Important Bird Areas (IBAs) identify sites that provide essential habitat for birds. As such they establish a useful framework for helping guide efforts to conserve birds statewide. Audubon California determined that detailed IBA maps are necessary for on-the-ground IBA conservation to be planned and carried out in an effective and efficient fashion. Beginning in 2006, Audubon California set out to define and map the geographic boundaries of the 148 sites originally designated by bird experts around the state. The present document, Mapping California’s Important Bird Areas, serves as a general technical report describing our mapping methodology and basic summary results. It accompanies Version 1.0 of our new Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database containing the boundaries and attributes of California’s Important Bird Areas.

Mapping California’s Important Bird Areas (2008) 

Technical report (pdf)

GIS Data Request 

California IBA Interactive Map