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OM006
Al Batinah coast
Location Oman, Al Batinah
Central coordinates 57o 2.00' East  24o 3.00' North
IBA criteria A4i, B1i
Area 9,000 ha
Altitude 0 - 5m
Year of IBA assessment 2001





Ornithological information See box for key species. Important numbers of waterbirds occur in winter, especially large numbers of Calidris alba and roosting gulls and terns; the latter often concentrate at the small khawrs.

Site description About 300 km of exposed, sand beach coast facing the Gulf of Oman, extending from As Seeb north-westwards to Shinas. Khawrs (creeks) frequently occur at the mouths of drainage lines; most are transitory, appearing and disappearing according to the occurrence of strong tides and wadi-floods. (The following major khawrs occur within this area, but are dealt with separately due to their ornithological importance -- Kalba, Shinas, Liwa, Ra's/Juzor as Sawadi and Al Qurm -- sites 003, 004, 008 and 010 respectively.)

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species Season Period Population estimate Quality of estimate IBA Criteria IUCN Category
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus winter  1989-1992  222-341 individuals  good  B1i  Least Concern 
Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus winter  1989-1992  277-322 individuals  good  B1i  Least Concern 
Sanderling Calidris alba winter  1989-1992  356-2,500 individuals  good  A4i, B1i  Least Concern 
Mew Gull Larus canus winter  1990  1,650 individuals  medium  B1i  Least Concern 
Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans winter  1989-1992  1,137-3,507 individuals  poor  B1i  Least Concern 
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus winter  1989-1992  568-1,754 individuals  poor  A4i, B1i  Least Concern 
Pallas's Gull Larus ichthyaetus winter  1989-1992  1,216-3,801 individuals  good  A4i, B1i  Least Concern 
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus winter  1989-1992  23,704-35,526 individuals  good  A4i, B1i  Least Concern 
Slender-billed Gull Larus genei winter  1989-1992  822-1,722 individuals  good  A4i, B1i  Least Concern 
Great Crested Tern Sterna bergii non-breeding  1989-1992  265-490 individuals  good  B1i  Least Concern 

Protected areas

Protected area Designation Area (ha) Relationship with IBA Overlap with IBA (ha)  
Khawr Kashnir Natural Resource Reserve 0 protected area contained by site 50  

Habitats

IUCN habitat Habitat detail Extent (% of site)
Coastline   major
Sea   major

Land use

Land-use Extent (% of site)
fisheries/aquaculture -
nature conservation and research 1%

Other biodiversity None known to BirdLife International.

Management considerations Khawr Kashmir is maintained as a bird sanctuary by the Office of the Adviser for the Conservation of the Environment of the Diwan of Royal Court. There are seven proposed Nature Conservation Areas within this site, totalling 860 ha: three National Nature Reserves, three National Resource Reserves, and one National Scenic Reserve.

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Al Batinah coast. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 19/06/2013

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