Identification of wintering birds of Yazd artificial wetland

In the present study, the wintering birds of the artificial wetlands of Yazd province in 1393, 1395 and 1396 were studied. This study is one of the first studies conducted with the aim of preventing the drying process of the wetland by emphasizing on maintaining water rights and protection of migratory birds in the artificial wetland of Yazd. Data from winter and autumn counts which were carried out in 2014, 2016, and 2017, were gathered and analyzed. In this study, 48 bird species (18 species of aquatic, 18 species of waterside and 12 species waterside) were identified. The highest numbers belonged to the Fulica atra (528 individuals), Sturnus vulgaris (500 individuals) and Anas platyrhynchos (130 individuals) respectively. Among aquatic birds, the highest number of species were represented by the family of Scolopacidae (6 species). Furthermore, the family of Rallidae represented the highest number (531 individuals comprising of 3 species). The highest and lowest numbers were 2750 and 819 individuals in 2017 and 2016 respectively. The highest evenness was observed in 2016 (0.62) and the lowest in 2014 (0.39). The most diversity of Simpson and Shannon-Winer in 2016 were 4.32 and 2.01 respectively. This study has shown that the artificial wetland of Yazd, in addition to protecting and maintaining water birds, is also important for the conservation and providing habitats for terrestrial birds and thus protecting it should be of utmost importance.