CBC Date: January 3rd
Audubon's 104th Christmas Bird Count Edition

Results for 2003-2004 Count!
Species observed: 385
Families represented: 57
Individuals observed: 14,404
Participants: 60
Routes / Parties: 19
Field observation hours: 215 hours
To see all details and a list of species observed please access:
CBC Count Results

1. Location:
La Merced Bird Count will be located in Southern Pacific Costa Rica, being the first count in this part of the country. The circle for this new CBC has been established using as center point the following location: Latitude: 9º 14' 00" North / Longitude: 83º 46' 38" West. Based from that point we have set the 15 miles diameter circle, which is going to cover important territories such as La Merced National Wildlife Refuge, Barú National Wildlife Refuge, a good portion of Ballena Marine National Park, the Coastal Range, Oro Verde Biological Reserve, Finca Tres Hermanas, and the basins of the Pacuar, Baru, Uvita, Higueron, and Ballena Rivers. It is insteresting to mention that all these reserves are under private conservation, and all are part of the great project the "Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor" which is part of the "Mesoamerican Biological Corridor" making this count a very important iniciative to mantain a good assesment of the bird populations and the recovery of ecosystems in the area. This CBC will as well motivate locals and foreigners to preserve this magnificent region, and to increase their efforts for conservation.

2. Geographic and Habitat Description:
La Merced CBC will include very diverse habitats and a great range of elevations from 0 meters above sea level to 1223 meters on the Coastal Range. The following are descriptions of the main different areas contained in the circle with their types of ecosystems.

La Merced National Wildlife Refuge
La Merced National Wildlife Refuge is in the Southern Pacific Coast of the Province of Puntarenas. It is part of the Tropical Wet Forest, which is the second most extensive life zone of the country. The refuge comprises 840 acres in which we can find Primary Forest, Secondary Forest, Grasslands, and Coastal Wetlands and Mangroves complemented with two natural boundries of river frontage on the North and East and beach frontage on the Southwest, adjacent to the North end of Ballena Marine National Park. La Merced is an active member of ASANA and part of the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor, as one of the three most important conservation nucleus in private hands officialy declared in the corridor. The refuge has been monitored for birds very recently, and its bird list is up to 194 species so far, with great expectations of more than 300 species. The ecosystem cover percentages are as follows: Primary rainforest 35%, secondary rainforest 25%, grasslands 30%, and coastal wetlands and mangroves 10%. The elevations vary from 0 meters to 200 meters. A bird list is enclosed.

Oro Verde Biological Reserve Located just above La Merced National Wildlife Refuge we find Oro Verde Biological Reserve, it encompasses approximately 445 acres, of which 80% is primary rainforest, 15% secondary rainforest, and the reamining 5% is composed by grasslands in natural regeneration.


Barú National Wildlife Refuge
Barú National Wildlife Refuge is more than 815 acres of privately owned refuge. The area consists of primary and secondary tropical rainforests, mangroves, pasture, and river and beach habitats. The area has been protected for over 23 years. In 1995, our conservation efforts, were rewarded by being formally declared a National Wildlife Refuge by the President of Costa Rica on the recommendation of the Ministry of the Environment.

To increase our biological diversity, we are connecting parcels of lowland forest by allowing approximately 100 acres of pasture to regenerate into a forest corridor. We are also planting certain native species that might not regenerate naturally. The refuge also houses the office of the local conservation organization known as ASANA. The main project of ASANA is to establish and mantain ecological corridors that connect the mangrove forests of the Sierpe-Terraba Rivers with La Amistad International Conservation Area via the coastal mountain range and the Los Santos Forest Reserve. Baru National Wildlife Refuge will be one of the keystones of this corridor once it is completed, and is one of the driving forces behind its creation. The Corridor is known as the "Path of the Tapir" in honor of these large animals that roamed in the area just over 40 years ago. Our dream is to lure them back.

The ecosystem cover percentages are as follows: Primary Forest 45.5%, Mangrove Forest 6%, Old Cocoa Plantations in natural regeneration 3%, Grasslands 6%, Wetlands 1.5%, Secondary Forest 34%, and Plantations 4%.

The list of birds seen in Barú started in 1988 and includes the 318 species, with elevations that vary from 0 meters to 300 meters. Jim Zook is the Ornithologist that has contributed the most for this list. A bird list is enclosed.

Ballena Marine National Park
The park was established in 1989 and it is located in the Southern Pacific Coast, between the mouth of "Higuerón" (or "Morete") River and Point Piñuela, District of Ballena Bay, Osa County, Province of Puntarenas. This park protects important habitats, such as sandy beaches, rocky beaches, estuaries, mangroves, cliffs, islands, rocky shoals, Point Uvita, and coral reef which represent a very important environment for the preservation and reproduction of marine diversity. Birds such as Brown Boobies, Magnificent Frigatebirds, Whimbrels, Brown Pelicans, White Ibis, Neotropical Cormorant, Great Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Brown Noddy, several species of terns and gulls, sandpipers, between many other species.

The terrestrial limits of the park are designated by the officially marked Public Inalienable Zone, the Marine/Terrestrial Restricted Zone and the natural border of wetlands and mangroves. The marine limit is an imaginary line that sorrounds the rocky shoals and coral reefs formed by the outer area of Point Uvita, Ballena Island, Tres Hermanas, and its sorroundings, originating at the mouth of the "Higuerón" (or "Morete") River, ending at Point Piñuelas. The Park consists of 5,375 marine hectares (13,281 acres) and 200 terrestrial hectares (494.2 acres).

The vicinities of San Isidro de El General / Pacuar River Basin
Located on the East slope of the Coastal Range this is a new area for birdwatching, which has not been known as so. With elevations varying from 700 meters to 1200 meters, it is a very combined sector with agricultural fields, grasslands, river ecosystems from the Pacuar River and tributary streams, and primary and secondary forest are also found up higher towards the Coastal Range. It is important to monitor this area for birds as environment status indicators, and of course bird counts will be of great help in controlling the bird populations over the years, to create an awareness of conserving this area and to develope through time new ways of living for the local people, based on the conservation of natural resources. It is important to mention that community groups from this sector have been involved with ASANA in the past year to make this area part of the "Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor", in order to recover forest cover to create more wildlife habitat and to guarantee their water supply for the future. We consider the bird count as an interesting way to get locals more involved in conservation.

Other sectors of La Merced Bird Count
Inside the circle we find a lot of primary and secondary rainforest cover, grasslands, river basins, and wetlands that are not part of the biological reserves and national wildlife refuges we mentioned before. All these areas are of great importance as connecting corridors from one reserve to the other and they will be covered by some of the groups participating. The exact percentages of habitat types are not known, the count will certainly provide great information since bird species are great indicators of ecosystem types.

For more information or to participate please contact: Noel Ureña
Contact information:
Email: (selvamar@racsa.co.cr)
Tel: +506-771-4582 / Fax: +506-771-8841
Home: +506-771-9686
Address from inside Costa Rica:
Apdo. 482-8000 San Isidro de El General Perez Zeledón, San José, Costa Rica

Address from outside Costa Rica:
(SJO 0012) Noel / Selva Mar
1641 NW 79th Avenue
Miami, FL 33126-1105 USA