Chilean organizations and the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network emphasize the urgency of risk control and rapid response mechanisms in events like this.
It started on January 29th, in the Punta Espora sector of the first narrows of the Strait of Magellan. Two Kelp Gulls (Larus dominicanus) were spotted with oil on their feathers. The contaminated individuals were photographed, and shortly thereafter at least four Two-banded Plovers (Charadrius falklandicus) were found with similar spots.
In response to these sightings, the Centro Bahía Lomas hired expert ornithologist Ricardo Matus (from the Center for Bird Rehabilitation in Leñadura) to inspect the area to better understand the extent of the problem. Using an all-terrain vehicle, he covered 20 kilometers of the coastal area, from Punta Espora to five kilometers south of Bahía Azul, and conducted a similar survey of the mainland at Punta Delgada. Matus reported that out of 13 total species recorded, he observed individuals of seven species with oil on their bodies. These seven were mainly long-distance migrant shorebirds like White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), Baird’s Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii), American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), Magellanic Oystercatcher (Haematopus leucopodus), and Two-banded Plover (Charadrius falklandicus).
Organizations including the Agrupación Ecológica Patagónica (Patagonia Environmental Group), the Centro Bahía Lomas, the Center for Bird Rehabilitation in Leñadura, and the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) have come together to show their concern for the effect this situation could have in an area like Bahía Lomas, a Ramsar and WHSRN site critical to migratory shorebirds.
Left: A juvenile Two-banded Plover seen with oil on its feathers. Right: A Kelp Gull affected by the oil spill. Photos: Ricardo Matus.
“Bahía Lomas is the most important wintering site in South America for the rufa subspecies of Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa), a species in danger of extinction” explained Dr. Carmen Espoz, Dean of Science at the University of Santo Tomas and Director of the Centro Bahía Lomas. The University of Santo Tomas began a Red Knot monitoring program in Bahía Lomas in 2003, a project that has provided key information for the conservation of this species on a hemispheric scale. Diego Luna Quevedo, Conservation Specialist with the WHSRN Executive Office, added that “at this exact moment, Bahía Lomas is supporting at least 55% of the population of Calidris canutus rufa that migrates to South America. Any type of contamination event in the area could have extreme negative effects for this species.”
The tidal mudflats of Bahía Lomas are a crucial area for migratory shorebirds. The area was nominated as a Ramsar site in 2004, and joined WHSRN in 2009 as a Site of Hemispheric Importance. The rufa Red Knot is legally protected in several countries along its migratory path. In Argentina and Canada, it is considered endangered. In the United States, it is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In Brazil, its status is “critically threatened,” and in Chile, it is also classified as endangered.
Every year, Red Knots migrate from their breeding sites in the Canadian Arctic to their winter home in Bahía Lomas, traveling almost 19,000 miles (30,000km) round trip every year.
