Shorebird conservation requires collaborative work at the local and international levels to strengthen relationships between partners to enhance local conservation efforts and ensure impactful work at the flyway scale.
In this spirit of collaboration, the Fundación Lagunas Costeras (Coastal Lagoons Foundation), CURE of the University of the Republic of Uruguay, and the Armonía Association in Bolivia worked together and made it possible for Marcia Salvatierra from Bolivia to visit the coastal lagoons of Uruguay to learn about their ecosystems. Marcia also learned how to capture and install GPS on Buff-breasted Sandpipers (Calidris subruficolis).
This charismatic species has been part of Marcia Salvatierra’s life since 2014 when she did her undergraduate thesis monitoring the species in the Barba Azul Reserve. Since then, Marcia has worked as a consultant for Asociación Armonía at the Barba Azul WHSRN site in Bolivia. In 2021, Marcia coordinated the field groups during the monitoring of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper in the Llanos de Moxos in Bolivia. Manomet supported this work through the participation of Arne Lesterhuis and Joaquín Aldabe. This field encounter, along with a previous connection during past meetings of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group (WHSG), facilitated the potential for an exchange of experience between two important sites for the conservation of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper in South America: Barba Azul Reserve in Bolivia and Laguna de Rocha in Uruguay.
A year later and thanks to the management and collaboration between the partners, Marcia had the opportunity to travel to Uruguay. In November 2022, Marcia visited the coastal lagoons for 14 days with the staff of the Fundación Lagunas Costeras and the CURE of the University of the Republic, participating in the capture and installation of satellite transmitters on the birds. Marcia visited three lagoons: Laguna Castillos, Laguna José Ignacio, and Laguna de Rocha. For Marcia, getting to know the wilsternet capture technique up close was a highlight. “There were days when we spent more than 10 hours waiting without activating the trap, which also allowed us to appreciate even more the moments when we were able to capture the birds”.
Left: The wilsternet method is a classic method of capturing birds and is very effective, but it is also complex to implement. It uses a 25-meter long net, steel lingas, stakes and a flock of resin shorebirds (“decoys”) on the ground. Very effective for the capture of Buff-breasted Sandpipers, American Golden Plovers (Pluvialis dominica), among other species associated with grasslands in Uruguay. Right: Buff-breasted Sandpiper with satellite transmitter. Photos: Marcia Salvatierra
By expanding the ways in which these activities are carried out at other key sites for its conservation this exchange is strengthening the research and monitoring of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper. “These types of experiences create connections between people working at different points along the migratory routes, while generating a spirit of teamwork on an international scale” shared Joaquín Aldabe, Ranching and Shorebird Conservation Specialist of the WHRSN Executive Office in Manomet and part of the team of the Fundación Lagunas Costeras.
This was an exceptional opportunity not only to improve technical skills and connect with others, but also to see the differences between ecosystems and the behavior of the species. For Marcia one of the most important things “was to see the very large flocks of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, seeing so many reminded me of the Marcia of 2014 excited with a flock of a thousand individuals, and to see so many in Uruguay was amazing.” The differences and similarities of the ecosystems were evident, as well as the behavior of the species “in Bolivia the Buff-breasted Sandpipers are just passing through, while in Uruguay I could see them in groups and in high concentrations”. Another of her observations was how the flocks are composed according to the location. In Uruguay the Buff-breasted Sandpiper is often found accompanied by the American Golden Plover, while in Bolivia it is seen more with the Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) as American Golden Plovers do not stop as frequently in Bolivia.
Marcia holding a Buff-breasted Sandpiper with a satellite transmitter attached to its back. Photo: Agustina Medina
Collaboration between site partners is an important part of the spirit of WHSRN. When relationships between sites are cultivated, each site is not alone in facing threats, as Joaquín said, “This type of experience makes it possible for people to benefit from resources, opportunities, experiences, knowledge, and skills that happen elsewhere. It also helps sites receive support from an internationally connected community of people in the face of local conservation emergencies”.
This experience for Marcia is sure to inform decisions and techniques for continuing the species’ conservation work in her country. Her focus and energy are now on advancing her Master’s thesis in Natural Resources and Environment Management at the Universidad Mayor San Simon in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
For Fundación Lagunas Costeras, international visitors at the local level generates opportunities for future collaborative work, while emphasizing the importance of the site on an international scale, “It strengthens the idea that birds connect us and that birds are important, it helps people to value birds more,” says Joaquín.
Left: Students observe Buff-breasted Sandpipers and American Golden Plovers in the cattle pasture in coastal Uruguay. Right: Joaquín Aldabe banding a Buff-breasted Sandpiper before it is released. Photos: Marcia Salvatierra
In addition to providing services for our site partners and supporting new site designations, the WHSRN Executive Office seeks to promote interaction and collaborative work among partners. Some of the ways in which we support these interactions is by generating spaces for exchange, identifying opportunities for partners to work together, highlighting each site’s conservation efforts, facilitating communication between partners, and helping to find resources to make these exchanges a reality. For more information please contact us: whsrn@manomet.org
Cover Photo: Decoys on display, waiting for Buff-breasted Sandpipers to join them. Photo: Marcia Salvatierra
