A-birding we shall go

The “Important Bird Area” concept originated in Europe in the 1980s and soon became a favorite tool for identifying the most significant bird populations and concentrations on a global scale. Spearheaded by the American Bird Conservancy, this approach has been applied to North American birds for the first time, with the results spelled out in map and in book. Although somewhat quirky in that it can hardly be used to plan a trip to see a specific bird (as the title implies it would), this guide documents the 508 most significant bird sites in the country, and explains how those sites fit into a broader vision of protection for these areas.

-- David Lukas