By Juanita Fonseca and Julia Salazar
Translated from the Spanish by the WHSRN Executive Office
To highlight migratory birds, the seventh Bird Festival in San Quintín, Baja California was held this past December and was organized by Terra Peninsular. This lagoon complex welcomes more than 35,000 shorebirds annually, highlighting its importance as a regional WHSRN site. Dr. Juanita Fonseca, Shrimp and Shorebird Conservationist Specialist and Julia Salazar, Salt and Shorebird Conservation Specialist, from the WHSRN Executive Office attended the festival along with Jim Chu (USFS) and Eduardo Palacios from Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Baja California – CISECE [Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada, Baja California].
During the event, we were able to meet with local partners and learn about various projects underway at the site, including oyster farming where some activities have been implemented to reduce the impact of oyster farming on the ecosystem. Activities such as the removal of several abandoned oyster farming structures that had been in the waters of the bay for several years. Another activity was the collaboration with the producers to replaced the floats used to mark the areas where the oyster farming structures are located by safer structures that, unlike the previous ones, do not become detached, causing contamination and danger to the birds that use this natural area.
Another of the experiences we were able to learn about were the different management actions in the nesting area of the Snowy Plover (Anarhynchus nivosus), actions such as installation of signs to avoid human disturbance, recurrent monitoring and campaigns to raise local communities’ awareness about these sites, the species and the actions they can take to protect them.
We also learned a lot about the Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans), which was the festival’s featured bird this year.
Julia Salazar and Juanita Fonseca from the Executive Office with Jim Chu, Eduardo Palacios and Fernando Gavito, Director of Terra Peninsular during the nature fair. Photo: Juanita Fonseca
Over the course of three days, we had the opportunity to participate in the many lectures and activities planned for the festival. The first day began with the birdwatching marathon for participants to get to know both the area and the birds of the region. Lectures were given on the effects of light pollution on the birds in San Quintín Bay, and we also enjoyed a stunning exhibition of photographs of the local flora and fauna. On the second day, we attended the Nature Fair, where we visited vendor and sponsor booths and learned about projects in the region. We also went kayaking to bird watch in Los Humedales, a spectacular natural area in San Quintín. At night, we had an amazing experience at the Monte Ceniza volcano: observing the constellations with Dr. Fernando Avila from the National Astronomical Observatory (OAN), which was undoubtedly one of the activities we enjoyed the most.
Nature fair at Los Humedales, San Quintín. Photo: Julia Salazar
Finally, on the last day of the festival, we took part in the children’s parade, featuring children from different schools in the area, dressed in their hand-made (with help from their parents!) bird costumes.. During the parade, the children enthusiastically performed songs and dances about birds, that everyone enjoyed. Finally, at the end of the event, prizes were awarded to the winners of the Bird Marathon and Fernando Gavito, Director of Terra Peninsular, gave special recognition to Dr. Jim Chu for his great work during his years of service with the USFS, and acknowledging the support that Terra Peninsular has received from USFS on various conservation projects in the wetlands of San Quintín.
Parade of children from the community of San Quintín showing off their bird costumes. Photos: Juanita Fonseca
The festival was attended by more than 200 people, including Terra Peninsular partners, environmental organizations, and community members. San Quintín is undoubtedly an impressive place, from its beautiful landscapes and biodiversity to the warmth of its people, who consistently welcomed us with big smiles. We hope to have the opportunity to return and participate in next year’s San Quintín Bird Festival – it was a unique event which both surprised us and taught us a lot! We thank our partners at Terra Peninsular for allowing us to be part of this annual experience.
Cover Photo: Attendees at the seventh edition of the San Quintín Bird Festival. Photo: Julia Salazar
