Projects

The Sonoran Joint Venture supports bird conservation in a number of different ways. One of our primary methods of support is our annual Awards Program. Since 2001, the SJV has provided more than $1.3 million dollars in funds through this competitive program to over twenty organizations from the U.S. and Mexico.

The SJV also awards discretionary funds that are used to support partners involved in ongoing projects identified as top priorities for the SJV, including monitoring and surveys of bird populations and education and outreach projects and opportunities.

Click on a link below or use the search box to view project details from different years, read reports, and find contact information.

2020

• Fostering Actions for Waterbird Habitat Conservation in Sonora, Mexico
• Using Motus Stations to Conserve Endangered Shorebirds at Priority Wetlands of northwest Mexico
• Wetland Habitat Protection and Coordinated Waterbird Monitoring on Indigenous Lands
• Population Status and Marine Key Areas for Seabirds at Isla San Pedro Mártir
• Habitat Enhancement for Protected Montezuma Quail Populations

2019

• Population Status of American Oystercatcher in Sinaloa, Mexico
• Chestnut-collared Longspur Winter Habitat Land Management
• Habitat Enhancement for Montezuma Quail in Arizona
• Conservation of the Bendire’s Thrasher in Sonora, Mexico
• Long-term Monitoring of Priority Waterbird Species and their Critical Habitats in the Estuaries and Islands of the Eastern Midriff Region of Sonora

2018

• Nest Monitoring and Spotlight Surveys of Scripps’s Murrelet in Channel Islands National Park, California
• Long-term Monitoring of Priority Waterbird Species and their Critical Habitats in the Estuaries and Islands of the Eastern Midriff Region of the Gulf of California, Sonora, Mexico
• Island Biosecurity Protocol for Natividad Island, Mexico
• Binational Monitoring of Long-billed Curlews in the Mexicali Valley and northern Gulf of California, Mexico
• Refinement of Important Bird Areas in the Colorado and Mojave Deserts, California
• Spatial Prioritization for Endangered Yuma Ridgway’s Rail Habitat on the Gila River in Maricopa County, Arizona
• Surveys and Preparation of a Conservation Plan for the Endangered Tricolored Blackbird in Mexico

2017

• Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo Survey Training Workshop in Sonora, Mexico
• Long-term Monitoring of Waterbird Priority Species and their Critical Habitats of the Estuaries and Islands of the Eastern Midriff Region of the Gulf of California, Sonora, Mexico
• Neotropical migrant bird use of mangroves in southern Sonora
• Abundance and habitat of vulnerable cavity-nesting birds in Reserva Monte Mojino, southeastern Sonora
• Surveys to locate populations of the Sierra Madre sparrow in southern Durango
• Sustainable Tourism and Community-Monitoring Projects in San Quintín Bay, Baja California
• Nest monitoring and spotlight surveys of Scripps’s Murrelet in Channel Islands National Park, California

2016

• Long-term Monitoring of Waterbird Priority Species and their Critical Habitats of the Estuaries and Islands of the Eastern Midriff Region of the Gulf of California, Sonora, Mexico
• Citizen Science in the Mojave Desert: Thrasher surveys and eBird Avicaching
• Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo Survey Training Workshop in Sonora, Mexico

2015

• Enabling Bilingual Access to the Southwest Node of the Avian Knowledge Network
• Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo Survey Training Workshop in Sonora, Mexico
• Long-term Monitoring of Waterbird Priority Species and their Critical Habitats of the Estuaries and Islands of the Eastern Midriff Region of the Gulf of California, Sonora, Mexico
• Coordinated Waterbird Monitoring in Coastal Wetlands of Northwest Mexico
• Conservation of Belding’s Yellowthroat in Two Oases in the Cabo Region of Baja California Sur

2014

• Long-term Waterbird Monitoring of Critical Habitat and Priority Species of the Estuaries and Islands of the Eastern Midriff Island Region of Sonora, Mexico
• Developing and Sharing Avian Data to Guide Conservation Efforts in the Sierra de Alamos

2013

• Coordinated Bird Monitoring in Arizona: implementing surveys for Sonoran Desert associated species in the Arid Borderlands and Mexican Highlands regions of Arizona
• Conservation Action Plan for the San Jacinto Valley Important Bird Area: Balancing wildlife, agriculture, and communities in the heart of Riverside County
• Increased Shorebird Monitoring and Training in southern Sonora, Mexico
• Breeding phenology and reproductive success of the Rufous-winged Sparrow in the Sonoran Desert as indicators of climate change in northwestern Mexico
• Marsh Bird Survey Training Workshop
• Long-term Waterbird Monitoring of Critical Habitat and Priority Species of the Estuaries and Islands of the Eastern Midriff Island Region of Sonora, Mexico
• Grassland Birds Best Management Practices Pocket Guide

2012

• Restoring hummingbird nectar plants to improve pollination services
• Intensive bird and habitat monitoring in the Santuario Tortuguero Playa Ceuta Natural Protected Area and Sistema Lagunar Ceuta Ramsar Site
• Workshop to form hypotheses and develop protocols for examining probable causes of population declines in shorebirds
• Coordinated Bird Monitoring in Arizona: implementing surveys for Sonoran Desert associated species in the Arid Borderlands and Mexican Highlands regions of Arizona
• Bird Inventory and Capacity Building in the Sonoran Sky Islands
• Distribution and Status Data for Breeding Birds in the Sky Islands and adjacent Sierra Madre Occidental of northwest Mexico
• Long-term Waterbird Monitoring of Critical Habitat and Priority Species of the Estuaries and Islands of the Eastern Midriff Island Region of Sonora, Mexico

2011

• Investigating the foraging dynamics of Van Rossem’s Gull-billed terns (Gelochelidon nilotica vanrossemi) with the use of radio telemetry and stable isotope analysis
• San Pedro River Riparian Raptors: inventory, distribution, abundance, habitat requirements, and breeding ecology
• Marshbird Survey Training Workshop
• Habitat conservation and bird monitoring in Laguna Figueroa, Baja California

2010

• Marshbird Survey Training Workshop
• Annual distribution, abundance, and reproductive status of Mexican Green Parakeet and other psittacids in the mountainous zone of Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa, Mexico
• Monitoring of seabirds in Bahía Santa Maria, Sinaloa: population size, breeding habitat, reproductive success, and diet
• Community-based conservation of the birds of the Oasis de la Sierra del Mechudo, Baja California Sur
• A first assessment of the Red Knot population wintering in Golfo de Santa Clara, Alto Golfo de California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
• Waterbird monitoring in estuaries of the Hermosillo coast and on the Sonoran midriff islands
• Sierra Madre Sparrow conservation study
• Restoration of an important breeding site for threatened shorebirds in a coastal wetland of Sinaloa

2009

• Mexican seabird colony catalog and monitoring database
• Shorebird monitoring (with emphasis on Marbled Godwit, Red Knot, and Short-billed Dowitcher) in the Guerrero Negro Lagunar Complex, Baja California Sur
• Monitoring and an international monitoring Training workshop for Le Conte’s Thrasher on the U.S. Air Force Barry M. Goldwater Range-East, Arizona
• Studies and conservation of Tricolored Blackbirds in Southern California
• Community participation and ecosystem services as conservation tools that use birds as indicators of habitat value

2008

• Community outreach in La Purísima for bird conservation, Baja California Sur
• The 2009 Veracruz Model: An Innovative Approach of Training, Stewardship, and Capacity Building for Wetland Conservation in Mexico
• Wetlands education and outreach in Yuma, Arizona
• Community participation in shorebird monitoring (with emphasis on Marbled Godwit and Red Knot) in the Guerrero Negro Lagunar Complex, Baja California Sur
• Coordinated Bird Monitoring in Arizona: implementing surveys for riparian associated priority species in the Arid Borderlands and Mexican Highlands regions
• Monitoring of birds and outreach program in a coastal desert “Ejidal” Reserve, San José de Guaymas, Sonora
• Coastal sage scrub and grassland restoration and Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve
• Desert Grassland Conservation in Northern Mexico
• Stopover ecology and habitat requirements for molt-migrants in Sonora and northern Sinaloa, Mexico

2007

• Marshbird Survey Training Workshop
• Distribution, Abundance, and Reproductive Status of the Mexican Duck on the Sonoran and Sinaloan Coasts
• Public Participation for the Restoration of the Colorado River delta
• Monitoring Program for Wetland Birds in Northwestern Mexico
• Mangrove Restoration and Bird Monitoring at Estero La Cruz, Sonora
• South Mittry and Pratt Riparian Restoration
• Masked Bobwhite Monitoring in Known and Potential Habitat in Sonora, Mexico
• The 2008 Veracruz Model: An Innovative Approach of Training, Stewardship, and Capacity Building for Wetland Conservation in Mexico

2006

• Monitoring Masked Bobwhites in Known and Potential Habitat in Sonora, Mexico
• Montane forest birds in the Santa Catalina Mountains: monitoring population trends and reproductive success and examining potential limiting factors for breeding populations
• Distribution and abundance of birds of conservation interest and identification of important bird areas in Sonora, Mexico
• Monitoring population and nesting success of Yellow-billed Cuckoos on the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area
• Public Involvement and Education in the Colorado River Delta
• Partners In Flight Desert Bird Conservation Plan: Web-based Regional Focal Species Maps for the Mojave and Colorado Deserts
• Developing skill and partnerships needed to monitor over-wintering Rufous Hummingbird populations and other North American hummingbirds in Sinaloa, Mexico
• Rio Sonoyta Bird Monitoring and Community Outreach Project
• Best Practices in Wetland Education: Regional training for conservation biologists and managers in the SJV Region

2005

• Investigating the effects of re-introduced beaver on avian community dynamics along the San Pedro River, Arizona
• Habitat requirements for successful nesting of hummingbird species in the Madrean Pine-Oak woodlands of southeastern Arizona
• Montane forest birds in the Santa Catalina mountains
• The 2006 Veracruz Model: an innovative approach to training, stewardship, and capacity building for wetland conservation in Mexico
• Use of restored riparian habitat in the Colorado River delta in the overwintering period
• Public Involvement and Education Program in the Gulf of California
• Land acquisition for the conservation of the Sierra de Alamos-Río Cuchujaqui forests

2004

• Bird migration patterns in the arid southwest
• Importance of Northwestern Mexico in the Conservation of Burrowing Owls
• Riparian and Madrean Pine-Oak Avian Monitoring at Habitat Restoration Sites, Villa Verde and Los Campitos, Sonora, Mexico
• Management plan to increase reproductive success of Endangered Snowy Plovers and Least Terns in Ceuta Bay, Mexico
• Community participation in bird conservation in Bahía de Los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico
• Implementation of the Bird Conservation Plan for the Colorado River Delta: outreach and monitoring
• Habitat enhancement for endangered rails at the Ciénega de Santa Clara, Sonora, Mexico
• Seri Indian community’s Proyecto Zilcaalc for migratory waterfowl habitat conservation at Mexico’s northernmost Pacific mangrove habitat
• Monitoring breeding colonies and post-breeding movements of terns and skimmers in coastal northwestern Mexico and southern California
• Pesticide effects on migratory landbirds of Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico
• Coastal sage scrub habitat restoration and avian monitoring

2003

• Marshbird Survey Training Workshop
• Expansion of the Little Greenhouse Project
• Effects of the Ryan Wildfire on wintering grassland birds and winter grassland structure and composition in southeastern Arizona
• Habitat protection of a long-term study site in the tropical deciduous forest of Sonora, Mexico
• Avian Monitoring in the Colorado River delta, Mexico
• Brochure printing and local guide training to enhance the quality of birding experience in the Santa Cruz and San Pedro Rivers
• Arizona’s Important Bird Areas Program: sites inventory component
• Arizona/Sonora bird migration monitoring network
• Mapping the Possible: Products of the Conservation Priorities Workshop of the Colorado River Delta
• Villa Verde restoration site monitoring, Sonora, Mexico
• The Desert Bird Conservation Plan
• Capacity Building for Avian Monitoring and Conservation in Baja, California, Mexico
• Yellow-billed Cuckoo habitat requirements and riparian habitat inventory of the Salt River Valley and the lower San Pedro River, Arizona, USA

2002

• American Eagle Research Institute: Yaqui River Bald Eagle Report
• IMADES: Developing and Implementing a Conservation Plan for Sonoran Riparian Habitats
• Pronatura: Assessment of the Distribution and Relative Abundance of Rails in the Coastal Wetlands of the Baja Peninsula and Sonora, Mexico
• Proyecto Corredor Colibrí: Riparian Restoration at Villa Verde, Sonora, Mexico
• Sonoran Institute: Survey and Catalog of Avian Species of the Santa Cruz River, Sonora, Mexico
• Sonoran Institute: Mapping Conservation Priorities in the Colorado River Delta: A State-of Knowledge Workshop
• Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory: Sonoran Bird Monitoring Project
• University of Arizona: Avian Monitoring on the Colorado River Delta

2001

• Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: Bilingual Pollinator Brochure
• City of Yuma: Yuma East Wetlands Restoration Project
• Ducks Unlimited: Whitewater Draw Wetlands Restoration Project
• Liberty Wildlife: Avian Electrocution Reduction Manual for Arizona and the Southwest Translation
• Pronatura: California Least Tern Monitoring and Protection
• Sonoran Institute: Santa Cruz River Avian Monitoring
• University of Arizona: Avian Monitoring in the Colorado River Delta
• University of Arizona: Peregrine Falcon Monitoring
• University of Arizona: Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl Habitat Assessment
• University of Arizona: Effects of Prescribed Fire on Yuma Clapper Rails and California Black Rails on the Lower Colorado River