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News from Los Andes Reserve Christmas Bird Count 2008 July 2008 Christmas Bird Count 2007  |
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Birding in the cloud forest of Los Andes Reserve. |
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Azure-rumped Tanager (Tangara cabanisi) in the canopy of a strangler fig tree in the Los Andes cloud forest. |
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| Nest box with an emergent ornamental plume of an adult male Resplendent Quetzal, incubating the clutch. |
Birding at Los Andes Reserve.
Los Andes Reserve is part of a network of private nature reserves conserving
forests on the southern and eastern slope of Atitlán volcano. Cloud
forest at an elevation between 1,400 and 1,800 m (4,590-5,900 ft) is the keystone habitat
at Los Andes.
Heavy cloud forest on the Guatemalan Atlantic slope mountains is the core
habitat for Resplendent Quetzals in the country. Appropriate quetzal habitat
is less extensive along Guatemala's volcanic belt on the Pacific slope, but
Los Andes is a site where these birds are easily seen. Los Andes was the first
site in Central America designated as a nature reserve for the protection
of quetzals. Conservation efforts for this local quetzal population have been invested
since the end of the 1960ies (Bowes & Allen 1969, LaBastille et al. 1972,
LaBastille 1973, 1974, 1976, LaBastille & Pool 1978). The forest remained
untouched and nest boxes were provided to face an assumed lack of natural
nesting trunks. Quetzals need half rotten trunks to dig their nest holes,
where they lay their eggs. Some of the pairs have indeed nested in the artificial
boxes. Forest rangers are monitoring nesting and feeding sites. A hide near
a favorite fruit tree on the forest edge allows the observation of foraging
quetzals during certain months.
A population of Azure-rumped Tanagers was found at Los Andes in 2000 (M. Centeno
in Eisermann & Avendaño 2006). This species is endemic to the Pacific
slope mountains of Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico. Forest rangers identified
the tanager's favorite fruit trees where birdwatchers have a good chance to
see them. Other endemics of the northern Central American highlands observed
during a visit in April 2007 include Highland Guan, Blue-throated Motmot,
Green-throated Mountain-gem, and Bar-winged Oriole.
The cloud forest at Los Andes is accessible on an easy to walk loop trail
of about 2.5 km ranging in elevation from 1,400-1,700 m (4,590-5,580 ft). Overall, the forest along the trail
offers an interesting assemblage of lowland and highland bird species; e.g.
both wood-wrens, White-breasted and Gray-breasted were recorded during a short
visit in April 2007, as well as three species of motmots: Blue-crowned, Tody,
and Blue-throated Motmot.
We recorded 59 bird species along the cloud forest trail on 4 April
2007. Most abundant species were Common Bush-Tanager, Paltry Tyrannulet, Golden-crowned
Warbler, Brown-backed Solitaire, and Swainson's Thrush. Other species with
at least five recorded individuals were Spotted Wood-Quail, Highland Guan,
Collared Trogon, Rufous-and-White Wren, White-eared Ground-Sparrow, Wilson's
Warbler, Slate-throated Redstart, White-faced Quail-Dove, Emerald Toucanet,
Eye-ringed Flatbill, Barred Parakeet, Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, Resplendent
Quetzal, Blue-crowned Chlorophonia, Chestnut-capped Brushfinch, Elegant Euphonia,
Hooded Grosbeak, Spotted Nightingale-Thrush, Violet Sabrewing, and Gray-breasted
Wood-Wren. Most noteworthy record was a Barred Forest-Falcon, a rare species
on the Guatemalan Pacific slope and the first record for the Atitlán volcano.
Los Andes has trails among a mosaic of different plantations (coffee, tea, macadamia, quinine)
and forest fragments, ranging in elevation from 850 m to the edge of the cloud forest at 1400 m. During our visit in April 2007 we focused
on the upper area, where Rufous Sabrewing, Prevost's Ground-Sparrow, Western
Tanager, Pacific Parakeet, Bushy-crested Jay, Plain Wren, Yellow-winged Tanager,
Swainson's Thrush, and Cedar Waxwing were common.
How to get there and accommodation:
Los Andes Reserve is accessible on paved and dirt road via Santa Barbara.
All visits must be reserved in advance.
Please fill this reservation form and we will send you information on rates and space availability as soon as possible.
Or get in contact with Los Andes Reserve online at www.andescloudforest.org,
or call: (502) 2334-0333 or (502) 2334-0334 .
Accommodation and meals are provided at the family house, where four rooms
with private or semiprivate bathrooms are available.
When is the best time for a visit at Los Andes Reserve? Any time of year. The nesting season of quetzals ranges from March to June.
How do you support conservation
and development at Los Andes Reserve? As a private nature reserve Los
Andes must meet requirements of the national law of protected areas in an
autosustainable way. The tourism program provides not just additional income,
but helps also to develop environmental awareness among the local population.
A total of 55 families live at Los Andes. Local capacities are being developed,
which enables local families to take responsibilities in the tourism program,
e.g. transports by 4-WD vehicle to the edge of the cloud forest, preparing
meals, and guiding. This development diversifies income alternatives of local people and
strengthens the base to protect natural habitat on the long term.
