On October 14 and 15, the first Revive the Colorado River/Rise The River Festival will be held where we will learn how science, policy and joint efforts are working to restore the Colorado River.

Los Cabos

Los Cabos is the region at the end of the Peninsula of Baja California. Where the natural landscape and seascape are just spectacular – the desert meets the sea in San José del Cabo, and life shines with every wave.

Despite the fact that Northwest Mexico is used by more than a million migratory birds during the winter, there is a lack of information about their migratory patterns, dates of arrival and departure, survival, and habitat use. To generate this information in a continuous and economical way, Pronatura Noroeste and its partners will begin in 2020 to install the first network of “Motus” monitoring stations in Mexico. This network will use a set of antennas to record the migratory passage of birds tagged with a small transmitter. The signal from these transmitters will be automatically and continuously detected by the antennas which, installed in strategic points, will cover thousands of kilometers.

The coastal lagoons of the El Vizcaíno region (Guerrero Negro, Ojo de Liebre, Laguna San Ignacio, El Coyote, La Bocana), in Baja California Sur, receive the highest concentration of wintering shorebirds in northwest Mexico. In order to strengthen the conservation schemes in those wetlands, the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve has agreed with the Baja California Sur State University and Pronatura Noroeste to implement a work plan that responds to the guidelines of the "Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy".

The North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) awarded Pronatura Noroeste the “Gary T. Myers Award” for its contributions to the conservation of birds in Northwest Mexico. The award ceremony was held on August 19, 2020 and was attended by several members of the international conservation community.

Pronatura Noroeste wins the “Gary T. Myers” award for its outstanding work in bird conservation in Northwest Mexico since 1991.

The first data on the Yuma Ridgway rail specimens were obtained through a telemetry system. This research project seeks to understand the patterns of dispersion of the Yuma Ridgway rail in the Mexican territory and determine if they demonstrate migratory movements or remain in the wetlands of the Colorado River Delta.

The fourth phase of the Laguna Babicora, Chihuahua protection and management project, conducted with NAWCA in the ejido communities of Gomez Farias and Peña Blanca, and the Nicolas Bravo, San Jose Babicora, and Libertad developments concluded. For the last two years, Pronatura Noroeste has facilitated activities for restoration, habitat management, monitoring, and environmental education to keep the wetland healthy.

Birds are endangered due to the degradation and pollution of their habitats, soil change, and human disturbance. If birds, especially migratory ones, do not have suitable sites for feeding, rest, and reproduction, it is highly likely that in the medium or long term, their populations will decrease. With the aim of reducing the threats migratory birds confront, especially those that affect shorebirds that spend part of the annual cycle on the Pacific coast of Mexico, for the past 27 years, Pronatura Noroeste has conducted diagnostics and implemented conservation projects in priority sites.

Elementary education teachers have been one of the main allies of the Conservation Education Program. Therefore, to strengthen ties in the communities and facilitate training, the teachers work with environmental promoters to receive firsthand support integrating environmental education in their curricula.

Two adult Golden Eagles and two juveniles were observed in Sierra de Cucurpe by inhabitants in the area, and experts confirmed their presence in the site during a tour of the nesting area, which took place from January 13th to 17th, as part of a conservation project for the preservation and monitoring of the species conducted by Pronatura Noroste, CEMEX, and BirdLife in collaboration with CONANP and the Sonora State Government.

Pronatura Noroeste will collaborate in the design of a Master Plan for the Prevention and Mitigation of Impacts on Shorebirds in the Ojo de Liebre Lagoon Complex with Laura Ibarra, a fellow of the Cornell University Coastal Solutions Program.

The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group awards the Lewis Oring Prize to recognize the careers of researchers who, throughout their lives, have made a substantial contribution to the study and knowledge of shorebirds.

To share knowledge and publicize the progress and achievements of the Colorado River Delta restoration work, Gabriela Caloca Michel and Stefanny Villagomez Palma from the Water and Wetland Conservation Program presented their experiences as part of the activities of the XI Congress on Neotropical Ornithology, which took place from July 28th to August 1st in San José, Costa Rica.

Four years after a satellite transmitter was placed on a female Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), the specimen was seen again in Sierra de Cucurpe three miles from Ceritto Blanco, Sonora. Experts identified that the bird had established its nesting grounds in the area and that it is currently of reproductive age.