Census and Phenology of Breeding Waterbirds on the Islands of Khan, Tahmadon, Om-Al-Gorm and Nakhiloo in the Persian Gulf, Iran

Abstract

There are 4 islands Khan, Tahmadon, Om-Al-Gorm and Nakhiloo in the Mond Protected in Boshehr province in the Persian Gulf. This research was conducted in these islands from March 2008 to September 2012. Thirty four species of birds were identified in these Islands. Nine species were breeders. Bridled Tern Sterna anaethetus was dominant and indicates. The maximum population of this species was 29,461 pairs in 2006 in Nakhiloo. The Maximum breeding population of Lesser Crested Tern Sterna bengalensis was 11,783 pairs in 2012 in Nakhiloo, and Swift Tern Sterna bergii was estimated at 2,500 pairs in 2008. We estimated 92 pairs of Western Reef Heron Egretta gularis and 2,825 pairs of Crab Plover Dromas ardeola in 2005 in Om-Al-Gorm. The other breeders were Caspian Tern Sterna caspia , Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica , White-cheecked Tern Sterna repressa and Saunders’s Tern Sterna saunders . These four islands are the most important and sensitive habitat for breeding terns species Sterna sp, Crab Plover Dromas ardeola and Western Reef Heron Egretta gularis in the Persian Gulf. The islands have been identified as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International proposed for protection as a part of the Mond Protected Area, now part of National Marine Park of Dayer, and suggested for to be classified as sensitive habitat for breeding seabirds.