Actually, Brazil has the highest number of endemic bird species (152 spp),
followed by Peru.(128) and Indonesia (122), according to BirdLife
International. See: http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sowb/casestudy/112
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
> On 23 Dec 2013, at 15:20, Denise Goodfellow <> wrote:
>
> Hi Mick
> Good to hear from you. My understanding is that Colombia has more endemic
> species (fauna and flora) than any other countryP.
>
> Regards
> Denise
>
>
>> On 23/12/13 7:18 AM, "Mick Roderick" <> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Denise - a slight amendment to your second paragraph - remove the word
>> "endemic" from the second sentence. I think Indonesia makes that claim, with
>> Australia second.
>>
>> But then, maybe you're not talking about birds in that sentence??
>>
>> Mick
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sunday, 22 December 2013 11:42 AM, Denise Goodfellow
>> <> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Recently I flew to Colombia as a guest of that government, to participate in
>> the Colombian Bird Festival held at Manizales in the department of Caldas
>> I was one of two intercontinental speakers. The invitation came from Sergio
>> Ocampo-Tobòn, a past President of the Colombia Birding Network and founder
>> of the Festival.
>>
>> It is most appropriate that Colombia has a Bird Festival - it has over 1870
>> bird species; probably nearer 1880 now - photos of some newly discovered
>> species were shown for the first time at the Festival . Indeed, Colombia is
>> a megadiverse country and has more endemic species than any other,
>> although by area it is only about 1/8th the size of Australia.
>>
>> Much has been written about Colombia that is negative. Much has also been
>> written about the airline on which I travelled, Aerolineas Argentina, that
>> was also negative. Armed with that knowledge and a travel itinerary I
>> couldn’t interpret, I set out with some trepidation. The first November
>> cyclone to hit the Top End in forty years delayed travel by a day, not an
>> auspicious omen.
>>
>> But instead of an old aircraft with broken seats, dirty toilets, terrible
>> food and disinterested cabin crew, I found a spanking new airbus, a spotless
>> interior and crew that almost rivalled Qantas in their professionalism.
>>
>> Although I didn’t speak the language, and was unfamiliar with the culture I
>> never felt isolated or unsafe. Some stranger always came forward to help
>> a professional woman; a young man; a primary school student; and even when
>> they didn't, somehow I could always make myself understood
>>
>> The hotel, Recinto del Pensamiento, where I was to stay, was the equal of a
>> four-star hotel in Australia, and Manizales, far from being a hotbed of
>> ongoing revolution or guerrillas, was a beautiful city that in many ways
>> resembled Adelaide in appearance and pace, except it was perched on a ridge
>> in the mountains, and had more universities (twelve in all)!
>>
>> Recinto was also the site of the Bird Festival. The launch began with the
>> playing of the national, department and city anthems to which we all stood.
>>
>> Maria Claudia Garcia-Gomez , the President of COTELCO, the national hotel
>> and tourism association, launched the Festival The next day, the Governor of
>> the state of Caldas, Julian Gutierrez-Boter, came to speak. Both
>> highlighted the importance of birdwatching tourism as did Felipe Rincon
>> Cardenas, President of the chain of hotels of which Recinto de Pensamiento
>> was one. Over lunch he told me of the involvement of coffee growers in
>> supporting birdwatching.
>>
>> While some speakers highlighted the diversity of birds and other wildlife in
>> their regions, others talked about conservation problems - including
>> authorities such as Dr. Juan David Arango Gartner who addressed urban river
>> issues, and Andrea Ferreira of Paraguay who spoke for the preservation of
>> biodiversity of grasslands. Andrea is the Sustainable Tourism Coordinator
>> for an NGO. She said that cattle are monitored on the pampas and are shifted
>> around to allow grassland to recover for nesting and feeding birds. Her
>> organization is also working with farmers to improve roads and vehicles so
>> that they can have visitors on their country.
>>
>> Juan Paulo was a most inspirational speaker. Born blind in 1986 he taught
>> himself to recognise thousands of different birds calls. Working with 25
>> 000 bird records in a lab, he can recognize the bird, the time of day it is
>> calling, the natural environment and “the sounds of the earth”. In
>> grassland JP recorded 10-12 species singing all at once and could identify
>> them all. Furthermore he could pick out 25 tones in one call.
>>
>> Uttej Rao, the only other intercontinental speaker, talked of birding in
>> Gujarat, a state in India that shares a border with Pakistan. He said that
>> locals considered it a sin to kill birds and so the birds were unafraid of
>> humans and in large numbers.
>>
>> Guto Carvalho spoke about birding in Brazil. The population of that country
>> is 250 million, of which about 30 000 are birders. But the interest is so
>> great that Gutto estimates it will reach 1 million in a few years. He said
>> that birdwatching tended to be internal with relatively few birders
>> traveling to Brazil from other countries.
>>
>> I spoke on the threats to north Australian grasslands/floodplains and
>> woodlands from weeds, destructive fires, cyclones and sea level rise.
>>
>> Several speakers mentioned the importance of working with communities, but
>> because I didn't always have a translator I cannot comment on their
>> particular approaches. However one, Luis Fernando Jaramillo, spoke of his
>> work with Indigenous people and birds which included attempting to limit
>> their attempts to force those people off their lands. Later, with Juan
>> Paulo translating I told him of Top End Indigenous rangers allegedly forced
>> to resign to the detriment of parks they'd once looked after, and of course
>> visitors. I couldn’t help but compare the empathic reaction of Luis and
>> others at the Festival to the response of some at the Wildlife Tourism
>> Australia workshop where I first raised the issue.
>>
>> At morning tea I got my first look at the birds of Recinto Great and Snowy
>> Cattle Egret, Great Blue Heron, American Vulture, Southern Lapwing, Eastern
>> and Tropical Kingbird, White-collared Swift, Rufous-collared Sparrow and
>> House Wren. Because I had no guide I mostly had to figure out what I was
>> seeing myself, checking with Sergio whenever I could. Other birds I knew
>> from the US. At other breaks I saw Cattle Egret, Black Phoebe, Bananaquit,
>> Pale-edged Flycatcher, Palm Tanager, Great Thrush, Saffron Finch, Lesser
>> Goldfinch and Yellow-bellied Siskin.
>>
>> On the last day I at last had the chance to climb the mountain behind
>> Recintos to visit the hummingbird house. However I had to return early to
>> sort out my itinerary, really the only low point of the whole trip. If I'd
>> taken my scheduled flight back to Bogotá, I stood a good chance of missing
>> my connecting flight to Buenos Aires. Sorting out the mess took hours and
>> caused poor Natalia, the lass trying to fix it, much despair.
>>
>> Then I discovered that all the photos I’d taken of birds and the conference
>> were missing. Others had scheduled a trip to see antipittas in the
>> afternoon but I decided to return to at least try to record some of the
>> hummingbirds again.
>>
>> Species at the hummingbird house included Sparkling and Green Violet-ear,
>> Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Speckled Hummingbird, Buff-tailed Coronet, Bronzy
>> Inca, and White-bellied Woodstar. Hopping around the fuschias and other
>> potted shrubs was a little black bird with an upturned beak White-sided
>> Flowerpiercer.
>>
>> A general article on my visit has already been published on the web
>> <www.impress.com.au> and I'll be writing another in January (for The Weekend
>> Australian) plus another more focused on the birds for a US birding journal.
>>
>> Lastly, I have no hesitation in recommending Manizales and its department of
>> Caldas to birders and other wildlife enthusiasts. Indeed Colombia has much
>> to offer all sorts of visitors. And incidentally I've felt far more unsafe
>> walking the streets of Darwin than I ever felt in Colombia. If anyone would
>> like more information please don't hesitate to contact me.
>>
>> My thanks to the Birding Aussers who kindly sent me information. I wish you
>> all the happiest of New Years.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
>> PO Box 71, Darwin River,
>> NT 0841
>> 043 8650 835
>>
>> PhD candidate, SCU
>> Vice-chair, Wildlife Tourism Australia
>
>
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