Birdwatching is an activity that is gaining more and more followers, and Mexico offers perfect conditions for it since, due to its geographic location, it is one of the countries of transit, nesting, or hibernation for birds. According to data from the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, Mexico has 96,000 species of birds.
This is why the Colorado River Delta Urban Bird Program (PAUDCR) participated in October Big Day, an exercise in citizen science promoted by the Cornell Ornithology Laboratory, which dedicates a day to birdwatching around the world with the goal of understanding global populations and contributing to the creation of distribution and abundance maps.
These citizen science activities are communal spaces where scientists, bird experts, and the community come together to improve the knowledge we have about these species. Participants observe and enter data in platforms such as eBird, aVerAves, and Naturalista to track birds and the location where they were sighted.
During October Big Day 2020, six PAUDRC volunteers participated to contribute bird registries in the priority wetlands of the Colorado River Delta region, which are located in Mexicali, San Luis Río Colorado, and its valley. The PAUDRC volunteers are also part of organizations like Salvemos las Lagunas, Pronatura Noroeste, and Restauremos el Colorado. In the Colorado River Delta region, a total of 47 species of birds and 926 individuals were sighted in Mexicali and San Luis Río Colorado, the surrounding agricultural areas, wetlands such as Laguna México and Río Colorado, and the Miguel Alemán Restoration Site. A total of 13 birds registries were listed: 10 in Mexicali, Baja California and three in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora.
PAUDCR is a collaborative initiative with the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), Salvemos Las Lagunas, and the Directorate of Environmental Protection of the XXIII City Council of Mexicali, which has as its objective to promote citizen science with birds as a recreation option for people who live in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, and Mexicali, Baja California, as well as in rural areas.
You can volunteer for PAUDRC activities, help us from home, and be part of this network of bird watchers in the Colorado River Delta region.
Dare to watch birds, contribute to the records, and generate knowledge for their conservation!
Contact Yuliana Dimas, Community Engagement Program Coordinator.
