PAs Important Bird Area Program and the Conservation of Our Bird Life

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PAs Important Bird Area Program and the
Conservation of Our Bird Life
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird
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Purple Finch
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Northern Harrier
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Birds are excellent bio-indicators
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Birds are accessible to everyone
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Pennsylvania is 60 Forest
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PAs Contribution to Bird Conservation in the
Western Hemisphere
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Grasslands in Pennsylvania?
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Coal Strip Mining
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Post-mining Grassland
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Pennsylvania has lost 60 of its wetlands
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Pennsylvania is the Keystone State for Raptor
Migration
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Cape May Warbler
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Pocono Spruce Bog
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Southern River Bottom Forest
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Yellow-breasted Chat Population Decline
Birds counted per stop on national Breeding Bird
Survey
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• Threats to Bird Habitats

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Deer Impacts 6-foot Browse Line
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Post-logging Deer Exclosure
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Historical Logging in PA 99.9 Cut by 1900
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Ancient Forests in PA?
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Half of PAs Nesting Songbirds are Neotropical
Migrants
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PAs Forests 7 Conifers
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CAT PREDATION ESTIMATES 100 Million 1 Billion
bird deaths/yr.
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How many birds do windows kill?
WINDOWS KILL!
1 Billion birds/yr.
Windows can act as mirrors
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Eastern Bluebird
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Audubon PAs Important Bird Area Program
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History/Scope of IBA Program

• Started by BirdLife International in Europe in
  1980s
• Launched in U.S. in 1995 by Audubon in PA and NY
• Now in 156 countries

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National Audubon Protecting birds since 1905
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PA IBA Criteria

• Exceptional concentration or diversity
• Significant population of endangered or
  threatened species
• Significant population of PA Species of Special
  Concern
• Representative, rare, threatened, or unique
  habitats
• Long-term research or monitoring ongoing

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IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS

• Currently 78 IBA sites identified (selected by
  OTC)

• IBA land area exceeds 1 million acres (gt 3 of
  state)

• GIS map and conservation plan developed for each
  site

• Ongoing nomination process to add new sites

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IBA Land Ownership
51 Public
32 Public/Private
17 Private
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Smallest IBA 1 Acre
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Blue Mountain Kittatinny Ridge

• PAs Largest IBA
• 185 Miles Long
• 300 Square Miles

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The Kittatinny Ridge is used annually for
migration by more than 150 different species of
hawks, eagles, vultures, and songbirds
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Development on the Kittatinny Ridge
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Large Landscape IBAs
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Large River Corridors

• Lower Susquehanna River Gorge

• Upper Delaware River

• Youghiogheny River/Ohiopyle SP

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Linear migration corridors

• Bald Eagle Ridge

• Kittatinny Ridge/Blue Mountain

• Tuscarora Ridge

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Large Forest Blocks

• Southern Sproul State Forest

• Quehanna Wild Area

• St. Anthonys Wilderness

• Wyoming SF/Worlds End SP

• South Mountain (Michaux SF)

• Raccoon Creek Valley

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Middle Creek Wildlife
Management Area
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Conejohela Flats
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Long-eared Owl
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Powdermill Nature Reserve Banding Project
(1961 present)
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Cerulean Warbler Threatened Species?
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IBA Education
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Volunteer Training Monitoring

• 253 individuals trained
• 18 IBAs currently being monitored annually for
  breeding forest birds
• 680 monitoring points total

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• Pennsylvania IBA Partnerships
• PA Game Commission
• PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry
• PA DCNR Bureau of Parks
• PA Fish and Boat Commission
• Land Conservancies
• Audubon Chapters Bird Clubs
• U.S. Fish Wildlife Service

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IBA Site Adoption Status Total of 43 sites
adopted by 14 Audubon Chapters 5 Bird Clubs 3
Land Trusts 2 Nature Centers
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Passenger Pigeons once numbered in the hundreds
of millions in North America, but became extinct
in the early 20th century.
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HOW IS THE IBA PROGRAM FUNDED?

• DCNR

• PA Game Commission

• William Penn Foundation

• Wild Resource Conservation Fund

• PA Dept. Of Environmental Protection
• (Growing Greener Funds)

• International Paper Corporation

• McLean Contributionship

• Heinz Endowments

• Alexander M. Stewart, MD Foundation

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Thank You!
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IBA Web Sites

• http//www.audubon.org/bird/iba/index.html
• http//pa.audubon.org/Ibamain.htm
• http//pa.audubon.org
• http//www.audubon.org

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American Bittern
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Golden Eagle
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Lesser Yellowlegs
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Magnolia Warbler
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Tropical Forest Destruction
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Blackburnian Warbler
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Golden-winged Warbler
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Hooded Warbler
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Summer Tanager
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Audubon Pennsylvanias Important Bird Area Progra
m
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Landowner Relationships
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Upland Sandpiper
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Bobolink
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Henslows Sparrow
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Short-eared Owl
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History/Scope of IBA Program

• Started by BirdLife International in Europe in
  1980s
• Launched in U.S. in 1995 by Audubon in PA and NY
• Now in 156 countries

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Lower Susquehanna River Gorge
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Blackpoll Warbler
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Snow Geese