Fourteen new Important Bird Areas in Indiana

The National Audubon Society has identified 14 new Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the state of Indiana. Some of the Midwest's most significant breeding populations of declining neotropical migrants can be found within these newest IBAs, including WatchList species such as Wood Thrushes, Cerulean Warblers, and Worm-eating Warblers. The sites also comprise critical stop-over habitats for migrating waterfowl, shorebirds, jaegers, and terns. In all, more than 30 species of threatened or endangered birds utilize these Important Bird Areas during the breeding, non-breeding, or migratory seasons.

"With the third round of IBA evaluations, Audubon has identified 14 sites and over 300,000 acres of habitat in Indiana critical for the protection of many threatened bird species," said James Cole, Indiana's IBA coordinator. "Many of the new Important Bird Areas encompass the largest remaining expanses of forest in southern Indiana. However, these sites also include smaller but equally critical areas, including locales along the shore of Lake Michigan and habitats threatened by fragmentation from agricultural and urban development in the central part of the state."

The Important Bird Areas Program is Audubon's primary conservation initiative and is part of a global partnership with Birdlife International to identify key areas throughout the world for bird populations. IBAs are sites that provide essential habitat for one or more species of bird, and include locales for breeding, wintering, and/or migrating birds. IBAs may be a few acres, or thousands of acres, but usually they are discrete sites that stand out from the surrounding landscape. IBAs may include public or private lands, or both, and they may be protected or unprotected.

The fourteen most recently identified IBAs include:

Beanblossom Bottoms (Monroe County):

The Beanblossom Bottoms Important Bird Area encompasses over 650 acres of land just northwest of Bloomington in south-central Indiana. A diverse mosaic of habitats can be found here, including bottomland hardwood forest, successional areas, emergent marsh, small ponds, and sedge meadows. Consequently, throughout the year a myriad of avian taxa can be found at Beanblossom, including neotropical passerines, obligate marsh land birds, migrant waterfowl, and shorebird congregations.

Brookville Lake/Whitewater State Park (Franklin and Union Counties):

In total, this IBA encompasses approximately 20,000 acres of habitat, which includes open reservoir, climax forest, second-growth woods, and successional areas, all within the rolling hills, steep ridges, and ravines associated with Indiana's Bluegrass Natural Region. These state-owned properties support one of the most significant assemblages of migrant and nesting avian species in eastern Indiana. Congregations of migrant waterfowl, a diversity of neotropical passerines, and nesting endangered raptors are the fundamental characteristics of this Important Bird Area.

Eagle Creek Park (Marion County):

Encompassed within the property's boundaries are approximately 5,300 acres, making the Eagle Creek the largest park in central Indiana and one of the largest municipally-owned parks in the United States. Many WatchList birds were found on the property during the nesting season, including such species as Willow Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, Blue-winged Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, and Kentucky Warbler.

Elkhart River Corridor (Elkhart County):

The Elkhart River Important Bird Area, located just south of the city of Goshen in Elkhart County, comprises some of the last remaining floodplain and riparian habitats in the north-central region of the state. These uncommon habitats, combined with the relative length of the corridor, ensure that this Important Bird Area supports some of the most critical nesting and migrant populations of threatened birds within this region of the state, including WatchList species such as Blue-winged Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Canada Warbler, and Rusty Blackbird.

Harrison-Crawford Forest (Crawford and Harrison Counties):

This complex comprises two large properties managed by Indiana's Department of Natural Resources - the Harrison-Crawford State Forest, and O'Bannon Woods State Park - along with some privately held lands located adjacent to IDNR in-holdings. This area is especially significant for birds dependent of woodland interiors, including such WatchList species as Wood Thrush, Cerulean Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, and Kentucky Warbler.

Hoosier National Forest, Tell City Unit (Crawford and Perry Counties):

Approximately 40,000 acres in size and consisting primarily of contiguous mid-to-late successional forest, this section of the national forest is one of Indiana's most significant areas for interior forest songbird populations. No fewer than eight WatchList and state-endangered species are confirmed to breed in this Important Bird Area.

Jackson-Washington-Clark Forest (Clark, Jackson, Scott, and Washington Counties):

Spanning approximately 40 miles in length, the Jackson-Washington/Clark State Forest Important Bird Area comprises one of the largest remaining forest tracts in Indiana. A plethora of WatchList species can be found here during the summertime; the abundance of steep-sided slopes and ravines found at the two state forests seem particularly attractive to the Worm-eating Warbler - its nesting population at these two locales combined possibly total more than 1000 individuals.

Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area (Porter and Starke Counties):

This property, owned and managed by Indiana's Department of Natural Resources, encompasses over 4,000 acres of land at the confluence of the Kankakee and Yellow Rivers. Congregations of migrant waterfowl, cranes, and shorebirds can be found here, and the swamp habitats support the largest breeding population of Prothonotary Warbler, a WatchList species, in northern Indiana.

Miller Beach/Marquette Park (Lake County):

Miller Beach and Marquette Park are located almost perfectly at the extreme southern point of the elongated Lake Michigan waters. Hence, birds traveling along the lakefront in either an eastward or westward direction are funneled to this IBA, making this site one of the most critical locales in Indiana for migrant birds. Fall congregations are especially impressive, with number of loons, ducks, and terns reaching the thousands, and the sandy beaches provide stopover habitat for WatchList birds like Piping Plover and Whimbrel. Also, over the past decades more migrant jaegers have been seen at Miller Beach than anywhere else in Indiana, and perhaps even the entire Midwest.

Monroe Lake (Brown and Monroe Counties):

The Monroe Lake IBA encompasses approximately 24,000 acres of open water, marsh, and bottomland habitats in southern Indiana. Consequently, this area supports a diversity and abundance of waterfowl and nesting neotropical migrants, although it is best known throughout Indiana for it over-wintering and nesting Bald Eagle population.

Morgan-Monroe Forest (Monroe and Morgan Counties):

Located along the border of Monroe and Morgan Counties, this area comprises approximately 40,000 acres of mostly contiguous forest. The critical parcel of this IBA is IDNR's Morgan-Monroe State Forest (MMSF), which is the largest state-owned forest in Indiana. Nesting WatchList species at MMSF include Wood Thrush, Cerulean Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, and Kentucky Warbler. Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Black-and-white Warbler, and Hooded Warbler are state-listed species that also breed within the forested habitat.

Point Township Bottomlands (Posey County):

The Point Township Bottomlands IBA is located in the southernmost reaches of Indiana along the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers. With its buttressed bald cypress trees and coffee-colored water, the habitats found at this locale are reflective of those associated with the Deep South; not coincidentally, this IBA also supports some of the most unique avifaunal communities in Indiana, including species like Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and Mississippi Kite whose ranges are typically restricted to locales south of the state's borders.

West Beach (Porter County):

West Beach is located along the Lake-Porter County boundary in northwestern Indiana, along Lake Michigan and is managed by the National Parks Service as part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (IDNL). This mosaic of habitats attracts a great diversity of birds throughout the year, including migrant loons, waterfowl, and passerines.

Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area (Newton County):

Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area is located in rural northwestern Indiana adjacent to the state's border with Illinois. The property is immediately bordered by two other IBAs - the Nature Conservancy's Kankakee Sands Project to the north and Illinois' Iroquois State Wildlife Area to west. These three IBAs combined encompass nearly 20,000 acres of critical bird habitat within the Grand Prairie Natural Region for nesting grassland, savanna, and marsh land species.

"With these newest site recognitions, we now have a total of 40 Important Bird Areas in Indiana," said Cole. "Our IBAs illustrate the significance of the Hoosier landscape in local, continental, and global bird conservation. Audubon is working to ensure that these different types of resources are managed collectively for bird conservation."

Information gathered about each site can create model ordinances for local governments, and serve as the basis for educational materials and programs to increase public awareness and stewardship of habitats critical for bird populations. Other opportunities generated through the identification of IBAs may include direct conservation measures, such as public acquisition, conservation easements, and guides for property managers. A primary aspect of the IBA program is that it is a voluntary, non-regulatory initiative, which facilitates landowners' complete involvement and encourages them to make a difference for wildlife through recognition, advocacy, and stewardship.

Currently, work is underway to identify additional IBAs in Indiana. Audubon members and interested birders who would like to nominate an IBA or assist with site monitoring and adoption programs can contact James Cole, Indiana IBA coordinator, at jcole at audubon dot org. For a full review of Indiana's Important Bird Areas, please visit www.audubon.org/bird/iba and click on the state of Indiana.