2021 NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION ACT PROJECTS

2021 NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY
                     BIRD CONSERVATION ACT PROJECTS
                                 (Listed alphabetically by title)

Note: USFWS Birds of Conservation Concern that are identified as at risk in the 3 Billion Birds
report are in bold blue font, listed Endangered Species are in green.

A BUSINESS PLAN FOR THE BIRDS OF THE ECUADORIAN CHOCO (NMBCA 7273)
Grantee: BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL
Total Request: $39,501      Matching Contributions: $139,410
Country: Ecuador
Notable bird species to benefit: Canada Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Olive-sided
Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Western Wood-pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Black-and-white
Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager,
Swainson’s Thrush, and Gray-cheeked Thrush.

BirdLife International will engage a consortium of national and international Non-Governmental,
governmental, private sector and community organizations to create a consensus-based business
plan (the Business Plan for the Ecuadorian Chocó (BPEC)) for four northwestern provinces of
Ecuador. The BPEC will develop locally appropriate strategies to address macro threats,
solutions and needs identified by the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund Tropical Andes and
Tumbes-Chaco-Magdalena profiles, the Central American Caribbean and South American
Highlands Business Plan currently under development, and the Canada Warbler and Cerulean
Warbler Species Conservation Plans, as well as other relevant species conservation planning
instruments.

The planning process will bring together Ecuadorian community and civil society organizations
that have been working for years to address threats included in the above-mentioned plans, help
them prioritize threats, coordinate their work, implement the most effective solutions and Best
Management Practices possible, and create a strategy to secure resources needed to fund the
plan’s implementation. Out of this business planning process, BirdLife International and its
Ecuadorian Partner, Aves y Conservación, will lead a nationally coordinated, multi-faceted, 10-
year project to improve the quality and extent of 3.2 million acres of habitat that benefits
Neotropical migratory and globally threatened resident birds in 16 Key Biodiversity Areas in the
highly threatened, north western Ecuadorian Chocó bioregion.

BIRD-FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES IN NORTHERN PERU II
Grantee: AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY
Total Request: $199,808 Matching Contributions: $780,865
Country: Peru
Notable bird species to benefit: Cerulean Warbler, Canada Warbler, Olive-sided
Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Swainson's Thrush,
Black-and-white Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Summer
Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Building on their experience in Andean reforestation projects supported by NMBCA since 2008,
partners have been able to identify priority areas to conserve habitat for migratory birds in their
critical wintering grounds. These priority areas include American Bird Conservancy’s (ABC)
landmark regions called BirdScapes, which identify areas where long-term engagement has the
power to improve the conservation outlook for birds by working closely with landowners in the
production and marketing of bird-focused, high-value crops and other avenues to economic
diversification.

ABC recently established the Colán-Alto Mayo BirdScape, which incorporates 13 protected
areas and covers 1.7 million acres within Amazonas and San Martin regions. Partners will

   •       Plant 129,805 new trees and coffee plants covering approximately 247 acres of new
           habitat for migratory songbirds

   •        Work with local farmers to establish bird-friendly land-use practices, and (iii)
           advance and build capacity for community-based conservation through the facilitation
           of local workshops. These activities will occur in the unprotected matrix of forest and
           agricultural lands within the BirdScape

   •       Contribute to a continuous arc of habitat improvement across northern Peru to
           reestablish the wintering habitat for 23 species of migratory songbirds including the
           Cerulean Warbler, Canada Warbler, and Olive-sided Flycatcher.

BUILDING CAPACITY FOR LANDBIRD MONITORING & CONSERVATION IN THE
CARIBBEAN I
Grantee: BIRDSCARIBBEAN [FORMERLY SCSCB]
Total Request: $199,551 Matching Contributions: $968,691
Countries: Various Caribbean countries: Aruba, Bonaire, Bahamas, Curacao, Dominican
Republic, St. Eustatius, Jamaica, St. Maarten, Saba, United States of America (Puerto Rico)
Notable bird species to benefit: Bicknell's Thrush, Bobolink, Prothonotary Warbler,
Kirtland's Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Blue-
winged Warbler, Swainson's Warbler, Mangrove Cuckoo and White-crowned Pigeon.

This project will improve the long-term survival of landbirds and their habitats in the Caribbean
through:

   •   Building local monitoring capacity by providing the training, guidance, tools

   •   Funding to establish three new monitoring programs

   •   Providing essential information for adaptive management of landbirds and their habitats
       through coordinated, regional monitoring activities

   •   Increasing support for conservation of landbirds and their habitats by increasing
       awareness through community outreach and education programs

CERULEAN WARBLER CONSERVATION IN EASTERN ECUADOR
Grantee: FUNDACION JOCOTOCO
Total Request: $197,040 Matching Contributions: $727,131
Country: Ecuador
Notable bird species to benefit: Cerulean Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Canada
Warbler, Acadian Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Eastern Wood-Peewee, Swainson’s
Thrush, Blackburnian Warbler, American Redstart, Summer Tanager, Bay-breasted Warbler,
Blackpoll Warbler, Broad-winged Hawk, Eastern Kingbird, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Red-eyed
Vireo, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Northern Rough-winged Swallow.

Habitat loss and climate change in the Neotropics are key threats to migratory birds.
Deforestation hotspots continue to rapidly emerge along the Andean Foothills in Eastern Ecuador
and climate change may promote upslope movements of many bird species, including migratory
birds. Under the current biodiversity and climate change crisis, this project addresses these two
key threats over an area of 615,887 acres in Eastern Ecuador, specifically within the Sumaco
Galeras National Park and its proposed buffer zone, which includes Narupa reserve (managed by
Fundación Jocotoco) and other private and community reserves. The region’s continuous forests
across a broad altitudinal span are a key overwintering site for Cerulean Warblers, among
many others.

Jocotoco will:

   •   Acquire and protect 807 acres at Narupa Reserve and 632 acres at Tapichalaca Reserve
       and achieve their formal protection.

   •   Continue bird monitoring transects in the Napo Buffer Zone.

   •   Conduct community outreach and education.

COMMUNITY BASED CONSERVATION OF NMBs IN THE ECUADORIAN CHOCO
V
Grantee: FUNDACION PARA LA CONSERVACION DE LOS ANDES TROPICALES
Total Request: $148,720 Matching Contributions: $446,233
Country: Ecuador
Notable bird species to benefit: Bay-breasted Warbler, Canada Warbler, Olive-sided
Flycatcher, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Lesser
Yellowlegs, Swainson's Thrush, Western Wood-Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Blackburnian
Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American
Redstart, Scarlet Tanager, and Summer Tanager.

The Mache-Chindul Reserve in northwest Ecuador is a BirdLife International 'Important Bird
Area' that houses at least 28 Neotropical migratory species, three of which are Birds of
Conservation Concern. Yet, several thousand people with limited education and economic
opportunities live within its borders, leading to deforestation and habitat loss.

This project directly contributes to the conservation of Neotropical migratory birds and endemic
taxa in this diversity hotspot via the purchase and restoration of priority habitat; protection of
habitat at immediate risk of illegal land invasion; and capacity building and income
diversification activities. Partners will build on previous phases by:

   •   Acquiring 130 acres of strategically located habitat that was very recently deforested and
       restoring it before cattle impose lasting damage.

   •   Protecting our reserve and a nearby 6,100-acre reserve that is at immediate risk of illegal
       land invasion and deforestation to establish farms.

   •   Empowering local artisans to make and sell woodblock prints of migratory birds in local
       and international markets.

CONSERVATION FOR MIGRATORY REEG IN MEXICO & BELIZE
Grantee: PRONATURA NORESTE, A.C
Total Request: $170,779* Matching Contributions: $537,946*
Countries: Belize, Mexico
Notable bird species to benefit: Reddish Egret, Wood Stork, Sandhill Crane, Lesser
Yellowlegs, Whimbrel, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Sandwich Tern,
Loggerhead shrike, Wilson’s Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, and American
Oystercatcher.

* As of April 15, 2021 we are reviewing some match eligibility issues that could reduce the match amount and
subsequent award. If the award is reduced these funds would augment the partially funded project 7312.

This project contributes to a large-scale National Program that, since 2013, seeks to recover the
Reddish Egret (REEG) populations and their habitats in Mexico. Partners will build on the
success of prior phases, which have recovered about 55% of the REEG population of the Central
Management Unit that represents 83% of the total population in Mexico. They will address the
main threats to wintering sites in Mexico: loss and reduction of habitat quality, information gaps
that prevent decision-making, increase of maritime traffic, apathy of authorities and residents to
the importance of REEG and the lack of follow-up to long-term conservation strategies. Partners
will:

    •   Protect 11,609 acres of priority winter foraging habitat for the REEG on Laguna Madre
        and the East Coast of Belize.

    •   Reforest 247 acres of mangrove in priority winter sites in Laguna Madre de Tamaulipas
        and the North Coast of Yucatan.

    •   Continue the REEG monitoring program and start a systematized monitoring in Belize.
        Undertake an environmental education and community outreach strategy in Tamaulipas,
        Yucatán and Belize.

    •   Follow the Business Plan for the Conservation of the Reddish Egret in Mexico and the
        new updated version of the global Action Plan.

CONSERVATION OF BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS DURING MIGRATION
Grantee: CALIDRIS
Total Request: $131,593 Matching Contributions: $403,076
Countries: Canada, Colombia, United States of America
Notable bird species to benefit: Buff-breasted Sandpiper, American Golden-Plover, Black-
bellied Plover, Pectoral Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Upland Sandpiper,
White-rumped Sandpiper, Baird’s Sandpiper, and Stilt Sandpiper.

This project investigates habitat use and movements of Buff-breasted Sandpipers at three key
migration sites located in Llanos of Colombia, Coastal Plain of Texas, and Victoria Island,
Nunavut. Partners will:
   • Equip 140 birds with GPS Argos tags to investigate habitat use and prioritize areas for
       conservation/protection in all three migration sites.
   • Hold two workshops at each site to describe the project and later present results in Texas
       and Colombia, share information on best management practices (BMPs) for grasslands.
   • In the Llanos Region, hold two good governance workshops to build capacity and
       strengthen management of an existing WHSRN site.

They anticipate around 12,000 and 150,000 acres of ranch lands in Colombia to have enhanced
management and good governance, respectively. In Texas, partners anticipate study results will
lead to significant land protection through purchase / easements / incentives by private and
federal entities interested in ensuring suitable lands for grassland shorebirds. In Canada, they will
engage with Indigenous people and biologists on Victoria Island in all phases of the study,
enhancing capacity of these communities for future work.

CONSERVATION OF THE LONG-BILLED CURLEW MIGRATION ROUTES &
WINTER HABITAT
Grantee: ORGANIZACION VIDA SILVESTRE, A.C.
Total Request: $200,000 Matching Contributions: $653,735
Country: Mexico
Notable bird species to benefit: Mountain Plover, Sprague's Pipit, Chestnut-collared
Longspur, Baird’s Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, Loggerhead Shrike, Grasshopper
Sparrow, Horned Lark, Swainson's Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, and
Burrowing Owl.

The project represents a broad effort of binational collaboration to use GPS transmitters to
identify migratory routes and stopover and winter residency locations for Long-billed Curlew
(LBC) conservation; and use high resolution habitat use data to implement conservation actions
in areas of high importance to LBC. These actions will include a plan of best agricultural and
livestock practices in the Janos Biosphere Reserve, and a process for the certification of meat
production, as an effective strategy for the conservation of large working landscapes (around
120,000 acres).

Partners will monitor LBC in three Grassland Priority Conservation Areas (173,000 acres) and
four agricultural areas (around 311,000 acres) to estimate the number of individuals at each
winter site and to develop plans that specifically cover the habitat requirements for LBC.
Additionally, they will restore 383 acres of grasslands using key lines, increase the availability of
water sources and ensure that high concentrations of LBC can access water for drinking and
bathing in the desert. Partners will establish conservation agreements (nearly 15,000 acres) and
new land use management plans for the network of priority sites for LBC and protect around
62,000 acres in key wintering and stopover regions LBC and Mountain Plover.

CONSERVING BICKNELL’S THRUSH WINTERING HABITAT VI
Grantee: AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY
Total Request: $200,000 Matching Contributions: $614,571
Country: Dominican Republic
Notable bird species to benefit: Bicknell’s Thrush, Louisiana Waterthrush, Prairie Warbler,
Cape May Warbler, Palm Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler,
Northern Parula, Ovenbird, and Baltimore Oriole.

Bicknell’s Thrush (BITH) is a neotropical migratory bird species whose population overwinters
predominantly in the Dominican Republic where forest habitat is under threat from agricultural
expansion and fire. With past NMBCA support, significant progress has been made in protecting
and managing critical habitat and restoring forest conditions for migratory birds. This project
builds and expands upon those advances.

Partners will:

   •   Engage coffee/cacao farmers and industry stakeholders in bird-friendly production
       methods and marketing.

   •   Restore 160 acres by planting 114,900 native trees and coffee/cacao plants.

   •   Conduct a land tenure study to explore new lands to protect.

   •   Develop a Payment for Ecosystem Services program to incentivize forest protection.

   •   Improve law enforcement of four key habitat areas by hiring one new park guard and
       supporting patrols and boundary-marking.

   •   Monitor presence, and distribution of BITH and other Partners in Flight priority
       migratory species.

CONSERVING MIGRATORY BIRDS ON MEXICAN ISLANDS
Grantee: GRUPO DE ECOLOGIA Y CONSERVACION DE ISLAS
Total Request: $143,381 Matching Contributions: $442,000
Country: Mexico
Notable bird species to benefit: Black Storm-Petrel, Ashy Storm-Petrel, Guadalupe
Murrelet, Elegant Tern, Leach’s Storm-Petrel, Double-crested Cormorant, American
Oystercatcher, Reddish Egret, Peregrine Falcon, Costa's Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon,
Piping Plover, and Sanderling.

Mexican islands are crucial sites for migratory birds serving as stepping stones where birds can
rest and feed and nesting grounds for several species of conservation concern. Unfortunately,
invasive mammals have caused the extinction of nine bird species and the decimation of several
more. The Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C. (GECI), in collaboration with
government agencies, academic institutions, and local communities, has been leading projects to
restore migratory bird populations removing 60 populations of invasive mammals from 39
islands. Since 2008 GECI began a seabird restoration program on the Baja California Islands that
includes monitoring the natural recovery of seabird populations post-eradication, implementing
social attraction techniques, reducing human disturbance, and environmental education.

 To ensure long-lasting outcomes, a national island biosecurity program has been developed to
prevent, detect, and respond to any incursion of invasive alien species. This project will reduce
the introduction or re-introduction of invasive species to islands, in seven Natural Protected
Areas (NPA), and increase seabird populations on four islands by:

   •   Implementing island biosecurity measures.

   •   Building local capacity on island biosecurity in each NPA.

   •   Continuing restoring extirpated or reduced seabird colonies using social attraction
       techniques.

   •   Raising awareness in local communities.

CONSERVING PRIORITY SITES FOR SHOREBIRDS IN CHILE
Grantee: MANOMET, INC
Total Request: $107,370 Matching Contributions: $322,270
Country: Chile
Notable bird species to benefit: rufa Red Knot, Hudsonian Godwit, Whimbrel, Black-
bellied Plover, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Surfbird, White-rumped Sandpiper, Baird’s
Sandpiper, Franklin’s Gull, and Elegant Tern.

Southern South America supports the majority of the hemispheric and global populations of a
large suite of Nearctic migratory shorebirds, including the entire global population of
Hudsonian Godwit and large proportions of the populations of rufa Red Knot, the Pacific
population of Whimbrel, and White-rumped and Baird’s Sandpipers. Many of the key wintering
sites for these species in southern South America are facing increasing threats due to significant
human-induced changes, and in particular disturbance of roosting and foraging habitat.

The Western Hemisphere Reserve Network (WHSRN) Executive Office in collaboration with
local partners will enhance conservation of critical shorebird habitats at seven key sites in Chile
for priority shorebird species through:

   •   Implementing four new protected areas covering nearly 25,000 acres.

   •   Catalyzing the protection and/or safeguarding through WHSRN designation of three key
       sites covering 6,000 acres.

   •   Building local capacity for effective site conservation at all seven sites.

   •   Aligning these local shorebird conservation efforts with national and international plans
       and initiatives.

Project activities will help inform the development of a National Shorebird Conservation Plan,
which is being developed within the framework of a national bird conservation strategy, and
building from the Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy.

GPCAS ENHANCEMENT IN THE CHIHUAHUAN DESERT II
Grantee: PRONATURA NORESTE, A.C.
Total Request: $199,972 Matching Contributions: $979,995
Country: Mexico
Notable bird species to benefit: Long-billed Curlew, Mountain Plover, Sprague’s Pipit,
Chestnut-collared Longspur, Thick-billed Longspur, Lark Bunting, Baird’s Sparrow,
Swainson’s Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Loggerhead Shrike.

Partners will protect 78,248 acres with legal mechanisms, promote sustainable use of grasslands,
implement management activities within five properties (89,990 acres), and reduce
desertification on 30,722 ac. Bird monitoring surveys will be done in El Tokio at large-scale and
in Mapimi and VACE at ranch-level scale. They will develop handbooks about soil restoration
activities and seed collection that will allow practitioners and landowners to be more efficient in
implementing ecological restoration activities.

A social network analysis will be done, to obtain a sociogram with important information to
improve the collaboration efforts in the Chihuahua Desert. With the National Institute of
Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research, Pronatura Noreste, AC will determine how the
Carbon absorption and GHG emission fluctuated in different grazing intensities and with the
information, support why it is important to restore and conserve grasslands and how grasslands
can help in the fight against the clime alterations conditions. There are 11 direct partners and 40
indirect partners that will be involved in different activities.

IMPLEMENTING GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLER CONSERVATION PLAN IN
CHIAPAS V
Grantee: PRONATURA SUR, A.C.
Total Request: $198,000 Matching Contributions: $610,808
Country: Mexico
Notable bird species to benefit: Golden-cheeked Warbler, Grace’s Warbler, Mexican
Whip-poor-will, Golden-winged Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Red-faced Warbler,
Hermit Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, Yellow-rumped
Warbler, and MacGillivray’s Warbler.

The proposal focuses on reducing Golden-cheeked Warbler (GCWA) habitat pressure,
particularly in Chiapas State, resulting from deficient forest management practices in this state.
Partners will be implement five of the twenty-one strategies defined in the Mesoamerican Pine-
Oak Forest and Golden-cheeked Warbler Conservation Plan:

   •   Habitat protection

   •   Sustainable forest management

   •   Forest recovery through the implementation of high conservation values (HCV) and best
       forest management practices (BFMP) in 12,355 acres of GCWA winter habitat, located in
       Ejidos La Paz, Queretaro and Francisco I Madero, Sierra Madre de Chiapas.

   •   Research and monitoring through the establishment of a solid, practical and participatory
       monitoring system that documents how the approach of HCV and BFMP protects
       biodiversity and maintains ecosystem services, a model that could be replicated later in
       other regions of Chiapas and Central America.

   •   Education and outreach through strengthening local governance, capacity building and
       community knowledge about its biodiversity and forest resources that trigger a better
       management of the GCWA's winter habitat.

IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE & ADVANCING CONS FOR NMBS IN BOREAL &
ADJOINING FOREST REGS
Grantee: BIRD STUDIES CANADA
Total Request: $105,310 Matching Contributions: $795,685
Country: Canada
Notable bird species to benefit: Canada Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Bay-breasted
Warbler, Connecticut Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Eastern Whip-
poor-will, and Common Nighthawk.

Boreal forest birds have experienced a 33% population loss since 1970, amounting to 500
million birds lost. Changing forest conditions and direct harm to birds and nests from
commercial forestry are considered important contributing factors to the decline. The proposed
project addresses priority conservation actions for eight target Neotropical migratory bird (NMB)
species that breed in Ontario’s Boreal and adjoining forest regions and is located in important
Boreal and adjoining forest breeding habitat that supports relatively high NMB densities but is
exposed in some areas to direct and indirect threats from industrial activities. Much of this area is
under-surveyed with respect to bird populations, due to the difficulty of access and need for
specialized surveys.

Partners primary objectives are to:

   •   Increase the data available on the target NMB species for improved species conservation
       and management in 2.5 million acres of Ontario’s Boreal and adjoining forest regions.

   •   Identify and protect 2 million acres of priority target NMB habitat in areas exposed to
       industry threats.

The project will benefit the target NMBs through improved understanding of their distribution,
abundance, and breeding locations in a core area of their breeding range, as well as through
habitat protection and industry threat reduction.

MANAGING CRITICAL HABITAT FOR SHOREBIRDS IN SURINAME
Grantee: MANOMET, INC
Total Request: $198,942 Matching Contributions: $657,511
Country: Suriname
Notable bird species to benefit: Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Whimbrel,
Short-billed Dowitcher (ssp. griseus), Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser
Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Willet, Red Knot (ssp. rufa), Western Sandpiper,
Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, and White-rumped Sandpiper.

The coast of Suriname is probably the most important area for wintering North American-
breeding shorebirds in the Americas, where Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network
(WHSRN) sites of Hemispheric importance harbor over 1.5 million wintering shorebirds
consisting of mostly Semipalmated Sandpipers, Yellowlegs (Greater and Lesser), Whimbrel
and Short-billed Dowitchers. Although most of the Suriname coast is protected by law as
Multiple Use Management Areas (MUMA), the government acknowledges that inadequate
technical and financial management capacities limit their conservation effectiveness. The Bigi
Pan MUM, is one of these WHSRN sites located in northwest Suriname covering nearly
170,000 acres, primarily mangroves, coastal wetlands and mudflats.

Various natural resource use practices at Bigi Pan MUMA are not properly controlled, leading to
unsustainable levels of resource extraction activities threatening the shorebird and other
waterbird populations that depend on these areas. The project will support the Suriname
Ministry of Land Policy and Forest Management with the implementation of the Bigi Pan
MUMA management plan and ensure proper protection and sustainable use of the area. Through
building capacity, supporting conservation efforts for priority shorebirds, and addressing the
main threats that are decreasing habitat quality and availability, the project will contribute to
the reversal of priority shorebird population declines.

MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION VIA SHADE CROP FARMING III
Grantee: PROVITA
Total Request: $182,292 Matching Contributions: $548,332
Country: Venezuela
Notable bird species to benefit: Cerulean Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Connecticut
Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Black-billed Cuckoo, Bobolink, Canada Warbler, Cape
May Warbler, Chuck-wills Widow, Hooded Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow-billed
Cuckoo, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Prothonotary Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, and
Black-whiskered Vireo.

This project builds on the success of previous phases funded in 2017 and 2019 by NMBCA,
across 988 acres. Partners will scale up organic and Bird-Friendly® certification (BF) to an
additional 500 acres of shade crop farms in Costa de Maya - a megadiverse region of the
Venezuelan Andes. The project will contribute to protection of a vital habitat corridor between
two key national parks where deforestation risk is exceedingly high. Partners will include a new
element of farmer-led tree planting and recovery to restore forest in strategic locations at higher
altitudes, thus supporting conservation of a total of 2,500 acres of crucial habitat for many
species of migratory and resident birds.

The project will continue promoting preservation of both natural and cultural heritage, bolster
sustainable livelihoods, help protect a watershed that supplies drinking water to a reservoir used
by 200,000 people, and continue work with elementary school children and adults to teach the
benefits of leaving forests standing for both birds and people through the Smithsonian’s
“Bridging the Americas” curriculum and community engagement. Future scalability includes
more than 49,400 acres of shade-coffee plantations as well as large areas of cacao and other
shade crops.

PROTECTING MIGRATORY BIRDS IN THE ECUADORIAN CHOCO
Grantee: FUNDACION JOCOTOCO
Total Request: $199,392     Matching Contributions: $861,728
Country: Ecuador
Notable bird species to benefit: Olive-sided Flycatcher, Cerulean Warbler, Canada
Warbler, Acadian Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Swainson´s
Thrush, Summer Tanager, Blackburnian Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler,
Solitary Sandpiper and Spotted Sandpiper.

Habitat loss and degradation in the Neotropics are a major threat driving population declines in
migratory birds. With less than 2% of original vegetation remaining, wintering habitat is
critically threatened in Western Ecuador. This project addresses habitat loss in the Chocó, a
key stopover and overwintering site for Olive-sided Flycatcher, Canada Warbler and
Cerulean Warbler.

Partners will restore and protect the Ecuadorian Chocó through four objectives. First, they
will monitor 18,000 acres of wintering habitat including the Canandé and Tesoro Escondido
reserves and new transects surrounding them. These reserves will be patrolled continuously to
prevent deforestation and hunting. Second, their monitoring allows them to identify critical
areas for reserve expansion. Third, they will plant 30,000 native trees on ~247 acres on
private properties and thereby improve NMB habitat quality and connectivity among
remaining habitat patches. Finally, they will develop bird friendly income streams like carbon
compensation and bird-friendly cacao production and build the capacities of local communities
and stakeholders.

PROTECTING NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRDS ON THE ALLEGHENY FRONT
(NMBCA 7311)
Grantee: THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
Total Request: $200,000 Matching Contributions: $620,469
Country: United States of America
Notable bird species to benefit: Wood Thrush, Cerulean Warbler, Black-billed Cuckoo,
Alder Flycatcher, Veery, Northern Waterthrush, Nashville Warbler, Broad-winged Hawk,
Northern Goshawk, Worm-eating Warbler, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Yellow-billed
Cuckoo.

This project will purchase a conservation easement on the 128-acre Gainer Tract, one of TNC
West Virginia’s major conservation priorities. The property is located along the Allegheny Front,
a 165-mile escarpment that connects West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest to the
Pennsylvania Wilds (northwest PA region of Allegheny National Forest and surrounding state
forests). As a forested continuous south to north corridor, the Front is a key migratory flyway.
Adjacent to an 80,000-acre network of protected lands, including Canaan Valley National
Wildlife Refuge, the USFS Dolly Sods Wilderness Area and several state designations, the
Gainer Tract is important for Wood Thrush, Cerulean Warblers and many other Neotropical
Migratory Birds (NMBs). Additional match funded protection activities will acquire fee title or
conservation easements on nearby properties in the Allegheny Front project area (up to 300
acres).

PROTECTING SHOREBIRD HABITATS IN COLOMBIAN PACIFIC COAST
Grantee: WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY (WCS)
Total Request: $122,218* ($86,069 available of partial funding to be offered to Grantee as last
project on slate)
Matching Contributions: $366,762 (may be reduced with partial award)
Country: Colombia
Notable bird species to benefit: Wilson’s Plover, American Oystercatcher, Solitary
Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Whimbrel, Hudsonian Godwit, Red Knot, Sanderling,
Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, and Short-billed Dowitcher

Marine Protected Areas (MPA) networks are cornerstones of biodiversity preservation, however,
few are effectively connected and managed to preserve critical habitats for Neotropical
migratory shorebirds. Partners will improve the quality of migratory shorebird habitats in the
network of MPAs in the Pacific Coast of Colombia, part of the Pacific Americas Migratory
Flyway, aiming to enhance protection and management of one important Ramsar site: the Delta
of San Juan River.

They will:

   •   Establish a new regional MPA located in the Delta of the San Juan River (approx.
       175,000 acres).

   •   Support the implementation of the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART)
       by the regional environmental authority CODECHOCO to strengthen law enforcement
       in the new MPA.

   •   Design and implement a shorebird participative monitoring program in the Delta of
       the San Juan River.

By expanding the coastal areas under legal protection and enhancing management
effectiveness, partners will conserve well connected shorebird habitats in the Colombian Pacific
coast, thus implementing important actions of the national and regional Pacific Americas
Shorebird Conservation Strategy.

BROKEN KETTLE GRASSLANDS BIRD CONSERVATION AREA: JOY HOLLOW
ADDITION
Grantee: THE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN IOWA
Total Request: $141,750 Matching Contributions: $425,250
Country: United States of America
Notable bird species to benefit: Bell’s Vireo, Cerulean Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo,
Whip-poor-will, Lark Sparrow, Western and Eastern Kingbird, Dickcissel, Grasshopper
Sparrow, Bobolink, and Western Meadowlark.

The project will protect approximately 156 acres of the 356-acre Joy Hollow tract located within
the heart of the Broken Kettle Grasslands Bird Conservation Area. The acquisition will
contribute to over 10,000 acres of contiguous prairie and oak woodland habitat important for
high-priority birds identified in the Partners-in-Flight Dissected Till Plains Bird Conservation
Plan (PIF Plan). The Joy Hollow property will be managed as part of The Nature Conservancy’s
3,300-acre Broken Kettle Grasslands Preserve.

REDUCTION OF THREATS OF PRIORITY ANM, ALTIPLANO POTOSINO II
Grantee: ORGANIZACION VIDA SILVESTRE, A.C.
Total Request: $198,295 Matching Contributions: $611,235
Country: Mexico
Notable bird species to benefit: Mountain Plover, Long-Billed Curlew, Sprague’s Pipit,
Ferruginous Hawk, Burrowing Owl, Horned Lark, Savannah Sparrow, Lark Bunting,
Loggerhead Shrike and Vesper Sparrow.

In phase 2, partners will double the protected, restored, and conserved areas from phase one in
the grasslands ecosystems within “The GPCA (Grassland Priority Conservation Area) Tokio”,
San Luis Potosí, a critical site for wintering grassland birds. Their goal is to conserve, restore,
protect, and reconnect crucial habitat for Mountain Plover, Sprague's pipit, chestnut-
collared longspur, Baird’s sparrow, and long-billed curlew among others. The project
focuses on:

   •   protection and management of 49,421 acres through conservation easements and
       Conservation and Management Units (UMA) approved by the Federal Government and
       Long Term Agreements with the Land Owners.

   •   restoration of 12,355 acres of grasslands ecosystems.

   •   a business plan/territorial ordering for 64,366 acres.

   •   a research program to monitor grassland species through automated radio-telemetry,
       and to evaluate the ecology of grassland NMB (abundance, density, habitat use and
       preference, occupancy, local movements, parasitism, health condition, etc) throughout
       their wintering range.

The project includes a strong component of local active participation to ensure sustainability
and replication in the long term.

RESTORING A DEGRADED COFFEE PLANTATION TO CREATE A FRIENDLY
HABITAT FOR MBS
Grantee: PARA LA NATURALEZA (PLN)
Total Request: $105,284 Matching Contributions: $4,504,938
Country: United States of America (Puerto Rico)
Notable bird species to benefit: Black-whiskered Vireo, Northern Parula, Blackpoll Warbler,
American Redstart, Prairie Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-
winged Warbler, Chestnut- sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Black-
throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, and Ovenbird.

With this project, Para la Naturaleza, operational unit of the Conservation Trust of Puerto
Rico, will restore agriculturally degraded land in the Natural Protected Area of Hacienda
Margarita, a coffee plantation in Lares Puerto Rico, for the benefit of Neotropical migratory
birds. Para la Naturaleza will undertake four main activities:

   •   Reforestation of 85 acres of land where coffee has been planted.

   •   Management, maintenance and protection of this area

   •   Bird census monitoring

   •   Community outreach and education with a focus on local farmers.

RESTORING HABITAT FOR WARBLERS IN WESTERN ANDES IN COLOMBIA II
Grantee: CALIDRIS
Total Request: $83,000      Matching Contributions: $249,647
Country: Colombia
Notable bird species to benefit: Canada Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Yellow-billed
Cuckoo, Golden-winged Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian
Flycatcher, Swainson's Thrush, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Mourning
Warbler, Summer Tanager, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Partners will implement specific management and on-the-ground conservation actions focusing
on Canada and Cerulean Warblers (CAWA and CEWA) along with 11 other migratory species.
The project will restore habitat conditions in four landscapes, protecting natural habitats,
restoring them when necessary, and converting productive lands into biodiverse systems that
allow the presence and survival of both humans and migratory species. The work will occur in
the Paraguas-Munchique area, a natural corridor considered a conservation priority due to its
high levels of biodiversity compared to other corridors. In these landscapes partners will work
with partner organizations and local families to identify key ecological requirements of the focal
species. They will make a participatory inventory of local productive systems and best
management practices (BMPs), review, share the lessons learned and the successes of the BMPs
implemented in previous projects.

With these inputs, they will select the most successful BMPs, implementing them with
measurable objectives across nearly 500 acres. Partners will promote the protection of new
private nature reserves (680 acres). To measure the success of the implemented actions, they will
establish a participatory monitoring program in three localities (2 landscapes), evaluating the
impact of BMPs on the local populations of CAWA and CEWA.

RESTORING CAUCA VALLEY
Grantee: NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY
Total Request: $200,000 Matching Contributions: $956,191
Country: Colombia
Notable bird species to benefit: Swainson’s Thrush, Mourning Warbler, Yellow-billed
Cuckoo, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Canada Warbler, Gray-cheeked
Thrush, Bay-breasted Warbler, Pectoral Sandpiper, Cerulean Warbler, Lesser Yellowlegs,
Stilt Sandpiper, and Acadian Flycatcher.

The mosaic of wetlands and forests of the Cauca Valley landscape of Colombia provide
crucial habitat for a multitude of Neotropical migrants who depend on this habitat for their
annual survival including 9.5% and 5.8% of global populations of Cerulean Warbler and
Canada Warbler, respectively. More specifically for this proposal, the valley’s wetlands are
critical for the conservation of several migratory shorebirds and waterbirds including 6% of the
Spotted Sandpiper population. Only 10% of the natural ecosystems remain, with 90% lost to
agriculture and urban expansion.

This project will work to reverse the declines of natural areas and increase habitat availability
for migratory birds initially focusing on the valley floor restoring riparian buffer habitats and
creating artificial wetlands. Specifically, this project will:

   •   Reclaim and restore 185-370 acres of productive lands from sugar cane production

   •   Create over 1,700 acres of artificial wetlands through sugar-rice-sugar crop rotation.

   •   Grow a conservation constituency to better support migratory bird conservation in the
       departments of Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda and Caldas.

REVEALING UNKNOWN LINKS IN THE LIFE CYCLES OF SHOREBIRDS
Grantee: UNIVERSIDAD AUSTRAL DE CHILE
Total Request: $120,286 Matching Contributions: $417,444
Countries: Argentina, Chile, United States of America
Notable bird species to benefit: Hudsonian Godwit, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Upland
Sandpiper, American Golden-Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Pectoral
Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Baird´s Sandpiper, and Wilson´s Phalarope.

Hudsonian Godwits have been declining at a rate of over 3% per year for the last three decades,
one of the most rapid and dramatic declines of any Nearctic migratory shorebird species.
Godwits have been identified as a species of conservation concern in multiple countries and
flyways, including the USA, Chile, and Argentina. It is thought that their decline is likely being
driven by the effects of climate change on the breeding grounds and habitat loss/degradation
during the nonbreeding periods. The recent discovery of large congregations of godwits during
the boreal summer in the grasslands and wetlands of northern Argentina raises the potential that
key portions of the godwit life and annual cycle are poorly understood and, thus, that key
habitats may be at risk from previously unidentified conservation threats.

This project aims to identify the drivers of over-summering behavior among godwits, as well as
the priority habitats and sites used by over-summering godwits in order to initiate targeted
conservation actions in the region. Partners will achieve this by coupling research and
monitoring efforts at known godwits breeding and nonbreeding sites with broad-scale surveys of
potential over-summering habitats and local stakeholder engagement in northern Argentina.

SAVING A CRUCIAL GATEWAY TO SOUTH AMERICA FOR NEOTROPICAL
MIGRANTS II
Grantee: FUNDACION PROAVES
Total Request: $183,374 Matching Contributions: $559,579
Country: Colombia
Notable bird species to benefit: Cerulean Warbler, Canada Warbler, Golden-winged
Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Prothonotary Warbler, and Kentucky Warbler.

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and adjacent Serranía de Perijá in northernmost
Colombia are highly biodiverse, isolated mountains located on the Caribbean coast. In fact, 132
migratory bird species entering South America pass through these two mountains including the
Cerulean, Golden-winged and Canada Warblers (CERW, GWWA). The El Dorado ProAves
Reserve (3,465 acres) helps protect the northwestern spur of the Sierra Nevada while the
Chamicero de Perijá ProAves Reserve (1,851 acres) protects the highest peaks of the
Serranía de Perijá – two montane forest refuges that are vital for migratory birds during
migration and wintering periods. Both reserves have faced tremendous challenges of illegal
invasions and habitat degradation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ProAves will secure and consolidate the protection and restoration of these two critical bird
reserves in the Sierra Nevada and Perijá. They will protect 5,316 acres of NMB habitat and
restore a total of 944 acres from former pasturelands and degraded forest to intact forest to
expand habitat for the focal species. They will monitor CERW and GWWA populations at the
reserve, ensure proper local law enforcement to prevent illegal activities that could harm
migratory birds, and raise awareness about the plight of these species through public outreach
campaigns.

SAVING THE GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLER WINTERING HABITAT II
Grantee: MESA DE ONG’S COMANEJADORAS DE AREAS PROTEGIDAS DE
HONDURAS
Total Request: $200,000     Matching Contributions: $660,443
Countries: Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico
Notable bird species to benefit: Golden-cheeked Warbler, Grace’s Warbler, Mexican
Whip-poor-will, Golden-winged Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Red-faced Warbler,
Hermit Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, Yellow-rumped
Warbler, and MacGillivray’s Warbler.

Partners continue the implementation of Nature Based Solutions (NBS) as the methodology to
encompass actions and to conserve the goods and services the Mesoamerican Pine-Oak region
provides. The framework of the “Conservation Plan of the Mesoamerican Pine-Oak Corridor as
the wintering habitat of the Golden-cheeked Warbler” will guide response to various local
acute challenges such as climate change, food security, and risk of disaster.

The working groups have identified 104 prospective sites for the second phase in Mexico,
Guatemala and Honduras. Partners will conserve habitat through ecosystem restoration on a
landscape scale, the inclusion of scientific and traditional knowledge through citizen science
that will allow managing the sustainability of local biological monitoring processes (40 trained
observers), and recognizing the actions of forest and water management through water
governance (minimum 20 social groups collaborating).

URGENT RESPONSE TO COVID-19 CRISIS: PROTECTING CERW & GWWA IN
COLOMBIA
Grantee: FUNDACION PROAVES
Total Request: $199,272 Matching Contributions: $644,550
Country: Colombia
Notable bird species to benefit: Canada Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Golden-winged
Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Bay-breasted Warbler, Prothonotary
Warbler, Swainson’s Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Swainson’s Hawk, and
Swallow-tailed Kite.

Two of the most threatened Neotropical migrant landbird species the Cerulean Warbler
(CERW) and Golden-winged Warbler (GWWA) depend on subtropical and montane forests
across Colombia as stopover and wintering sites for their survival. However, sharply increasing
deforestation rates following the peace process, plus the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, motivated
people to invade protected areas and exploit natural resources as government entities struggle to
respond.

These incursions threaten habitat important to these migratory bird species and in this project,
ProAves will implement a 2021-2023 plan to directly protect and manage 87,578 acres of
critical migratory bird habitat at 25 strategic sites for CERW and GWWA. They will expand
Colombia’s protected area network for migratory birds by acquiring an additional 984 new acres
at two of those sites and restore 822 new acres of migratory bird habitat. ProAves will continue
to monitor populations of CERW and GWWA at those sites and to raise awareness about
migrants through public outreach.

U.S.-MEXICO GRASSLAND BIRD CONSERVATION XIX
Grantee: BIRD CONSERVANCY OF THE ROCKIES
Total Request: $200,000     Matching Contributions: $1,825,000
Countries: Mexico, United States of America
Notable bird species to benefit: Sprague’s Pipit, Baird’s Sparrow, Chestnut-collared
Longspur, Grasshopper Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Thick-billed Longspur, Cassin’s Sparrow,
Brewer’s Sparrow, Loggerhead Shrike, Ferruginous Hawk, Northern Harrier, American
Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Mountain Plover, Long-billed Curlew, Burrowing Owl, Short-eared
Owl, and Virginia’s Warbler.

In this phase partners will:
    • Expand the Sustainable Grazing Network (SGN) to enroll and protect at least another
        10,000 acres.

   •   Enhance at least 10,000 acres of SGN grasslands through improved grazing management,
   •   Restore at least 100 acres of degraded grasslands through shrub control, keyline or other
       intensive restoration techniques.

   •   Monitor grassland birds on SGN lands to assess impact.

   •   Train biologists in grassland bird monitoring and rangeland extension.

   •   Conduct outreach to SGN ranchers and managers using the results of our bird and
       vegetation monitoring to inform adaptive management.

   •   Permanently protect 514.5 acres of grasslands and foothill shrublands in Larimer County,
       Colorado from exurban development.

   •   Assist local governments in conserving grassland birds through monitoring populations
       on protected open space lands.

Through this multi-pronged approach, we aim to increase wintering populations of Sprague’s
Pipits and other high priority species, including Baird’s Sparrow and Chestnut-collared
Longspur, on SGN lands over the next 5-10 years and maintain breeding grassland bird
populations in Larimer County, Colorado. The proposed activities will be conducted in
cooperation with a broad network of regional and international partners for maximum impact,
efficiency and synergy.

VIOLET MEADOW RESTORATION PROJECT
Grantee: THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE
Total Request: $70,800      Matching Contributions: $216,637
Country: United States of America
Notable bird species to benefit: Pied-billed Grebe, American Bittern, Least Bittern, King Rail,
Black Tern, Short-eared Owl, Northern Flicker, Wood Thrush, Prothonotary Warbler, Field
Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow’s Sparrow, Dickcissel, and Eastern Meadowlark.

The Violet Meadow Restoration Project will restore a mosaic of native habitats, including mesic
and wet prairie, sedge meadow, seep, marsh, and woodland on 292 acres of The Wetland
Initiative’s Dixon Waterfowl Refuge in north-central Illinois. This increase in high-quality
habitat will benefit a range of grassland, wetland, and woodland bird species of conservation
concern. The Violet Meadow tract’s connectivity with the 3,000 acres of restored habitats at this
Important Bird Area and designated Ramsar Wetland of International Importance will have
significant benefits for migratory birds well beyond this single parcel.