Nicaraguan Shorebird Conservation

Please support the work of protecting one of the most vital wintering and stopover site for shorebirds coming from CT, NC, GA and other areas of the east and west coasts of the Americas.

The Gulf of Fonseca lies on the west coast of Central America, nestled at the intersection of Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador. Hundreds of thousands of shorebirds congregate in the Gulf every year.  A great number of these birds head straight to the Nicaraguan side where intertidal mudflats and marshes, surrounded by extensive mangrove forests provide excellent feeding and roosting habitats.  Tri-national counts estimate at least 9,000 Wilson's Plovers to be wintering in the Gulf; almost a third of the species' entire estimated adult breeding population!

Thirty-seven species of shorebirds utilize the Gulf each year with significant congregations of Whimbrels, Marbled Godwits and Semipalmated Sandpipers.  Recently Nicaraguan conservationists have sighted American Oystercatchers in growing numbers, and many with bands showing they nest in Connecticut, North Carolina and Georgia.  

One such bird is an American Oystercatcher known as F3; its band number, placed on it when it made one of its first migratory stops along the GA coast in 2005.  I know this bird and it is a survivor. I first saw it in CT in July of 2011 when I was doing shorebird surveys along Rowayton CT’s rocky offshore islands.  It was nesting there and continues to do so right through this year.  

Thanks to our Nicaraguan partners, Grupo Quetzalli, we now know that F3 has been wintering in the Gulf of Fonseca since at least 2015.  F3 is one of about 80 Oystercatchers we know are crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific on their annual migration, probably accompanied by Semi-palmated Sandpipers, Red Knots, and Wilson’s Plovers.

This story is important as it shows how migrant birds like F3 who travel long distances return to the same sites - so they depend upon relatively small but critically important landscapes.  In F3’s case CT’s & GA’s islands and Nicaragua’s NW mudflats.  It also shows how great conservation can get done when organizations are working in partnerships.

For centuries the Gulf has provided birds like F3 shelter and food during the winter months, but this could change if we do not act now.  The Gulf has 150,734 acres of shorebird habitat but the landscape is changing rapidly.  In the last 20 years 66% of those acres have been converted to aquaculture farming, predominantly for shrimp.  

Many of these farms are small cooperatives run by local residents who then sell their shrimp to multi-national companies whose products end up on our dinner tables.  Aquaculture has become a vital source of income for thousands of families along the Gulf of Fonseca.  Conservationists at Grupo Quetzalli and other NGOs are working feverishly to find solutions that will adapt shrimp farming practices, so they maximize their shorebird habitat while allowing local shrimp farmers to earn a living and feed their families.

Grupo Quetzalli is a small Nicaraguan nonprofit whose staff are working tirelessly to increase shorebird conservation and best habitat management practices with a multitude of local stakeholders. Despite recent political turmoil and minimal financial resources, Grupo Quetzalli has made incredible progress engaging with the institutions that can help ensure shorebird conservation is a success.

To date, the majority of financial support for their efforts has come from Manomet’s Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.  This year, Manomet secured a $28,000 grant to expand Grupo Quetzalli work in 2019. BUT they still need to raise an additional $5,000 to maximize the reach of the work in the Gulf of Fonseca. Successful conservation efforts in Central America will set a model for other WHSRN sites to follow and ensure that migratory shorebirds can continue making their journey from New England to Nicaragua for years to come.

Can you help me raise this $5,000 by December 31stso Grupo Quetzalli can continue to protect our shorebirds while they winter on the mudflats of Nicaragua and the Gulf?  Any amount, large or small will help but do please be as generous as you can – and thank you for helping!