Refugio Paz de las Aves - Birding for Conservation - Day 2

Global warming has many causes but today all of them point to the human race.  We are the cause of the current destruction of our home!  Government´s can´t stop it, organizations can´t stop it, and most people only talk about it.  Angel, Rodrigo, and the rest of their family are one of the few pioneers that have dedicated their last 5 years of their life to sustainable tourism.  In doing so they have become a perfect example of conservation though birding and by birders.  Visit his site and support his project http://www.refugiopazdelasaves.com/

This birdwatchers paradise is a must see for those who believe that birdwatching = conservation

Here are some spectacular pictures I gathered in my recent visits. 

The show starts very early at 5:30 am when we descend in the dark to the house of the majestic Cock of the Rock.  This wonderful bird wakes up early every day to begin a courtship display of sounds and valet-like dance flapping their wings and ducking their body.  The dance and song contest goes on until some of the most successful male dancers convince the females to follow them to more private forest quarters.

Meet one of the male dancers the  Andean Cock-of-the-Rock - Rupicola peruviana

Second we will meet the Antpitta family that lurks in the forest and come out at a breakfast call.

Maria is a Giant-Antpitta

Willie a Yellow-breasted Antpitta

Jose is a shy Moustached-Antpitta

Next we will meet the family that hangs out at the fruit table set in bright colors and delicious fruits to attract them to the feast:

The Toucan Barbet joins in with a seven colored suit!

The Black-chinned-Mountain-Tanager follows with a four color outfit.

The next invite displays a three color suit: meet the Crimson-rumped-Toucanet Aulacorhynchus-haematopygus

The next guess shows a beautiful olive suit with yellow rays; the pretigious Olivaceous-Phia - Snowornis-cryptolophus

Look at the moss-crown of this distinguished guest!

When this guest shows up with her dark suit and bad manners; all other invites flee!

Finally when the feast is finished we move upward along the path where we met the Quail family who came out to the beck and call of food.

Food run by the Dark-backed-Wood.Quail - Odontophorus-erythrops

Finally as we puffed our way up near the top of the forest we find that yet another sweet feast has been set up for the local hummer family.  Here are some of the elusive guest that agreed to be photographed:.

Empress Brillant

Brown-Inca - Coeligena wilsoni

Great-billed-Hermit - Phaethornis-malaris

And so many guest that we lost track of their names.

In the end we were also very hungry and were invited by the Paz family to a typical breakfast with coffee and bolon, typical plantain ball with cheese and spices.  Just as we were filling up the "tortillas de viento" came along to complete this wonderful gluttonous visit of birds and food!