Shorebird monitoring in the Parque Interjurisdiccional Marino Costero Patagonia Austral, Gulf of San Jorge, Patagonia, Argentina

CASTILLO,JOANNA; BALA, LUIS O.; MUSMECI, LUCIANA R.

Paracas

Congreso; VII Reunión de Aves Playeras del Hemisferio Occidental; 2017

We monitored shorebirds during their northward migration in the Parque Interjurisdiccional Marino Costero Patagonia Austral, Argentina. Systematic censuses were carried out weekly between February and May 2017 in 5 beaches. Most common species were the Two-banded Plover (Charadrius falklandicus) and the Whiterumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), a neotropical and a Nearctic species respectively. C. falklandicus passed through two pulses of abundance: One of 16 000 individuals in the last week of February, probably composed by individuals summering at the site, and a second pulse at mid-May, with 10 000 individuals, probably composed by individuals that breed further south and arrive to winter in this area. C. fuscicollis had a single pulse, with a maximum of 14 000 individuals in mid-March. The general pattern of bird use at the Park allows us to differentiate two sectors: In the northern beaches and during the high tide, shorebirds rest in the supralittoral zone. In contrast, in the south, shorebirds fly to rest to specific sites during the high tide congregating in flocks of thousands. Twelve other shorebirds species (7 Nearctic and 5 Neotropical) were recorded. Calidris canutus rufa and Limosa haemastica stand out for their conservation status, while the Magellanic Oystercatcher (Haematopus leucopodus) was very abundant. This park is important due to the high abundance and diversity of the shorebird species.