News About Our Feathered Friends from San Pancho Bird Observatory San Pancho Bird Observatory
March 28, 2014

Bird Identification Workshops (San Pancho Bird Observatory)

Warm greetings to all our friends and supporters.

It has been a while since our last newsletter and many busy months have passed. In this month’s newsletter, you will find the most relevant news from these past months and also take a look at what is happening now.

Rotary International Grant in process

Last year, the Rotary International awarded SPBO with a grant to increase regional bird conservation capacity in the central and southern Nayarit region. As part of this grant, nature-guiding and bird-monitoring training workshops will be conducted here in the near future.  This program will increase the capacities of regional participants and their communities to address the challenges for bird conservation in this region strengthening the links between people, birds and their habitats in a context of community collaboration which allows the creation and maintenance of sustainable-development opportunities for regional communities.

While waiting for funds to process through the complicated but necessary channels, SPBO and KBO are busy overseeing all that is necessary to conduct these workshops.

Audubon Society of Portland Comes to San Pancho!

During March 9th-16th 2014, the Audubonn Society of Portland held a birdwatching retreat at Cielo Rojo Hotel in San Pancho. Through this collaboration, we expect not only to place San Pancho on the map as a world-class birding destination but also to help create more business opportunities for people in San Pancho and surrounding areas that favor bird conservation initiatives.

SPBO Advances Bird Identification Video Series and Workshops

We continue with progress toward our goals for community education: To create video tutorials for the most common species along the southern and central Nayarit (and northern Jalisco) coast and to deliver identification workshops to the committed communities in the area. We continue editing the videos to make them more user-friendly and dynamic. SPBO appreciates the efforts of Minerva Zamora, Erik Peñaloza, Aracely Camacho, Gema Márquez, Zsofia Cserhati and all of the community centers´ people for making this project possible.

SPBO reaches out to the local population with these videos and workshops. We notice that the more our students learn about the importance of birds, the more concern they have for our environment. The videos and workshops offer a very effective approach for making changes happen that are beneficial for our birds and their habitats.

If you would like to help us with this education project, please request that your donation be earmarked for SPBO’s VIDEO SERIES and WORKSHOPS.

We want to express our gratitude to all those who have made cash or in kind donations to this project: Iniciativa Bahía de Banderas, Three Swallows Foundation, Michael and Robin Temple, Douglas Snyder, Linda Gilman, Amy Schumann, David Mandell, Portland Audubon Society, Jean Neely, Bill and Katheleen Heidirck.
 
Link to videos.
 
SPBO Contributes to Bird Conservation Planning

As part of Partners in Flight´s efforts to conserve migratory birds, SPBO´s director Luis Morales attended the PIF-V conference at Snowbird, Utah last August as part of the committee working on conservation planning for western Mexico´s aridlands and thorn-scrub forests. A heart-felt thank you to the American Bird Conservancy for providing the funding to make SPBO´s participation possible.

SPBO Invited to 1st International Migratory Hummingbird Festival

During September 2013, El Charco del Ingenio, Caminos Silvestres and Audubon Mexico held the first International Hummingbird Festival at San Miguel de Allende´s botanical gardens.
 
This successful event brought together world-class scientists and the general public to share knowledge and inspiration to help understand and conserve hummingbirds.

SPBO Conducts Migratory Hummingbird Monitoring

SPBO received a small grant from the Western Hummingbird Partnership to monitor migratory hummingbird distribution and abundance during the 2013-2014 migratory season. This project will help us gain a better understanding of habitat use and distribution of migratory hummingbirds as well as other migratory and resident species. Our special acknowledgement to Susan Bonfield, John Alexander, Greg Butcher and Ken Rosenberg for helping with this project.

Community Meeting a Success

On Friday, January 24th, the San Pancho Bird Observatory conducted a public meeting to bring together interested members of our southern Nayarit communities with esteemed representatives of international conservation agencies.

The community meeting was held with special guests, Dr. Greg Butcher (Director of the US Forest Service program "Wings Across the Americas") and Dr. John Alexander (Director of the Klamath Bird Observatory in Oregon) who helped us visualize the best ways to face the challenges for bird and habitat conservation in our rapidly changing environment.

SPBO is working to assure a green and healthy environment for the future of our southern Nayarit region. Because birds are indicators of a healthy habitat and because international travelers are attracted to our region by its beauty and natural resources, such as 300 species of birds, a grassroots initiative to learn about our bird conservation has begun.

The meeting was well attended with tri-national representatives from several “Riviera Nayarit” communities. It was obvious to all present that our communities are poised for action.

Sponsor a scientific or a community-development project

You can support one or more of the following projects:

• Crafts for more birds, support  a local group of rural women to create arts and crafts they can offer to visiting birders. We are all aware of the connection between more birds - more birders - more support for their community.

• Sponsor a local student to receive the equipment and knowledge to become a keystone bird-monitoring program in his/her community in Southern and Central Nayarit.

• Resident bird species summer monitoring: support regional scientists to conduct scientific monitoring of tropical birds during summer months.

• Pathway guide signs - We are constantly adding new information signs.

SPBO’S Wish-List for 2014

• More binoculars and birdbooks for kids and local students.

• Funds and resources to have opportunity to continue doing monitoring and research projects on resident species during Summer-Fall 2014.
 
• A field vehicle to conduct educational and monitoring projects.

For information regarding in-kind donations please contact info@birdingsanpancho.org. Your cash donation may be tax deductible. Donating to SPBO is possible through the non- profit 501(c)(3) organization Klamath Bird Observatory. Please specify that SPBO is to benefit from your donation. Donate online here.

For more information and to arrange birding tours, email info@birdingsanpancho.org or birdingsanpancho@gmail.com, telephone is (322) 139-7242.

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