For Immediate Release: December 10, 2001

Contact: , American Bird Conservancy, 202/234-7181 ext. 207

Forty years later, Bodega Bay, Location of Alfred Hitchcock’s Classic Movie, "The Birds", is named Globally Important for Bird Conservation

In 1961, film director Alfred Hitchcock selected Bodega Bay as the location for his classic suspense movie, "The Birds." This week, the national conservation group, American Bird Conservancy (ABC), announced that the site has been chosen as a "Globally Important Bird Area" (IBA). This IBA is one of more than 500 selected after ABC scientists reviewed 3,000 sites for potential designation. Among the goals of the IBA program are to stimulate interest in bird conservation, and increase financial and grassroots support for the protection of identified sites. "In the movie, Bodega Bay was a forbidding and sinister place, where crazed flocks of birds terrorized the on-screen characters and scared audiences across the nation. In real life it is a haven for some of America’s most loved and imperiled birds. It’s high time that it received the recognition it deserves," said Dr. Robert Chipley, Director of ABC’s IBA program. IBAs are selected based on the presence of significant populations of endangered or declining species, concentrations of large numbers of breeding, migrant, or wintering birds, and the presence of significant populations of species with very limited distributions, such as some species which occur only in the U.S. Taken together, the network of IBAs is essential for the future conservation of wild bird populations.

Bodega Bay qualified because of the presence of a breeding population of the Federally Threatened Western race of the Snowy Plover (a small shorebird), along with several other species of conservation concern, such as the Black Oystercatcher, and Long-billed Curlew. Large migrant and wintering concentrations of shorebirds and waterfowl such as Black Brant, a small dark-colored goose, are also found in the area. Ironically, the gulls that played such a leading role in the movie do not build up in such great numbers in Bodega Bay, and the area is of little conservation significance for them. Many of the gull shots from the movie were in fact filmed at a San Francisco dump. The area is subject to many threats common to IBAs elsewhere in the country, such as the invasion of non-native plants and free-roaming cats that prey on wild birds. The local Madrone Audubon Society conducts regular bird monitoring and education outreach in the community, and works with partners such as Sonoma County Bird Rescue, the Sonoma County Conservation Council, the California Native Plant Society, and the Redwood Region Ornithological Society.

"Flocks of tourists from all over the world come to Bodega Bay, seeking spots where "The Birds" was filmed. That movie had a huge impact on people," Said Donna DeBaets, Supervising Ranger for Bodega Bay Division of Sonoma County Regional Parks. The IBA designation will likely increase the number of visitors to Bodega Bay wishing to see its wild birds.

For more information on Bodega Bay or other Important Bird Areas in your state, please contact Gavin Shire, American Bird Conservancy, 202 234-7181 ext. 207.