Every year, the wetlands of northwestern Mexico host a unique spectacle. About a million shorebirds born thousands of miles away, in North America and the far Arctic, make a life-threatening decision to fly for months and arrive at the wetland beaches and estuaries in the Gulf of California and the Mexican Pacific, in search of refuge. They fly for months and arrive at the beaches, wetlands and estuaries in the Gulf of California and the Mexican Pacific, in search for shelter and food. After regaining strength, some of them continue their long journey to Central and South America, while others will spend the rest of the winter along the coasts of Mexico.
This migratory phenomenon has been studied extensively by biologists and wildlife experts. Analyzing the annual migration of birds allows us to better understand the behavior of these amazing species and their impact on the food chain. But the knowledge we gain from biological monitoring is ever-expanding. Discovering where these birds travel and why they move across the continent helps us understand many other things, such as their relationship to habitat and the risks posed to wildlife by pollution, temperature changes, and the ravages of climate change.
Although we know more and more about animal behavior, much remains to be discovered and some of the biggest questions remain a mystery. Our experts at Pronatura Noroeste have much to contribute in this regard. Biological monitoring is one of the main tasks we carry out, in alliance with organizations, research centers and governments of countries such as Canada and the U.S. This is due to the fact that our coasts and wetlands, given their characteristics and geographic location, are part of the Pacific Flyway in the Americas.
In the fascinating work of conservation, we make use of different technological tools. One of them is the network of Motus stations, which we use to record the journey of birds in the vast geography of northwestern Mexico. Motus stations (the word means movement in Latin) are placed in strategic locations along the migratory route, with antennas that capture the passage of birds carrying a small transmitter with a range of 10 to 20 kilometers. This network has more than 1,000 stations throughout the continent, although its presence in Latin America is still insufficient.
With Pronatura Noroeste as the main driver of Motus stations in northwestern Mexico, this network continues to expand and is more robust than ever. Since 2020, we have installed 19 stations in 15 priority wetlands in the region. In addition, we plan to install 12 more stations over the next two years.
In addition to Motus technology, we also implemented other tools. For example, biologgers, small “backpacks” that we place on some birds to record their location during their flight thanks to a tiny GPS. When the biologgers are at a distance of 1 to 2 km from the bird, the data recorded by the biologger and downloaded through a portable antenna. The information we obtain is very useful to guide the conservation and protection of migratory birds and their habitat.
In addition, as part of our comprehensive wildlife monitoring activities in the region, we use satellite technology to record the birds’ movements along the coasts and wetlands. Once birds are tagged with these satellite transmitters, the location of a tagged bird is recorded via satellite and sent online to our experts at Pronatura Noroeste.
Among the species we track with these technological resources, all of which are relevant to conservation, are the Pacific Red Knot (Calidris canutus roselaari), Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) and Least Tern (Sternula antillarum), among others. However, more than three dozen species tagged by researchers and conservationists throughout the hemisphere have been detected by our network of Motus stations. This provides evidence of the impressive migratory paths of these birds.
Join Pronatura Noroeste in the biological monitoring of migratory birds, an intense and relevant task that interests us all.
