Birds & Science

The center piece of the Audubon Arizona science program is the Important Bird Areas program in partnership with the Tucson Audubon Society and the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The Important Bird Areas program is a significant undertaking in partnership with our nine Audubon chapters and a diversity of land owners and management agencies. Objectives of the Important Bird Areas program include:

• the compiling of information to help guide conservation of these important avian habitats,
• recognition given to the land managers whose habitat stewardship has provided for exceptional avian habitats and bird populations,
• the development of local site conservation commitment by people participating in citizen-science and habitat conservation projects,
• the enhancement and/or restoration of species of conservation concern, and
• the facilitation of long-term conservation of these most important avian habitats and their avian communities.

Additionally, we fully expect to benefit human communities as well, as healthy ecosystems are preserved around and within human communities, and economies benefit through eco-tourism dollars.

With funding from the Arizona Community Foundation, Audubon Arizona is participating on a state-wide Citizen Stewardship program, serving with other organizations as a study group to produce portable program(s) that promote citizen stewardship of animals and their environment, whether domestic, in the wild, or in refuge.  The goal is to improve peoples' relationships with and understanding of our natural heritage, in particular animals and their habitat, so that everyone may lead more sustainable lifestyles.  We would like to foster an atmosphere for citizens to be more empathetic and nurturing, to recognize their impact on the environment, and to becoming committed to making a difference through willing and enthusiastic action to protect the environment. Other organizations participating on this founding coalition are:

• Arizona Animal Welfare League
• Grand Canyon Trust
• Liberty Wildlife
• Second Chance Center
• Tucson Audubon Society
• The Phoenix Zoo

Audubon volunteers have assisted the Arizona Game and Fish Department in collecting data for the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas. This watershed effort to document the breeding birds of Arizona was written by Arizona Game and Fish Department avian biologists Troy Corman and Cathy Gervaise-Wise. During the past years Audubon volunteers collected avian data that contributed to the scientific identification of four new Important Bird Areas. Monitoring teams are active throughout the state collecting avian data for additional nominations and for monitoring of existing IBAs.

Arizona has compiled a summary of 53 WatchList Species in Arizona: Red Species: 16, Yellow Species: 37

RED SPECIES:

BirdLife International—THREATENED, NEAR THREATENED
Partners in Flight—Extremely High Priority

YELLOW SPECIES:

Partners in Flight—Moderately High Priority, Moderate Priority
The Arizona Bird Conservation Initiative has identified 53 land bird species of conservation focus in 13 Arizona habitat types and has developed specific conservation and habitat management guidelines for these species. Details can be found in the Arizona Partners in Flight Conservation Plan located at the Arizona Bird Conservation Initiative (ABCI).

Audubon scientists are members of the technical committees for the Intermountain West Joint Venture that covers northern Arizona and the Sonoran Joint Venture that covers the central and southern portions of Arizona and also northern Mexico. The Intermountain West Joint Venture avian management plan for Arizona includes the Important Bird Areas that have been identified in the northern portion of our state. Visit the Intermountain West Joint Venture web site to see the COORDINATED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR BIRD CONSERVATION IN NORTHERN ARIZONA.

The Sonoran Joint Venture is refining management recommendations for birds and bird habitats in the Sonoran and Mohave deserts and also the Madrean Oak Woodlands and chaparral habitats of southeastern and central Arizona and northern Mexico. Visit Sonoran Joint Venture: Binational Bird Conservation for more information.