Wildlife Resources - Helpful Information for Bird and Wildlife Watching

Many sources of wildlife and birdwatching information are available for both the beginner and advanced wildlife and bird watcher.

For background information on birding in Pennsylvania, visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission website on birdwatching.

Bird Clubs: Local bird clubs offer field trips, programs, and local information. Visit the Pennsylvania Society of Ornithology to find a club, order checklists, and find links to other sites.

The PABIRDS listserve is an email forum for birders to discuss all aspects of bird life in Pennsylvania. This includes rare birds, bird findings, identification, behavior, counts, and bird club information.

Audubon Pennsylvania is state program of the National Audubon Society. With 24,000 members statewide, we are dedicated to conserving birds, other wildlife and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.

For more than 100 years, Audubon in Pennsylvania has been accomplishing this mission through citizen science and research, innovative and engaging education programs, land conservation and stewardship initiatives, and science-based policy work. Through our numerous state-wide programs, and through those of our 22 local chapters, we work in partnership with state agencies, land trusts, sportsmen organizations and community groups to achieve our conservation goals reaching tens of thousands of adults, teachers, and students each year to inform the public about Pennsylvania birdwatching and wildlife trails.

To learn more about Audubon Pennsylvania, visit our website at pa.audubon.org. To find out more information about the National Audubon Society, visit www.audubon.org.

Mill Grove: Please visit our first Audubon Center in Pennsylvania - the Mill Grove Audubon Center. A cooperative effort of Montgomery County and Audubon, Mill Grove will be a unique Audubon Center combining the study of both art and nature, utilizing the works of the famous painter and naturalist John James Audubon, for whom the National Audubon Society is named.

Important Bird Areas: Audubon Pennsylvania's Important Bird Area (IBA) Program is part of a dynamic worldwide strategy to identify and protect outstanding habitats for birds and all wildlife. Developed in Europe in 1985 by BirdLife International, the IBA Program's resounding success quickly spread to other continents. Active IBA programs are now ongoing in 156 countries. The IBA Program has become pivotal to many successful bird conservation efforts worldwide. Look to this section to locate sites for Pennsylvania birdwatching and wildlife trails.

Pennsylvania was the first state in the U.S. to develop an IBA program (currently there are 46 states participating). Based on strict scientific criteria, a group of scientific advisors has (thus far) selected 80 IBA's encompassing over two million acres in Pennsylvania. These areas include migratory stopover and staging areas, winter feeding and roost sites, and prime breeding areas for songbirds, wading birds and many other species. They also include unique habitats such as spruce-fir bogs, tidal freshwater marsh, bottomland hardwood swamps, and grasslands. As new information becomes available, additional IBA sites will be identified in Pennsylvania on an ongoing basis.

Audubon Chapters: Twenty-two chapters of the National Audubon Society can be found in Pennsylvania. These chapters provide educational programs, field trips and birdwatching tours, support local conservation issues, and are an integral part of the community. The following is a list of chapters and a town in their territory, along with a web address, if available.

If a web address is not provided, contact information can be found at pa.audubon.org/Chapters_Intro.html

Pennsylvania's Important Mammal Area Project: The Important Mammal Area Project (IMAP) seeks to designate sites critical for the conservation of Pennsylvania's threatened, endangered, and vulnerable wild mammals. These project areas can be tracts of important habitat, areas that host a diversity of mammals, and/or exemplary educational sites that can be used to increase public awareness about mammals.

Pennsylvania is the first state to have such a program and can serve as a model for mammal conservation and education in other states, much like Audubon Pennsylvania's Important Bird Area program.

For more information about the project and the site nomination process, visit the Pennsylvania IMAP website.