October Big Day at the Punta Banda Estuary
This past October 12 was World Migratory Bird Day, a day to celebrate and raise awareness about birds, the great journeys they undertake, and the obstacles they face. On this day, we participated in October Big Day, a worldwide event where birders around the world come together to celebrate migratory birds.
Throughout the day, bird enthusiasts -from beginners to advanced birders- are encouraged to go out, observe, and record sightings to help create a global count of bird populations by uploading their records to the citizen science platform eBird. Every year, Mujeres en Parvada participates by organizing a birding trip, inviting everyone to join us in counting and recording all the birds we see.
Willet (Tringa semipalmata)
This year, we chose the Punta Banda Estuary, a site with a great diversity, where many migratory birds can be found. We really had a fantastic day! We arrived at "El Dique" (the dike along Boulevard Todos Santos near the base of the spit) at 10 a.m., with a total of 18 participants.
We began observing a pair of Belted Kingfishers in the area between the dam and the beach, and in one of the small puddles, we spotted two Red-Necked Phalaropes swimming around. On the levee we could see the grebes, and night herons. We were very lucky to see a Green Heron, which remained still for a long time, allowing us to observe it in detail through the telescope. It was a wonderful day for heron sightings, as we also encountered a Little Blue Heron, and a bit further away, a Reddish Egret.
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
To the east, on the muddy flats before the agricultural fields of Maneadero, we observed huge flocks of shorebirds: Western Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Marbled Godwits, Willets, Dowitchers, Curlews, and a group of Greater Yellowlegs. Forster's Terns also entertained us as they caught small fish. Although we did not see the Ridgway´s Rail, we heard them singing in the marsh.
On the left a Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) and on the right a Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
On our way back, we were surprised to hear a Northern Waterthrush up close; we had never seen it in this area before! Some ducks, such as the Ruddy Duck, were also present. Gulls, pelicans and cormorants were abundant as well. Even though we didn´t travel a long distance, we managed to observe a total of 70 species! We were thrilled with all that we saw; every bird that arrives here highlights the importance of this site for both resident and migratory birds.
If you want to know more about the birds we recorded, here is the list of that day:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S199088054
Now let's get ready for the Christmas Bird Count! Would you like to join us? This year it will be on December 21, and we'll publish more information soon, but for now, save the date!
