08/22/2021 9:00
Clarín.com
Good Life
Updated 08/22/2021 9:00 AM
There is some sadness when leaving the place of origin to settle elsewhere.
It doesn't matter how many borders you have to cross.
Nor if it is a temporary or permanent issue.
Migrating usually carries pain.
Or, at least, that's what happens to people.
For some birds, however, going from one place to another is the most natural thing in the world. It is survival. It is part of your DNA.
They are birds that have developed impressive adaptations in their genetics - both in their weight and in their diet - with a central purpose: to
have enough energy to fly thousands of kilometers.
These species migrate regularly.
That is: they do not do it occasionally, but they take trips at certain times of the year.
On the other hand, not only a few individuals fly: they all travel (there are exceptions and these are due to some specific problem).
His mileage plan has benefits that would fill many humans with envy: they go where there is summer (seasonal).
They choose warm places, with long days and that can offer them a lot of food.
What are the migratory birds of Argentina?
The swallows travel in March to the United States or Central America.
Migratory birds of Argentina
Swallows, plovers, sandpipers and sandpipers, phalaropes, scholarships.
In Argentina, there are many migratory birds.
In fact, it is estimated that
more than 35% of the bird species in our country carry out some type of migration.
Some species breed in the northern hemisphere, on the arctic tundra.
Rich in food and other resources, during spring and summer, the Arctic tundra becomes one of the most inhospitable environments in the world during winter.
Many of the birds that live and breed there migrate to the southern hemisphere when spring begins here.
Other birds make only domestic flights, such as the big-headed plover, which breeds in the Patagonian steppe and, as autumn begins, migrate to the center of the country, towards the Pampean grasslands, where temperatures are more pleasant and there is more food available. .
Pampas plover.
Birds that travel through South America.
"Although they are very diverse, there is something they all have in common: their place of origin," says Laura Dodyk, coordinator of Migratory Routes in Argentine Birds, an organization that was born more than a hundred years ago in order to protect wild birds and the nature of our country
Together with a group of researchers, technicians and a wide network of volunteers, they work for the conservation of nearly a thousand species of wild birds and their environments.
Migratory birds are also within their concern, which one can follow through
the organization's website
.
Some of those migratory birds are the following:
• The swallows
Patagonian swallow.
They fly 200 km per day.
They make their nests in Argentina during the spring and, at the end of the summer, they migrate to the north of South America.
They fly in flocks at 60 kilometers per hota.
And they travel 200 kilometers before resting.
They have a journey of 7 thousand kilometers.
The churrinche, the royal suirirí, the earwig and the striped benteveo make, like other species, a route similar to that of the swallows.
• Plovers, sandpipers and sandpipers, phalaropes and scholarships
Argentine sea scholarship.
They travel up to 12 thousand kilometers.
They are within the group of shorebirds.
The reddish sandpiper, for example, migrates from the northern hemisphere, where it breeds, to the shores of Tierra del Fuego, on a journey along the Atlantic coast.
Other shorebirds, such as the big-headed plover, breed in the Patagonian steppe and migrate to the center of the country during spring.
The common phalarope lays its nests in the wetlands of northern Canada and, in spring, flocks to the salty lagoons of Argentina.
• Lobster harriers
Lobster harrier.
Raptor.
It goes from Canada to southern Argentina.
They belong to the group of birds of prey.
They are large birds that make long migrations: they travel in flocks from North America to the grasslands of the center of our country.
They feed on insects that they hunt in flight.
• Terns
A seagull stings a whale in Puerto Pirámides.
They are from the Northern Hemisphere.
It is possible to spot them in flocks, on the Argentine coasts, resting and feeding before beginning their migration back to the northern hemisphere.
• Bow ties and cappuccinos
The iberá cappuccino.
Between Argentina and Colombia.
Small, these birds can be seen during the spring and summer in grasslands and roadsides of our country.
They travel to warmer latitudes within South America, such as Colombia.
• Chocolate nuns
Chocolate Monjita.
Cabotage migration.
Within the country.
Like the big-headed plover, they breed in southern Patagonia and migrate to central Argentina during winter to avoid low temperatures.
Migratory routes of Argentine birds
Many species of birds migrate along the oceanic shores, while others migrate across the continent. “In the American continent, there are three migratory routes for birds: the Pacific, the Atlantic and the mid-continental. In our country, there are strategic stops, such as those of Punta Rasa, in the Samborombón Bay or the Mar Chiquita lagoon, in Córdoba, among others. These are estuaries or lagoons, which are rich in food, ”says Dodyk, whose central job is to coordinate conservation initiatives involving migratory birds in Argentina.
"Developing strategies together with colleagues from other countries is key: many of the birds that come to our country may be facing threats in other latitudes," says the specialist.
And he explains that one of the measures is to place rings on the legs of some migratory birds to be aware of their routes.
Obligatory stop.
Migratory birds pass through the Mar Chiquita lagoon, Córdoba.
Due to genetic adaptation, it is very difficult for a species to abandon its migratory bird status.
However, in recent years, scientists have been recording changes in the behaviors of some species.
“Many of the breeding, resting or feeding sites, as well as migratory routes, are undergoing modifications.
Climate change and certain human activities, such as mass tourism not sectorized and the advance of poorly planned urbanizations, among many other factors, may be the reasons that are threatening migratory birds ”, warns Dodyk.
This has been recorded with the reddish sandpiper and the seacock.
Both are long-distance migratory birds and, for some time now, they have been spending the winter in our country.
According to the current state of species conservation in Argentina, more than 10% of the 48 species of shorebirds, among which are the reddish sandpiper and the seacock, register a high degree of vulnerability and conservation problems.
Dodyk concludes: “We can all contribute our bit.
When, for example, we go on vacation to the beach or other wetlands in our country, it would be ideal to avoid the use of vehicles on the sand and take care that our pets do not disturb the birds ”.
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