Birds at Runaway Creek

An especially unique story of Runaway Creek is that of the Birds Without Borders Program. The program is an international bird research, conservation, and education program founded out of Runaway Creek and studying more than 300 birds in Central America. Thanks to the tireless efforts of more than 23 people involved over the last 14 years, there have been 213 bird species counted on the preserve, 54 of which migrate annually between Belize and United States, some heading as far north as Canada.

Monitoreo de Sobrevivencia Invernal/Monitoring Overwintering Survival (MoSI) Program is a collaborative, international network of bird monitoring stations across the northern Neotropics that has been in operation since 2002. The primary goal of MoSI is to gather information on population trends, site persistence, and adult survival rates by monitoring bird communities over multiple years. In collaboration with the Environmental Research Institute of the University of Belize, this project entitled “Monitoring Neotropical Migrant and Resident Birds at Runaway Creek Nature Reserve in Belize” is in partnership with three other sites in Belize to gather data on songbird community composition and distribution using the standardized MoSI protocol. The MoSI research project at Runaway Creek started during the migratory season on 2018/2019 and will continue every season for at least the next five years.

An amateur ornithologist on a winter trip from the north will undoubtedly feel a sense of both awe and tranquility in spotting catbirds, ruby-throated hummingbirds, black and white warblers, and other birds common to the northern states.