The 121st site joins the Network.
The Hemispheric Council of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) voted unanimously to approve the designation of El Agallito and El Retén Beaches in Panama as a new Site of International Importance. This week, this latest addition to the WHSRN network will be celebrated during the Copper River International Migratory Bird Initiative (CRIMBI) meeting at Chitré in Panama.
El Agallito and El Retén beaches is in the Gulf of Parita along Panama’s Pacific coast. The newly designated area covers 4017.9 acres (1,626 hectares) and is situated between the mouths of the Parita and La Villa rivers. Main habitats include sandy-muddy shorelines lined with extensive mangroves. Internationally, the site is one of 53 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in Panama, highlighting the site as the second most important site for migratory shorebirds in Panama after the Parte Alta de la Bahía de Panamá (a WHSRN site of Hemispheric Importance).
Shorebirds at the El Agallito y El Retén Beaches in Panama. Photos: Audubon Panama.
The site is of great importance for migratory shorebirds moving to South America and those that winter in Panama, finding shelter, food, and resting areas there on the mudflats and in the mangroves. The site is designated as a WHSRN Site of International Importance due to the presence of more than 10% of the global population of Wilson’s Plover (Anarhynchus wilsonia).
Data collected by Audubon Panama during the Central American Waterbird Census (CAWC) supported the nomination and designation of the site. Audubon Panama has implemented these surveys since 2011, and since 2016, El Agallito Beach and El Retén Beach have been included in the surveys.
Shorebird monitoring at the new WHSRN Site El Agallito and El Retén Beaches. Photo: Audubon Panama.
Although the CAWC data provided information on the area’s importance for shorebirds, this site’s importance was already demonstrated in the late 1980s and early 1990s through aerial surveys on both coasts of the country. Around the same time, ground surveys in Parita Bay during 1989- 1991 reported 111,906 shorebirds from 14 species, including 6,599 individuals of the Wilson’s Plover (A. wilsonia).
The designated area is located within the Municipality of Chitré and is not yet protected. In April 2008, the Municipal Council of the district of Chitré declared the newly designated WHSRN site a “Territorial, Urban and Environmental Protection Zone in the coastal sector of Chitré.” This resolution is pending publication in the Official Registry, which is necessary for the area to be included in the Ministry of Environment’s National System of Protected Areas. Partners expect that the WHSRN designation could push this publication forward.
Wilson’s Plover at the new WHSRN site. Photo: Audubon Panama .
Protecting the site is essential as threats include pollution, disturbance by recreational and tourism activities, habitat loss, fishing activities, and climate change. Fortunately, in February 2023, the Parita Bay Wetlands Conservation Plan was launched. This plan, comprises a series of conservation strategies, including promoting scientific research, sustainable aquaculture, agricultural, livestock, and fishing practices, and creating multisectoral alliances. The Parita Bay Wetlands Conservation Plan is freely available to the public.
Please join us in welcoming El Agallito and El Retén Beaches and its partners as the 121st site to the Network!
Cover Photo: El Agallito Beach, central and south end view. Photo: Audubon Panama.
