Field Activities: Brazilian Merganser capture and marking campaign
26/04/2011

In the second half of 2010 there was another capture and marking campaign of the Brazilian Merganser with tracking bands and radio transmitters. This campaign is part of the data acquisition on the biology of the species, which aims to support the proposed protection actions for its conservation.
 
Seven new individuals from three different families were captured and harnessed with metallic and plastic bands. In addition, two adult individuals, already marked with bands in earlier years, were recaptured. Three individuals were also tagged with radio-transmitters. 

Since 2008, a total of 29 individuals have been banded and 10 birds have been radio-tagged.
The data obtained have increasingly contributed towards learning about the species’ behavior and ecology.
 

Changing the environmental education activities
26/04/2011

On December 15 an event was held at the Information Center for the partners and fellow workers who have contributed to the Brazilian Merganser program over the past years. This event marked a new stage of development, which includes the end of the activities at the Information Center and the beginning of a new way to operate the environmental education actions.
 
The Pato Aqui, Água Acolá Information Center has completed three years of operation, and during this period, it maintained an extensive free program schedule for the community and visitors, which included lectures, workshops, chats, quizzes, group dynamics, photo exhibits, games, and educational visits to schools and other institutions. The various activities were directed to raising awareness and to involve everyone in the biodiversity conservation, in the mutual use of the water resources of the region and in adopting environmentally sustainable practices. There was a total of 31 workshops/group dynamics for about 800 people, more than 40 films for 1880 people, including groups of schoolchildren and 14 informal chats for about 1400 people, also including groups of schoolchildren.
 
The performance evaluation of the Information Center has been very positive and it was acknowledged as a very successful initiative that as well accepted by the community, having fulfilled the role of mobilizing and stimulating them by providing an opportunity to discuss the importance of preserving the natural resources. Now, a new phase begins by having the activities developed at several rural communities in the region.

Monitoring the Brazilian merganser nests in 2010
06/10/2010

In May, the Terra Brasilis Institute began monitoring the Brazilian merganser nests in the Serra da Canastra region. This activity has been conducted for the last six years, registering a total of nine nests during that time. The monitoring revealed that some of the nests have been used for several consecutive years, others have not been reused and some have even been abandoned.
 
In 2010, the reproductive activity was monitored in four nests; three of them had already been recorded in previous years.  Three of the monitored nests produced a total of nineteen young fledglings, which have been monitored in the last two months.
 
From the couples watched this year, three birds were already banded, which enabled to confirm that one couple stayed together and reused the same nest for the third straight year. It was also observed that in one of the couples, the male was not the same one as in the previous year.
 
Continuing the marking activity began in 2008, a new campaign will be performed this month to capture this species and mark them with bands and radio transmitters. The goal is to mark a greater number of individuals, in order to obtain a more consistent volume of information on the biology of this critically endangered species.