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The Important Bird Areas Program (IBA) recognizes that habitat loss and fragmentation are the most serious threats facing populations of birds across America and around the world. By working through partnerships, principally the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, to identify those places that are critical to birds during some part of their life cycle (breeding, wintering, feeding, migrating) Audubon Connecticut hopes to minimize the effects that habitat loss, and degradation have on bird populations. Unless we can slow the rapid destruction and degradation of habitat, populations of many birds may decline to dangerously low levels.

The IBA program is a global effort to identify areas that are most important for maintaining bird populations, and focus conservation efforts to where they will have the greatest impact. The IBA program is overseen by BirdLife International, with Audubon as the partner designate in the United States In the U.S., and has become a key component of many bird conservation efforts, including, Partners in Flight, North American Waterbird Conservation Plan, and the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan.

Connecticut currently has 27 publicly announced IBAs (list below), and is working to announce additional sites in the coming year.

Publicly announced IBAs in Connecticut:

^*Globally Important Bird Areas (shown with solid background on map)

Add to recent accomplishments:
Five additional IBAs were announced in December 2004, bringing the total number of recognized IBAs to 27. The new sites included:

• The Connecticut Audubon Society's Bafflin Sanctuary in Pomfret,
• Good Hill Farm Preserve on the Woodbury/Roxbury town line,
• Naugatuck State Forest (East and West Blocks), in Beacon Falls and Bethany
• Northwest Park, a town-owned park in Windsor, and
• Topsmead State Forest in Litchfield.

Audubon Connecticut has already had several conservation successes with the IBA program in Connecticut. We will be working in the coming years to develop conservation plans for each of our IBAs. IBC Conservation plans are a critical component of the IBA program, providing Audubon, landowners, land managers and other stakeholders with a strategic approach for future conservation and habitat management activities. This strategic and science-based approach will allow much more effective use of resources to ensure that IBAs will remain important for birds not only for our generation, but for many generations to come.

These conservation plans will define actions to address the most important needs for each IBA in order to maintain and protect key species, and will outline the opportunities to engage landowners in the conservation of IBAs. The conservation plans will also provide interested people with opportunities to become involved in conservation, monitoring and outreach activities at individual IBAs. Informed landowners, stakeholders and citizens are the best way to ensure that IBAs remain the special places that they are.

Recent Connecticut IBA Accomplishments

• IBA Announcement. Six Important Bird Areas (IBAs) were announced in June of 2004, bringing the total number of announced sites in CT to 21. Sites announced in 2004:

• IBA Announcement. One additional IBA, Barn Island Wildlife Management Area, was announced in September of 2004, bringing the total number of announced sites in CT to 22.
  
• Globally Important Bird Areas. Three of the sites, Barn Island Wildlife Management Area, Hammonasset Beach State Park and the East/West River Marsh Complex, were approved by the National Technical Committee as globally significant IBAs, because of nesting populations of Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, the first such sites in Connecticut.
  
• The Great Captains Island Heron and Egret Rookery Study. Audubon's 3-year study of Connecticut's largest heron and egret rookery was completed in 2002. Great Captains Island is an announced IBA. The study provided important information about the habitats of the rookery, the foraging areas utilized by the birds nesting on the island, the productivity and behavior of the nesting birds and the threats to the colony posed by predators and other factors. Audubon Connecticut sought and received funding to complete this study from a variety of sources, including the Geoffrey Hughes Foundation, the Fairfield County Community Foundation, the Town of Greenwich Conservation Commission, and the Quebec Labrador Foundation Sounds Conservancy grants program. The final report and recommendations have been forwarded to the Town of Greenwich, and Audubon will be working with the Town to develop effective conservation strategies for this important habitat.
  
• Land and Water Conservation Fund. Audubon Connecticut nominated special focus areas along the Connecticut River for the priorities list for the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Silvio O. Conte was awarded $750,000 for land acquisition under this program in 2004. Several parcels at announced and potential IBAs are being investigated for acquisition.
  
• Construction of a nature trail at Stamford's Cove Island Park IBA. This nature trail revitalized the neglected wooded section of this City-owned park. This project was completed using funds from the GE Foundation and utilized staff from all three Audubon Centers in the state as well as approximately 75 GE Elfun Volunteers. On May 5th, 2003, Audubon employees and volunteers and the Elfun Volunteers created a half-mile long nature trail, lined with wood-chips, constructed a bridge and planted 120 specimens of over 20 species of native trees and shrubs. The tree and shrub species were selected for their high value to birds and other wildlife and included, Pagoda Dogwood, White Oaks, Spicebush, Viburnums and Summersweet Clethra.
  
• KT Murphy Field Day at Stamford's Cove Island Park IBA. On June 2nd, 2003, Audubon Connecticut, along with GE Elfun Volunteers, and staff from SoundWaters and the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium used the diverse habitats of Cove Island Park to teach the 500 students of the KT Murphy Elementary School important lessons about science and nature on a full-day field trip to the Cove Island Park IBA on June 2nd, 2003.
  
• Invasive Plant Removal Project at the Station 43 IBA in South Windsor. On May 19th, 2003, Audubon Connecticut arranged an invasive plant removal project at the Hartford Audubon Society's Station 43 Preserve in South Windsor. Audubon Connecticut secured funding through the GE Foundation to purchase a tractor and herbicides for the Hartford Audubon Society to use on this project, as well as future habitat maintenance projects at the Station 43 IBA. Hartford Audubon Society, and GE Elfun Volunteers, along with Audubon Connecticut staff and volunteers removed hundreds of Multiflora Rose bushes from the Hartford Audubon Society's property.
  
• The New Haven Hawk Festival. Audubon helped enhance the City of New Haven's hawk festival at the Lighthouse Point Park IBA, held on Saturday, September 20, 2003. Audubon arranged for 3 new organizations to participate in the festival, led bird-walks and provided a live raptor show. Audubon Connecticut also provided the City of New Haven with IBA signs that have been posted at this City-owned park, increasing public awareness of the value of the park for birds. The 2004 festival was cancelled due to heavy rain and the event has been rescheduled for September 17, 2005, with a rain date of Sunday, September 18th.
  
• Falkner Island Unit of Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) IBA. At the request of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Audubon Connecticut arranged a visit by Dr. Steve Kress to the Falkner Island Unit of Stewart B. McKinney. Dr. Kress provided valuable input and management recommendations for this, Connecticut's largest tern colony and the only nesting site in the state for the federally endangered Roseate Tern. As a result of those recommendations, productivity has greatly increased in the colony in 2004 and 15 additional pairs nested on the island, stemming a significant declining trend in this colony in recent years.
  
• Chapter nature center at the Salt Meadow Unit of Stewart B. McKinney NWR. The Potapaug Audubon Society is working with USFWS staff to create a chapter-run Nature Center at the Salt Meadow Unit of Stewart B. McKinney NWR IBA.
  
• Local committee in West Haven adopting Sandy Point. A local group has formed to work towards the conservation of, and educational and recreational opportunities at the Sandy Point IBA. The group consists of representatives from Audubon, the City of West Haven, the New Haven Bird Club, the Connecticut Ornithological Association, the West Haven Economic Development Corporation, the West Haven Chamber of Commerce, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, and several other groups. The Group will be working in the coming year to complete an IBA Conservation Plan for the area.
  
• Barn Island Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Land Protection. The Connecticut DEP was awarded a $1,000,000 grant in December, 2003 for the acquisition of 144 acres adjacent to Barn Island Wildlife Management Area. Because Barn Island WMA meets the IBA criteria, Audubon Connecticut was able to provide substantial information to help bolster the DEP's application for funding to acquire this acreage, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. It was noted several times in the grant proposal that the area met the criteria for an IBA of global significance (it was approved as a globally significant IBA by the National IBA Technical Committee on June 7, 2004). Through its efforts, Audubon Connecticut was able to bring three additional cooperators to the grant proposal: the Hartford Audubon Society, the New Haven Bird Club and the Dennison Pequotsepos Nature Center. Audubon Connecticut was also able obtain letters of support for this grant proposal from the Hartford Audubon Society, the Connecticut Audubon Society, the Connecticut Ornithological Association and the New Haven Bird Club.
  
• Barn Island Award: The Connecticut DEP and other conservation partners, including Audubon, were presented with the national 2004 Coastal America Partnership Award on September 10, 2004, in recognition of past and ongoing partnerships for the acquisition and restoration of habitat and research at Barn Island Wildlife Management Area. P. Lynn Scarlett, Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, Department of the Interior presented the award. The award recipients were recognized for the above-mentioned efforts. Because of the new acquisition, the Wildlife Management Area now encompasses 1,013 acres, constituting the state's largest protected coastal area. The property had been permitted for development into an 18-hole golf course. Instead, the partners ensured the protection of its significant biological diversity and wildlife habitat. Their work also serves to prevent pollutant loading downstream, and to increase coastal recreational opportunities for the public.
  
• State and Federal Planning. Audubon Connecticut's IBA program has provided information about bird conservation priorities and Important Bird Areas to the DEP for inclusion in the State Comprehensive Wildlife Plan, The Office of Long Island Sound Program's planning process and the state's 10-Year Forestry Resources Plan as well as to the US Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program's strategic planning process. Inclusion of Audubon's priorities in these planning initiatives will ensure that bird conservation objectives are considered in the government agency plans.
  
• Site Specific Conservation Planning. Audubon Connecticut received a grant from the Jeniam Foundation that will allow us to complete six IBA conservation plans in FY 2005. The grant will allow for the completion of additional conservation plans in each of the next three years conditional upon the receipt of matching funds.
  
• Audubon Center at Bent of the River IBA Kiosk. Because of the Audubon Center at Bent of the River's IBA status, Audubon Connecticut was able to secure funding through the GE Foundation and labor from GE Elfun Volunteers to construct a welcome center kiosk at the Bent of the River IBA in Southbury. The construction of this new informational kiosk will allow visitors to learn about the important bird habitats found here without having to walk nearly ½ mile to the Nature Center.
  
• GE Elfun Volunteer Day at the Audubon Center at Bent of the River IBA. On July 17th, 2003, more than 120 volunteers from GE and their business partners descended on the Bent of the River for an all day work party. The accomplishments were varied and included:

• Bent of the River Strategic Planning. Volunteers from General Electric Information Technology Shared Services are assisting with the development of a strategic plan for the Audubon Center at Bent of the River. This plan will help to outline the strategies necessary to develop this Audubon Center at the Bent of the River IBA to its full potential.
  
• Strategic Plan. Audubon Connecticut's Science and Bird Conservation Strategic Plan was approved by the Audubon Connecticut Board of Directors in March 2004.
  
• Support for the University of Connecticut Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Research Project. The salt marsh birds research project, co-sponsored with the University of Connecticut, completed its second season of fieldwork. Researchers are now completing a final report and assessing additional research needs. This project is providing critical information into the habitat requirements and nesting densities Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, a species of extremely high conservation concern that nests at the East River Marsh Complex IBA in Guilford. BirdLife International has upgraded the global conservation status of Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow under their IUCN RedList from “Near-Threatened” (less concern) to “Vulnerable” (more concern) as a result of information provided by Audubon Connecticut and researchers from UCONN.
  
• GE Elfun Global Conference. On September 13th, 2003, Audubon Connecticut, the GE Foundation, GE Elfun Volunteers, and the City of Stamford, had a volunteer day to improve the habitats of Cove Island Park IBA, as part of the GE Elfun Volunteers Global Conference. More than 100 GE Elfun Volunteers installed a bird and butterfly garden and other plantings, improved the nature trail and installed nesting boxes to attract Purple Martins, Eastern Screech Owls, Barn Owls and American Kestrels to the park. The garden, consisting of 38 species of native plants, specifically chosen for their value to birds and butterflies, will greatly improve the habitat for migrating birds for which Cove Island Park serves as a critical stopover on their long and perilous journeys.
  
• GE Foundation Grant. The project was made possible as part of a $20,000 grant given to the National Audubon Society by the General Electric Foundation, as well as the hard work of GE Elfun Volunteers, as part of their annual global conference. The City of Stamford and SoundWaters also provided critical logistical support to make this project possible. In addition the aforementioned activities, this grant will support the development of a conservation plan for Cove Island Park.