Birds from the Mississippi and the east coast of the United States migrate to our country. According to the prominent researcher Giraldo Alayón, member of the Ariguanabo Foundation, hundreds of millions of birds move around the planet every year, migrating from their breeding sites to distant regions in response to the Earth's seasons. Of the nearly 10,000 species of birds described by science, half of them travel through different places, crossing oceans, mountain ranges, lakes, rivers and human settlements, many of them travel thousands of kilometers.
The longest route is made by the Arctic seagull, from the islands to the extreme north of Canada, to the islands of the Antarctic continent. One of these routes crosses over the territory of Ariguanabo, the so-called ''Sub-corridor of Santa Fe''; birds from the Mississippi and the east coast of the United States penetrate our province mostly along that coast and its surroundings.
The zoologist stated: ''The reasons why birds have selected this region are: the existence, to the south, of the disappeared Laguna Ariguanabo (a resting place, a winter residence and a food source for many of these birds); in addition, the ecological sub-system that formed with the forest of the banks of the Ariguanabo river.''
Since the early 1970s, several dams located in the northeast and northwest of the former lagoon have housed part of this migratory fauna. To the west, we have the Meseta de Anafe and the foothills of the Sierra del Rosario that shelter many of the birds typical of wooded areas.
Alayón emphasized that these migratory birds, together with the resident species, play a fundamental ecological role in the ecosystems they visit, both natural and man-made (agro-ecosystems), mainly the species that feed on insects; in our municipality there are about 23, many of them stay in our territory (7-9 months). In this area, poaching and illegal hunting (Cuban environmental laws prohibit it) of some of these migratory and resident species has intensified in recent years.
During the migration period (October-November), between the Guajaibón River and Santa Fe, hundreds of ''bird hunters'' place their trap cages and lately Japanese fog nets (used by biologists for their studies on birds and bats) -a special license is required for its use-, in order to capture the largest number of birds.
Nature works as a whole and, not altering the cycle is the responsibility of human beings. Let us be consistent and responsible protecting the fauna that fulfills its mission for the sake of the environment. We have no right to make birds live in captivity, people who engage in this illegal practice become predators.
