By the Department of Communications, and Water and Wetlands Program, Pronatura Noroeste

This past June, Pronatura Noroeste started a partnership with the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), Salvemos las Lagunas, and the Environmental Protection Office, to formalize the Urban Birds Program: Colorado River Delta (PAUDRC), whose objective is to promote citizen science monitoring for birds in San Luis Río Colorado in Sonora, and Mexicali, becoming the 100th city in having such a program.

Pronatura Noroeste, through PAUDRC, was part of October Big Day 2020, a day devoted to birdwatching all over the world, an initiative of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to promote citizen science for bird conservation and by using eBird or aVerAves.

There were 165 species recorded in the Baja California region, reported by 24 participating citizens and through the Urban Birds Program in the cities of Ensenada, San Quintín, and the Colorado River Delta.

During Big Day there were 13 birds lists carried out in the Colorado River Delta region: 10 in Mexicali, Baja California, and 3 in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, reporting a total of 47 bird species, and 926 birds observed in the region’s hotspots, including the cities of Mexicali and San Luis Río Colorado, agricultural areas, important wetlands such as Laguna México and the Colorado River, and restoration sites like Miguel Alemán. For this event, 6 individuals from Mexicali, and San Luis and its valley took part, representing different organizations, including Salvemos las Lagunas, Pronatura Noroeste, and Restoring the Colorado.

This citizen science endeavor helps gather information about birds, understand global populations, and create range and abundance maps done by eBird’s Science Team. During OBD 2020 there were 78,000 bird lists produced and more than 32,000 people participated by reporting 7,097 bird species worldwide in a single day. Given that our region is located within the Pacific Flyway, we live in a place that provides shelter and rest sites for many birds that travel through to their nesting or wintering sites.

The mission of the PAUDRC is to become the link between the cities of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora and Mexicali, with the rural communities in order to generate interest, carry out environmental education activities and disseminate knowledge of urban birds; and promote citizen science activities in restoration and conservation projects along the Colorado River Delta region to contribute to the eBird, aVerAves and Naturalista registries. In this initial phase, the objective is to consolidate the group of volunteers for both border cities, and in the future create a larger network of volunteers for birdwatching.

If you would like more information or to volunteer in upcoming events, please contact Yuliana Dimas, PAUDRC Coordinator. Click here to see the full species lists.