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Phenology of shorebirds at Laguna de Tacarigua, Venezuela

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Pages
101 – 108

Published
8 August 19

Authors
Hugo Rodríguez-García, Astolfo Mata

DOI
10.18194/ws.00152

Correspondence
Hugo Rodríguez-García
hrodrigar@gmail.com
Fundación La Salle de Ciencias Naturales, La Salle Museum of Natural History, PO Box 1930, Caracas 1010-A, Venezuela

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Studies of migratory and resident shorebirds in Venezuela have been mainly concentrated in the western Caribbean islands and at some interior wetlands of Venezuela. However, the wetlands of the central coastal region of Venezuela also support significant communities of resident and migratory shorebirds, particularly Laguna de Tacarigua. In this study we assess the abundance and species richness of migratory and resident shorebirds, in relation to variation in the water depth of their foraging areas in a narrow channel between mangroves at Laguna de Tacarigua between May 2008 and April 2009. We recorded an aggregate of 783 individuals of 14 shorebird species during eight monthly counts along a 3-km long transect. Eleven species were trans-hemispheric migrants, and three were intra-tropical migrants with resident populations. The occurrence of these birds at Laguna de Tacarigua was determined by the water depth in the foraging areas.