Birds

Blue Jay. Angela Marie Slotten/Audubon Photography Awards

Grange Insurance Audubon Center is an agent of conservation.

The Scioto Audubon Metro Park is housed in the Scioto River-Greenlawn Important Bird Area (IBA). This designation requires us to protect and enhance the ecosystem to sustain critical bird species.

The Important Bird Area (IBA) program is a global initiative started by Birdlife International in the mid-1980’s that quickly spread to every continent. In the United States, National Audubon Society launched the Important Bird Area program in 1995. The main goal: to identify, monitor and protect a strategic global network of IBA’s that can focus bird management around priority sites.

The first step in the process is identifying these areas. To do this, a series of scientifically sound criteria were developed. In general, a site must have one of the following. 1) It holds a significant number of high conservation priority species 2) It holds range-restricted species that are vulnerable because their populations are not widely distributed. 3) The site holds species that specialize in one specific habitat type or biome. 4) The site is important because it supports species that are vulnerable because they congregate in large numbers. 

Once identified, IBA’s are further prioritized as a Global, Continental or State level site. To date in the United States, over 2,676 Important Bird Areas have been identified, equaling almost 370 million acres. Of these, 596 are of global significance and 13 are of continental significance. The Ohio IBA program began in 1999 and 66 state level IBA’s have been identified.

Our Urban IBA

The Scioto-Greenlawn IBA encompasses a three-mile stretch of the Scioto River from the I-70/71 bridge south to Berliner Park, including a dam-produced basin, a seasonal mudflat, and rocky riffles. At least 212 bird species have been recorded at this IBA, more than any other stretch of the Scioto River. It provides habitat for Neotropical songbirds, is a migrant hub for warblers, and is historically a nesting site for Prothonotary Warblers. The Scioto -Greenlawn IBA has historical importance as a breeding area for Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, a high conservation priority species. It also provides habitat for high priority species that use riparian corridors such as the Pied-billed Grebe, American Bittern, Northern Pintail, Osprey, at least 10 species of gulls and terns, Northern Waterthrush, and many other warbler species. 

Community Science
Conservation

Community Science

Be a community scientist at Grange Insurance Audubon Center or in your own backyard!

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Birdwatching for Beginners
Programs

Birdwatching for Beginners

Come and take a guided hike with our Grange Insurance Audubon Center Educators or Columbus Audubon Volunteers.

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Plants for Birds
Birds

Plants for Birds

Native plants help support birds throughout the year.

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Birds at Our Center

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Latin:  Setophaga coronata

Illustration for Yellow-rumped Warbler

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Latin:  Melanerpes carolinus

Illustration for Red-bellied Woodpecker

Hooded Merganser

Latin:  Lophodytes cucullatus

Illustration for Hooded Merganser

Red-shouldered Hawk

Latin:  Buteo lineatus

Illustration for Red-shouldered Hawk

Great Egret

Latin:  Ardea alba

Illustration for Great Egret

Cedar Waxwing

Latin:  Bombycilla cedrorum

Illustration for Cedar Waxwing

White-throated Sparrow

Latin:  Zonotrichia albicollis

Illustration for White-throated Sparrow

Tree Swallow

Latin:  Tachycineta bicolor

Illustration for Tree Swallow

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