Important Bird Areas

Pennsylvania

  • View Another State

Pennsylvania IBAs by Type

IBA Priority Number Acres
Global 6 22,219
Continental 7 47,582
State 73 1,386,666
Total 86 1,456,467

Formed in 1996, Pennsylvania developed the first statewide Important Bird Area (IBA) program in the country. A group of scientific advisors (known as the Ornithological Technical Committee) has identified over 80 IBA sites encompassing over two million acres of Pennsylvania's public and private land. These areas include migratory staging areas, winter roost sites and prime breeding areas for songbirds, wading birds, and other species. Pennsylvania is making an important contribution to the conservation of bird habitat in the western hemisphere. Penn's Woods are critical to many interior forest birds, providing nesting habitat to 17% of the world's Scarlet Tanagers and 9% of the Wood Thrushes. By focusing attention on the most essential and vulnerable areas, the IBA program helps to promote proactive habitat conservation, benefiting birds and biodiversity. Audubon Pennsylvania works with a multitude of partners across the Commonwealth to advance the conservation of Important Bird Areas. For more information on the individual sites, please use the map to the right to navigate to your desired location. See Feature News - and submit your bird observations - on {link:Pennsylvania eBird|http://ebird.org/content/pa/news/discover-pennsylvania2019s-important-bi...} {link:Frequently Asked Questions about the IBA Program|http://pa.audubon.org/iba/faq.html}

Site Name Status Prioritysort descending Counties IBA Criteria
Hay Creek - French Creek Forest Block Recognized Continental Berks, Chester B3, D3, D4i
Lower Susquehanna River Gorge - Conowingo/Muddy Run Recognized Continental Lancaster B3, D3, D4ii
Susquehanna Headwaters Forest Block Recognized Continental B3, D3
Jumbo Woods Forest Block Recognized Continental Crawford, Erie B3, D3
Conewago Mountains Forest Block Recognized Continental B3, D3
Loyalsock/North Mountain Forest Block Recognized Continental B3
Upper Allegheny Forest Block Recognized Continental Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Venango, Warren B3
Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area Recognized Global Lancaster, Lebanon D4i, D4ii, D5
John Heinz NWR at Tinicum Recognized Global Philadelphia D3, D4i, D4ii, D4v, D4vi
Presque Isle State Park Recognized Global Erie D3, D4ii, D4iii, D4v, D5
The Barrens at Scotia - SGL 176 Recognized Global Centre D3, D5
Kittatinny Ridge Recognized Global Berks, Carbon, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, Perry, Schuylkill D4vi, D5
Mount Zion (Piney Tract) Recognized Global Clarion D3
Blue Marsh Lake Recognized State Berks D4i, D4ii, D4v, D5
Lake Ontelaunee Recognized State Berks D3, D4ii, D4v
Codorus State Park Recognized State York D4i
Kiwanis Lake Rookery Recognized State York
Quakertown Swamp SGL 139 Recognized State Bucks D3
Peace Valley Park Recognized State Bucks D4ii, D4iii