Environment

Bay crucial to shorebirds

Scientists have returned to Panama to study the migration of shorebirds through Panama.

The Bay of Panama is considered a crucial place for birds to rest during their migration.

Rafael Luck/la prensa

taking flight: The Bay of Panama is considered crucial to many shorebirds that migrate between North and South America. In addition to food and rest, the birds also use their time in Panama to grow new feathers for their long journey.1121609

This year, scientists Brian Watts and Bart Paxton, of the Center for Biological Conservation at the College of William and Mary in the U.S., will be returning to Panama to do some serious birdwatching.

The pair came to Panama in 1997 to conduct an extensive study of migratory shorebirds. That study showed that more than 1 million migratory birds use the Bay of Panama to feed and rest on their annual southern migration.

Calculating those numbers requires intensive field work to determine how many birds are present each week and how long they stay in the country before continuing their journey.

One of the most important findings of that study was the fact that, while in Panama, these birds molt, growing new flight feathers so they can continue their migration. This finding highlighted the importance of the bay to the annual migration.

So far this year, the scientists have conducted several flights over the Bay of Panama, where they have observed shorebirds in amounts similar to the numbers they recorded in 1997. The scientists are studying some 30 miles of beach, including the communities of Panama Viejo, Costa del Este, Juan Díaz, Tocumen, Pacora and Chepo.

The study has helped fuel an increased interest in birdwatching in Panama, which is considered one of the best places to view birds that are migrating between North and South America.

Rosabel Miró, executive director of Audubon Panama, said that the organization intends to involve more community groups and businesses to help with next year's count. This information will be invaluable to scientists such as Watts and Paxton who are studying bird migration.

Changes in the number of birds that are spotted in Panama can be an indication of the overall health of the environment.

“The protection of the environment should be viewed in a holistic manner,” said Karl Kaufmann, scientific director of Audubon Panama. “The destruction of mangroves or the creation of wind farms in the mountains could cause a deviation in the path of the birds, or even death for many of them.”

Through mid-November, some 1.7 million birds had been counted from an observation station on Ancon Hill.

As recently as 2004, Audubon Panama had operated nine such stations, and spotters counted upward of 3 million birds.

However, a lack of resources and people to count have reduced the group's ability to tally the number of birds migrating through the isthmus.

It is a trend that the organization is trying to reverse.