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NC's 1st Important Bird Areas - long msg.




     Thought birders on both Carolinas might be interested in this 
     announcement made today (th 13th).  More NC Audubon IBAs to come (and 
     a program should be underway in SC soon, too.)
     
     Chris Canfield
     Director of Development, North Carolina State Office
     National Audubon Society
     410 Airport Road, Chapel Hill, NC  27514
     919-929-3899 (voice/fax), ccanfield@audubon.org
     
     ----------------------------------------
     For Immediate Use
     
     AUDUBON NAMES NORTH CAROLINA'S FIRST IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS
     
        WILMINGTON, NC, September 13, 1999 - The National Audubon Society's 
     North Carolina State Office has named the state's first Important Bird 
     Areas (IBAs).  These sites, ranging from far out at sea to high in the 
     mountains, represent natural areas of special significance to birds 
     that breed, migrate, winter and feed in North Carolina.
     
        Designated as Audubon Important Bird Areas are: The Point, in the 
     Atlantic northeast of Cape Hatteras, where rare and endangered 
     seabirds feed; the Outer Banks, a 70-mile stretch of barrier islands, 
     which supports a great diversity of bird life year-round; the Catawba 
     River, flowing from Lake Norman to the outskirts of Charlotte, an 
     important watershed for songbirds and waterfowl; the Triangle's Jordan 
     Lake, known for its Bald Eagles; and the Highlands Plateau, at the 
     southern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a hotspot for neotropical 
     migrants and classic mountain breeders.  
     
        The announcement of these first five IBAs comes after more than a 
     year of work by Audubon's North Carolina State Office, its ten state 
     chapters and leading ornithologists to identify places that are 
     essential to bird populations and bird diversity in the Tarheel state. 
     
        Once designated, conservation plans will be developed for each IBA. 
      These plans will outline ways landowners and managers - both public 
     and private - and communities can work together to keep these natural 
     areas filled with the birds and other wildlife for which they are so 
     highly valued.  While the designation carries no legal authority, IBA 
     status heightens awareness and fosters voluntary conservation 
     measures.
     
        With more than 400 species documented, bird life in North Carolina 
     is among the richest and most diverse of any eastern state. "The 
     places where birds live, forage and breed are essential to keeping the 
     variety of birds we now have and maintaining healthy populations of 
     these birds," said Walker Golder, Audubon's IBA coordinator for North 
     Carolina.
     
        North Carolina's Important Bird Areas program is part of a 
     worldwide effort to identify places that are essential to birds.  
     Already in the United States, the National Audubon Society has 
     initiated Important Bird Areas programs in 20 states, with other 
     states expected to launch programs in the near future.  Eventually, 
     Audubon will have IBA programs ongoing in all 50 states.
     
        Sites are identified based on standardized criteria established by 
     the state's leading ornithologists.  A site can qualify if it is 
     important to endangered, threatened or vulnerable species; harbors 
     large concentrations or an exceptional diversity of birds; or if it is 
     the site of long-term research that contributes significantly to the 
     overall knowledge of birds and their habitats. There is no size limit 
     for a site to qualify - the most critical factor is the importance of 
     the site to birds. 
     
        So far about 70 North Carolina sites meet at least one of the 
     criteria necessary to qualify as an Important Bird Area.  "We're 
     continuing to search the state and accept nominations for additional 
     sites to be considered," said Golder. 
     
        The goal of Audubon's IBA program is to identify and establish a 
     network of Important Bird Areas in each state to be protected or 
     managed for bird conservation.  Supported by 550,000 members and 518 
     chapters throughout North America, the mission of the National Audubon 
     Society is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on 
     birds and other wildlife, for the benefit of humanity and earth's 
     biological diversity.
     
     [Editor:  More detailed sidebar information on designated IBA sites 
     follows.  Additional details, maps, and photos made be obtained by 
     contacting Walker Golder, the Audubon contact listed below.
     
     Special Note:  An IBA designation ceremony for the Cape Hatteras 
     National Seashore will take place November 5th at 8:15 p.m. at Manteo 
     Middle School as part of the Wings Over Water Celebration.  For more 
     information on this ceremony, contact Walker Golder. ]
     
                                                -- 30 --
     MEDIA CONTACT:
     
     Walker Golder, NC IBA Coordinator
     NC State Office, National Audubon Society
     (910) 762-9534, email:  wgolder@audubon.org
     
     NORTH CAROLINA'S FIRST IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS
     
     The following five sites have been designated as Important Bird Areas 
     (IBAs) by the National Audubon Society's North Carolina State Office 
     for their special significance to birds that breed, migrate, winter 
     and feed in North Carolina:
     
     The Point:  Northeast of Cape Hatteras, in an area of the Atlantic 
     Ocean where the Gulf Stream and Labrador currents mingle, thousands of 
     seabirds gather annually to forage in the rich, productive waters.  
     The region, locally known as "The Point," has been found to have the 
     greatest diversity of pelagic seabirds in the western North Atlantic, 
     according to David S. Lee, ornithologist at the NC State Museum of 
     Natural Sciences and leading authority on area seabirds.  In more than 
     15 years of study off Cape Hatteras, Lee has documented globally rare 
     and endangered species such as the Black-capped Petrel, Bermuda 
     Petrel, Herald Petrel and Roseate Tern. Lee's research has also 
     documented thousands of shearwaters, storm-petrels, phalaropes, loons, 
     gannets, terns and other species that gather annually.  According to 
     Lee, "for several species, North Carolina waters represent the only 
     area where they have been regularly encountered away from nesting 
     areas."
     
     The Outer Banks, including Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Pea 
     Island National Wildlife Refuge: Stretching for approximately 70 miles 
     from Bodie Island to Ocracoke, this chain of barrier islands supports 
     a great diversity of bird life throughout the year. The sandy beaches, 
     especially those adjacent to inlets and on Cape Point, provide vital 
     nesting habitat for approximately one-fourth of North Carolina's 
     federally threatened Piping Plovers, 60,000 shorebirds, and more than 
     20 percent of the state's Least Terns, Common Terns and Black 
     Skimmers. During fall migration, thousands of migrant songbirds forage 
     and seek refuge in shrub thickets and maritime forests scattered along 
     the outer banks, including Buxton Woods one of the state's largest 
     remaining stands of maritime forest.  Pea Island National Wildlife 
     Refuge is well known for the thousands of ducks, geese, Tundra Swans 
     and shorebirds that find safe haven there.  
     
     Catawba River/Mountain Island Lake watershed: Flowing between Lake 
     Norman and Mountain Island Lake on the outskirts of Charlotte, the 
     Catawba River is lined with extensive bottomland hardwood forests and 
     other forest types that support a great diversity of songbirds, 
     waterfowl and other birds each season.  Nearly 200 species have been 
     recorded at the Cowan's Ford Wildlife Refuge alone, including 54 
     species of neotropical migrant songbirds.  Of these, 23 species of 
     neotropical migrants breed on the refuge and in the surrounding 
     forests.  During fall and winter, the area is a migratory stopover and 
     wintering area for thousands of waterfowl that gather on the lake, 
     river and ponds.  More than 3,000 acres within the watershed are 
     protected by the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department and 
     Duke Power Company, in cooperation with the NC Wildlife Resources 
     Commission.
     
     Jordan Lake: Spanning portions of four counties, B. Everett Jordan 
     Lake and the surrounding area near Raleigh encompasses approximately 
     47,000 acres of bottomland hardwood forest, pine forest, deciduous 
     forest, mixed forest, and open water.  The lake and surrounding 
     forests support a great diversity of birds, but none is more prominent 
     than the many Bald Eagles that gather annually.  Up to four eagle 
     nests have been documented in a single breeding season and as many as 
     71 eagles have been recorded on the lake.  This is North Carolina's 
     largest population of Bald Eagles and one of the largest 
     concentrations of eagles in the eastern United States.  In addition to 
     eagles, the lake supports a great diversity of waterfowl, songbirds 
     and wading birds annually.  Jordan Lake is managed by the U.S. Army 
     Corps of Engineers.
     
     Highlands Plateau: Highlands Plateau is situated at the southern end 
     of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the westernmost corner of North 
     Carolina.  The area includes mountain peaks that range from 3,000 to 
     4,500 feet, steep granite cliffs, hemlock-pine-rhododendron forests, 
     as well as other hardwood forests.  The area hosts an exceptional 
     diversity of birds, including many neotropical migrants and an 
     exceptional assemblage of species most often associated with northern 
     forests.  These include Olive-sided Flycatcher, Canada Warbler, 
     Black-throated Blue Warbler, and others. The area is particularly 
     significant for Peregrine Falcons, Blackburnian Warblers, 
     Golden-crowned Kinglets, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Least Flycatchers, 
     Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and Brown Creepers, among many others.  The 
     magnificent forests and great diversity of birds have attracted 
     ornithologists for more than a century.  Today, long-term studies 
     continue to contribute to the knowledge of birds and their habitats.
     
     - END -
     
     MEDIA CONTACT:
     Walker Golder, NC IBA Coordinator
     NC State Office, National Audubon Society
     (910) 762-9534, email:  wgolder@audubon.org