Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information See table for key species. The area is very poorly known ornithologically, and all counts are likely to be severe underestimates. Other breeding species include Pandion haliaetus (min. 1 pair) and Caprimulgus nubicus. Non-breeding summer visitors to the rich seas offshore include Sula leucogaster (max. 100, July), unidentified Puffinus pacificus/Bulweria fallax (max. 100, July), Sterna bergii (max. 20, July), S. bengalensis (max. 180, July) and Anous stolidus (max. 2, June); some of these species may well breed on adjacent islands (see site 004). Limicola falcinellus occurs on autumn passage, in undetermined numbers (probably large, due to the highly suitable fine-grained intertidal sediment).

Site description Ra's Isa is a headland pointing north-west into the Red Sea, towards the adjacent island of Kamaran; Bahr Ibn Abbas is the shallow, sheltered bay north of Ra's Isa. Kamaran (15°22'N 42°35'E; c.10,000 ha) is a low, flat, rather bare-looking island, separated from the mainland by a 2.5-km-wide channel that is less than 100 m deep.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Habitats

Land use

Other biodiversity Mammals: there are or were wild Gazella on Kamaran, of unknown species: a horn found in 1979 is the last known record. Feeding whales and dolphins are frequent offshore (e.g. Sousa); a population of Dugong dugon (V) occurs in Bahr Ibn Abbas. Reptiles: the area is probably an important feeding ground for sea-turtles (globally threatened).

Management considerations The impact on habitats caused by the construction of the oil terminal at Al-Salif in the late 1980s is not known. Associated development of the Al-Salif area in the future is probably the greatest potential threat to the site, through expansion of industry/housing/human population leading to land-claim, disturbance of nesting birds and pollution. Due to its clear, rich seas and accessible coral reefs, the Ra's Isa area may also become a focus for development of tourism in the future, with potentially major impacts on the birds and other wildlife. Up-to-date base-line surveys of bird populations are urgently needed, especially of the intertidal mudflats and of breeding colonies in the mangrove; the latter may be threatened through human disturbance, deliberate persecution, exploitation of eggs and cutting/lopping of trees for wood and fodder.

Conservation response No formal conservation measures are known to have been taken, although the establishment of marine parks has been considered in the past, and the area was recommended for special management by a PERSGA survey team in 1985.

Contribute  Please click here to help BirdLife conserve the world's birds - your data for this IBA and others are vital for helping protect the environment.

Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Bahr Ibn Abbas - Ra's Isa. 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