Birding Beyond the Coca Curtain

A fourth, isolated mountain range called the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta launches out of the northern coastline along the Caribbean, rising from steamy sea level to snow-encrusted 19,000-foot peaks in just over 26 lateral miles. The country's mountain ranges offer a variety of habitats for birds and other wildlife, with each range and the dense tropical jungles between them housing a wealth of birdlife. Colombia boasts more than 1,900 bird species, almost one-fifth of all avian biodiversity on the planet. This fecundity made the country a birding destination until the mid-1980s, when it became too dangerous to visit. Even today, Colombia presents challenges to the ambitious birder, including its reputation, off-limits areas, and the difficulty of identifying birds among the 1,900 possible species. The most up-to-date bird guide to the country, published in 2015 by Colombian bird conservation group ProAves, boasts 32 pages of hummingbirds, highlighting the complexity of bird identification in Colombia. Audubon has forged a collaboration among local conservation NGOs, tourism boards, and service providers to create the Northern Colombia Birding Trail, a series of ecolodges, national parks, and otherwise-notable habitats that provide particularly good birding opportunities for extreme and not-so-extreme birders alike. The project aims to train local Colombians to become bird guides and ecotourism service providers, and then entice birders from North America to spend money on those ecotourism amenities. The hope is that the ecotourists will inject enough resources into the economy to keep a meaningful mass of people from engaging in illegal mining or clear-cut agriculture. The pilot program for the Northern Colombia Birding Trail is being led by Alvaro Jaramillo and local professional bird guide Jose Luis Pushaina, who are training four dozen bird-guide hopefuls in the Perijá mountains. The students are being taught the skills necessary to identify birds and navigate the challenging terrain of the Andes. The program is a key component of Audubon's efforts to promote ecotourism in Colombia and provide economic opportunities for local communities. By supporting the development of ecotourism in Colombia, Audubon hopes to help the country transition away from illicit activities and towards a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly economy.