Watch over a migrating bird in Central America!

David Attenborough once said, "Everyone likes birds", and we agree with him. Whether they are gracing our morning with joyful song or giving us a sense of wonder when we observe that nesting behaviour, birds are an important part of our lives.

Thanks to your support, our efforts to document and protect migratory birds in Central America is underway.  Here are a few updates on your impact. 

 Bird-banding stations for survivorship at two locations in Nicaragua

• Since November, our team has visited the stations every 4 weeks to capture migratory and resident birds gathering data about their survivorship. The monitoring activity generates valuable information. For example, using our data the Institute for Bird Populations has a scientific paper about migratory bird survival under review. We have been included as co-authors.

Christmas Bird Count

• This was the 10th annual bird count. 21 participants using 10 routes identified 160 species. We held the event in early January 2025.

Willow flycatcher monitoring across three sites in El Salvador

• This is our 3rd year monitoring flycatchers in Eastern El Salvador. During the winter season we've been documenting the habitat of this significantly threatened migratory bird. The survey found 13 additional migratory bird species of conservation concern in these same habitats including the American Redstart, Sulpher-bellied Flycatcher and Summer Tananger

Management of MOTUS station for radio telemetry tracking of birds

• We have been busy planning the deployment of two MOTUS stations for radio tracking migratory and resident birds. This involved meeting with government officials, landowners and technical experts.

It is a privilege to study birds and to work with communities and landowners to protect their habitat. We are so grateful to you for making this work possible. 

Links:

• Species Results from our participation in Christmas Bird Count