A site meeting any one of the
primary criteria (1-4) in the
following categories may qualify as
an Important Bird Area. Criterion 5
is a supplemental category and a
site cannot qualify as an IBA for
that alone. Many sites will meet
several criteria. These criteria
should not be considered absolute,
and other factors, such as relative
importance to other sites, may be
weighed by the technical committee
in making final site selections.
To access
specific criteria details - click on
the links below, or scroll down to
view all criteria.
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Important
Bird Area Criteria Definitions
1. Species of Conservation
Concern
Note: You will need to refer to
the Species of Conservation Concern
and the Population Estimates and
Criteria Thresholds documents
available for download from the
Important Bird Areas Page) for
assistance with Criteria 1a and 1b.
1a. State Endangered, Threatened,
Special Concern Species
Description: Sites that regularly
support significant breeding or
non-breeding densities of one or
more of the following species listed
as endangered, threatened, or
special concern in the state of New
Jersey and federally listed species.
Applies primarily to breeding or
wintering sites, through regular
migratory areas may be considered if
known to be of exceptional
importance. Sites should be those
where the species occurs or
potentially occurs with some
regularity, not areas of infrequent
occurrence.
NJ Endangered Species
The site should have the presence
of regular probable breeding
activity or regular wintering of at
least one of the species listed, and
have been occupied within the last 5
years.
NJ Threatened Species
Colonial Species: The site should
regularly have at least 1% of the
state population in a season, and
have been occupied within the last
five years.
Solitary Species: The site should
be one of 3-5 sites in the state
with the highest regularly occurring
numbers, and have been occupied
within the last five years.
NJ Special Concern Species
Colonial Species: The site should
regularly have at least 5% of the
state population in a season, and
have been occupied within the last
five years.
Solitary Species: The site should
regularly have at least 5% of the
state population of two or more
species listed below, and have been
occupied within the last five years.
1b. Conservation Priority Species
Description: Species identified
as conservation priorities through
large-scale bird conservation plans
and/or species that are considered
conservation priorities by state
experts but not listed as state
Endangered, Threatened, or Special
Concern (Criterion 1a).
Colonial Species: The site should
regularly have at least 5% of the
state population in a season, and
have been occupied within the last
five years.
Solitary Species: The site should
be one of 3-5 sites in the state
with the highest regularly occurring
numbers, and have been occupied
within the last five years.
2. Regional Responsibility
Species
Note: You will need to refer to
the Regional Responsibility Species
document (available for download
from the Important Bird Areas Page) for
assistance with Criterion 2.
Description: This category is
mainly meant to cover areas capable
of supporting significant
populations of bird species for
which New Jersey has a high
responsibility for long-term
conservation, even if they are not
currently declining or threatened.
These are species with a
disproportionately high percentage
of their total population in the
Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs)
comprising NJ. Selection of sites
will be based on avian assemblages
within the habitat community types
found within BCRs.
Generally, a site will need to
have at least the indicated number
of the species within a given
habitat type to be considered.
However, consideration will be given
to sites that include a diversity of
habitats, even if the individual
habitat types do not meet the
required number of species listed.
3. Significant Congregations
Description: Sites that regularly
holds significant numbers of one or
more species, breeding or in winter.
Significant numbers are not easily
defined. The following are suggested
to provide some logical thresholds
for site selection. These numerical
criteria (D1-5) are guidelines only,
and other factors (quality and
location of habitat, distribution
and importance of species, etc.) may
be considered. Except where
indicated, numerical estimates
should be based on a short period of
time, e.g. one-time counts such as
daily surveys -- not on cumulative
totals. Introduced, feral, or
superabundant species (Mute Swan,
resident Canada Goose, Monk
Parakeet, American Crow, European
Starling, etc.) should not be
counted.
3a. Waterfowl
The site regularly supports 500 or
more waterfowl at inland sites, or
5,000 or more at coastal sites, in
winter and/or in migration
(staging). The designation
“waterfowl” includes such birds as
loons, grebes, cormorants, geese,
ducks, and moorhens.
3b. Gulls and Terns
The site regularly supports 250 or
more terns or at least 10% of the
state population of gulls in a
season. Human-made food sources for
gulls (landfills, dumpsites, sewage
outflows, etc.) will not be
considered as IBBAs.
3c. Wading Birds
The site regularly supports 50 or
more breeding pairs of wading birds
or 100 or more roosting individuals.
The designation “wading birds”
includes such birds as bitterns,
herons, egrets, and ibises.
3d. Exceptional Single Species
Concentrations
The site regularly supports
significant concentrations of a
“colonial” species (i.e. winter
roosts) but may not meet the
thresholds above. Such sites should
support a higher proportion of a
species statewide population than
other similar areas.
3e. Exceptional Diversity
The site supports an exceptional
diversity of bird species. This
would include sites that do not
necessarily harbor large numbers of
birds but that provide important
habitat for more bird species than
found at most sites. No absolute
thresholds have been set owing to
the scarcity of quantitative data,
but sites should be clearly unique
from other sites in the area.
4. Significant Migrant
Stopover/Flyover
Description: Sites may qualify on
the basis of exceptionally high
numbers of birds during migration,
or as “migrant traps” relative to
the surrounding areas. Strong
consideration will be given to areas
with consistently high overall
species diversity or diversity
within a particular group (e.g.,
warblers).
4a. Raptors
The site is regularly an important
stopover site, "bottleneck", or
migratory corridor for at least
3,000 raptors (seasonal total)
during spring or fall migration.
4b. Shorebirds
The site is an important migratory
stopover or seasonal concentration
site for migratory shorebirds. The
site should have at least 5% of the
Atlantic flyway population or at
least 3,000 individuals.
4c. Landbirds
The site is an important migratory
stopover or seasonal concentration
site for migratory landbirds and
supports an exceptional diversity of
bird species during migration.
Thresholds may vary, but a site
should be clearly unique from other
sites in the area.
5. Long-term Research/Monitoring
Description: The site is a
natural area where a long-term
research and/or monitoring project
is based that contributes
substantially to ornithology and
bird conservation. These are
generally sites with a distinguished
record and/or unique potential for
long-term research and monitoring,
or exceptional educational value.
There should be a minimum of 5 years
of data collection, with data being
summarized and available for public
examination (i.e. via reports or
peer-reviewed publications). Such
sites may occur in urban, suburban,
rural, or other settings.
Note: This is a secondary
category, used to supplement or
support a site nomination. A site
cannot be nominated as an IBA solely
on the basis of long-term avian
research.
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