El Guardacaminos norteño (Chordeiles minor): Un transeúnte anual por el noroccidente de Colombia

Abstract

Populations of the Common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) have decreased by 60% in the last 50 years. Although this species’ ecology is relatively well known in North America, there is insufficient information about its migratory routes, stopover sites and habitat use during the non-breeding and migratory periods of its annual cycle. We describe how C. minor uses Sapzurro in the Colombian Darién and the Caribbean region of northwestern Colombia as entrance routes to South America and stopover sites to rest and potentially accumulate energy during fall migration. Standardized dawn and dusk counts during 3 years (2014, 2015 and 2020) show the species’ migration phenology is concentrated in September and October, with daily passage peaks of ~4,900 individuals and totals between 10,000 and 20,000 individuals recorded during an entire fall migration in Sapzurro. Observations in the departments of Antioquia and Córdoba, together with data from tracked birds, suggest the use of regions around the Darién in northwestern Colombia as a fall migratory corridor and stopover site. Overall, our data suggest that the Caribbean region of northwestern Colombia is an important fall migratory corridor for this species, and we recommend further studying its ecological needs during this vulnerable period of its annual cycle.