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	Important Bird Areas

Click here for an Update on the New Hampshire Important Bird Area Program including a list and map of current IBA sites in the state (April, 2006).

Announcing the New Hampshire Important Bird Area Program By Pam Hunt and Ellen Snyder The Audubon Society of New Hampshire, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, and UNH Cooperative Extension are working in partnership with the state's Partners in Flight (PIF) Committee to create an Important Bird Area (IBA) Program. The IBA Program is an international bird and habitat conservation program created by BirdLife International ( www.birdlife.net). It currently has projects operating in 103 countries. In the United States, the IBA program is overseen by the National Audubon Society ( www.audubon.org/bird/iba/index.html), with 40 states currently participating. The goal of the program is to identify and conserve areas that are critical to one or more bird species for breeding, feeding, wintering, or migration.

The extensive wetlands and lowland spruce forest of the Pondicherry Wildlife Refuge and vicinity make it a strong candidate for a New Hampshire IBA. The area hosts rare species such asCommon Loon and Northern Harrier, species of conservation concern such as Rusty Blackbird, good numbers of breeding and migrating waterfowl, and critical habitats, including grassland and tamarack bog.

Despite its small size, New Hampshire hosts a diverse array of habitat types, and more than 250 bird species spend time in the state; some are here during the breeding season, others are year-round residents, and still others come into New Hampshire only in migration or winter. Habitats range from the eighteen miles of coastline, including sand dunes and salt marshes, to the high mountain peaks with their alpine and subalpine habitats.

To qualify as an IBA, an area must meet strict scientific criteria. Potential IBAs include areas that support:

• threatened or endangered species
• species of high conservation priority
• significant concentrations of birds
• representative, rare, threatened, or unique habitats.

If you know of an area that you think should be considered an IBA in New Hampshire, you are encouraged to fill out a preliminary nomination form. These forms will be reviewed by New Hampshire IBA personnel, who will send a more detailed form for areas that have good IBA potential. All final nominations will be reviewed by an IBA technical committee, which will include representatives from state and federal agencies, non-profits, and the New Hampshire birding community. If more information is needed, there will be volunteer opportunities for birders to collect data on potential IBAs during the summer.

For more information about the New Hampshire Important Bird Areas Program, contact:

Pam Hunt N.H. IBA Program Coordinator Audubon Society of New Hampshire 224-9909, ext. 328 phunt@nhaudubon.org

Ellen Snyder Biodiversity Specialist UNH Cooperative Extension 862-4277 ellen.snyder@unh.edu

A copy of the New Hampshire IBA criteria and a preliminary nomination form are available at the Cooperative Extension website: http://ceinfo.unh.edu/Wildlife/NHIBA.htm'.

Important Bird Areas that have been named in New Hampshire include:

• Hampton/Great Bay Estuaries