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Saturday, 15 July 2006 14:08 |
Birds love Belize!
New study shows
Belize has always been a haven for birds that love our wilderness
habitats, and now a research study is showing how much birds love
Belize.
They have found a small wilderness area along the Sibun which is home to 34% of all the bird species found in Belize.
To learn more about birds found in forests along the rivers of central
Belize, the new organization Birds wihout Borders conducted a study of
birds on Runaway Creek Nature Preserve, which is located on the Coastal
Road near the Belize Zoo and is owned and managed by the Foundation for
Wildlife Conservation.
Over a four-year period, Birds Without Borders found 196 bird species
in a small area, 49 acres of riverine forest.That is an amazing 34% of
the total bird species found in Belize!
Seventy-seven percent of the birds found were familiar residents that
live in Belize year-round, like the Plain Chachalaca, the Spot-breasted
Wren, and Yellow-tailed Oriole.
But 19% of the birds were migrants that travel 1,500 miles or more to
spend northern winters in Belize, like the Gray Catbird, Wood Thrush
and Magnolia Warbler.
Researchers found that 19 species of conservation concern (birds that
need special protection), such as the Red-lored Parrot and Worm-eating
Warbler, use this forest.
Another exciting discovery was that the Sibun riverine forest was home
to five restricted-range endemics (birds found only in a certain area),
such as the Gray-throated Chat, the Jabiru Stork, one of Belizeââ¬â¢s
largest and most beautiful birds, and a bird of special conservation
concern, nested in the study area every year.
Preserving the forests along the Sibun River will help all of these birds, an organisation spokesman said.
Even more birds will benefit if the forests found along Belizeââ¬â¢s other
rivers are preserved. A paper summarising this research will be
published in the journal Ornitolog?a Neotropical later this year.
Birds Without Borders ââ¬â Aves Sin Fronteras? (BWB-ASF) has been doing
bird research, education and conservation in Belize since 1997.
The organisation is sponsored by the Zoological Society of Milwaukee
and the Foundation for Wildlife Conservation, Inc. both of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, U.S.A.
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