Education and Conservation
When I started birding back in 2015, I had no idea of the world I was getting into. Soon, I found out there was a lot more than just watching birds. For instance, I started getting involved in different projects that provide tools for the conservation of the bird species and their habitats.
CITIZEN SCIENCE
One of the first aspects of birding I started doing along was citizen science, while I was studying the species of the area, eBird happened to be an important source of information for me. So I decided that when going from the books to the field I was going to give back to the project. From 2018 till 2022 I was the coordinator of eBird's Global Big Day and October Big Day for El Salvador and we had great results in the latest editions. I have also trained people in the use of the platform in different institutions.
ENVIROMENTAL EDUCATION
I found out that to show the birds to the visitors I also had to show them to the locals and make them fall in love with them. In that sense if people is aware of the beautiful species we have in our region they will take care of them and their habitats. That is the main purpose of my twitter account in which the priority is the interaction with locals to teach them about our birds. I also work with teachers from public or private schools in order to teach kids about them through games and outdoor activities.
VOLUNTEERING
Since almost at the beginning of my birding experiences I join different projects as a volunteer.
I volunteer for the Central American Waterbird Census, the International Shorebird Survey, the Fonseca Gulf Waterbird Census and I lead El Salvador's effort for the World Shorebird Day count that happened every year in September. As well as participating at the Suchitoto Christmas Bird Count. All these are important efforts for birds' conservation.
PUBLICATIONS
Guiding took me to Birding, Birding took me to Citizen Science and Citizen Science took me to Science. Back in 2017 I had the chance to do my first publication. We discovered a couple of Pearl Kites nesting, I had the chance to plan regular visits to observe the chicks progress and eventually that led to the publication of article in the neotropical raptor newsletter Spizaetus.
