Joining the ISS network in South America: monitoring protocol and the joys of shorebird identification

Bird monitoring provides valuable information on population status, size & trends and, above all, it helps showing whether conservation initiatives are effective. Shorebirds are declining more than many other species groups and thus data is crucial in order to monitor their status and be able to define conservation actions where and when necessary. The International Shorebird Survey (ISS) is a monitoring program established in 1974, focusing on shorebirds in the Western Hemisphere. The program has helped identifying key sites for shorebirds and provided information on shorebird population sizes and trends. Besides, the gathered data has been used to feed many species conservation plans. However, despite the program’s hemispheric scope, most of the monitoring has taken place by volunteers in North America and only very little in the rest of the Americas. Being designed as a volunteer-based monitoring program to ensure long-term efforts, everybody with an interest in birds can join ISS. The methodology is simple and mainly involves a number of total site counts during migration. Although shorebirds are sometimes described as a difficult group to identify, the majority of the nearly 80 shorebird species occurring in South America are quite easy to identify. Migratory species, such as the Calidris sandpipers, can be challenging, but it is a rewarding activity, generating excitement whenever you spot a key feature that identifies the species. Therefore, there are no excuses, only joy in going out counting shorebirds for a hemispheric cause.