The Festival Through the Years

By Claudia Guzmán and Mirna Borrego

We’re a young festival, and we’re honored to have received the Partners in Flight award, which recognizes individuals or groups that contribute significantly to bird conservation and restoration of endangered bird habitats in the American continent.

To our surprise, we were selected for the Group Partners in Flight Stewardship Award. This award recognizes the organization’s work in the management, conservation, and restoration of terrestrial bird habitats, as well as the community participation model, and the design of the San Quintín Bird Festival.

A safe refuge

Baja California is home to thousands of birds. Its wetlands and sandy beaches are resting, feeding, and nesting sites; this is where many species nest, and if they succeed, they fly to continue with an extraordinary journey.

Each winter, more than 25,000 shorebirds arrive in different places of the peninsula, such as Bahía de Todos Santos in Ensenada, and San Quintín Bay.

Photo by Yolanda Ávila.

San Quintín Bay has the natural characteristics to provide refuge and food for thousands of birds: it’s a unique place in Baja California with wetlands, sandy beaches, salt marshes, and extinct volcanoes.

Internationally, the bay is recognized as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention. Since 2008 it’s been part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) and is also an Area of Importance for Bird Conservation in Mexico.

Photo by Yolanda Ávila.

The Bird Festival aims to contribute to the conservation of resident and migratory shorebirds in San Quintín Bay by increasing knowledge about the environmental value and encouraging community and critical groups’ participation.

The festival over the years

Five festivals have taken place so far, and in each edition, we have had memorable moments, special guests, and growth experiences.

1

In 2015, local authorities, schools, and residents of the local community of La Chorera attended the first Bird Festival. This event was their first contact with birdwatching.

First edition of the Bird Festival in 2015.

Photo by Terra Peninsular.

2

In 2016, Ejido Chapala, another local community, also joined the festival.

Second Bird Festival in 2016.

Photo by Terra Peninsular.

Second Bird Festival in 2016.

Photo by Terra Peninsular.

3

San Quintín Bay Bird Festival. Photo by Terra Peninsular.

The third edition in 2017 marked the beginning of the collaboration with artists. We presented the first photography exhibit of the Youth Club of Nature Photographers Huellas Volcánicas, a club from the local junior high. It was also an opportunity for the local communities to promote their gastronomy with the attendees.

4

In the fourth edition, we extended the duration of the festival to offer outdoor recreational activities. This idea came up thanks to the exchanges of experiences we carried out with the support of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). This festival followed the 7 principles of Leave No Trace by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. Ever since, we’re committed to promoting a low environmental impact event.

The fourth edition of the Bird Festival.

Photo by Terra Peninsular.

5

In November 2019, we held the fifth edition with a celebration of the bird migration. The first collective art exhibition, named Travesía, was possible thanks to the participation of artists from San Quintín and the support of the Birds by Hand project from Alaska. This exhibition has also been displayed at the San Diego Natural History Museum.

San Quintín Bay Bird Festival.

Photo by Estefany Maya.

It’s a great feeling knowing that we share the fascination for birds with more people, who, in addition to admiring them, do everything to preserve them. We want to thank the more than 800 attendees, the local communities La Chorera and Ejido Chapala, local companies, schools, artists, academics, supporters, international organizations, and volunteers for making this festival possible.

In each edition of the festival, there are activities related to birds and nature, such as hiking, bird watching, boating, and photography. The community, schools, and artists have been involved, which has allowed us to create a network of growing allies that have supported us to communicate and tell stories through education and art. We also want the Festival to favor the socio-economic development of the town.

We truly hope that the Bird Festival will become one of the most important and anticipated celebrations of nature in northwestern Mexico.

Community’s exchange of experiences with other festivals.

Photo by Terra Peninsular.

A new vision

The global pandemic caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) has brought uncertainty, but also reflection. We’ve realized that we’re facing an extraordinary situation, and we don’t know how long this will last.

We’ve worked and restructured the next Bird Festival during this time, we’ve received training in biosecurity best practices, and we’ve also exchanged experiences with similar festivals. Our commitment is to build a new experience using different platforms.

More than ever, we believe that the conservation of natural spaces is the best way to keep a resilient peninsula and the communities that depend on it.

The 6th. Bird Festival will take place from November 3 to 7, 2021!

San Quintín Bay Bird Festival.

Photo by Estefany Maya.

♦ CLAUDIA GUZMÁN works as the Community Engagement Coordinator at Terra Peninsular since 2017 claudia@terrapeninsular.org

♦ MIRNA BORREGO has a degree in Communication Sciences and works as the Education and Community Outreach Officer at Terra Peninsular mirna@terrapeninsular.org