Important Bird Areas

Newest IBA brochure   (PDF 1.5 MB)

BC has some of the most outstanding sites in the world for concentrations of birds. One tiny island has 55 percent of the world's population of Cassin's auklets, nearly two million birds. Up to five million birds use the Fraser River Estuary as a migratory stopover on the Pacific Flyway.

Of the 84 sites that have so far met the criteria for Important Bird Areas in BC, 36 are islands with seabird colonies, 23 are wetland and inland sites, 7 are marine sites, 2 have heron rookeries and 2 are shorebird migration sites.

The Important Bird Area (IBA) program was set up to identify, protect and monitor a network of vital habitats for the conservation of bird populations and biodiversity around the world. Since 1985, over 100 countries have joined to build this global network of IBAs. (For more on the global program, go to www.birdlife.net)

In Canada, 597 sites have been recognized as Important Bird Areas. Eighty-four of those sites are in BC. (For more on how sites are evaluated and a list of Canadian sites, go to www.ibacanada.com)

BC Nature is participating in this worldwide program, as the provincial partner for BC. Here, you can read about our goals and strategies, including conservation planning, site stewardship and monitoring. You can also find out more about where BC's IBA sites are and links for more information.

To download a copy of the new BC Important Bird Areas brochure, click here. (PDF 1.5 MB)

Goals:

• To identify and conservation of all BC's bird habitats that meet the global criteria for inclusion in the Important Bird Area network.

Strategies to achieve goals include:

Conservation Planning
An extensive program during the 1990s identified nearly 300 sites, of which 84 had sufficient data to confirm they met the criteria for IBA designation. But that is only the first step. It is essential that the habitat of the site is also protected. A number of conservation plans for BC IBAs have been completed. Reports of these projects and copies of conservation plans are held at the BC Nature office.

The following B.C. Conservation Plans and activities were carried out between 1999 and 2002:

• Baynes Sound, Hornby Island and Lambert Channel
  IBA Conservation Planner Barry Booth worked closely with the BC Shellfish Growers Association to discuss the relationship the growers have with waterbirds. This led to a wildlife supplement to the growers' voluntary guidelines handbook. It includes information on the birds that occur in the shellfish growers' area of operation.
  
  
• Strathcona Park, Mt Arrowsmith and other Vancouver Island Alpine Areas
  In cooperation with Friends of Strathcona Park, the Strathcona Wilderness Institute, Simon Fraser University and other interested parties, the IBA program has developed projects to further the protection of White-tailed Ptarmigan in the fragile alpine areas of Vancouver Island.
  
  
• Osoyoos Oxbows, South Okanagan Wildlife Management Area
  A Conservation Plan for this area has been completed. And the pamphlet "Chats in Your Neighbourhood", designed to encourage stewardship of Yellow-breasted Chats and their habitat was produced by the South Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Program.
  
  
• Skookumchuk Prairie
  Local expert naturalists, Penny Ohanjanian is working on an IBA project to protect and educate the public about Long-billed Curlews, an attractive bird of the East Kootenay grasslands.
  
  
• Southern Vancouver Island: Chain Islets, Seabird Island and Marine Areas
  A Conservation Plan for marine habitats in Southern Vancouver Island was prepared and a pamphlet on Seabird Survival produced.
  
  
• Fraser Lake
  The IBA program helped develop a stewardship program with the newly formed Nad'leh-Bun Watershed Enhancement Society in conjunction with the preparation of a Conservation Plan for Fraser Lake.
  
  
• Scott Islands
  A Conservation Plan has been prepared for this globally important seabird colony.
  Designation of further IBA sites will depend on capacity and resources for data collection and review.

• Formation of a Caretaker Network to provide stewardship of each of the 84 designated sites. Caretakers are individuals or groups who live near or regularly visit the site and can be the "eyes and ears"; on the ground for the IBA.
• Review of the website entries on www.ibacanada.com by Caretakers and other experts, to ensure site information is up to date and complete.
• Preparation of IBA communications materials, including a newsletter, pamphlet and PowerPoint presentation, for use by Caretakers.

Monitoring
Pilot monitoring of selected sites using IBA protocols is planned. BC Nature is participating in the Nature Canada Affiliates IBA Forum to discuss stewardship and monitoring of sites across Canada.

Notable BC sites
• In 2000, Somenos Marsh was the first BC site to be formally dedicated. It is a globally important site for wintering trumpeter swans, and regionally significant for many other species. Local naturalists, conservation organizations and agencies work together to protect the habitat of this important wetland area.
• In 2001, the Fraser River Estuary Important Bird Area, comprising Boundary Bay, Roberts Bank and Sturgeon Bank, was dedicated at Crescent Beach. This IBA is rated the most significant of all Canada's 597 designated areas, due to the high number of species meeting global and national population thresholds.
• The Comox IBA site was dedicated in 2002. The BC Important Bird Areas Program is administered by BC Nature with the help and cooperation of  Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada and other partners.

Links
The IBA Canada website gives details of all Important Bird Areas in Canada and is fully searchable. Some site write-ups are preliminary and in the process of revision.
www.ibacanada.com

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation's directory of North American IBAs can be accessed online at: www.cec.org/

Partners in Flight - Canada:
http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/mbc-com/