Arizona Important Bird Area Program

Arizona Important Bird Area Program Criteria for Site Selection

ARIZONA IMPORTANT BIRD AREA PROGRAM

CRITERIA FOR SITE SELECTION

Description: Sites that regularly support significant breeding or non-breeding densities of species listed by the following organizations that occur in Arizona: International Union for the Conservation on Nature (IUCN), U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Partners in Flight Watch List species (Nat. PIF WL), Audubon WatchList species (Red & Yellow) (Aud. WL), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Birds of Conservation Concern (2002) (BCC) by Bird Conservation Region, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Species of Greatest Conservation Need (2006) (AZGFD SGCN), Arizona Partners in Flight Priority Species (AZ PIF Pri.), Forest Service Region 3 Sensitive Species (FS Sen.), BLM Arizona Sensitive Species (BLM Sen.), and supportive listing Arizona Partners in Flight Stewardship Species (AZ PIF Stew.). National Partners in Flight is a national working group of biologists working to conserve North American landbirds. Arizona Partners in Flight is a working group of biologists and managers currently active in avian conservation in Arizona. What constitutes significant densities will vary depending on overall state distribution, abundance, and approximate percentage of statewide population occurring at the proposed site. A review of available data will be conducted by the by the IBA coordinator and a statewide technical committee to determine a site’s significance to given species state, national, and continental population.

This criterion for IBA nomination applies primarily to breeding or wintering sites, though regular migratory areas may be considered if known to be of exceptional importance. It may also include sites with a significant complement of these species. Species are listed in Appendix Table 1 by conservation status in Arizona.

Arizona Important Bird Area Program Criteria for Site Selection

Description: Sites that regularly hold significant numbers of one or more species, breeding or non-breeding, including migrants. Introduced, feral, and nuisance species (e.g., resident Canada Goose, European Starling, House Sparrow) should not be included.

ARIZONA IBA Criteria for Significant Concentration of Birds:

(2a) Waterfowl: The site regularly supports at least 2,000 waterfowl (at one time) during some part of the year. The designation “waterfowl” includes such birds as geese, ducks, and swans.

(2b) Waterbirds: The site regularly supports a “significant concentration” (at one time) of Cormorants, Coots, Gulls, Grebes, Loons, Moorhens, Pelicans, Rails, or Terns.

(2c) Shorebirds: The site regularly supports at least 100 shorebirds (at one time) during some part of the year. The designation “shorebirds” includes such birds as plovers, sandpipers, stilts, avocets, snipe, woodcock, and phalaropes.

(2d) Wading Birds: The site regularly supports a “sigificant concentration” of wading birds during some part of the year. The designation “wading birds” includes such birds as bitterns, egrets, herons, storks, and ibises.

(2e) Raptors: The site is regularly an important stop-over site, "bottleneck", or migratory corridor for at least 1,000 raptors (seasonal total) during spring or fall migration. The site is a regular over-wintering area for raptors (at least 200 individuals). The site is encompassess a significant nesting concentration of raptors (# to be reviewed).

(2f) Cranes: The site regularly supports 2000 or more cranes (includes migratory stop-over sites, and over-wintering areas- both roosts and feeding areas).

(2g) Landbirds (migration/seasonal concentration): The site is an important migratory stop-over or seasonal concentration site for migratory landbirds. Sites may qualify on the basis of of exceptionally high numbers of birds during migration, high density of breeding or over-wintering species as shown from point counts or other surveys. Strong consideration will be given to areas with consistently high overall species diversity or diversity within a particular group (e.g, warblers, flycatchers, sparrows, etc.).

The numerical criteria (2a-2g) are guidelines only. Other factors such as the importance of site to a species rangewide distribution, thus the quality of the habitat and location of the site in a rangewide landscape context. Criterion for (2g, landbird density/diversity) is to cover exceptional sites to which numerical criteria may not be easily applied, such as migrant traps for landbirds.

Arizona Important Bird Area Program Criteria for Site Selection

Description: 1. Sites with habitats that are rare or unique in the state (important ecologically due to their rarity), which hold significant numbers or diversity of bird species restricted to these habitats. 2. Sites that are exceptional examples of larger ecological community types (relatively intact) that should support, or could be managed to support, the full complement of bird species dependant on that ecological community type (important for the conservation of large scale ecological processes of which avian communities are a part of). Consideration will also be given to sites with exceptionally high species and habitat diversity, and some attempt will be made to distribute representative sites throughout the state.

Type 1: Importance to species (or species assemblages) restricted to rare (or unique) habitat types. The following habitats qualify: riparian areas dominated with native vegetation, and perennial or seasonal water (low and high elev. sites), wetlands (cienegas), lakes/playas, lowland canyons (with structurally diverse mesic habitat), mountain meadow or alpine habitat, and cliff/butte raptor nesting habitat or assemblage of nesting and foraging habitat. Other restricted habitat types are open to nomination.

Type 2: Landscape level ecological community types that are relatively intact or have the potential to be restored by allowing or managing for the occurrence of natural (historical) ecological processes. The scale of nominated IBAs should be appropriate for providing for the conservation of ecosystem associated complete avian communities. The following ecological community types qualify: large river corridors (with permanent open water) and associated riparian habitat, native grasslands (low and high elev. sites), large old growth forest tracts, large broadleaf or mixed forest stands, large (or extensive) canyon/cliff riverine complexes, and large Sonoran, Chihuahuan, or Mohave desert landscapes (with outstanding structural, vegetative, and geophysiographic diversity, i.e., extensive desert landscapes particularly with washes, and exceptional vegetative and topographic diversity). Other landscape level ecological community types are open to nomination.

Description: 4. A. Sites supporting long-term research and /or monitoring with publication of research in journals such as, Western Birds, Journal of Field Ornithology, Southwestern Naturalist, Condor, etc. Research should be substantially contributing to the fields of ornithology, avian ecology, or bird conservation. Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count areas, North American Count areas, and Breeding Bird Survey routes and the like, will not qualify.

4. B. Sites supporting educational programs in which a significant component of the program content focuses on avian ecology/behavior, bird identification, avian biodiversity/adaptations, or the value of native habitat for birds. Sites may be natural, urban, suburban, or rural, but should retain or promote significant native habitat. Sites where habitat restoration is a significant management goal, and educates the public the value of restored habitat to birds will also be included in this category.