Posted: May 10, 2008

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be the home away from home for Ruth Partida-Lara over the next 3 months. Partida-Lara will be working with Park researchers, sharing her time and skills while learning new skills, all in the name of better international bird conservation. Partida-Lara is the Mexico coordinator of the Partners in Flight international bird conservation initiative and will be part of the Partners in Flight annual International Migratory Bird Day celebration in the Park in May.

To highlight International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD), the Park will hold two days of public events. Starting at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 15, at Sugarlands Visitor Center in Tenn., and on Saturday, May 17, at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in N.C., Park Biologist Paul Super will set up mist nets to demonstrate to participants how the nets are used to carefully capture birds, measure, and band them for release at research stations. There will also be short guided bird walks, and Park Intern Partida-Lara will give presentations on bird conservation and efforts being conducted in Mexico. Students from the Pi Beta Phi Elementary School in Gatlinburg will participate as well on May 15. Both days are weather dependent with no plans to reschedule if events get rained out.

The 2008 IMBD theme is "Tundra to Tropics: Connecting Birds, Habitat, and People.” Migratory birds travel long distances between breeding and non-breeding sites throughout the Western Hemisphere. In 2008, IMBD will explore the birds that make these fantastic journeys, the habitats on which they depend, and the people who are important to the conservation of birds and their habitats along the way.

The IMBD is the hallmark annual event sponsored by Partners In Flight. Since 1993, IMBD has celebrated the return of millions of migratory birds from their non-breeding grounds in South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and the southern U.S. to their North American nesting habitats. Although most migratory birds are still abundant, many species are at risk due to the loss of habitat throughout the Western Hemisphere. The purpose of the event is to motivate people to learn about birds and the habitats that they need, to discover ways that they can become involved in improving conditions for birds, and to enjoy watching birds.

“Many of the bird species that breed in the Smokies, such as Hooded Warblers, spend their winters in Mexico or other Latin American or Caribbean countries,” said Paul Super, Park Biologist, Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center. “To protect populations of these Neotropical migrants, there needs to be an international cooperation and sharing of expertise and resources,” he continued.

The National Park Service’s cooperative Park Flight Program is part of the international effort that works to protect shared migratory bird species and their habitats in U.S., Canadian, Latin American, and Caribbean national parks and protected areas through developing bird conservation and education projects and creating opportunities for technical exchange and cooperation.

The Smokies has benefited in the past from two project grants from Park Flight to study Golden-winged and Cerulean Warblers in the Park and their habitat needs. Park staff members have also participated in two international workshops sponsored by Park Flight to exchange technical expertise on monitoring and education of Neotropical migrant birds. This will be second time that the Smokies has been chosen to receive an intern from Latin America through this program.

Park Flight is a partnership between NPS, the National Park Foundation, American Airlines, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the University of Arizona. The program is made possible through the generous support of American Airlines, the NPS Natural Resource Challenge, and the Park Flight partners. Partida-Lara comes to the Smokies through the NPS Flight Program and her internship has also been made possible with support from the Tennessee Ornithological Society and the Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Partners In Flight (PIF)/ Compañeros en Vuelo / Partenaires d’Envol was launched in 1990 in response to growing concerns about declines in the populations of many land bird species, and in order to emphasize the conservation of birds not covered by existing conservation initiatives. PIF is a cooperative effort involving partnerships among federal, state and local government agencies, philanthropic foundations, professional organizations, conservation groups, industry, the academic community, and private individuals. For more information on IMBD and PIF, go to www.birdday.org and www.artnersinflight.org.

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