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International Journal of Marine Science 2013, Vol.3, No.25, 193-200
http://ijms.sophiapublisher.com
196
Spoonbill
Platalea leucorodia
did not breed in
2008-2012 in the islands.
2.3 Situation of breeding birds in each island
2.3.1 Breeding species on Om-Al-Gorm (Ummal
Karam)
Thirty species of birds were observed on Om-Al-Gorm
in 2008-2012, (20 species of waterbirds and 10
species of landbirds; Table 1), six species of which
were breeders in 2008-2012, and 9 species had bred in
1975 (Table 3, Scott, 1975; Behrouzi-Rad, 2013). The
Om-Al-Gorm is a very important breeding area for
Crab Plover and terns (Scott, 1995). A colony of
1,500 pairs of this species bred on sand dunes on this
island in 1975 (Scott, 1995); the maximum colony
size for Crab Plover was 2,825 pairs in 2009 (nearly
twice that of 1975, Behrouzi-Rad, 2008). Seven species
of terns nested on the Om-Al-Gorm in 1975 (Scott,
1975), four of them bred in 2008-2012 again, (Table 3
and Figure 3). The nesting location of birds on
Om-Al-Gorm in 2008-2012 is shown in Figure 4. The
Om-Al-Gorm holds over 20,000 seabirds in some years
including over 1% of the regional population of
Dromas ardeola
,
Sterna bengalensis
and
Sterna
anaethetus
(Scott, 1995, Table 3). Gull-billed Tern is
a rare breeding migratory species of the Om-Al- Gorm,
which appears to favour several reservoirs in Bulgaria
during the breeding period. The Atanasovo Lake is the
only breeding site. Between 4 (Grossier, 1967) and 65
pairs bred in 1967 at Atanasovo Lake (Nankinov,
1989). The breeding population of Western Reef
Heron increased from 26 pairs in 1975 (Scott, 1975) to
92 pairs in 2012 (Behrouzi-Rad, 2013). Bridled Tern was
dominant in Om-Al-Gorm. The maximum population of
this species was 20,620 pairs in 2008 and 1,000 pairs in
1975 (Table 3). The maximum breeding population of
Lesser Crested Tern was 965 pairs in 2010 and 50 pairs
in 1975, and Swift Tern was estimated at 1,340 pairs in
2011 and 100 in 1975. Three species of Terns:
Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern and Saunders’s Tern
sterna saundersi
did not breed in Om-Al-Gorm between
2008 and 2012, but there were 2, 5-10, and 5 breeding
pairs respectively in 1975 (Table 3).
Table 3 Comparison of breeding bird populations on Om-Al-Gorm, Iran, from 1975 to 2012
Breeding Species
Scott 1975 pairs 2008 pairs
2009 pairs
2010 pairs
2011pairs
2012 pairs
Crab Plover
Dromas ardeola
1,500
2,168
2,825
2,624
0
481
Saunders’s Tern
Sterna saundersi
5
0
0
0
0
0
Lesser Crested Tern
Sterna bengalensis
50
0
3
965
0
0
Swift Tern
Sterna bergii
100
0
0
11
1,340
0
Western Reef Heron
Egretta gularis
26
30
0
11
54
92
Whit -checked Tern
Sterna repressa
300
0
500
700
0
0
Bridled Tern
Sterna anaethetus
1,000
20,620
0
600
60
50
Gull-billed Tern
Sterna nilotica
2
0
0
0
0
0
Caspian Tern
Sterna caspia
5
-
10
0
0
0
0
0
Total
2,988+5
22,718
3,320
4,911
1,454
623
Figure 3 Breeding population of birds in Om-Al-Gorm,
2008-2012 and 1975
2.3.2 Breeding species on Nakhiloo
Twenty five species of birds were observed on
Nakhiloo in 2008-2012, 19 species were waterbirds
and 6 species were landbirds (Table 1). Eight species
of birds had bred over the five year study in Nakhiloo
(Table 4 and Figure 5). In 1975, five species of birds
bred in this island (Table 4, Scott, 1975). Five species
of terns, Western Reef Heron, Crab Plover
Droma
ardeola
and Lesser Sand Plover
Charadrius mongolus
bred on Nakhiloo in 2008-2012. White Cheeked Tern
had nested in limited number in the north of Nakhiloo
and at place called Sheikh Karameh (Figure 6).
Maximum breeding population (2008-2012) was 74
pairs in 2008. Bridled Tern bred in great numbers all
over the island. GPS system estimated the area of the
breeding habitat of this species 24.6 hectares. The total