Birds of the Coastal Wetlands of Southern Sonora: Status and Conservation

1. Birds of the Coastal Wetlands of Southern Sonora: Status and Conservation Osvel Hinojosa Huerta

2. The Importance of Southern Sonora for Birds • Over 260 species • Critical wintering and stopover site in the Pacific Flyway • Waterfowl (120,000; 25 species) • Shorebirds (90,000; 28 species)

3. The Importance of Southern Sonora for Birds • Stopover site for Neotropical migratory landbirds

4. The Importance of Southern Sonora for Birds • Breeding waterbirds • Marshbirds • Colonial waterbirds • Protected Species • 19 species • Least Tern • Clapper Rail • Piping Plover • Brant • Least Grebe

5. The Importance of Southern Sonora for Birds • 7 AICAs (Important Bird Areas) • Important site for North American Wetlands Conservation Council • Priority Site for Conservation of Biodiversity in the Gulf of California

6. Threats to Birds in Southern Sonora • Habitat loss and degradation • Mangrove areas • Freshwater and brackish marshes • Riparian areas • Disturbance of breeding grounds • Pollution

7. Threats to Birds in Southern Sonora • Reduced avian productivity and survivorship • Population declines • Local extirpations • Loss of biodiversity

8. Birds as Indicators of Environmental Health

9. Marshbirds of Southern Sonora • Breed in areas with emergent vegetation or mangroves • Strongest dependence upon wetland ecosystems • Sharp population declines in North America: habitat loss • More drastic in the Sonoran Desert Ecoregion

10. Marshbirds of Southern Sonora • 5 species • Ardeidae • American Bittern - Botaurus lentiginosus • Least Bittern - Ixobrychus exilis

11. Marshbirds of Southern Sonora Rallidae Clapper Rail - Rallus longirostris Virginia Rail - Rallus limicola Sora - Porzana carolina

12. Marshbirds of Southern Sonora • Determine the status of marshbirds in SS and set a baseline for a long-term monitoring program • Part of a regional effort to determine the relative abundance and distribution of marshbirds in Northwestern Mexico • Linked to a continental effort to estimate population trends of marshbirds in NA (USGS; USFWS)

13. Protocol • Standardized Protocol for Monitoring Marshbirds in North America (Conway 2002) • Based on call-response surveys: 30 s of vocalizations of each species, followed by 30 s of silence • Counts during breeding season, when vocalization rate increases (May-June)

14. Protocol • Variable distance point counts • Survey stations 200 m apart • Grouped in transects (5 stations)

15. Protocol • Counting the number of individuals of each species responding to the tapes, along with distance estimation • Habitat measurements at each station: cover classes, veg height, salinity, and water depth • Support with GIS and satellite images for change analysis and density estimates

16. Surveyed Wetlands Sonora Delta del Río Colorado Estero Santa Rosa, Estero del Soldado, Sur de Sonora Baja California Punta Banda, Río San Telmo, Bahía San Quintín, El Rosario, Laguna Guerrero Negro Baja California Sur Laguna Ojo de Liebre, Laguna San Ignacio, Bahía Magdalena, Ensenada La Paz, San José del Cabo Sinaloa Ensenada Pabellones y Bahía Santa María

17. Surveyed Wetlands in Southern Sonora • Estero Santa Cruz • Punta Santa Rosa • El Soldado • Miramar • Tobari System • Yavaros • Huatabampo • Agiabampo

18. Total Survey Effort

19. Preliminary Results • 124 individuals from 4 species • Clapper Rails are common in mangrove areas • Distribution is patchy; some mangrove areas without CLRAs • Other marshbirds are very scarce

20. Marshbird Abundance

21. Marshbird Density

22. Preliminary Results

23. Next Steps… • Data analysis and reporting • Develop and implement monitoring plan • Regional Conservation Plan for Marshbirds • Include other guilds and species to assess the status of the wetlands of Southern Sonora

24. Next Steps… • Outreach and Environmental Education • Support decision making and management • Conservation!