Our work

Research and conservation since 2001: the places where we work and the projects we run today.

CECARA

Our conservation work in different parts of the world

Tap each point to zoom in and see the projects and who took part.

    Today

    Current projects

    Chaco Eagle perched on a power line pole
    Central Argentina

    Power lines

    For ten years we have surveyed power lines in central Argentina to record the birds killed by electrocution and identify the poles that put them at risk.

    1,379poles surveyed
    See the project
    A pair of American Kestrels perched on a wire
    Central Argentina

    Birds of prey and agroecosystems

    We have studied the American Kestrel since the centre began. We follow its breeding with nest boxes installed in areas with different land uses. Today it starts breeding about fifteen days earlier than when monitoring began.

    15days earlier breeding
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    The Canal de la Patria cutting through the Chaco forest
    Gran Chaco · Santiago del Estero

    The Canal de la Patria

    A 250-kilometre open water canal cuts through the Chaco forest in Santiago del Estero. Animals that fall in cannot get out. In six surveys we recorded 207 drowned animals of 35 species.

    250km surveyed
    207animals
    35species
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    Two Chimango Caracaras perched on a street light
    Central Argentina · since 2008

    Birds of prey in urban areas

    The Chimango Caracara is the most common bird of prey in much of the country and one of the best at using environments modified by people. Since 2008 we have studied its ecology and behaviour in urban areas of central Argentina. In a colony in a neighbourhood near Santa Rosa, with 80 to 90 nests per season, we found that its breeding depends on the distance between nests and not on human presence. We were also the first to describe how the male and female share chick-rearing.

    80–90nests per season
    2008monitoring began
    See publications
    La Pampa

    Escape ramps in Australian tanks

    We estimate that about 250,000 birds drown each year in La Pampa's Australian tanks (the open-top water tanks used for livestock). The species recorded include the Chaco Eagle and the Yellow Cardinal, both endangered. Escape ramps let them climb out of the water: we tested their effectiveness in the field and have already installed more than 300 with farmers in the region.

    See the project
    Two Southern Crested Caracaras feeding on a carcass, recorded by a camera trap
    Semi-arid central Argentina

    Scavengers and ecosystem services

    Scavengers remove dead animals from the environment: they recycle nutrients and help control disease. It is one of the least studied ecosystem functions. With camera traps we record which species feed on cow and sheep carcasses in La Pampa. We identified ten, including the Southern Crested Caracara, the Pampas Fox and two species of vultures. Fewer scavengers reach croplands than natural areas.

    31carcasses monitored
    10scavenger species
    See publications