Audubon's Important Bird Areas Program

Audubon's Important Bird Areas Program Habitat loss and fragmentation are the most serious threats facing bird populations across America and around the world. BirdLife International, a global coalition of more than 100 conservation organizations, initiated the Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program in Europe in the 1980's to combat these pressures. This key conservation effort has grown into an international endeavor; to date, IBAs have been identified in 156 countries around the globe. As the United States Partner of BirdLife International, Audubon has been administering the program since 1995 via statewide initiatives.

What is an Important Bird Area?

Important Bird Areas, or IBAs, are sites that provide essential habitat for one or more bird species. IBAs include sites for breeding, wintering, and/or migrating birds. IBAs may be a few acres, but they are usually sites or landscapes that stand out from their surroundings.

To qualify as an Important Bird Area, sites must satisfy at least one of the following criteria. The area must support:

• Species of conservation concern (e.g., Cerulean Warbler, Henslow's Sparrow, etc.)
• Species that are vulnerable because their populations are concentrated in one general habitat or biome type (e.g., Wood Thrush, Dickcissel, etc.); also termed "responsibility species"
• An outstanding example of a representative or rare habitat type
• Species, or groups of similar species, that are vulnerable because they occur at high densities due to their congregatory behavior

The identification of IBAs in Indiana is an important first step in this bird conservation initiative. A comprehensive list of Indiana species and criteria for site selection are listed here. Species IBA inventories provide a scientifically defensible method for prioritizing conservation action and allocating limited conservation dollars to ensure maximum benefit to birds. The Indiana IBA Program is now beginning the formal process of nominating and identifying Important Bird Areas. Below is just a small sample of sites which may be recognized as Important Bird Areas.

The Marian College EcoLab — An IBA Test Site

The Marian College EcoLab (a 50-acre wetland restoration located on campus near downtown Indianapolis) has been designated as a test site for the Indiana IBA Program.

The Indiana IBA coordinator, in conjunction with the Amos W. Butler Audubon Society, Marian College, and the Cold Springs Elementary School staff, designs and implements on-site educational and habitat restoration programs. Such outreach events include bird hikes and surveys, owl prowls, restoration work days, and bird identification and natural history workshops. These programs facilitate local engagement of volunteers and docent naturalists in the IBA program.

A list of upcoming events at the EcoLab can be found at http://wetland.marian.edu.

Existing Indiana IBAs