Literature type: General
Journal: Podoces
Volume: 5 , Pages: 11-28.
Language:
English
Full reference: Scott, D.A. 2010. Results of Mid-winter Waterbird Counts in Iran in the Early 1970s. Podoces: 5, 11-28.
Keywords: mid-winter, waterbird counts, Iran, population estimation, wetland
Abstract:
The mid-winter waterbird counts in Iran were initiated by the Department of the Environment in January 1967. The counts focused on pelicans, flamingos, swans, geese, ducks, cranes and coots, but some counts were also made of other species of waterbirds. By the early 1970s, the counts were sufficiently comprehensive to enable estimations to be made of the total numbers of many species of waterbirds present in Iran in the mid-winter period. The overall results of the counts and these population estimates are presented in a series of tables. It was estimated that in an ‘average’ year in the early 1970s, there were approximately 2,000–2,200 pelicans, 48,000–51,000 flamingos, 380–460 swans, 27,000–32,000 geese, 2.0–2.4 million ducks, 2,300–2,800 cranes and 370,000–410,000 coots wintering in Iran. The number of birds reaching Iran in autumn and remaining throughout the winter was greatly affected by weather conditions both in Iran and in the north Caspian region. In mild winters, large numbers of the hardier species, notably the swans Cygnus spp., remained throughout the winter in the north Caspian, while in extremely severe winters, a large part of the Russian wintering populations moved south into northern Iran. In dry years, when many of the wetlands in Khuzestan, central Fars and Seistan remained dry throughout the winter, large numbers of waterbirds continued on south to winter in the Indian subcontinent or Mesopotamia. In the winter of 1969/70, when conditions were unusually mild in northwestern Iran, large numbers of birds overwintered in the wetlands of the Urumiyeh basin in Azarbaijan, but in most years these wetlands froze over in December, and most birds had left the area by the time of the mid-winter counts.
Literature type: Report
Language:
English
Full reference: Amini, H. & Willems, F.J. 2008. Waterbirds in Iran. Results of a mid-winter count in the provinces of West Azarbayjan, Gilan, Mazanderan, Golestan, Sistan-Baluchistan, Hormozgan, Fars, Bushehr & Khuzestan of the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2007. , Department of Environment, Islamic Republic of Iran. 390pp.
Keywords: mid-winter, waterbird counts, Iran, population estimation, wetland
Literature type: Book Chpt
Language:
English
Full reference: Vasiliev, V.V., Gauzer, M.E., Rustamov, E.A. & Belousova, A.V. 2006. The Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus in the south-east Caspian region of Turkmenistan. , Waterbirds around the world. Eds. G.C. Boere, C.A. Galbraith & D.A. Stroud. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, UK. pp. 629-632.
Keywords: Turkmenistan, Caspian Sea, winter count, mid-winter, survey
Abstract:
The south-east Caspian region of Turkmenistan is an important staging and wintering area for the globally threatened Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus. During the period 1975-2003, surveys carried out in late autumn and mid-winter recorded Lesser White-fronted Geese at a total of 14 sites. The numbers of geese fluctuated widely from a maximum of 1 850 individuals in November 1999 to none in several years. The most important sites were the Turkmenbashi, Balkan, Mihkailovskiy and Severo-Cheleken Bays in the central part of the Caspian coast of Turkmenistan, and the delta of the Atrek River in the southern part. Changes in the distribution and numbers of geese have occurred as a result of habitat degradation or alteration and other anthropogenic pressures, especially hunting. Various measures are proposed for the protection and management of the Lesser White-fronted Goose in Turkmenistan, and it is suggested that these measures could be used in the development of an international action plan for the conservation of the species in the Caspian region as a whole.
Number of results: 3