Autor: Admin Paul

ProAves and El Grupo Cerúleo have partnered with American Bird Conservancy to develop and published the Conservation Plan for the Cerulean Warbler on its Non-breeding Range in the journal Conservación Colombiana.

This comprehensive action plan details the current knowledge of the species to produce a blueprint that addresses the challenging issues involved in collaborative conservation of a species whose range spans many geographic and political boundaries.

Dowload the complete conservation plan in pdf

“This wonderful partnership will ultimately lead to more effective conservation efforts for a bird in real trouble. ABC and Fundación ProAves already have multiple projects underway that will benefit the Cerulean Warbler, and this new Conservation Plan will accelerate and guide these important efforts,” said George Fenwick, President of ABC.

One innovative project initiated by ABC and its partner Fundación ProAves has been the establishment of a pilot project in Colombia to demonstrate the potential for shade coffee and cacao plantings to provide habitat for Cerulean Warblers. The project works with private land owners and encourages them to maintain their lands as habitat for the warblers and other migrant and native species. The Conservation Plan for the Cerulean Warbler on its Non-breeding Range indicates many opportunities for similar conservation actions that can carried out for the conservation of the species.

“We hope that, by identifying the threats to this bird and implementing mitigation strategies, we can help save one of the most spectacular migratory birds in the Americas,” said David Caro, Executive Director of Fundación. “This plan will not only assist and guide efforts by individuals, institutions and groups on behalf of the Cerulean Warbler, it will also benefit many other resident and migratory birds.”.

The Cerulean Warbler population is one fifth of what it was 40 years ago. It is our fastest declining neotropical migrant songbird and is one of the most threatened migratory birds in the Americas and considered Vulnerable under IUCN-World Conservation Union criteria. The species nests in deciduous forests in North America and inhabits montane forests and associated agroforestry systems in northern South America during non-breeding seasons. Few studies have been undertaken on the Cerulean Warbler’s non-breeding grounds, but there have been significant recent advances in the knowledge about the species’ geographical distribution, survival, and ecology, supported in part by ABC, the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act of USFWS, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the USDA Forest Service, and others.

The Cerulean’s population decline has been attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation across its entire geographical range. The clearing of forests for agriculture and cattle pasture and conversion of traditional shade-grown coffee plantations to sun coffee plantations are among the main threats in the non-breeding range.

The main goals of the partners are to use diverse economic and ecological tools such as certification and economic incentives to reduce the loss of shade-grown coffee farms, to promote a protected areas network using the warbler as an umbrella species, and to restore and enhance habitats.

Los principales objetivos de los socios son usar diversos instrumentos económicos y ecológicos, tales como la certificación y los incentivos económicos para reducir la pérdida de cafetales con sombrío, promover una red de áreas protegidas usando la Reinita Cerúlea como una especie emblemática y de esta forma restaurar y ampliar sus hábitats.

American Bird Conservancy (www.abcbirds.org) conserves native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas by safeguarding the rarest species, conserving and restoring habitats, and reducing threats while building capacity of the bird conservation movement. ABC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization that is consistently awarded a top, four-star rating by the independent group, Charity Navigator.

ProAves (www.proaves.org) protects wild birds and their habitats in Colombia through investigation, directed conservation actions in collaboration with local communities.

El Grupo Cerúleo (www.grupoceruleo.org) is an international group of scientists dedicated to the study and conservation of the Cerulean Warbler.

Dowload the complete conservation plan in pdf.

With the support of:

Friday 8 October 2010.

The El Pangan Bird Reserve located in the municipality of Barbacoas, Nariño, is the most important protected area in the foothills of the Choco Hotspot. Over 20.000 acres of exceptionally diverse rainforests protect countless endemic and threatened species.

Unfortunately a major EcoPetrol oil pipeline flows beside the reserve on route from the Colombian Amazon to the Pacific coastal port of Tumaco. At particular points along the pipeline, especially in El Barro, Mirador de tajadas, Junín y la Guarapería, all close to the reserve, people have established illegal fuel extraction and trafficking sites.

Using crude facilities in the forest, the oil is processed to gasoline and sold to coca growers to process coca leaves into cocaine paste. Gasoline is much more expensive in Colombia than in the USA, so the profits are great and the problem is growing!

The environmental impact of this problem is growing fast, especially as side products from the rudimentary oil refining process in “kitchens” are released directly into streams and rivers.

Traps to prevent the flow of oil.

Faced with his situation Ecopetrol and ProAves have joined forces for the recovery of several areas that have been damaged by oil spills. Ecopetrol has sealed off a number of points used for the extraction of oil, while going forward with recovery processes and impact mitigation in areas where leaks are found.

Among the measures mentioned are the installation of river traps that allow the passage of water, stopping the passage of oil and making it easier to collect and the affected land is treated with lime, which helps to partially recover the contaminated soil and vegetation.

Ecopetrol treated areas with lime to neutralize the oil.

It is important to emphasize the importance of creating, building and strengthening strategic alliances with organizations and the community, who with their commitment contribute to stopping the oil theft and the recovery of environment. Many people in the communities of El Barro, Mirador de Tajadas, Junín y la Guarapería have helped locate spills and acted promptly to mitigate further environmental impacts.

Tuesday 23 December 2008.

Despite 2008 being “The year of the frog”, there has been little to celebrate with news on the worsening plight of amphibians – an important indicator for the environment. As the year draws to a close, ProAves is proud to launch the world’s first amphibian reserve, the Ranita Dorada Amphibian Reserve, to protect a unique forest for amphibians in the Cordillera Central of Colombia.

Swainson’s Poison Frog Ranitomeya doriswainsonae, described in 2006,and Little Golden Poison Frog Ranitomeya tolimense, described in 2007.

Responding to an emergency situation for two extremely endangered Poison-dart frogs, this exciting new initiative for amphibian conservation is born from a partnership between the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group, IUCN Netherlands, Dendrobatidae Nederland, Conservation International, and Fundación ProAves, plus the support of Conservation International-Colombia and the Netherlands Postcode Lottery.

The new reserve encompasses an isolated wet subtropical forest fragment in a region dominated by coffee and pasturelands in the municipality of Falan, department of Tolima. The forest fragment was being cleared for agricultural uses in a region devoid of subtropical forest. The new reserve is the sole home to a large diversity of endangered amphibians, including two spectacular Poison-dart frogs; Swainson’s Poison Frog (Ranitomeya doriswainsonae), and the Little Golden Poison Frog (Ranitomeya tolimense) as well as other amphibian new to science and as yet undescribed.

This action comes at a crucial moment when conservation measures are urgently needed for this highly sensitive group. Amphibian’s dependence on clean freshwater and sensitivity to deforestation and climate change gives added urgency that we take greater care of them as our own health and survival depends on the same resources. We hope that heralding this new innovative conservation action – the world’s first Amphibian Reserve – will encourage others worldwide to help protect this group.

Thursday 26 November 2009.

The Dutch DN Magazine, specialized in the publication of Poison-dart frog news published an extensive article and video of the ProAves Ranita Dorada Amphibian Nature Reserve.

Dendrobatidae Nederland is an international association established and conformed by lovers of poison-dart frogs (Dendrobatidae), Mantella and other frogs. The main objective is to promote an appreciation of tropical forests of Latin America and Madagascar to promote the protection of frogs in their natural habitat and distribute as much information as possible regarding Dendrobatidaes and other tropical frogs. Currently, this entity supports conservation processes on the ProAves Ranita Dorada Amphibian Nature Reserve.

The association was established 20 year ago in 1989 to meet the growing interest in especially poisonous frogs and has over 1100 members worldwide.

Dendrobatidae Nederland publishes DN Magazine four times a year. It’s a magazine in full color directed not only at experts but at everyone who cares about nature and wants to know more about poison-dart frogs.

http://www.gifkikkerportaal.nl/

Ranita Dorada Amphibian Reserve, is the first amphibian reserve ever established and protects a unique forest for amphibians in the Cordillera Central of Colombia.

The Reserve encompasses an isolated wet subtropical forest fragment in a region dominated by coffee and pasturelands in the municipality of Falan, department of Tolima. The forest fragment was being cleared for agricultural uses in a region devoid of subtropical forest. The Reserve is the sole home to a large diversity of endangered amphibians, including two spectacular frogs; Swainson’s Poison-dart Frog (Ranitomeya doriswainsonae), and the Little Golden Poison-dart Frog (Ranitomeya tolimense) as well as other amphibian new to science and as yet undescribed.

Ranita Dorada Amphibian Reserve

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Thursday 1 July 2010.

The rich biodiversity of the country is situated among the first in biodiversity in the world, occupying first place in birds and amphibians and the second in flora and butterflies.

Unfortunately for Colombia, its diversity has been the target of illegal trafficking of wildlife, after drugs and the trafficking of arms; it is one of the most profitable economic activities and greatly harms wildlife populations, whereas at present nearly 2000 species of fauna are in danger of extinction. In Colombia, the illegal wildlife trafficking affects 234 species of birds, 76 mammals, 27 reptiles and 9 amphibians (www.minambiente.gov.co), ranking second in the trafficking of species globally (www.caracol.com.co).  

Illegal trafficking is like a pyramid, starting with the peasants or indigenous people who are responsible for removing species from their natural habitat, and forwarding them to an intermediary who carries them away and negotiates either within our country or makes contact with international traffickers who are ultimately responsible for making the sale abroad.

The situation is more critical because the people who traffic in biological species do not use techniques to ensure the welfare of animals, as reflected in forfeiture cases, where animals are malnourished, drugged, frozen, with fractures and in general with the consequences that imply illegal transport in the most unimaginable ways: engines, bags, tires, shoes, cylinders, etc., causing between 50 and 80% of these species to die in the long and painful journey.

As stated above, the picture you have is the following, there is a wildlife extraction pressure, product of the demand from individuals and/or products to address illegal trade both nationally and internationally, a situation aggravated when one considers the amount of animals to be removed to comply with this demand under the conditions described above, becoming another cause of extinction of species.

Recently the report of the unauthorized removal of the poison dart frog (Oophaga histrionicus) in the El Pangan Bird Reserve was presented, a protected area located on the western side of the Cordillera Occidental in the foothills in the municipality of Barbacoas, Nariño, an area rich in endemic species which is being the focus of the unscrupulous wildlife traders. The particular case of extraction of amphibians belonging to the family Dendrobatidae, is motivated not only by the showy skin of their species but also for the medicinal properties of substances in their skin. In the case of the poison dart frog (Oophaga histrionicus) it is an alkaloid known to secrete spirocyclic piperidine the Histrionicotoxin, which blocks the neuromuscular transmission, and has been investigated for the manufacture of medicines. Advances in knowledge about its application in the treatment of Alzheimer’s, Down syndrome and myasthenia gravis are being made; however, it is also required as a pet by collectors of species of foreign origin.

It is necessary that we become aware of the damage being done to ecosystems supporting illegal trafficking of species; this behavior is not only depleting one of the global heritages of mankind, but the most important asset that the country has. They must begin to think and understand that wild animals cannot live in captivity, they are not conditioned to do so, and they need their space, their food and to interact with individuals of the same species. Thus many of us believe that we still have time to stop this illegal market which has long-term irreversible and incalculable effects in terms of loss of our biodiversity.

Come & visit the Reserva de Anfibios Ranita Dorada

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Friday 9 July 2010.

The great variety of exotic and rare frogs that exist in Colombia has attracted illegal fauna traffickers from Europe, coordinated by Mr. Daniele Buonvolere, a German living in the city of Cologne.

From direct and confidential informant in Germany, ProAves has been informed that a sophisticated network of illegal and unscrupulous collectors are planning to visit Colombia and illegally collect and export the rarest frogs found only in Colombia. Many are new species or recently discovered morphs that do not exist outside of Colombia.

Orders and money are being exchanged to collect the rarest species in the wild and illegally export them through the mailing system. Specifically we have learnt that the blue morph of the Harlequin Poison Frog Oophaga histrionicus in Narino are being targeted.

From the information we were provided with, we know that the trade in these species is coordinated by Mr. Daniele Buonvolere, a German living in the city of Cologne, who is known to engage in this deplorable practice.

Fundación ProAves has directly alerted officials in the Ministerio de Ambiente Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial, Corporación Autónoma Regional de Nariño CORPONARIÑO and DAS (immigration agents) to alert the authorities to prevent the illegal capture of fauna.

Agencies in Europe and Germany have also been informed to be in close surveillance of Daniele Buonvolere and three other individuals of European origin.

We hope to curb the illegal trafficking of wildlife and to increase checks at airports, and call on communities to be vigilant in protecting our natural wealth.

Friday 9 July 2010.

The great variety of exotic and rare frogs that exist in Colombia has attracted illegal fauna traffickers from Europe, coordinated by Mr. Daniele Buonvolere, a German living in the city of Cologne.

From direct and confidential informant in Germany, ProAves has been informed that a sophisticated network of illegal and unscrupulous collectors are planning to visit Colombia and illegally collect and export the rarest frogs found only in Colombia. Many are new species or recently discovered morphs that do not exist outside of Colombia.

Orders and money are being exchanged to collect the rarest species in the wild and illegally export them through the mailing system. Specifically we have learnt that the blue morph of the Harlequin Poison Frog Oophaga histrionicus in Narino are being targeted.

From the information we were provided with, we know that the trade in these species is coordinated by Mr. Daniele Buonvolere, a German living in the city of Cologne, who is known to engage in this deplorable practice.

Fundación ProAves has directly alerted officials in the Ministerio de Ambiente Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial, Corporación Autónoma Regional de Nariño CORPONARIÑO and DAS (immigration agents) to alert the authorities to prevent the illegal capture of fauna.

Agencies in Europe and Germany have also been informed to be in close surveillance of Daniele Buonvolere and three other individuals of European origin.

We hope to curb the illegal trafficking of wildlife and to increase checks at airports, and call on communities to be vigilant in protecting our natural wealth.

Thursday 15 July 2010.

ProAves, with the support of important partners such as Conservation International, Nationale Postcode Loterij, Dendrobatidae Nederland and IUCN ASG Amphibian Specialist Group, has acquired the commitment of restoring the habitat of the golden frog.

Swainson’s poison frog (Ranitomeya doriswainsonae) and golden frog (Ranitomeya tolimensis).

During the last decades, the transformation of native forests to pasture has become the main factor threatening endangered species such as the Little Golden Frog (Ranitomeya tolimensis) and Swainson’s Poison Frog (Ranitomeya doriswainsonae), there was no knowledge of these species until recently in this area of the country.

After six months of hard work implementing two nurseries with a capacity of 15,000 seedlings, seed collection in the relic forest inhabited by the species and planting of trees, we have initiated the recovery of these areas and taken the first steps to ensure the protection to perpetuity of this endemic and recently discovered amphibian in the Ranita Dorada Amphibian Reserve in Tolima. Besides this, ProAves has promoted the natural regeneration of the forest surrounding areas, contributing the changes in the vegetation cover within the protected area in approximately 40%.

Areas with evidence of natural recovery.

Reforested areas.

Main activities of reforestation.

With the support of:

Monday 16 February 2009.

With the support of American Bird Conservancy, IUCN Netherlands/SPN, Netherlands Postcode Lottery and ProAves has established a 1,500 acre nature reserve, which is the first private protected area for the critically endangered and endemic Fuertes’s Parrot.

The species, whose population size is estimated at just 160 individuals, is restricted to a small area in the Cordillera Central of Colombia and is heavily impacted by deforestation. It was rediscovered by Fundación ProAves’ President Alonso Quevedo who found a flock of 14 Fuertes’s Parrots and confirmed the survival of a species that had last been seen in 1911, thanks to support from Fundación Loro Parque.

The reserve in Quindío department is characterized by a spectacular landscape of montane forests and páramo, and is situated in the core of the species population – an area recognized as crucial for the species by the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE). It consolidates a zone of more than 5,000 acres with municipality of Génova land that ProAves manages. A strategic high elevation forest corridor is established to assist the Fuertes’s Parrot survival. The area is also extremely important for the Golden-plumed Parakeet (Vulnerable), and Rufous-fronted Parakeet (endemic, EN).

Reserve is situated in the western flank of the Central Cordillera, one hour from the town of Génova between the elevations 2,277-3,908 meters. Temperatures vary from 6° to 15° C and the area is often shrouded in dense cloud which promotes epiphytes that Fuertes’s Parrot feeds  Adopt a nest box   fundacion@proaves.org

With the support of:

Monday 9 August 2010.

For 91 years, the Indigo-winged parrot (Hapalopsittaca Fuertesi) was thought extinct, and then in 2002, the ProAves team rediscovered a colony of 60 individuals of these birds in an area of cloud forest in the central Andes of our country.

(Hapalopsittaca fuertesi)

ProAves with the support of Fundación Loro Parque, Robert Giles, ABC, WLT-US and IUCN-Netherlands can still herald a critical success for this unique and fragile habitat and its threatened biodiversity.

In May of this year, after months of negotiations, we helped acquire and protect the 368-acre (149 hectare) fragment of cloud forest that contains a vital population of the remarkable Fuertes’ Parrot.

The main population of this parrot (approximately 30-40 pairs) was protected by ProAves within the 16,000-acre Parrot Corridor established in 2009. But the grave threat posed by mining activities spurred our support to protect this additional group of 5-10 breeding pairs.

Since its rediscovery, and thanks to strenuous conservation efforts, the total population of Fuertes’ Parrots has grown from 60 individuals to an estimated 150-200 birds. An extremely specialized species, the Fuertes’s Parrot feeds on mistletoe and other fruits. It cannot survive in captivity.

The new “Giles-Fuertesi Bird Reserve” is located two hours from the provincial capital of Tolima, Ibaque, and includes over 50 acres of pastureland that will be reforested by native trees while adjacent pasturelands will be fenced so that cattle cannot enter the forests and eat tree seedlings. Artificial nest-boxes will be installed to providing nesting sites for the Fuertes’s Parrot as many mature trees with natural cavities have been selectively logged for timber and firewood.

The property includes a traditional cabin for a reserve guard to be stationed to protect the reserve and allow researchers and visitors to be stationed. The reserve will be immediately registered for the national network of protected areas to ensure mining is prohibited. Other rare and endemic species found here include the endangered Mountain Wooly Tapir and the Spectacled Bear.

The Giles-Fuertesi Bird Reserve is located between 3,200 and 3,700 meters, with 149 has of highland and cloud forest with an average temperature of 11 degrees Celsius. Besides the Indigo-winged Parrot in the area you can observe other species of parrot like the Golden-plumed Parakeet (Leptosittaca Branicki) and the Rufous-fronted Parakeet (Bolborhynchus ferrugineifrons).

Artificial nests and cloud forest at the Giles-Fuertesi Bird Reserve.

The Giles-Fuertesi Bird Reserve has become a protected area in perpetuity for the conservation of the Indigo-winged parrot and the forests of the Central Cordillera and it will become the research center of the species, with the aim of expanding the knowledge of the natural history of this population, developing studies on habitat use, behavior and reproduction. In addition, the artificial nests program is being implemented. 20 artificial nests were placed in January 2010, in order to increase and stabilize the populations of parrots which are highly affected by the lack of natural nests in the area.

With the support of:

 

Monday 3 January 2011.

The site is located in el Cerro de la Paz, specifically in the municipalities of San Vicente, Zapatoca and Betulia (Santander); this a mountain system that is affected and threatened by intensive livestock activities developed in the buffer zone.

Activities such as hunting, subsistence and trapping, the opening of areas for crops such as cocoa, coffee, & to a lesser extent, of food crops, livestock and illicit crops have put great pressure on these forest fragments.

On the Cerro de la Paz 220 bird species have been registered, of which 15 are migratory species, 7 endemic, 9 near-endemic and 4 threatened, making the achievement of new lands for conservation and expansion of the protected area a priority.

Acquired area.

In recent reports from the CAS (Corporación Autónoma de Santander) it is estimated that the Santander forests are disappearing at the accelerated rate of 30 hectares a day, due to illegal timber trafficking, drug trafficking and agricultural sectors. In the past 10 years, 140 thousand hectares of forest were cleared and this trend will continue if nothing is done to done to stop the deforestation process.

For the above reasons and in addition to the inevitable current threats such as the damming of the river Sogamoso for the construction of a hydroelectric plant “Hidrosogamoso”, recent explorations for coal mining and oil drilling in nearby areas, making the region “a priority area for conservation.” The reserve includes areas of tropical moist forest life (Bh-T), average annual temperature of 27.8 ° C and a rainfall exceeding 2000 mm.

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Fotos tomadas con cámaras trampa en la Reserva Natural de las Aves Pauxi-pauxi.

PROJECTS TO DEVELOP

Easements: ProAves as primary tool has created this project to promote conservation in the area with the help of the community. 7 legal ecological easements have been created for this reserve, with legalized commitments set and covenanted not to cut trees and forests on their land, making reseeding (native seedlings from our nursery) and not to carry out activities that threaten nature.

Corridor conservation: in agreement with the management plan of the reserve, ProAves has launched a conservation project which has as its main task to connect the mountain forests Cerro de la Paz (Pauxi Pauxi Bird Reserve) with the mountains of Yariguíes (Reinita Cielo Azul Bird Reserve) to allow movement of species between the two formations, ensuring genetic exchange, the survival of birds, amphibians, mammals etc. It also develops methods of planting native trees in the corridor of approximately 10 kilometers long by 1 kilometer wide.

Environmental education: for the development of such projects, ProAves has held conferences, group discussions, visits, presentations to government and private entities, radio and television programs, festivals and parades, to make known to the community the importance of such projects and create local awareness to take a decisive attitude of support for the success of these programs.

Ecotourism: is one of the pillars of great interest to national and international communities interested in observing birds and their protection, regardless of the adverse features of the pathways leading to the reserve.

With this expansion project, ProAves ensures a better habitat winning a sheltered space to poor forestry practices that threaten the environment in the region.  

With the support of the following organizations:

Tuesday 24 November 2009.

In the last ten years, ProAves has had great achievements in conservation, research, and environmental education thanks to collaborative efforts with local communities. Our efforts are increasingly reflected in the changing attitudes within rural communities as the importance of protecting birds and wildlife are being recognized, especially the Yellow-eared parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis) (CR) and its habitat, the Quindio wax palm tree (Ceroxylon quindiuense). Local people have a stronger connection to their biodiversity and are proud of it.

One recent great achievement was having the Yellow-eared Parrot made the official bird of the Municipality of Jardin, Department of Antioquia, and having it included on their shield. Fundación ProAves proposed this to the town council and today it has been officially approved.

Previous.

Current.

During a town council meeting this year, various modifications were proposed for the shield, include the Yellow-eared Parrot to acknowledge its importance in the community; as well as replacing an orchid with a flower species endemic to the municipality, Pasiflora jardinensis; adding water between the Citara mountains; and making a new species of tree endemic to the area, Magnolia jardinensis, the official tree.

Thanks to the support of Loro Parque Fundacion, we can continue these activities and be one of the principal organizations working towards environmental conservation in the region.

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	Jardín (Antioquia).

Monday 21 January 2008.

There are many priority sites for conservation in the world, but there is a site international recognized by over 60 conservation organizations worldwide through the Alliance for Zero Extinction, which is the most important site in terms of extreme concentration of endemic and endangered bird and amphibian species. The NW mountain spur of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Northern Colombia looms above the Caribbean coastal cities of Santa Marta and Rodadero. While just 10-15 km from the cities, this small ridge contains a fragment of humid forest that is gravely threatened and under protected.

”For over 100 years, the San Lorenzo area has been explored by biologists to provide an extraordinary catalogue of endemic species restricted to the forest on the ridge,” said Alonso Quevedo, President of Fundación ProAves. “Today, we know that the San Lorenzo forest boosts the highest concentration of continental range-restricted bird species in the world, with 21 endemics such as the Santa Marta Parakeet (Pyrrhura viridicata) and Santa Marta Antpitta (Grallaria bangsi). In 2007, a new species of owl was discovered, and some of the over 50 endemic subspecies of birds were shown to warrant species status”.

Furthermore, amphibians, butterflies, plants, and other groups show exceptional levels of endemism. One example of this biodiversity is Atelopus nahumae, a frog that is critically endangered.

“The surviving forest fragment is a biodiversity oasis,” said George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy (ABC), “but it was at high risk of deforestation, vacation home developments, and an invasion of non-native pines into native broadleaf forests.”

Considering this situation, Fundación ProAves in Colombia launched a campaign to protect the area. With support from ABC, Conservation International (CI) and others, ProAves has acquired various properties to protect over 1700 acres of one of the world’s most unique living jewel, and named after the legendary city of gold, El Dorado for its phenomenal biological value. “And, with the support of CorpaMag,” said Alonso Quevedo, “ProAves is now replacing the aggressive pines with native trees of the Sierra Nevada and ensuring the finest water for cities on the coast.”

On January 18, 2008, ProAves, ABC, CI and others launched the El Dorado Reserve at the spectacular “Sierra Nevada EcoCentro”, a set of ecotourism facilities to help sustain the reserve, consisting of the spacious Jeniam Ecolodge and the Blue Moon restaurant.

El Dorado is located between 2900 and 8500 feet above sea level and situated in the midst of a stunning landscape of dense forests, with views to the tall peaks and glaciers of the Sierra Nevada and down to the Caribbean beaches and mangroves of Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta.

With the support of:

Tuesday 2 June 2009.

On 4 November 2007 EcoTurs guide Trevor Ellery first observed a Yellow-throated Warbler at El Dorado Bird Reserve.Unaware of the previous observation, Thomas Donegan observed presumably the same individual at the very same spot on 3 January 2009. Two observations of this Neotropical vagrant at the same locality sparked what may be one of the first examples of a “twitch” in Colombia (an activity where sometimes hundreds of birdwatchers will travel to a site to observe a very rare bird species).

Birding in El Dorado Bird Reserve.

News of the sighting was spread on the www.birdingcolombia.com website, by Ecoturs to groups visiting the reserve and by reserve staff to other visitors. Various bird tour groups and birdwatchers made a special effort to observe this rarespecies. For example, on 20 February 2009,photographs and a video were taken by Deb Hahn and Guy Foulks respectively on another tour guided by Trevor Ellery.

You can see the video of this rare bird at www.youtube.com

Friday 31 July 2009.

Thanks to the support of the American Bird Conservancy and Joan Hero, ProAves has manage to avoid in El Dorado Reserve one of the mayor issues presented in bird conservation around infrastructures with windows, which is the crash of birds against glass reflecting the landscape of their habitat. These crashes normally end up as injuries or death to the birds.

The window covers produced by the company www.lfdcollidescape.com, are auto adherent to the surface of the window. Thousand of small perforations allow light pass through the inside, reducing the reflection and transparency of the window, two factors involved in the reflection of the landscape and consequently cause the crash of birds against the windows.

Installation Process.

Nowadays we can announce with satisfaction that since the installation of these covers at the end of 2008, there has been no new coalition. This proves this technology is rather efficient. Additionally, the covers specially produced with bird images taken within the reserve are a visual complement to the environment.

If you wish to contribute with this and more conservation actions organized by ProAves, you can contribute with an on line donation, or contact us at fundacion@proaves.org or by calling (571) 245-5134.

Wednesday 4 November 2009.

In the El Dorado Natural Reserve one can find one of the highest concentrations of endemic bird species in the world.

One of the groups in the El Dorado Nature Reserve with the highest number of priority species for conservation, due to either their threatened status or their restricted distribution are plants. Up to 28 species have been registered, of which 21 are exclusive to the Sierra Nevada and 16 have been reported as threatened species.

Salvia de San Lorenzo – Arbusto Monochaetum magdalenense.

Colmenero (Paragynoxys undatifolia) – Paraguas (Gunnera tavrona) – Manzano de monte (Pouteria arguacoensium).

Some of the priority protected species of the El Dorado Nature Reserva are: the mountain apple (Pouteria arguacoensium), the Colmenero (Paragynoxys undatifolia), the Colombian pine (Podocarpus oleifolius), and the paraguas (Gunnera tavrona). The bromeliads and the melastomes in particular stand out within this group of important plants because of their diversity and beauty.

Several of these species are being recovered within the reserve, through reforestation and habitat restoration. 

Visit the El Dorado reserve and get to know these beautiful and unique species!