Sungei Burung Mangroves
Location:
4°59'-5°02'N, 100°22'-l00°25'E; adjacent to Sungei Burung, northwest of Kuala Kurau, Perak State.
Area:
250 ha.
Altitude:
Sea level.
Biogeographical Province:
4.7.1.
Wetland type:
02, 06, 07 & 11.
Description of site:
An area of mangrove forest and mudflats with a small river (Sungei Burung) and a few creeks. The site includes a small mangrove peninsula of 20-30 ha which hosts a large breeding colony of Black-crowned Night-Herons Nycticorax nycticorax. A new mudbank almost one km long was described in 1983, to the south of the site. This had grown to 2.5 km in length and 0.5 km in width by July 1986, the northern half having been colonized by Avicennia marina. This island may form an attractive breeding site for Night-Herons in the future. The rice-fields adjacent to the mangroves are important feeding grounds for the herons and other waterbirds. The water is brackish, and the median tidal range at Bagan Datoh is 4.3m. The entire area is inundated at spring tides.
Climatic conditions:
No information.
Principal vegetation:
Mangroves, principally accreting Avicennia marina.
Land tenure:
No information.
Conservation measures taken:
None.
Conservation measures proposed:
The site has been proposed as a Bird Sanctuary and Virgin Jungle Reserve. The peninsula, surrounding mangrove forest and inland rice-fields between Kuala Kurau and Bagan Serai have been proposed as a Biosphere Reserve.
Land use:
The harvesting of crabs and shellfish, and collection of birds' eggs; cultivation of rice and oil palms in surrounding areas. The whole area has been classified in soil suitability class 4 (more than one serious limitation to crop growth and suitable for a very restricted range of agricultural and forest crops).
Possible Changes in Land use:
No information.
Disturbances and threats:
Herons' eggs are collected by the local people and there is daily disturbance from crab-catchers. The use of pesticides in adjacent rice-fields may be affecting the breeding success of the Black-crowned Night-Herons. Virtually the whole area has been mapped as land alienated for agricultural purposes.
Economic and social values:
No information.
Fauna:
The mangroves support one of the largest breeding colonies of Black-crowned Night-Herons Nycticorax nyclicorax in the world, with an estimated 5,000-6,000 nests. Small numbers of Milky Storks Mycteria cinerea feed in the area. Migratory shorebirds including Numenius arquata and N. phaeopus use the area for roosting and feeding, e.g. c. 1,500 in 1983. Crabs and prawns are abundant, and there is a rich benthic fauna.
Special floral values:
None known.
Research and facilities:
Silvius et al. conducted a survey of the vegetation, fauna and current threats to the mangrove environment in 1985 and 1986. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks and Interwader carried out a survey of the night-heron colony in September 1986, to assess the effects of the colony on the vegetation.
References:
EPU (1980); Silvius et al. (1987).
Criteria for Inclusion:
1b. 2c, 3a, 3c.
Source:
Asian Wetland Bureau.