I think some of the terms suggested for a migration stopover site can be misleading. An ?Important Bird Area,? for example is a semi-official designation given by the American Bird Conservancy or National Audubon Society to a site, which may not even be a migrational use area. It could be important as a breeding site or wintering area.
?Migration stations? or ?waysides? sound like possibly human-established sites along designated bird ?highways.? The term ?oasis? has a distinct meaning, which often does not apply to a migrational use area. ?Critical migration stopover? implies something that is generally not known; certainly not all stopover sites are critical. And, if they are critical, to whom? Determining that a particular site is critical would be an enormous feat. Even ?migration stopover? is usually considered an action, rather than a place. The term ?staging area? is used when masses of birds concentrate during migration, such as sandhill cranes along the Platte River in Nebraska during spring, but it is not applicable to most migration use areas. I have been using here the term ?migrational use area,? so I must like it. ?Migrational stopover site? is good, too. Perhaps too bland for some tastes, but reasonably accurate. Thanks to Pastor Al for proposing another thought-provoking question! ***************************************** Douglas H. Johnson Research Statistician USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology 204 Hodson Hall 1980 Folwell Ave. University of Minnesota St. Paul, MN 55108 Phone: 612-624-4716 Fax: 612-625-5299 Email: [email protected] ***************************************** ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
