• Location: Ensenada, Baja California.
• Area: 5,169 acres.
• Date of designation: September 5, 2017.
• Designation: 99th WHSRN Site of Regional Importance.

The Bahia de Todos Santos Shorebird Reserve belongs to the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN), a network of stopover sites that are important to birds on the American continent.

Terra Peninsular, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and CICESE worked together to designate Bahia de Todos Santos as a site of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN), that is, a shorebird reserve.

Characteristics

• Along the reserve there are sites that are essential for migratory birds, mainly the coastal area between Playa Hermosa and the Estero de Punta Banda.
• The bay receives more than 4% of the snowy plover population, an endangered shorebird in Mexico and the United States.
• In the Pacific Flyway, Bahia de Todos Santos in Ensenada, Baja California, is an essential place for birds to rest and recharge their batteries. Many of these sites are important for their survival.
• During spring and summer, bird species like the snowy plover and the least tern nest on sandy beaches.
• During fall and winter, the bay is a stopover site used by birds to feed and rest during migration, they need these sites to recover energy and continue their journey.

Representative birds of the reserve:

• Snowy plover Charadrius nivosus.
• Red knot Calidris canutus roselaari.
• Willet Tringa semipalmata inornatus.
• Sanderling Calidris alba.
• Marbled godwit Limosa fedoa.

Bird migration

Migratory birds prefer beach habitats and migrate to breed or winter, they make two journeys each year: in the winter they migrate south, and in the spring they fly back to the north to breed. In each journey, most of the birds fly more than 7,000 miles or even 15,000 miles.

WHSRN sites in Mexico

In Mexico there are 19 WHSRN sites, in addition to Bahia de Todos Santos there are other two in Baja California:

• Alto Golfo de California y Delta del Río Colorado.
• San Quintin Lagoon Complex Shorebird Reserve.

WHSRN sites in Mexico

About WHSRN

The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) is an international cooperation strategy to conserve and protect the habitat of shorebirds in the American continent. 

This strategy seeks to involve local communities, authorities, civil and academic organizations in the care of shorebird habitat in the Western Hemisphere. 

Map of WHSRN sites

How to help protect migratory birds?

• Keep your dogs leashed and away from the birds.
• Observe birds from far away without disturbing them.
• Pick up your trash to avoid pollution.
• Avoid driving vehicles and ATVs on beaches and wetlands.