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Bird Conservation
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Important Bird Areas
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ILLINOIS' IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS PROGRAM
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Initiated in the fall of 2000, the Important Bird Areas Program in Illinois currently has 48 recognized IBAs. These sites are located in all regions of the state and represent various types of ownership and habitat. Breeding birds at IBAs include Henslow's Sparrows, Greater Prairie-chickens and Blue-winged Warblers in prairies and shrublands, Red-headed Woodpeckers in savannas, and Worm-eating Warblers in our southern woodlands. Hundreds of thousand of ducks use the Illinois and Mississippi River stopover sites. Numerous national wildlife refuges, national forests, state natural areas, state wildlife management areas, state parks, county forest preserves, Nature Conservancy and other non-profit preserves as well as important private lands are part of the program.Illinois, the Prairie State, has lost over 99% of its original prairie and 90% of its original wetland acreage. These and other habitat losses have lead to sharp declines in many bird populations. Of the eleven fastest declining grassland and shrubland birds in the nation, seven spend either their winter or summer months in Illinois. Illinois' IBAs focus attention on the most important sites for breeding birds of conservation concern, and on places where shorebirds, raptors, waterfowl and wading birds congregate.Active partnerships are currently engaged in conservation activities, monitoring, and outreach efforts at many IBAs throughout the state. Thorn Creek Audubon partnered with the Cook County Forest Preserves to restore 375 acres for Bobolinks, Grasshopper Sparrows and other bird species at Bartel Grassland. The newly formed Swainson's Hawk Project organized a monitoring effort to locate the breeding territories of our important remnant population. The Wetlands Initiative's Hennepin and Hopper Lakes IBA recognition ceremony celebrated the conversion of 1,000 acres of unproductive Illinois River farmland back to thriving wetland and grassland habitat. The Illinois Audubon Society provided acquisition funds and education efforts at the state's prairie chicken sanctuaries. Partnering organizations have utilized the IBA program as a tool to advance bird conservation efforts across the state.
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Prescribed burn at Bartel
| Name: |
Pyramid State Park |
| State: |
US-IL |
| Counties: |
Perry
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| Site Status: |
Identified |
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Henslow's Sparrow
Pyramid State Recreation Area is located in Perry County in southwestern Illinois. It began in 1965 as a 2,528-acre site, and in 2000, a purchase funded by the Open Land Trust Program added more than 16,000 acres, creating the largest state park in Illinois. Most of the park is atop former surface coal mines, and so non-native plants, shrubs and trees occur frequently on the property. But the open landscapes of grassland at Pyramid do not exist on this large scale anywhere else in Illinois. Today, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources manages Pyramid State Recreation Area for multiple uses, including grassland and wetland habitat for nesting and migratory birds.
Bird surveys conducted on portions of Pyramid State Park since its acquisition show that this area supports tremendous numbers of grassland and shrubland birds. These include Pied-billed Grebe, American Bittern, Least Bittern, Northern Harrier, King Rail, Common Moorhen, Sandhill Crane, Upland Sandpiper, Barn Owl, Loggerhead Shrike and Henslow's Sparrows, with more than 500 individuals of this species seen in one season. Other breeding species here include Hooded Merganser, Red-headed Woodpecker, Willow Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Bell's Vireo, Yellow-breasted Chat, Grasshopper Sparrow and Dickcissel. Pyramid State Park provides extensive wintering habitat for Short-eared Owl, as well as open water for tens of thousands of waterfowl during spring and fall migrations. This site was chosen as an IBA because it met the criteria for Waterfowl and breeding Willow Flycatcher, Bell's Vireo, Grasshopper Sparrow, Dickcissel, Loggerhead Shrike, Henslow's Sparrow, Northern Harrier, and Short-eared Owl (winter).
The most significant threat to the existing grassland and shrubland communities at Pyramid State Park is encroachment of both exotic and invasive native species into these communities. The potential loss of grassland communities to exotics and invasive woody species cannot be understated. The site is currently in a long-term planning phase within IDNR, and it is viewed by various organizations as having the potential to meet their management plans and goals. Understanding and creating support for the importance of this grassland complex in Illinois is critical to the long-term protection of the area as a grassland and shrubland complex. Additionally, the surrounding landscape is dominated by grassland areas on adjacent strip-mine lands. Developing these mine lands into permanently protected grassland and shrubland communities would further benefit birds. The strip-mine lands of southern and southwest Illinois are critical population centers for grassland wildlife in Illinois, and conservation efforts should focus on these areas.
| Contact: |
| Judy Pollock |
1718 Sherman Avenue #210
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| Evanston, IL 60201 |
| phone: (847) 328-1250 |
| email: jpollock@audubon.org
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