Benson Venegas executive director of ANAI in Costa Rica has just reported that the hawkwatchers in Talamanca (Jennfer McNicoll & Pablo Porras-Peņaranda) have counted their one-millionth migrating raptors this season!
In the long history of hawkwatching worldwide, there are only two hawk counts that have ever achieved this level. (These are the famous sites at the Veracruz, Mexico [River of Raptors] and at Eilat, Israel.)
This location is in the SE corner of Costa Rica, near the Panama border on the Caribbean coast. It's geographic makeup is similar to that of the now-famous Cardel region of Veracruz -- a narrow coastal plain and nearby mountains which squeeze migrating raptors into a tight corridor.
The Talamanca team's accomplishment is all the more stunning for several
reasons: this is the first year of counts at Talamanca, they have a tiny
and overworked staff, and the season isn't even over yet. Their effort and
success are truly Herculean.
Jennifer, Pablo, and their volunteers can be reached at
anaital@sol.racsa.co.cr or anaicr@sol.racsa.co.cr