ESTABLISHING THE COLOMBIAN MIGRATORY BIR

Over 190 Neotropical migratory bird species funnel into Colombia each year from where they disperse across the entire country and South American continent.

Sadly, tropical and subtropical forests that migratory birds are so dependent upon for both stop-over and wintering habitats are increasingly at risk in Colombia.

In recent years, events like the COVID-19 pandemic crisis have intensified threats to protected areas and other remnants of natural habitat.

As a consequence, deforestation rates across Colombia skyrocketed to some of the highest worldwide as vital habitats necessary for Neotropical migratory birds were severely impacted.

In 2003, Fundacin ProAves with NMBCA support launched an intensive nationwide research and monitoring campaign to identify key areas and habitats for the most threatened migratory birds.

The results and analysis of years of field data provided crucially needed insight into the distribution and threats they face, allowing ProAves to publish three national and regional Migratory Bird Conservation Plans ten years ago.

Those plans presented strategies targeting key areas and actions that guided ProAves to build a strategic network of public and private protected areas safeguarding key habitat for migratory birds across Colombia.

With new emerging threats across key habitats and regions of Colombia for Neotropical migratory birds, ProAves will: 1) Establish 11 permanent nationwide migratory bird research and monitoring sites in critical regions of Colombia called 'Migratory Bird & Biodiversity Research Stations' which will expand infrastructure and resources to enable Colombian and international researchers to study migratory birds and 2) Launch an innovative strategy to take migratory bird conservation education to remote and impoverished rural schools and communities on the frontlines of deforestation across 11 key areas of Colombia through a visionary mobile classroom, called the 'Reinita Chiva' (Warbler Bus).

The goal is to deploy a r