By the numbers

Well, I'm home. It's over. It was a wonderful trip and I'll enjoy remembering it - but I've gotta say that nothing beats being reunited with my wonderful wife, daughter and daughter-on-the-way!

So, care to know how we finished up? Drum roll please...

Our team drove over 750 miles, walked over 25 miles, spent a total of about 70 hours in the field and saw a total of ... 301 birds! Of these over 20 were endemics (found nowhere else in the world) -like this indigo-capped hummingbird at left - and at least 3 were endangered species.

And as far as fund-raising goes - we will be sending over $4500 down to the orphanage in Bogota this coming week! Praise God for such a successful endeavor! I look forward to seeing what comes next!

Thanks for following along with my blog, I'll sign off now until next time! Hope to see you soon,
 
     Thad

Birdwatching adrenaline

If you're reading the title of this post and wondering how in the world watching birds could be used alongside the word "adrenaline", let me let you in on a little secret - extreme birding is not your grandmother's bird watching.

Let me tell you a story.

Two nights ago, in the Santa Marta Mts. we decided to go out and try to track down the undescribed Santa Marta Screech Owl. This is a bird that is so newly-discovered that it isn't even formerly recognized by science. They only live on this one particular mountain, and our lodge was in the midst of their prime habitat.

So, once the lights were out, and the choruses of frogs began to croak and creak in unison, a dozen of us  walked out through the forest canopy by flashlight until we heard the gentle trill of a nearby owl. In hushed voices we passed along the word that the bird had been heard and that flashlights were to be turned off. Next the ipods were brought out and our guides began playing back the sound of the screech owl, attempting to lure him out under the belief that a potential rival was trespassing. We stood there in the dark straining our eyes to see, watching for the dark silhoette of the owl flitting among the branches, and twice we heard its wings brush the air nearby - but still no sighting. Finally the group gave up and went inside - all of them expect for me, that is - and our two guides. We waited for another 20 minutes. And then, we heard it VERY nearby. we turned on our flashlights and caught it in our beam! I snapped a couple pictures, the bird flew off, and then with hearts pumping we high-fived each other and celebrated.
Here is the picture that captures one of the rarest birds I've ever seen, and one of my very favorite birding moments!

Day 4

 

Wow, what amazing days! My brain is on overload after such amazing experiences. Here are a few highlights from yesterday and  today:

- Hiking through the Tayrona national park yesterday morning we encountered Cotton-Top-Tamarin monkeys - one of the rarest primates on Earth!

- Meeting incredible nationals along the way. If you ask me, the people of Colombia are incredible.

- This Masked Trogon (left) flew to within about 12 feet of me today. My heart was pounding as my camera snapped away.

- Hearing the unsettling drone of Red-Howler monkeys in the distance

Tomorrow we're off at 4:30 am in search of Santa Marta Parakeets!

This little girl reminded me of my precious Lily back home

Total number of birds seen so far: 196

I am exhausted! But in the good kind of way. We had a wonderful day today, driving about 6 hours from Barranquilla all the way to Riohacha on the northern-most peninsula of Colombia, and birding at different stops along the way.

Today's coolest experience was crossing a little river on a raft 3 at a time in order to try and track down a couple of rare hummingbirds. While we were waiting for others to come across I met a little girl, the same age as Lily (3) who was one of 11 siblings. They enjoyed seeing a picture of her on my phone as they rocked in hammock, and giggled about how light her skin and how red her hair was.

I will try to upload some pictures soon.

The best birds of today were (among many awesome ones), Russet-throated Puffbird, White-fringed Antwren, American Flamingo, and Pearl Kite.

Total birds seen so far: 73

Day one - Made it to Barranquilla safe and sound. I met our guide Elkin and our wonderful group of veteran birders from the States. We're settled into our hotel now and will be up again in about 6 1/2 hours to start birding in earnest.

I saw a few species in and around the airport today, the best of which was yellow-headed Caracara.

Day 1 total = 7 species.

Why Colombia?

Okay, so first off, Colombia isn't just about coffee and that other famous "C" word export  - it also happens to have more birds than any other country in the world! Almost 20% of the world's birds have been seen in Colombia, that's about 3 times as many as we have in the US!

There are also a ton of amazing plants, primates, frogs, insects, etc., and all this is because of the varied habitats. From snow-capped Andes to steamy Amazon, Colombia has it all.


So what are we looking for? I've got a couple of goals, just to keep things fun:

First off, I'm aiming at 300 species in 10 days of birding. I'll try to give a nightly total at the end of each day so that you can track our progress. Will we make it? I really don't know - you'll have to wait and see.

Second, the "golden bird" of the trip for me would be the Santa Marta Screech Owl - this is a bird that is new to science, and isn't officially "on the books" yet (still undescribed). This bird only occurs on one small mountain range in N. Colombia, and our lodge on Fri-Sun nights happens to be in prime territory for this little guy. Stay tuned to find out if we find it or not.

Third, there are some amazing non-avian animals we're looking for - like the Spectacled Bear, and more realistically, the Cotton-Topped Tamarin monkey (my photo from last year at right), among a host of poison frogs, snakes, and other critters.

Beyond these goals there are a lot of awesome birds we're going to target. Some you've surely heard of (American Flamingos) but most are likely new - Santa Marta Warbler, Bogota Rail, Chestnut Piculet, Bearded Helmetcrest etc. I'll try to add pics as we go along, especially of the rarer and more spectacular species.

With so much ahead of us, I hope you check back and follow along with this amazing journey!

Bird-a-thon

So here's a fun idea - why not make a pledge for every species of bird I see on this trip?

Since my trip costs all already covered, 100% of your pledge will go directly to the beehive (see my last post).

How it would work - Colombia has a lot of birds (3 times as many as the US) and we're going to be looking in quite a number of habitats, so we are hoping to see 250-400 species. If you pledge, say 10 cents a bird, and we see 300, you'ld be donating $30.

Want in? Comment on this post and simply say how much per species you want to pledge. (Or if you just want to make a one-time donation, you can do that by clicking "donate" below).

The Beehive

Affectionately called the "beehive" because it's always full of activity and motion, the girls' home isn't just for orphans in the technical sense of the word. Many of the 12 girls who call the beehive home have at least one surviving parent, but all are there because their safety, sanity, and in some cases, survival, depended upon getting away from their dysfunctional home lives.

Prior to moving into the beehive, several girls had been victims of abuse. Two sisters watched their mother die at their father's hand. One was severely burned due to negligence. All lacked love, stability, and a fair shot at life.

But all this has changed since the  Free Methodist Church in Colombia came into their lives. The beehive isn't just a place to live, it's an expression of love, a stable environment where the girls receive great nutrition, clothing, and above all - a caring family environment. And now - they're even getting top-notch education at a private school. In other words, the church is committed to their development as a whole-person - a commitment that begins when they set foot in the beehive, and continues all the way through college.

We are proud to be able to support this awesome ministry!

4 Days to go!

Spotting scope - check, binocs - check, owling flashlight - check. What am I missing? Oh yeah... clothes!

As I begin gathering supplies and getting my hiking pack ready to go, I'm reflecting on some of my goals for this trip: 

• To enjoy creation! Colombia is an unparalleled eco-tourism destination. I'm going to love enjoying everything from the arid cactus-carpeted north, to the steamy cloud forrest, to the thin-air parramo. Each ecosystem will be a real treat!
• To learn from the experts, especially our biologist Guide Elkin, and veteran bird tour leader Chris Vanlonkhuyzen.
• To explore this kind of trip providing ongoing income to the girl's home (as well as other charitable projects around the world)
• To build up my life list (if you're new to birding, this means the number of species of birds you've seen in your life).

Has this been done before? We doubt it. Will this be awesome? We're sure of it.

The plan = 11 people + 10 days travelling through Colombia + tracking down rare and exotic bird species like the Black Inca (let) + donating tour proceeds to support the Free Methodist girls' "orphanage" in Bogota.

And you're invited along for the ride. As often as possible on this trip, I'll be posting updates, including a running species total, and trip updates of the feathered and un-feathered kinds.