By Carlos Carrillo
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – On the northern flank of the bustling hubbub of Mexico City, white American pelicans paddle on the waters of a lake after traveling thousands of miles from the United States and Canada to escape the bite of a northern winter.
Part of migratory flocks that come to Mexico every year to feed and rest, the pelicans began stopping at the lake at Bosque San Juan de Aragon after the city and scientists a decade ago began creating nearby wetlands to revive the local environment.
“These spaces were lost, and now the mission is to recover some of them so we can enjoy all the diversity of birds,” said Miriam Vargas, head of wild fauna at the sunlit forest lake.
Some 65 of the pelicans have arrived to gather strength among other birds at the lake and wetlands, a number experts expect to swell to around 400 by early next year.
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, as the 15-kg (35-pound) pelican is classified, is one of the biggest birds on the continent. Boasting a wingspan of up to 3 meters (10 feet), the yellow-beaked bird is famous for the teamwork it deploys to catch fish.
Growing out of a initiative between the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the Mexico City government to clean up local water supply by creating a wetland in 2010, the cleaned up water refuge was designed to attract wild life.
A second wetland followed in 2020.
The Bosque San Juan de Aragon lake is hailed by authorities in the megalopolis as a success story in efforts to contain the march of pollution into natural habitats brought on by urbanization and growth in the human population.
To visitors, it is a reminder that Mexico City has more to offer than building sites and traffic jams.
“It’s a place in the city where we can see this kind of migration,” said engineer Luis Bautista, who was visiting the forest with his daughter. “In a city where perhaps you would think you’d only see it in other environments.”
(Reporting by Carlos Carrillo; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Dave Graham and William Mallard)
