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}
