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

Thank you for contributing to this project and allowing us to continue monitoring endangered bird migration in Nicaragua. 

Your support enabled us to implement a wildlife tracking Motus station, allowing us to locate the habitats of certain birds, stopover points along migration patterns, and migration timing. With this resource we collected important data which is being used to determine how to best practice conservation for certain migratory species. Unfortunatley our Motus sytem underwent some technical difficulties this year, but we're in the process of troubleshooting and look forward to the certain impact this new technology will have on our conservation goals.

With this in mind, Paso Pacifico has proposed the expansion of a network of Motus stations across Central America and South West Mexico. With an increased range it would be possible to monitor more birds more precisely, making it easier to collect data about Redlisted species and gain support of wildlife corridors and habitat protection.

We also recieved positive news from the Willow Flycatcher campaign. Photos taken in protected Willow Flycatcher habitat in eastern El Salvador revealed many other birds of conservation concern inhabiting the same areas. This diversity reflects the importance of preserving these Salvadorian ecosystems which are home to a variety of endangered birds and wildlife.

Lastly, Paso Pacifico was thrilled to celebrate October Big Day on the 12th, a global day for birding within a larger weekend of bird appreciation. Paso Pacifico's ranger team took their binoculars and cameras to the Paso Del Istmo wildlife corridor in southern Nicaragua and to Granada in the west, capturing photos of of the forest inhabitants.

We are very grateful for your support of this project, with your help Paso Pacifico will continue to make an impact on the protection of migrating species.