the town of Türkoðlu in the Saðlýk plain, and comprises a complex of fields and small reedbeds (Phragmites) inundated during the winter but largely dry and cultivated during the summer. The area is fed by springs and streams. Rice-fields adjoin the lake to the north-east; a railway and motorway pass to the west.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species Season Period Population estimate Quality of estimate IBA Criteria IUCN Category
Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus passage  1996  36-121 individuals  -  A1  Least Concern 
A4iii Species group - waterbirds passage  -  20,000 individuals  unknown  A4iii   

Habitats

IUCN habitat Habitat detail Extent (% of site)
Wetlands (inland) Standing freshwater; Water fringe vegetation  20%
Artificial landscapes (terrestrial) Arable land  80%

Land use

Land-use Extent (% of site)
agriculture 100%

Management considerations As part of its Ceyhan Menzelet scheme, DSÝ plans to complete the land-claim and irrigation of the Saðlýk plain, including this IBA. Gavur lake, although largely claimed, could be restored if excluded from the proposed scheme.

Protection status National None International None

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Gavur Lake. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/05/2013

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