Two wildlife habitats in western Hamilton County and an urban park in Cincinnati are among the six areas in Southwest Ohio that have been designated as Important Bird Areas by Audubon Ohio.

        It is hoped that the designations will attract volunteers to help monitor bird populations in those areas, encourage good conservation practices for those areas and stave off development.

        In addition to three areas in Hamilton County — Burnet Woods, Miami Whitewater Forest in Crosby Township and the Oxbow area of the Great Miami River in Miami Township — Audubon Ohio also designated East Fork State Park in Clermont County and Gilmore Ponds and Hueston Woods in Butler County as Important Bird Areas.

        Those are among 71 places designated as Important Bird Areas in the state by Audubon Ohio.

        John Klein, land manager for the Hamilton County Park District, said the designation makes sense for the 3,900-acre Miami Whitewater Forest.

        “It's not only our largest park but it's the most diverse,” Mr. Klein said.

        Not only does the park have the heft of a mature forest, but officials have worked in recent years on wetland and prairie restoration projects that have increased the diversity of wildlife habitats in the park. That diversity in habitat translates into a diversity of wildlife, especially bird life.

        “It makes it a good stopover point for migrating birds and breeding habitat for resident birds,” Mr. Klein said.

        Nominations for the designation came from local Audubon chapters, individuals, government agencies and the Ohio Department of Nat ural Resources Division of Wildlife.

        John Ritzenthaler, director of habitat conservation for Audubon Ohio, said a committee organized by Audubon Ohio sifted through about 140 nominations for the designation.

        They considered such criteria as areas that had exceptional concentrations of birds, rare habitats that attract particular birds, such as herons, warblers and some species of sparrows, and areas with a history of research into their bird populations.

        Burnet Woods in Clifton is an example of an area that qualified because of its history of research into the birds it attracts, Mr. Ritzenthaler said.

        “It's also unique in being an urban park that attracts a lot of migrants,” Mr. Ritzenthaler said. Monitoring of the bird population there has shown it has attracted about 35 species of warblers.

        Oxbow in Miami Township was chosen for its concentration of birds, especially waterfowl and shorebirds. Gilmore Ponds has important species breeding there, while Hueston Woods is an attractive habitat for many bird species. East Fork has a significant diversity of waterfowl.

        Mr. Klein said that while Miami Whitewater is not in danger of being developed, the designation will help attract more volunteers to monitor the bird population. More than 200 species of birds have been counted in the wetlands areas alone, he said.

        “We rely heavily on the volunteer bird watchers to keep track of those things,” Mr. Klein said.

        An example is a Northern shoveler, a species of duck, found nesting this year in the wetlands of Miami Whitewater, a rare record for that duck breeding anywhere in Ohio.

        “We would never have known that if it wasn't for the bird watchers that visit that area,” Mr. Klein said.

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