Las migratory birds (from the Latin limus, meaning ‘living in silt or mud’) are part of the Charadriiformes. It is a relatively diverse group of waterfowl that includes the following families: Suborder Limicoli. Family Scolopacidae: sandpipers, snipes, sandpipers, phalaropes and the like. In the context of COP 16 on biodiversitywhich is in the final days of negotiations, A new update to the IUCN Red List has been published reclassifying 16 species of wading birds into higher threat categories. The numbers are disastrous some populations of shorebirds Migration has decreased by more than a third.
In Spain, according to the Red Bird Book It has been found that 18% of birds identified as threatened are marine or coastal species, which would indicate the poor conservation status of coastal and wetland environments. environmental organizations, make a joint call on governments at COP16 on Biodiversity to take urgent action to force species to reverse declines and halt extinctions.
The latest update of the Red List of Threatened Species™ of the IUCN Rreveals a very worrying decline in migratory bird populations around the worldwith 16 species having been reclassified to higher threat categories1. Science shows the enormous negative impact of declining species populations, with the resulting disruption of entire ecosystems and food chains. As birds migrate across borders, the new update highlights the need for greater government cooperation without delay to reverse the losses of migratory birds.
COP16 should be the catalyst for governments to back up the commitments made two years ago with meaningful action to reverse the catastrophic decline in species populations.. This means more action to strengthen recovery efforts for threatened species, more action to protect and restore more land, freshwater and seas, and more action to transform our food, energy and industrial systems, supported by the necessary financing . The decline of migratory birds, which connect people from different countries and continents, is a powerful symbol of how we are failing today.
Birds are important indicators of the state of nature: They are present almost everywhere, their behavior and ecology often mirror that of other groups of species, they are very well studied and are sensitive to environmental changes. With one in eight bird species threatened with extinction and 60% of bird species worldwide declining, declining bird populations are a sign that ecosystems are in crisis.. Many migratory birds follow specific routes called migration corridors.3Along the way we stop at various places to rest and eat. This makes them particularly vulnerable to threats such as habitat loss and climate change.
Although many of these shorebirds remain numerous and are often found along their migration routes, new analyzes of data from long-term monitoring programs show that global populations of some species have declined by more than a third in recent decades. In some cases, the pace of decline is accelerating, underscoring the urgent need for research to diagnose the causes and coordinate conservation measures to address them.
Coastal birds can be easily observed walking along the beaches or feeding in the coastal marshes and in some inland wet areas. The coastal areas where many of these birds live also support the livelihoods of millions of people, providing them with food, jobs and protection from storms. Therefore, protecting waders is essential not only for them, but also for the coastal communities that depend on these habitats.
The dangerous decline in the number of migratory birds is a sign that the integrity of migration routes is deteriorating. The loss of the network of habitats that migratory birds depend on to rest and feed on their long journeys could have serious consequences for the millions of people who depend on these places, as well as for the birds themselves.
We have only five years left in this decisive decade. COP16 on biodiversity is the time to take action to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. The sharply declining population of migratory birds indicates that nature is in crisis. If we lose species, our future is at risk. The loss of nature can be reversed, but extinction cannot.
Situation of migratory birds in Spain
He Red Bird Book of Spain, evaluated the conservation status of 359 species of Spanish birds, verifying that more than 50% of the bird species evaluated presented conservation problems, and that 90 of them fall within the threat categories established by the IUCN..
The data offered in the evaluations collected in the Red Book show that the main threats to birds are the challenges we currently face as a society. We are at a key moment during COP16. Reconciling the fight against climate change with the conservation of biodiversity, achieving truly sustainable agricultural and food systems and restoring habitats to ensure the proper functioning of ecosystems are necessary objectives to improve the conservation status of species and guarantee a future with quality of life for the species. people.”
With regard to coastal migratory birds, the situation in Spain does not offer a better panorama. So it is in the Red Bird Book in Spain determines that 18% of the birds for which a certain threat category has been identified are marine or coastal specieswhich would indicate the poor conservation status of the coastal and wetland environments.
Among them, at the state level, the following stand out for their level of threat:
- snipe, rated as endangered as a breeder in Spain, it is a very discreet bird with a characteristic syncopated movement when it moves. As a breeder, it is only found in two small areas in southern Orense and at various points in the Central System.
- Of the black-tailed needle, After evaluating the breeding population as critically endangered and the wintering population as vulnerable, we received specimens in winter from two geographically very separated populations, one from Iceland and the other from Northern Eurasia. At the state level, this species reproduces only in the endorheic lagoons of Villafáfila (Zamora) and in some rice fields in Doñana and Extremadura.
- Chorlitejo patinegro. Small bird assessed with the Vulnerable category, which reproduces only in some parts of the humid area and Extremadura, as well as in some sandy areas of the Mediterranean Sea, on the Galician coast and in the province of Gran Canaria, and is very vulnerable to periodic cleaning. of the beaches for tourist use.
- Eurasian oyster, for which the breeding population has been assessed as endangered, and which breeds only in the Ebro Delta, at a few points on the Cantabrian coast: Rías Baixas (rias of Vigo and Arousa), coast of A Mariña (Lugo) and from western Asturias and Cantabria. The wintering population, native to Europe, is most common in marshes, frequenting salt flats and coastal sandbanks.
- Zarapito really, The breeding population has been assessed as Critically Endangered, a species for which breeding records are only known in wetland grasslands and harvested pastures in Lugo, Terra Chá region.
Other species of migratory birds considered endangered and using these environments are the Eurasian spoonbill, the pratincole or the black-legged tern, whose populations have been assessed in the Red Bird Book in Spain with the degree of ‘vulnerable’..