Sitting in my home office in Jefferson City, I look out the window at a lawn carpeted with violets and spring beauty—it is now pay back time for the long, cold Missouri winter of 2009–2010.
And is it my imagination, or did I just hear the “ticky, tucky tuck” call of a summer tanager? Is it the same bird that nested in our sweetgum tree last year, the very one that my family and I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing last summer?
I can’t put a price on this moment. Nor, I suspect, can any of Missouri’s other nature lovers who thrill at the return of spring and the thousands of beautiful birds that wing their way back to us from tropical climes.
But ensuring that the warblers, tanagers, orioles, and other birds that we love come back to us every year does have a price tag—part of it is the cost of protecting the tropical habitats where “our” birds spend eight months of every year.
In 2009, the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation had the opportunity—thanks to a generous, anonymous donation—to help pick up the tab for some tropical bird conservation. At the same time, the Foundation helped bird lovers who live in or visit a part of the tropics.
Champions of the Birds of Lake Yojoa
Robert and Irma Gallardo are conservationists and directors of the Enchanted Wings Nature Center in Honduras. Robert, an American citizen who first visited Honduras as a Peace Corps volunteer doing conservation projects, and his Honduran wife Irma—a former bank employee-turned-conservationist—knew that increased ecotourism could bring needed funding to the Honduran economy, and could make the protection of the beautiful natural areas and wildlife that draw birders and other nature tourists a local, common goal. The 100-square mile Lake Yojoa basin in Honduras, for example, provides habitat for more than 440 species of birds, many of which breed in Missouri and other North American habitats. Such rich bird life would surely draw birders from around the world to Lake Yojoa.
But, just a couple of problems: Honduras does not have a bird guidebook. And before 2009, there was no bird guide specifically for the Lake Yojoa region. There were also very few qualified local naturalist guides who could show visitors birds and identify them in both Spanish and English. Good guides—both books and people—are needed to attract international birders and to enhance Honduras as an ecotourism destination.
Through his contacts with Missouri birders, Robert found the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation and explained the need for an illustrated, bilingual bird guide. With a grant of $8,775, the Foundation was able to help Robert and Irma make their dream a reality. Other funding for the guidebook came from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and several Central American conservation groups.
Bringing Bird Lovers to Honduras
Robert, who wrote the book in English and in Spanish, and Irma, who illustrated it, finished the project in early 2009. The completed The Birds of Lake Yojoa/Guia de Campo de Aves del Lago Yojoa contains 265 illustrations that cover 258 species of the more than 440 found to date. “Choosing which birds to illustrate was a tough decision,” said Robert. “We tried to include many of the more commonly seen species as well as some rarer ones.” The book includes bird species found in the entire Lake Yojoa watershed, which incorporates much of Cerro Azul Meambar National Park and Santa Barbara National Park. The ecosystems represented in this area include marsh, floodplain forest, pre- and submontane and pine/oak natural communities.
Robert and Irma worked steadfastly on the book to assure its completion in time for the first Mesoamerican Bird Festival held in Honduras in February 2009.
“The bird festival was actually composed of three segments,” said Robert, “which all ran one right after the other—the guide training course, the main bird festival, and a post-festival tour for some participants as well as bird company representatives and nature magazine writers.” Robert said that all three events spanned nearly three weeks and took 13 months to organize. Assistance from major sponsors covered the bulk of the expenses. “We had people from all over Central America, North America and a couple invited guests from South America and England,” said Robert. “For all three components we had approximately 90 participants. The whole event we deemed a success, and it will be bringing more birding groups to Honduras in 2010.”
Nearly 1,000 books have been printed, and many were purchased by festival attendees. Several dozen were also used by the nearly 30 people who attended the training course. “The trainees were mostly Hondurans with a few from neighboring countries, many of whom work in protected areas,” said Robert. “The course consisted of mostly field outings where the students had to learn to identify birds by sight and sound. The outings were complimented by in-class instructions on various topics. Many of the guides use the book and continue to bird watch. One has even started a youth group in southwestern Honduras which he takes out birding.”
Small and Critical Steps for Bird Conservation
Brad Jacobs, ornithologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, has explored bird habitat throughout the Americas, and can attest to the valuable role that The Birds of Lake Yojoa/Guia de Campo de Aves del Lago Yojoa plays in bird conservation. “In a small but critical way,” said Jacobs, “Robert and Irma have taken the first steps of bird conservation by writing this bilingual bird book, by training 30 people as bird guides to identify and name birds in Spanish, English and with their scientific names in Latin. Robert has taught these students how to guide people to see and enjoy birds.”
Bird conservation depends on people like Robert and Irma who build partnerships of concerned people, businesses, and organizations throughout the habitats that birds depend on for food, shelter, and a place to raise their young. “For migratory birds this implies that we as bird lovers link arms, organizations and goals across countries, continents and hemispheres,” said Jacobs. “We have to work where the birds are during every month of the year. Only when we bring benefit to the folks who live in and protect the bird habitat where they live will we ever truly provide birds what they need over the long term.”
While in the spring of 2010 I’m enjoying the return of migratory birds to Missouri, Robert is busy in Honduras planning his next project: a second workshop to train more Hondurans to be international bird guides. The Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation invites all bird lovers to help with this endeavor by contributing to its Missouri Tropical Bird Account, a funding source dedicated to assisting Neotropical migratory bird habitat protection, management, research and education projects.
