July 25, 2008, Raptors of the world unite, By Carol Wheeler, Message from the front lines: Mexico City, By Georgeann Johnson

Raptors of the world unite
By Carol Wheeler July 25, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

River of Raptors Tour
Audubon San Miguel
Sat–Thu, Sep 27–Oct 2
Info: Linda Whynman,
152-2139, or vellum1@mac.com

For the second year in a row, Audubon San Miguel offers the five-day River of Raptors Tour to Veracruz, led by Pronatura Veracruz. Because participants in 2007 had such a splendid time, those in the know will sign up early for the trip this year as there is room for only 10 tourgoers at a time.

The River of Raptors is known to experts as “the greatest migration spectacle in the world.” Every fall, the Pronatura monitoring team in Veracruz counts well over five million migrating raptors, such as hawks and vultures—over 25 species in all. The trip follows, finds and views the great variety of resident birds in the region. Pronatura has compiled a list of over 540 species in central Veracruz. Many beautiful butterflies flit by too, all identified by Pronatura’s friendly expert guides.

The Audubon/Pronatura trip also offers an opportunity to visit Xalapa, the impressive colonial capital city of Veracruz, which is an outstanding bird-watching site as well as a tourist destination of major interest. An easy, pleasant guided hike in Macuiltepetl Park, a large and beautiful area in the city, is also an excellent birding opportunity, especially for spotting mixed warbler flocks and several endemic species such as Blue Mockingbird, Crescent-chested Warbler and Beryline Hummingbird. The Xalapa Museum of Anthropology, though of course smaller, rivals Mexico City’s in its beauty, the interest of its offerings and its accessibility. Tourgoers and an expert guide will visit the museum, which is particularly well known for its collection of Olmec heads.

One morning of the tour features a visit to a low-forest ecosystem, perhaps the best site to spot the White-bellied Wren and the Mexican Shear-tail, followed by a brunch prepared by Chavarrillo community members. Travel throughout is in a luxury bus offering every comfort and road trips are not overly long.

The second town where the tour stays is Cardel, which is directly on the route of the raptor migration. Pronatura has an observatory on the roof of the hotel where tourgoers stay. The Cardel visit includes side trips to La Mancha, an area of coastal wetlands with high bird diversity, and a river trip to La Antigua, the site where Cortez first arrived in the Americas, including the remains of his original home and the first church in continental America. Here, in addition to migrating birds, one can expect to see the Fork-tailed and Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers. Tourgoers will be treated to brunch at the spectacular Haciendo El Lencero, where President Santa Ana lived.

Carol Wheeler is a board member of Audubon México.

POR LA VIDA DE LOS PUEBLOS DEL MAIZ—this was the name of the conference I went to in Mexico City several weeks ago. Several hundred people filled a large room to share knowledge and strategies for how to defend Mexico against transgenic corn.

Waves of acronyms flowed from the microphone as different people spoke. La Red en Defensa del Maiz Nativo included CECCAM, CENAMI, CONTEC AC, GRUPO ETC, OJARASCA, SER MIXE and more. Campesinos, legal analysts, indigenous groups, journalists, educators, etc, came from many parts of Mexico to participate in one forum on the growing defense of corn and culture of Mexico. Not to mention the food security of this country and others.

In Mexico, as in the US, the greatest danger to food security is ignorance. While the US generally thinks of “food security” issues in terms of salmonella outbreaks, the greatest threat to food security anywhere comes from the monopolizing Monsanto, a biotech giant who is munching its way across borders, strewing terminator seeds before it, and planting patent minefields as it goes. The large majority of both populations don’t have a clue about the looming dangers to food security from transgenic foods and terminator genes. I, myself, was alerted by seeing the documentary The Future Of Food, and then reading an article about Monsanto and other biotechnology giants entering Mexico in a few months time.

Actually, the infiltrators have been arriving in the grain bags of giant agribusiness companies for the last several years. Unwitting consumers buy GMO masa and innocent farmers plant seeds from animal feed. And most campesinos haven’t a clue that what has been growing, and cultivated, for 8,000 years in this country, can be undone by biotechnology.

Here in San Miguel de Allende, there is a growing group of concerned citizens who want to undertake a local defense of the current and future food supply of San Miguel. It is very important that we get informed. Start by seeing The Future Of Food. If you would like to get involved in local efforts, there will be both information and discussion of our evolving efforts at the next screening, Saturday, July 26, 3–5pm at the Teatro Santa Ana, 50 pesos.

Meanwhile, you can check out ongoing efforts at www.theseedunderground.blogspot.com and www.vidaverdesma.wordpress.com.

Georgeann Johnson is a local San Miguel resident and concerned co-founder of Vida Verde citizen action group.

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