Description

This work was carried out on the coastal area between La Coronilla (33° 54' S, 53° 30' W) and Barra del Chuy (33° 46' S,
53° 24' W), in the Rocha region of Uruguay (Fig 1). This region is located in the Northeastern Atlantic coast of Uruguay
and contains significant coastal-marine biodiversity and is part of the Eastern Wetlands and Coastal Fringe Biosphere
Reserve established in 1976. It is also been a RAMSAR convention site since 1982 and is bordering the first
Coastal-Marine Protected Area in Uruguay, “Cerro Verde and La Coronilla Islands”. This area was recently integrated into
the National System of Protected Areas.
From the 21th to 29th of March 2008 daily counts were conducted throughout the study area, in order to establish the
most important feeding areas for Calidris canutus rufa. All areas where Red Knots had been observed were registered
using GPS. We counted the number of individuals present in each flock, the number of banded birds, and the percentage
of shorebirds with breeding, pre-breeding or non-breeding plumage.

Presented in: The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group Meeting, 9 al 13 March, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México