- Title: MEXICO: Mexican organization fights to preserve migrating birds of prey
- Date: 12th November 2008
- Summary: CHICHICAXTLE, VERACRUZ, MEXICO (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MONITORING PROGRAMME COORDINATOR, PRONATURA BIOLOGIST EDUARDO MARTINEZ, SAYING: "A bird (of prey) which was threatened, in danger of extinction, several years ago was the Pilgrim Hawk, due to the use of pesticides. Fortunately thanks to breeding in captivity programmes and support programmes in its natural habitat, the population has recovered. People are worried about many species and we do what we can to preserve them."
- Embargoed: 27th November 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Mexico
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Nature / Environment
- Reuters ID: LVA44L597HQKYKC4GMRBC3TNYN4W
- Story Text: Winter in Mexico is not just marked by a cold nip in the air or deep orange coloured sunsets.
Mexico is preparing to receive about 4.5 million birds of prey - the largest migration passage in the world in terms of numbers - passing through the Mexican state of Veracruz on their annual migration routes.
Other important birds of prey migration passages are also found in Kekoldi in Costa Rica with some 2.5 million and Eilat in Israel with 1.8 million.
It has provided conservation organization Pronatura Veracruz the opportunity to launch an observation programme in collaboration with two US partners: Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and Hawk Watch International.
Birds of prey arrive from North America, mainly from central and eastern US all the way up to Canada. They include eagles, vultures, kites, falcons and hawks, all of them escaping from low temperatures and lack of food.
Birds of prey are not the only birds that migrate but the migration of birds of prey is the most spectacular.
They fly in huge flocks of hundreds of thousands and travel in unison, gliding from one column of ascending hot air to another until they reach their southern destinations.
The birds cover distances of between 250 and 350 kilometres per day.
Some remain in Central American and the rest travel as far as Argentina.
When night falls, the columns of hot ascending air, known as thermals, disappear and the birds stop in trees. Vultures will even spend the night on the ground and start flying again the following day when the thermals begin to form again.
Migration occurs twice a year, beginning in the autumn. Once the cold temperatures have passed, the birds make their way back to their nesting territories in the north during springtime.
Veracruz is on the route taken by the birds as it has large extensions of flatlands with warm temperatures where rising thermals are generated.
In addition, the presence of mountain ranges creates ideal flight conditions for the birds. The eastern Sierra Madre on the western side of Veracruz and the Neovolcanic Transversal Axis in the central part of the state, along with the Gulf of Mexico in the east, act as geographical barriers for the birds. If the birds were to venture outside such natural boundaries, they would use more energy.
The Veracruz River of Raptors programme (VRR) began in 1991 and aims to preserve the species through the long-term monitoring and observation of migratory raptor populations and their habitats.
The counting of the birds takes place in the autumn in the towns of Cardel and Chichicaxtle, both located in Veracruz state.
One counting station is found close to the ocean and the other is inland, some 14 kms from the other monitoring station.
Monitoring programme coordinator, Pronatura biologist Eduardo Martinez, said this programme has helped to bring back birds of prey from extinction.
"A bird (of prey) which was threatened, in danger of extinction, several years ago was the Pilgrim Hawk, due to the use of pesticides.
Fortunately thanks to breeding in captivity programmes and support programmes in its natural habitat, the population has recovered. People are worried about many species and we do what we can to preserve them," he told Reuters.
The counting method was adapted from HMANA (Hawk Migration Association of North America). A team of nine people identifies and counts the migrating birds using binoculars. The species' name, hour they were counted and the number of birds is recorded. Data about climate, such as wind speed and direction, cloud cover, temperature and visibility in kilometers is also recorded every hour. Bird numbers are sometimes high and so manual counters are used to facilitate accurate counting.
A tagging station was also established in Casaburro in 1998 and so far some 3,000 birds of prey have been tagged.
"Our annual average is 4.5 million birds of prey (passing through) depending on each season. This is related to the climate factor. We have received up to 7 million and as low as 3.5 million in the past," said Martinez.
"Well in Veracruz we have the largest migration in the world. The concentration of birds of prey in this specific area is the largest in the world, taking into account counts in the American continent and counts in Europe and Africa," added Pronatura observer, Irwin Perez.
The counting this year has been low, compared to recent years. But Pronatura said this is a trend they it's noticed in the U.S. also. Pronatura is, therefore, unable to determine whether numbers are falling due to global warming, killing or trapping. More information is required, it says.
According to Pronatura, it doesn't know why fewer birds have been passing through Mexico. It thinks that perhaps some have been flying further to the east and were missed or have been flying out of sight at a greater altitude.
As part of its conservation efforts, Pronatura is also trying to detect more stopovers where birds spend the night during migration, so that such places can be protected.
Martinez blames human activity, farming and the use of pesticides for this decrease.
"We can say that at the moment we are declining in the number of birds being counted each year. We hope the number goes up again but that will depend in part to our attitude and how we act with the ecosystem in general.
If at some stage the programme collapses because there are no more birds to count, it will be due to us doing something wrong (human activity)," said Martinez.
Pronatura is also working on environmental campaigns to create awareness of the migration.
The conservation effort costs between USD $60,000 and US $80,000 annually, the money being used to sustain two monitoring stations and trained counters. Funds are donated by organizations in the US and Mexico but Pronatura is struggling to raise funds.
Birding tours are organized every year, but numbers are dwindling due to the financial crisis.
The tour enables bird watchers to see some 750 other species in Veracruz in addition to the birds of prey.
Pronatura, a Mexican non profit organization was established 25 years ago to conserve of flora, fauna and ecosystems. It has offices in six different parts of Mexico. Its headquarters are in Mexico City. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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