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| Originally posted by tehag Here's a Wilson's plover chick, newly hatched at the mouth of the Zarragosa estuary. This estuary, at the mouth of the arroyo that separates Loreto from Colonia Zarragosa, is under siege and may not be fit to produce these in the not-too-distant future. The arroyo itself is being mined for sand and gravel for construction and paving. The beach it crosses on the way to the Gulf of California is slated to be dissected by an extension of the malecon. The sand and gravel bar that entraps the estuary and protects the delta from sea erosion, and is where this guy was hatched, is being built up with material trucked in from farther up the arroyo to better serve recreational users; they are now playing football and parking cars on it. Just south of Colonia Zarragosa, infrastructure for more seaside development is being constructed. Say goodbye plover? I spent much of my life in Southern California and have seen first-hand the impact of major upheavals in and around such estuaries. Lately, forces within that state are discovering the importance of these niches and maybe just beginning to behave accordingly. Where they have spared or at least mitigated the change thrust upon these bio-treasures, the nearby ocean, the surrounding environment, and, especially, the humans in the neighborhood are far richer. |
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