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Over sixty Important Bird Areas have been identified in the Gulf region for their significance to a variety of bird species at different times of the year. These sites range from state-level Important Bird Areas to Global Important Bird Areas. While some of these Important Bird Areas provide important breeding grounds for shorebirds others are important migration stop-overs for landbirds or wintering grounds for other species.
Click site names below for detailed information about each Important Bird Area. See key species at these Important Bird Areas that are already or will be potentially affected by the oil spill. Priority Sites
AL FL LA MS TX ALABAMA Important Bird Area Priority Bon Secour NWR and Peninsula State Dauphin Island State Grand Bay Savannah State Mobile/Tensaw Delta State   FLORIDA Important Bird Area PRIORITY ABC Islands State Bay County Beaches State Big Bend Ecosystem State Big Marco Pass Shoal Global Cayo Costa-Pine Island State Chassahowitzka-Weekiwachee State Citrus County Spoil Islands State Clearwater Harbor-St. Joseph Sound State Coastal Pasco State Cockroach Bay-Terra Ceia State Crystal River Tidal Marshes State Dog Island-Lanark Reef State Dry Tortugas National Park State Eglin Air Force Base Global Everglades National Park State Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge Global Greater Apalachicola Bay State Gulf Islands GEOPark Global Gulf Islands National Seashore and Adjacent Areas State Hillsborough Bay Global J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge State Johns Pass State Key West National Wildlife Refuge Global Little Estero Lagoon State Lower Tampa Bay Global North Lido Beach- Palmer Point State Oscar Scherer State Park Global Pelican Shoal State Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve State Sanibel Lighthouse Park State Sarasota and Roberts Bay State St. Joseph Bay State St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge State Starkey Wilderness State Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge State Walton County Beaches State LOUISIANA Important Bird Area PRIORITY Active Delta (Mississippi River Birdsfoot Delta) State Atchafalaya Delta State Barataria Terrebonne State Chandeleur Islands (Breton National Wildlife Refuge) Global Chenier Plain State East Delta Plain State Isles Dernieres-Timbalier Islands State Pearl River*   MISSISSIPPI Important Bird Area PRIORITY Deer Island State Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve/National Wildlife Refuge State Gulf Islands National Seashore State Gulfport State Hancock County Marsh Coastal Preserve State Pascagoula River Marsh Coastal Preserve State Sand Island State TEXAS Important Bird Area PRIORITY Blackjack Peninsula of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Global Deadman Island/Long Reef State Dressing Point Global Green Island Global Islands South of South Bird Island State Jigsaw Islands Global Laguna Vista Spoils Global Lavaca Bay Spoils Global Little Pelican Island State Mad Island Marsh*   Mustang Bayou Island State North Deer Island Global Pelican Island State Port Bolivar Bird Sanctuaries - Bolivar Flats Global Port Bolivar Bird Sanctuaries - Horseshoe Marsh State Rollover Pass*   Second Chain of Islands State Shamrock Island State South Deer*   Smith Point*   Sundown Island Global * potential Important Bird Areas Gulf Important Bird Areas Home

Updated July 2010