Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information See box for key species. The wetlands are especially important for breeding waterfowl, notably Plegadis falcinellus, Marmaronetta angustirostris, Oxyura leucocephala and Glareola pratincola, and passage ducks, Fulica atra and shorebirds, and large numbers of waterfowl visit to feed in summer, including Pelecanus onocrotalus (see box), Ciconia ciconia (150; also breeds in the area), Platalea leucorodia (100) and Phoenicopterus ruber (1,000). When not frozen, the lakes also support large numbers of wintering waterfowl, mainly dabbling ducks and F. atra. A small flock of Cygnus columbianus occurred regularly in the early 1970s (the only regular wintering site in Iran), but there have been no confirmed records of the species at the site since then. Anser albifrons and A. anser have been present in winter.

Site description The lakes lie at 1,290 m on the plains to the south of Lake Uromiyeh, 7–10 km south of the south-east corner of the lake and c.30-35 km north-west of Mahabad. Shur Gol and the associated Hassanlu marshes (37°01'N 45°28'E, 2,000 ha) consist of a shallow, brackish to saline lake and marshland fed by local rainfall, springs, seepages and small streams. Flooding occurs in autumn and winter, but drainage is virtually closed and the complex dries out completely only in very dry years. The much smaller wetlands of Yadegarlu (37°02'N 45°32'E, 350 ha) and Dorgeh Sangi (36°59'N 45°34'E, 150 ha) lying a few kilometres to the east and south-east are shallow freshwater lakes with peripheral eutrophic marshes. Both are subject to wide fluctuations in water level, and are often completely frozen in winter. The extensive marshes at Shur Gol and Yadegarlu are dominated by Carex and grasses. There is relatively little aquatic vegetation at Dorgeh Sangi, where extensive bare mudflats are exposed when water is low. The surrounding land includes wheat fields on the rolling hills and plains to the north, and more intensive agriculture in the vicinity of the villages to the south.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Shurgol, Yadegarlu and Dorgeh Sangi Lakes	Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar)	2,500	is identical to site	2,500

Habitats

Land use

Other biodiversity None known to BirdLife International.

Management considerations All three wetlands were designated as a single Ramsar Site of 2,500 ha in 1975 but there is no legal protection. Cornwallis (1976) recommended that Wildlife Refuges be established at Yadegarlu and Dorgeh Sangi lakes. There have been reports of wetland drainage for agriculture at Yadegarlu.

References Carp (1980), Cornwallis (1976), Ramsar Convention Bureau (1993), Scott (1976a,c).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Shur Gol, Yadegarlu and Dorgeh Sangi lakes. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 23/05/2013

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