IBA Category 1
SITES IMPORTANT TO SPECIES OF HIGH CONSERVATION PRIORITY IN OHIO.
Description: Sites that regularly support significant breeding or non-breeding densities of one or more of the following species. This applies to use of the site for breeding, wintering, or migration. Thresholds will vary. For species designated as state endangered, minimum thresholds are met on sites with 1% of the state population (if known) in a season, or possibly on those sites with the highest regularly occurring numbers. For all other species, minimum thresholds are met by sites with 25 or more breeding pairs, 5% or more of the seasonal state population (if known), or possibly the sites with the highest regularly occurring numbers. This designation may also include sites with a significant diversity of listed species.
Pied-billed Grebe
American Bittern
Least Bittern
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Black Vulture
Trumpeter Swan
American Black Duck
Northern Pintail
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier |
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Yellow Rail
Black Rail
King Rail
Virginia Rail
Sora
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Piping Plover
Upland Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Common Tern
Black Tern |
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barn Owl
Long-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Chuck-will's Widow
Whip-poor-will
Red-headed Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Purple Martin
Bewick's Wren
Winter Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Hermit Thrush
Loggerhead Shrike |
Northern Shrike
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Kirtland's Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Canada Warbler
Dickcissel
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Henslow's Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark |
IBA Category 2
SITES THAT CONTAIN RARE OR UNIQUE HABITAT WITHIN THE STATE OR REGION OF THE STATE OR AN EXCEPTIONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF A NATURAL HABITAT, AND THAT HOLD IMPORTANT SPECIES OR GROUPS OF BIRD SPECIES LARGELY RESTRICTED TO A DISTINCTIVE HABITAT TYPE.
Description: Sites with habitats that are rare or unique in the state, or are exceptional examples (large and intact) of the habitats that should support, or could be managed to support, the full complement of bird species dependent on that habitat type. Examples in Ohio might include grasslands (Eastern Meadowlark, Bobolink, Grasshopper Sparrow, etc.), mature forest (Cerulean Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Wood Thrush, Ovenbird, etc.), wetlands (Prothonotary Warbler, Sora, Least Bittern), and riparian corridors. 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.
IBA Category 3
SITES WHERE SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS OF BIRDS CONCENTRATE FOR BREEDING, STAGING/MIGRATION, OR WINTERING.
Description: Sites that regularly hold significant numbers of one or more species, breeding or non-breeding, including migration. Significant numbers are not easily defined. For example, wetland sites may have lower thresholds than coastal sites. The following guidelines are suggested to provide some logical thresholds for site selection. Except where indicated, numerical estimates should be based on a short period of time, e.g. one-time counts such as daily surveys - not on cumulative totals. Introduced or feral species should not be counted. Sites may not meet these thresholds but may still be nominated with explanation.
(3a) WATERFOWL: The site regularly supports 500 or more waterfowl in winter and/or 1,000 or more waterfowl in migration (staging).
(3b) GULLS AND TERNS: The site regularly supports 100 or more terns or 500 or more gulls in a season.
(3c) SHOREBIRDS: The site regularly supports 500 or more shorebirds at any time of the year.
(3d) WADING BIRDS: The site regularly supports 25 or more breeding pairs of wading birds or 100 or more individuals feeding or in migration.
(3e) RAPTORS: The site is a "bottleneck" or migration corridor for >1,000 migratory raptors (seasonal total).
(3f) LANDBIRDS: The site is an important migratory stopover or seasonal concentration site for migratory landbirds.
Sites may qualify on the basis of exceptionally high numbers of birds during migration, high densities of breeding species as shown from point counts or other surveys; or as "migrant traps" relative to the surrounding areas. Strong consideration will be given to areas with consistently high overall species diversity or diversity within a particular group (e.g., warblers).
(3g) SINGLE-SPECIES CONCENTRATIONS: The site regularly supports significant concentrations of a "congregatory" species but may not meet the thresholds above. Such sites should support a higher proportion of a species statewide population (>1%, if known) than other similar areas.
IBA Category 4
SITES IMPORTANT FOR LONG-TERM RESEARCH
AND/OR MONITORING PROJECTS THAT CONTRIBUTE
SUBSTANTIALLY TO ORNITHOLOGY, BIRD
CONSERVATION, AND/OR EDUCATION.
Description: These are generally sites of long-term research and/or monitoring projects that include areas where counts, for example, breeding bird censuses or banding records, have been kept for 10 or more years. Such sites may occur in urban, suburban, rural, or other settings. Evidence should be cited showing the area's value, such as publications of research conducted at the site.
