The Coastal Solutions Fellows Program at the 10th Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group Meeting


By Laura Ibarra (CSF 2020)

From August 11-16, 2024, the 10th Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group Meeting was held in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. This event brought together people from all over the Americas who work tirelessly on shorebird conservation, and the experience exceeded all my expectations. It was my first face-to-face meeting in many years, and it was amazing to be able to put faces to names I had only known through emails and screens. It was inspiring to see how these migratory birds, which cross borders, also manage to bring us all together in one place, from many different parts of the continent.

The meeting was held on the campus of Mount Allison University, a truly beautiful place. Sackville is a cozy little town, perfect for walking around, and one of my first discoveries was the Sackville Waterfowl Park, a wetland adjacent to the campus. This space, with its trails and bird-watching observation decks, became a key site for many of us. Day after day, we watched a family of Pied-billed Grebes (Podilymbus podiceps) feeding their chicks, and this was the site where many of us had our first lifers of the trip. 

One of the first activities we did upon arrival was installing the Shorebirds of the Pacific Flyway exhibit, a photo showcase of the conservation work carried out by the Coastal Solutions Fellows from Mexico to Chile. Through 23 images we showed the beauty of the Latin American coastal landscapes, shorebirds in their natural habitats, and the efforts of the people who, day after day, study and protect these ecosystems. The exhibit was on display throughout the week at the foyer of the Purdy Crawford Centre for the Arts, where all conference participants gathered daily for conference breaks.

Academic activities began on Monday the 12th, with talks spread over three rooms that addressed a variety of topics, from population ecology to technology, connectivity and conservation. At the Coastal Solutions Symposium: Advances in Pacific Flyway Conservation, 16 fellows and our director, Osvel Hinojosa, had the opportunity to present our work. It was very gratifying to hear other fellows share their progress on conservation projects along the Pacific coast of Latin America.

Something I was very enthusiastic about was the large number of Latin American colleagues who participated. Thanks to the simultaneous translation, many of us were able to present in our native language – almost 30% of the presentations were in Spanish! I was delighted to hear so many colleagues from different parts of Latin America. A memorable moment was the keynote presentation by Luis Espinosa, who presented in Spanish his more than 30 years of work on Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica), and his contributions to ornithology and conservation in Chile.

The week was full of learning, but also of moments for birding, sharing and enjoying. There was time to talk, dance and socialize with people from all over the continent. During the closing banquet, Jim Chu’s great work was recognized with the Linking Sites Award, a welldeserved recognition for his extraordinary work. It was great to see him being celebrated and it is an honor to have him as a member of the Coastal Solutions Program Advisory Board.

I close this experience with a deep sense of gratitude and hope for the future of shorebirds; tremendous work is being done throughout the continent. I hope to have the opportunity to repeat this experience at the next meeting, to be held two years from now in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. See you there!

Coastal Solutions Fellowship Program

The Coastal Solutions Fellows Program builds and supports an international community to design and implement solutions that address coastal challenges across the Pacific Americas Flyway. Our main goal is to conserve coastal habitats and shorebird populations by building the knowledge, resources, and skills of Latin American professionals, and by fostering collaborations among multiple disciplines and sectors.