Neotropical Birding » Conservation

The BirdLife Community

Jean Paul Perret — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:10:27 +0000

Have you visited the BirdLife Community site? Take a look at their almost daily updates about their conservation work around the globe! And yes, they are also in Facebook and Twitter, so please join and make this community even bigger.

First Birding Workshop in La Esperanza

Jean Paul Perret — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:17:41 +0000

I’m walking through the darkness toward the bottom of a valley covered with tropical montane forest, I have traveled over 700 miles to find one of the most mysterious birds in the world and I realize that I have left my flashlight at home, fortunately the light of the moon allows me to see everything clearly.

– We have never sought the “lechusita” in this forest, but maybe it is here – said Noga Shanee, director of the NGO Neotropical Primate Conservation.

Although I know that the odds of finding it in this forest are low (we are only 15 minutes from one town), my senses are alert to any sound or movement around me. We sit in the woods, amid the darkness and Noga plays the recording of Long-whiskered Owlet … silence.

The Workshop

We got up very early and the house is full of movement. Noga and her husband Sam, are responsible for setting up everything for the workshop.

– It’s a mystery how many people will come to the workshop, we put a notice on local radio and we got answers from people coming from very remote communities.

Pepe and I look at the final details of the PowerPoint presentation in my laptop. We are in La Esperanza, a small community at 6500 feet above sea level and a few miles from the Abra Patricia reserve created by the American Birding Conservation to protect one of the rarest birds in the world, the Long-whiskered Owlet. In Abra Patricia ECOAN and ABC built the Owlet Lodge where hundreds of bird watchers travel every year in search of this mythical bird. While birding at Abra Patricia is absolutely incredible (one of the best places in Peru), the fact is that less than 5 people may have seen Long-whiskered Owlet in that area. Then a year ago it was discovered that this owl is a “common” species in the forests of La Esperanza. The community decided to protect their forests to conserve not only the owl, but also the endemic Yellow-tailed Woolly-Monkey.

Pepe Orihuela, Neotropical Birding Tours guide, during the recent birding workshop in La Esperanza

Gradually the participants began to arrive. We have 16 people and we think it is time to start the workshop. Pepe welcomed all participants to the first training workshop for bird guides. One by one the participants present themselves and we realize that we have a very diverse audience – community leaders, university students, scholars, all united by an interest in birding. Time flies between slides about the shapes of beaks, flight patterns, songs, bird families, birding ethics and more.

All the attendees participate and enrich the workshop experience. We note that we came not to teach anything, they know their forest and their birds much better than us. I explained a little about the importance of mnemonics to remember the songs of birds and the leader of the Rondas Noe Rojas tells us about the Quien quien, a local name for the Green Jay that describes his song in Spanish very well.

Future birding guides testing their binoculars

In the afternoon we descend once again into the woods along the river… it is to put into practice all we learned in the workshop. All participants have binoculars we’ve managed to gather and some copies of the guide to Birds of Peru donated by the NGO CORBIDI. Some birds quickly began to appear. A pair of the endemic Speckle-chested Piculet explores the branches of an old cedar at close range while another endemic, the Peruvian Tyrannulet, announces his presence singing from a close tree. Below, a mixed flock consisting of Montane Woodcreper, Silvery Tanager, Streaked Xenops, Gray-mantled Wren, Rufous-crested Tanager and Barred Becard surround our group. We closed the day with a beautiful pair of Metallic-green Tanagers.

The next day we went again to the forest, this time Ronald Mego joined us. He is a young teenage guide who can claim to be the person in the world who has seen the Long-whiskered Owlet the most times in the world. Also with us is Deyner Fernandez from the community of Primavera, who had traveled seven hours to attend the workshop. He is one of the best birders here. This young teen has a unique ability to find the more secretive birds in the forest.

Searching birds inside the forest

Again we find a mixed species flock at a short distance from the community. The Tanagers as Flame-faced, Metallic-green, Blue-and-black, Beryl-spangled, Saffron-crowned and Silvery are the favorites of everyone for their rich colors. A few yards down by the river, an elusive Bar-winged Wood-wren allows us to hear his song as he explores the dense river vegetation.

Metallic-green Tanager | © Jean Paul Perret

Soon after arriving Ronald has to leave us; there is a group of bird watchers and he has to lead them on a 3 hour hike into the forest where the owlet lives. Later we learned that he managed to find an owlet in addition to four groups of Yellow-tailed Wooly-Monkeys, a group of the endemic Andean Night-Monkey and even an Ocellot.

We left La Esperanza (“The Hope” in English) very excited about what we have seen in recent days with the promise to return soon.

New Species of Antpitta from Colombia

Jean Paul Perret — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:55:41 +0000

UPDATE 6/25/2010: One month ago we published the description of this species in the middle of a controversy between ProAves and Mr. Caranton who discovered and collected the species. At that time we only had access to ProAves version since Mr Caranton had not yet published his description. Now we provide the other side of the story hopeing that our readers can draw their own conclusions.

A NEW SPECIES OF ANTPITTA (GRALLARIIDAE: GRALLARIA ) FROM THE NORTHERN SECTOR OF THE WESTERN ANDES OF COLOMBIA

The Price of Priority

———————————————————————————————————————-

ORIGINAL POST

A new species of bird for science has been discovered and named after a leading conservation family. The bird is named Fenwick’s Antpitta (Grallaria fenwickorum), after American Bird Conservancy (ABC) President George Fenwick and his family.

Fenwick’s Antpitta | © ProAves Colombia

The announcement was made after a comprehensive two-year study and review process following the bird’s discovery in 2008. The capture and evaluation process itself was remarkable in that it is one of the first times that a new species for science has been described from an individual captured, banded, measured, photographed, sampled for DNA, and then released alive back into the wild.

The bird that provided the so-called “holotype” for the description was captured in the Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve located on the Paramo del Sol massif in the western Andes of Colombia. The reserve is managed by Fundación ProAves. The 11,322 acre reserve, founded in 2005, is known for a stunning array of threatened birds, including the Critically Endangered Dusky Starfrontlet that was rediscovered in 2004 after being “lost” for over 50 years, and which provided the initial impetus for the Fenwick family’s support to establish the bird reserve.

Habitat | © ProAves Colombia

The new bird species inhabits a highly restricted area of montane cloud forest where dwarf bamboo thickets thrive on rich volcanic soils on the less-humid eastern-facing slopes; a habitat that has undergone extensive clearance for pasturelands in recent decades. The bird has been proposed as Critically Endangered under IUCN-World Conservation Union criteria, with a population described as extremely small and of great conservation concern, making it a priority for ABC.

Fenwick’s Antpitta is a medium-sized, cinnamon and gray colored, thrush-like bird, with a height of about seven inches, and a weight of only about two ounces. G. fenwickorum is considered probably most closely related to Brown-banded Antpitta G. milleri due to similarities in voice and biometrics and generally non-descript plumage. There are two described subspecies of G. milleri: G. m. milleri occurs 165 km southeast in the Central Andes, and the larger G. m. gilesi occurs 70 km east in the northern sector of the Central Andes. G. fenwickorum can be easily diagnosed from both taxa by the complete lack of a brown breast band (with the breast instead being uniform slate grey) and lighter brown dorsal plumage. Its vocalizations are also distinct.

Fenwick’s Antpitta | © ProAves Colombia

The song of Grallaria fenwickorum consists of three notes, progressively increasing in acoustic frequency and length, with the first note briefest and lowest, and the final note longest and highest. The song could be transcribed as: “tu, tuut, TUUET”. The song of G. milleri is similar to that of G. fenwickorum, also comprising three notes of progressively higher pitch and greater length. However, each note of the G. milleri song is diagnosably longer and higher pitched than the equivalent note in G. fenwickorum.

Read the complete description of the species here.

Photos: ProAves Colombia

Source: American Bird Conservancy and ProAves Colombia

Help Us to Conserve the Long-whiskered Owlet

Jean Paul Perret — Mon, 17 May 2010 02:20:03 +0000

Please help us conserve one of the most enigmatic owl species of the world, the Long-whiskered Owlet. This species was discovered in 1976 and since then has been observed in the wild only by a few people, perhaps less than 10 times. It is found only in the montane forests of northern Peru, an area that is threatened by the rapid development of agriculture and mining.

In an effort to preserve the Long-whiskered Owlet habitat, the local NGO ECOAN created a private reserve around Abra Patricia, an area that now is famous worldwide for birders. Many tourists visit Abra Patricia hoping to find this bird, but despite their efforts they usually never see it.

In 2009, the Israeli birder Shachar Alterman was able to find Long-whiskered Owlets living in a forest 30 km. from Abra Patricia, outside the protected area. This place has become the best (and only) place to observe this species. So far five groups of birdwatchers have visited the area and they all have observed the Owlet as well as two other rare and endemic species of birds; Rusty-Tinged Antpitta, Johnson’s Tody-Tyrant. Another very interesting species that can be observed in these forests includes the Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey, also in danger of extinction with a restricted range in northern Peru.

Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey | © Noga Shanee/NPC

Shachar Alterman was part of a group of enthusiastic conservationists from the Neotropical Primate Conservation. They are trying to protect the forest area through a partnership with the local community. The community has taken the first steps to have this area designated as a protected space by the national government. Their greatest hope is that ecotourism will help protect the forest and the species that inhabit it, including the Long-whiskered Owlet.

It takes approximately three and a half hours to reach this area through difficult terrain. But this hike is a small effort in comparison to the rewarding experience of seeing this rare species in its habitat.

How can you help?

Our company wants to support the efforts of the community, La Esperanza, by offering tours to this forest. This tour will include a short visit to the Florida/Pomacochas area where you can see another beautiful and endemic species including the Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird. You can also combine this trip with a longer visit to the area around Abra Patricia. For more details please see our information page. If you want to set a date for this tour or if you have questions please feel free to contact us.
Additionally, our company is evaluating a compensation scheme for carbon emissions for all tours available in Peru. Proceeds will go directly to Neotropical Primate Conservation (NPC) to support the conservation of these forests.
Neotropical Birding Tours will also make a donation to the NPC reforestation program to plant 50 trees for every tourist that take part in this tour.
If you can’t travel to the area, but want to contribute to the project, please consider making a donation directly to Neotropical Primate Conservation.

A photographic journey to Chaparrí

Jean Paul Perret — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:19:06 +0000

Our first trip of the year in northern Peru was a success! We spent a few days at the Private Conservation Area of Chaparrí taking pictures of birds and animals found in this beautiful forest.

Chaparrí is a reserve that protects 34 thousand hectares of dry forest in the Tumbesian Endemic Bird Area. The reserve covers an altitudinal range that goes from 150 m to 1350 m, which encompasses a great variety of habitats. This variety of habitats is correlated with the reserve’s great diversity of birds; over 200 species have been registered at Chaparrí and in its surrounding area, including more than 40 Tumbesian endemics. Among these bird species include some gems such as the Tumbes Tyrant and the reintroduced White-winged Guan. But Chaparrí is not only about birds, in these forests you can also found Spectacled bears, Pumas, White-tailed Deer and the Sechura Fox.

Spectacled Bear | © Jean Paul Perret

Sechura Fox | © Jean Paul Perret

One of the great opportunities of this trip was to see Chaparrí during the rainy season. As mentioned above, Chaparrí is located in a dry forest which means that from May to December most trees lose their leaves due to the lack of rain. Trees near the small creeks keep their leaves all year and became a refuge for birds and other animals. The rest of the year, from January to April, the forest changes its character entirely. With seasonal rains the trees regain their leaves. The air fills with the fresh sensation of the moist forest and the sweet smell of the Palo Santo tree (Bursera graveolens) and the birds begin their breeding season.

Landscape at Chaparrí | © Jean Paul Perret

We were lucky to spend a few days birding in this area, observing birds such as Long-billed Starthroat, Tumbes Hummingbird, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Collared Antshrike, Brown-chested Martin, Plumbeous-backed Trush, White-tailed Jay, Cinereous Finch (endemic), Tumbes Sparrow and, of course, the reintroduced and endangered White-winged Guan among others.

White-tailed Jay | © Jean Paul Perret

Our next trip to this area will include the Marañón Valley, home to many endemics, and the de Abra Patricia and Pomacochas area where you can catch a glimpse of mythic birds such as the Long-whiskered Owlet, the Marvelous Spatuletail Hummingbird and many other recently described species.

White-winged Guan | © Jean Paul Perret

Burrowing Owl | © Jean Paul Perret

Tropical Gnatcatcher | © Jean Paul Perret

Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant | © Jean Paul Perret

Tapaculo Mystery Solved

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:52:04 +0000

The Tapaculos (genus Scytalopus) is one of the most difficult to identify families of birds, mainly because of the similarity in appearance to others within the genus. However an important differentiating characteristic is their voice. In recent years many new species of Tapaculos have been described due to analyses of their song.

On February 9th, Dr. Niels Krabbe and Dr. Daniel Cadena from Fundación ProAves Colombia published in Zootaxa a revision to the Paramo Tapaculo. They identifed multiple taxa (three differentiated lineages), including a new subspecies – Scytalopus opacus androstictus – from southern Ecuador and northernmost Peru. The original “Paramo Tapaculo” has changed its name to "Paramillo Tapaculo" (Scytalopus canus) and is now only known from a highly restricted area of timberline vegetation on Paramo de Paramillo and Paramo del Sol. The subspecies Scytalopus canus opacus has been given species ranking and given the name Paramo Tapaculo (Scytalopus opacus) which occurs across the Northern Andes of Colombia (except the Western Cordillera), Ecuador and northernmost Peru.

Paramillo Tapaculo | ProAves Colombia

At present the Paramillo Tapaculo is only known from Páramo de Paramillo and Páramo de Frontino. It may occur elsewhere in the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia. The Paramillo Tapaculo is restricted to a narrow swath of treeline vegetation (scrub, stunted trees and Polylepis woodland) situated between montane forest and Páramo grasslands that is often just hundreds of meters wide. While locally common, the estimated area of suitable habitat within the known range of the Paramillo Tapaculo is 3 km² in total. Only 0.1 km² is effectively protected by the Fundación ProAves Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve.

According to ProAves Colombia, the Paramillo Tapaculo has not been assessed by IUCN. Given the estimated extent of occurrence and observed decline in the extent and quality of habitat, the Paramillo Tapaculo probably warrants IUCN Critically Endangered status with immediate efforts to assess its population and implement actions to assist its survival.

Listen to the song of the Paramillo Tapaculo:

Paramillo Tapaculo

For more songs follow the Xeno-Canto link

After 50 years, Andean Condors are spotted in Leymebamba

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:03:45 +0000

After 50 years of absence, the Andean Condor has started to regain lost ground in the mountains of Leymebamba in the Amazon region of Peru.

In the last months of 2009, residents of this area of cloud forest saw two pairs of Andean condors flying over the mountains. A juvenile was later found when, in trying to learn to fly, it broke a leg and was caught in the trees. Fortunately it was rescued by the researcher Adriana von Hagen who took care of the juvenile for three weeks until it completely recovered and was subsequently released.

Juvenile Andean Condor | Adriana von Hagen

The Forestry and Wildlife authority of the Amazonas, took the opportunity to raise awareness among local people, who have the mistaken belief that the carrion birds are to blame for the death and disappearance of their cattle and other animals.

The Andean Condors are associated with the popular Lake of the Condors which is in the vicinity of Leymebamba, where several years ago archaeologists uncovered hundreds of Chachapoyas mummies that are now part of an exhibition in the Leymebamba Museum.

The Marvelous Spatuletail

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:52:48 +0000

The Marvelous Spatuletail is a small hummingbird restricted to a tiny area inside the Uctubamba Valley in the Peruvian Andes. This small hummingbird is known from three areas (north and south-east of Leimebamba, the Chachapoyas area and Florida, on the shore of Lago Pomacochas). However, the only recent records are from Florida.

It lives at the edge of humid forest, secondary growth and in dense shrubbery. Its preferred food-plant is the red-flowered lily Alstroemeria (Bomarea) formosissima, but it has been observed feeding on at least five other species of flowering plant.

The breeding season is thought to run from late October to early May. Adult males (which are greatly outnumbered by females and immature males) gather at leks where they display to attract females.

Distribution Map

Map: Xeno-Canto

As this bird species is restricted to a small area of habitat, it is classified as an endangered species according to BirdLife. Fortunately, there are some conservation projects going on to help this situation. ECOAN, a Peruvian NGO, with the support of the American Bird Conservancy, is working to create a reserve for this hummingbird and to restore it’s natural habitat. Ecotourism could play an important role in the conservation of the Marvelous Spatuletail by giving an alternative income to the local population in such as way as to simultaneously support the preservation of the bird’s habitat.

Perhaps one of the most striking features of this species is the extremely long male raquet tail. Take a look into this video to see how the male use his tail to attract females.

Need more information? Read this fully detailed species account from the Threatened birds of the Americas.

Plate: John Gould (1849): A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-birds, plate 161.

The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act

Jean Paul Perret — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:13:44 +0000

The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000, establishes a matching grants program to fund projects that promote the conservation of migratory birds in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

The grants program began supporting projects in 2002, when it received its first appropriation in the amount of $3 million. Funding for the program was $4.5 million in 2008. At least 75 percent of the total funding available for grants each fiscal year is to be used to support projects outside the USA.

Between 2002 and 2008, the program supported 260 projects, coordinated by partners in 48 U.S. states/territories and 36 countries. More than $25.5 million from NMBCA grants have leveraged about $116.5 million in matching funds and $6.1 million in nonmatching funds. Projects involving land conservation have affected about 1.9 million acres of bird habitat.

There is a proposal to increase funding for this program, please support this initiative by sending a message to your Representative and Senators here.

Photo: Blackburnian Warbler, Credit: Michael under Creative Commons License 2.0

New Refuge to Protect Neotropical Birds in the Dominican Republic

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:22:52 +0000

Leonel Fernández, President of the Dominican Republic, has announced the creation of a new refuge “Reserva Biologica Loma Charco Azul” on the northwestern border of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park, a global biodiversity hotspot.

“With 30 endemic bird species, Hispaniola ranks high in global importance for bird conservation,” said Dr. George Wallace, American Bird Conservancy’s Vice President of Oceans and Islands. “With forests in Haiti virtually gone and an accelerated rate of forest loss in the Dominican Republic, many of these species face a bleak future—of the 30 species, 14 are ranked by IUCN as globally threatened. That’s why expanding land protected in the vicinity of Sierra de Bahoruco is so important and such a significant accomplishment.”

In addition, over 30 species of Neotropical migratory birds have been recorded there; they form an important component of the biodiversity during the northern winter, making up more than 50% of the bird life in some habitats, particularly pine forests.

The Bahoruco National Park is the most important remaining forested site for endemic birds in the Dominican Republic. The park is seriously threatened by slash and burn agriculture, hunting, the collection of birds for the pet trade, and potentially mining and unplanned tourism development.

This site, is the global stronghold for three endangered species—Bay-breasted Cuckoo, La Selle Thrush, and Hispaniolan Crossbill—and five more that are globally vulnerable—Hispaniolan Parrot, Hispaniolan Parakeet, Golden Swallow, Chat Tanager, and White-winged Warbler. Other endangered species such a Bicknell’s Thrush and the Black-capped Petrel are also present.

More information from American Bird Conservancy here.

Special thanks to Pedro Genaro Rodríguez for the Hispaniolan Parrot photo, con can see more photos in his website www.pedrogenaro.com