This blog post is written by Rare’s CEO Brett Jenks.

In early March 2010, Rare hosted a trip with our partner Manomet to San Antonio Oeste, Argentina.  There are three campaign sites in Argentina, each of which is focused on preserving the habitat of the migratory Red Knot shorebird: Costa Atlantica, Tierra del Fuego, Estuary Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz and the site we visited, San Antonio Bay.

Above: As I departed from Miami for Argentina I took a photo of an Audubon print of the Red Knot on display in the airport.

The Red Knot has a wingspan of 20 inches and weighs between 4.5 and 7 ounces. This medium-sized sandpiper flies more than 8,000 miles each spring from as far south as Tierra del Fuego to its breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra, and then reverses the trip each autumn — making this bird one of the longest distance migrants in the animal kingdom. Along its route, the Red Knot relies on precious “staging areas” in South and North America to rest and refuel before continuing on the next leg of its journey. As it forages on various beaches and mudflats in Argentina for sea worms, mollusks, or insects, the Red Knot increases its weight by as much as 50 percent to fuel up for its journey northward.

Maintaining healthy coastal ecosystems throughout the Western Hemisphere is critical to ensuring the survival of the Red Knot and scores of other shorebird species.

Above: We stopped over in Buenos Aires on route to our final destination, taking in some bird watching in a local park.

Above: Rare trustee, Duncan McFarland.

Above: Joyce Coleman served as trustee of The Nature Conservancy‘s Maine Chapter.  International conservation is her passion and she is particularly interested in developing ways to inspire people to support conservation in the countries where they live.

From Buenos Aires we traveled south to Las Grutas, where we spent the remainder of the trip.

San Antonio Oeste is a port city situated on the San Matías Gulf in the Argentine province of Río Negro, and capital of the department (departments are analogous to counties in the U.S.) of San Antonio. The town is bordered by its sister communities of San Antonio Este and Las Grutas.

Above: Our group on the beach in Las Grutas.

Above: Helen Morrison from Washington D.C. is Deputy Benefits Tax Counsel at US Department of the Treasury.

Above: The San Antonio Bay area received more rain in two days than it had received in two years, which made driving quite an adventure.

Above:  Volunteers in action at the “Vuelo Latitud 40″ Nature Interpretation Center.  Within this community of 3,500, there are about 250 volunteers — extraordinary community participation.

Above: A volunteer at Veulo Latitud 40 provides a colorful interpretation of the 17,000 mile yearly journey of the Red Knot from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego.

Above: Dr. Charles Duncan, Director of the Shorebird Recovery Project at the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences and Patricia Gonzalez, a Red Knot Ornithologist.

Above: Dr R. I. Guy Morrison, a research scientist for the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), based in Ottawa.  Thirty years ago, Guy and his colleague, Ken Ross, faced a problem.  Many species of shorebirds breed in the Canadian Arctic but understanding and conserving their populations requires knowing where they winter.  This was largely unknown in those days.  To address this problem Morrison and Ross undertook the unthinkable (some would say foolhardy or even crazy) project of censusing virtually the entire coastline of South America in a small plane or helicopter.

From 1982-1986 they flew 17,000 miles at a height of just 130-180′ above the ground at an airspeed of 100-150 mph.  They counted almost three million shorebirds.  The results were published in the two volume “Atlas of Nearctic shorebirds on the coast of South America,” a CWS Special publication.  As if this weren’t enough flying, Guy and Ken have also produced Atlases for Panama and Mexico.  They continue to use these same techniques today to monitor shorebirds at several of the most important sites identified in the initial surveys.

Above: Volunteers monitor disturbances on the beach such as dogs, or more commonly, All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs).  This data is used in conjunction with research on Red Knot weight and population tracking.

Above: Wendy Paulson, Chairman of Rare Board of Trustees, leads the group of birders.

Above: Ellen McFarland discovers a bright green Tinamou egg on the beach.

Above: Mirta Carbajal, President, Inalafquen Foundation with the Red Knot mascot.  Mirta is a model partner for Rare, both supportive and involved directly in the campaign.

Above: View of the ATV course within the natural protected area, one strategy to preserve the Red Knot habitat while still providing for those who enjoy recreational riding.

Above: Group photo at Las Grutas.

Above: Wendy Paulson addressing the mayors of seven local municipalities on the importance of protecting the migratory bird habitats in the region.

Above: Hank Paulson leads a Red Knot congo-line on the beach.

Above: A Red Knot performance at a local community center attended by approximately 200 students.  The story follows a woman who awakes one morning as a Red Knot and begins her incredible journey to the top of the world and back again.

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