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Description Panama - Host to millions of migrant shorebirds Like sand through an hourglass, millions of migrating birds from North America pass through the Isthmus of Panama and into South America each fall. Hawks, songbirds, and shorebirds each provide a spectacle in their own right, but of the three, the shorebird migration most impresses an observer with its huge numbers as birds fly wingtip to wingtip over the beach or huddle together by the tens of thousands at high tide. Mudflats - A rich feeding grounds Shorebirds require rich feeding grounds to complete their journey, for unlike the hawks, they are unable to store up sufficient energy for the trip before starting. One such area is a complex of mangrove forests bordering immense mudflats up to several kilometers wide in the Upper Bay of Panama. The richest and most heavily used part of this area is the 30 kilometers of shoreline starting at the edge of the city and extending east towards Colombia. In 1997, during the fall migration, these mudflats hosted 1,300,000 migrant shorebirds. As much as 30% of the world population of Western Sandpipers were included in this figure. Satisfying the normal energy requirements of the shorebirds would have required over 50 metric tons of marine worms in October alone. (Watts, 1998) Mangroves - A valuable resource Almost half of the WHSRN site consists of mangroves. Mangroves are a unique tropical habitat that is one of the most dynamic on the planet. They contain plants and animals found in no other type of forest. Many commercially important fish and shrimp spend part of their life in mangroves. Over 90% of the wild-caught shrimp in Panama depend on mangroves for food and shelter for part of their lives. Many of Panama’s commercially raised chickens are fed fishmeal from anchovetas, small fish which also depend on mangroves. Sediments in mangroves trap pesticides and other carcinogenic chemicals from agricultural runoff and keep them from entering the marine food chain. Panama Viejo - A World Heritage Site Looking out over the mudflats near the western edge of the WHSRN site is Panama Viejo, the oldest European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas, founded in 1519. The original street plan and many of the old buildings, including the cathedral, are preserved. In 1671, the city was sacked by the famous buccaneer, Henry Morgan. When the city was rebuilt, a site easier to defend was chosen several miles away, now called Casco Viejo, and the ruins were left, more or less undisturbed, until the present day. |
Site Facts
Country, State, Province/Region Panama Province, Republic of Panama Relative Location: Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Panama Latitude/Longitude: 8˚ 57' N, 79˚ 01' W Category: Hemispheric Site Basis for Designation: Usage by more than 1,000,000 shorebirds annually Size: 48,919 ha. Approximately half are mudflats exposed at low tide, most of the remainder are mangroves Joined: January, 2005 Site Owner/Steward: State owned, managed by the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (National Environmental Authority) Site Partners: Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM) Panama Audubon Society (PAS) Human Population within 100 km: Over 1 million Contact: Panama Audubon Society audupan@cwpanama.net |
