Migratory Shorebirds in the Guerrero Negro Saltworks, Baja California Sur, Mexico GUSTAVOD
Migratory shorebirds in the Guerrero Negro Saltworks, Baja California Sur, Mexico GUSTAVOD. DANEMANN*j, ROBERTOCARMONA 2 & GUILLERMOFERN/[.NDEZ 3'* • PronaturaNoroeste-Mar de Cortes.Apartado 953 Adm 1., Ensenada,Baja California,CP 22830, M•xico, e-maihgdanemann @pronaturanw. org; 2Universidad Autdnoma de Baja CaliforniaSur, Departamentode Biolog[aMarina. Carretera al SurKm 5, La Paz, BajaCalifornia Sur, CP 23090, M•xico;3 Centro de Investi- gacidn Cientfficay de EducacidnSuperior de Ensenada. Km 107 Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada,Ensenada, Baja California, M•xico Danemann,G.D., Carmona,R. & Fernfindez,G. 2002. Migratory shorebirdsin the GuerreroNegro Saltworks, Baja CaliforniaSur, Mexico. WaderStudy Group Bull. 97: 36-41. This studydescribes the speciescomposition, seasonal abundance, and migration chronology of shorebirdsat the GuerreroNegro Saltworks,an artificialhabitat located at the mid pointof the Baja CaliforniaPeninsula, Mexico. Censuses of shorebirds were carried out once a month from December 1995 to December 1996. We recorded26 shorebirdspecies. Taking the highest monthly record for eachspecies, the estimated minimum abun- dancein the studyperiod was 110,500birds. Red-necked Phalaropes Phalaropus lobatus and Western Sand- pipersCalidris mauri were the mostabundant. Seasonally abundance varied between winter (Decemberto Feb- mary, mean= 31,600 birds/month),spring migration (March to April, mean= 15,800birds/month), summer (May to June,mean = 1,900birds/month), and fall migration(July to November,mean = 44,300 birds/month). This patternis similar to that observedin La Paz Bay in the southof the peninsula,but contrastswith that ob- servedon the easterncoast of the Gulf of California,where greaternumbers of shorebirdsoccur during spring migration.Our resultsindicate that the GuerreroNegro saltworksis one of the mostimportant habitats for migratoryshorebirds along the Baja CaliforniaPeninsula, surpassed only by the Ojo de Liebreand San Ignacio coastallagoons.
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