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• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important in 2009 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Brent Goose Branta bernicla	LC	non-breeding	2004	17,000 individuals	A4i
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus	LC	breeding	2003	669 breeding pairs	A4i
American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus	LC	breeding	2003	525 breeding pairs	A4i
Piping Plover Charadrius melodus	NT	breeding	2005	151 breeding pairs	A1, A4i
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus	LC	passage	1996	40,000 individuals	A4i
Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus	VU	passage	1996	46,000 individuals	A4i
Black Skimmer Rynchops niger	LC	breeding	2003	1,679 breeding pairs	A4i
Least Tern Sternula antillarum	LC	breeding	2003	703 breeding pairs	A4i
Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri	LC	breeding	2003	1,521 breeding pairs	A4i
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus	LC	breeding	2003	2,058 breeding pairs	A4i
Seaside Sparrow Ammospiza maritima	LC	breeding	2005	122,000 breeding pairs	A4ii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2009) may differ.

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1943	Chincoteague	National Wildlife Refuge	7
1959	Mockhorn	Wildlife Management Area	3
1965	Assateague Island	National Seashore	6
1969	Fisherman Island	National Wildlife Refuge	1
1970	Smith Island	Private Conservation Land	1
1970	Hog Island	Private Conservation Land	1
1970	Godwin Island	Private Conservation Land	<1
1970	Ship Shoal Island	Private Conservation Land	<1
1970	Myrtle Island	Private Conservation Land	<1
1971	Wallops Island	National Wildlife Refuge	2
1972	Mink Island	Private Conservation Land	1
1973	Parramore Island	Private Conservation Land	2
1973	Cobb Island	Private Conservation Land	<1
1973	Rogue Island	Private Conservation Land	<1
1974	Chincoteague	Proposed Wilderness	1
1974	Revel Island	Private Conservation Land	1
1975	Metompkin Island	Private Conservation Land	<1
1978	Brownsville Farm	Private Conservation Land	<1
1979	The Virginia Coast Reserve	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	-
1984	Eastern Shore of Virginia	National Wildlife Refuge	1
1986	The Nature Conservancy	Easement	<1
1987	Chesapeake Bay Estuarine Complex	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	72
1989	Little Cobb Island	Private Conservation Land	<1
1990	Fowling Point	Private Conservation Land	1
1997	Greens Creek	Private Conservation Land	<1
1998	Cedar Island Macrosite Fee	Private Conservation	<1
2001	US-VA-62-1	Environmental System	<1
2002	The Nature Conservancy	Easement	2
2002	Magothy Bay Landings	Easement	<1
2005	US-VA-87-1	Environmental System	<1
2006	Magothy Bay	State Natural Area Preserve	<1
2006	US-VA-102-1	Environmental System	<1
2006	US-VA-86-1	Environmental System	<1
2006	US-VA-92-1	Environmental System	<1
2006	US-VA-103-1	Environmental System	<1
2006	US-VA-104-1	Environmental System	<1
2008	Cedar Island	Private Conservation	<1
2008	Phillips Creek	Environmental System	<1

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Barrier Island/Lagoon System (USA). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/barrier-island-lagoon-system-iba-usa on 23/11/2024.