With a team of eleven instructors from institutions like the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and 25 students, the 1st Ecology of Migratory Birds was conducted with great success in the Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve, Oct. 26-31, 2008, with visitors.

ProAves, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center organized the event, with the support from various organizations and the presence of people from many countries and 16 different organizations in Latin America.

Practice field sessions were conducted where different methodologies were reviewed for the study of migratory birds, as well as theoretical sessions with case studies of the Golden-winged and Cerulean warbler’s ecology, and discussions on articles about monitoring and migratory connectivity, among other themes. Finally, it was put unto discussions and the protocol of habitat characterization was adjusted and will now be used for Golden-winged and Cerulean Warbler research in the coming months and years across its geographic range in the non-breeding areas.

Also, due to the wide participation of representatives from various countries working in the range of action of migratory birds, the importance of designing studies monitoring at the regional level was emphasized, focusing on direct action to conserve migratory birds.

The course was marked by a great atmosphere of sharing knowledge and experiences among researchers from North America and Latin America. One conclusion was that it is a priority to do studies of basic ecology of migratory birds in the tropics to understand which are the factors limiting the survival of their populations.

This course was made possible through the support of a large group of instructors, in particular Peter Marra of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, and Ken Rosenberg of Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the Golden-winged Warbler Conservation Initiative funded by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and American Bird Conservancy.