This October 14th, bird watchers, biologists and businessmen from Táchira will join the October Big Day. For 24 hours and from five locations in Táchira, they will contribute to global scientific research and also seek to reposition Venezuela as an ideal destination for bird watching tourism.
Anggy Polanco // Correspondent Lapatilla.com
October Big Day is an event organized by a North American university. On this day, scientific field work is carried out worldwide to update an official list of birds and also to try to improve the ranking of Venezuela as a bird watching destination. The teams will work in the “Chorro del Indio” National Park, “Juan Pablo Peñaloza” National Park, Páramos de Capacho, “Tapo Caparo” National Park and Hacienda Los Almendros, under the supervision of the Foundation “Proyecto Ave”.
Unfortunately, many biologists have left the country and Venezuela has fallen to ninth place in the ranking as bird watching destination. The objective is to recover the fifth place, even reach the top positions, approaching Colombia, which occupies first place in the world as bird watching destination. To achieve this, it is necessary to register as many birds on the eBird.org website.
Professor Betsy Quintero, a fervent bird watcher, pointed out that Bolívar and Táchira are the regions with the most species in Venezuela. Táchira is home to 701 of the country’s 1,414 bird species, some of which are endemic. Two new species of flytrap were recently discovered in the country.
Currently, Táchira has five groups specialized in bird watching that are prepared to develop tourist routes and offer courses for beginners in this recreational and inspiring activity.
Dr. Quintero explained that after the pandemic, a great diversity of birds felt freer and less threatened, and some were observed in urban areas as is San Cristóbal where they had never been seen before. She highlighted the importance of the contribution of birds to natural balance as seed dispersers and pollinators.
Venezuela’s potential
Daniel León, Vice President of the Táchira Chamber of Tourism, invited more people to join the teams this October 14th, to achieve this goal. Tachira residents can participate from their windows and fields, capturing (pictures) of species and sending records to specialists through the Instagram account @avestachira.
The final purpose is that tourists interested in bird watching regard Venezuela as a country with great diversity and can take advantage of this potential that this region has as a result of having several altitudinal zonation that reach 3,700 meters high.
Sergio Benítez, Executive Director of the Chamber of Tourism, reported that a few days ago the third binational Avitourism meeting was held in Táchira with the presence of renowned bird watchers who came from Colombia. They helped create the first Binational Bird Circuit in Latin America.
David Jara, a birdwatcher from Meta, Colombia, visited Táchira to participate in birdwatching. Jara highlighted that bird tourism helps combat poverty and promotes sustainable, environmental and cultural development.
He therefore praised October Big Day as a contribution to citizen science, where anyone can participate in birdwatching from anywhere. The goal is to record the largest number of birds in one day to study the migration patterns and range, especially now that there is a boreal migration of small species such as Warblers, Flycatchers and Falcons, which search for food in these tropical and subtropical areas driven by the harsh winters in North America.
Jara, who comes from the department of Meta, number one on lists in Colombia, noticed that in Venezuela you cannot find books about the country’s birds. Although there are more than 700 species, there is no guide to each one; only ornithologists have this knowledge.
This makes it difficult to position this state (Táchira) as a bird tourism destination, which is why union and articulation are important. Furthermore, he highlighted the importance of bringing information about existing birds to students in educational institutions.
Jara related that when he started in Avitourism in 2016, they had no knowledge of birds. In Meta there was only one guide, Luis Felipe Quintero. But now, thanks to the support of the Government of Meta and with 35 specialists in Colombia, there has been a boom. Among them are Miles McMullan, an Irishman who developed the Guide to the Birds of Colombia; and Juan Pablo Culasso, a blind person with the incredible talent of identifying more than 3,000 species of birds in the world through their songs. Now Meta receives European and Russian tourists, among other nationalities, who seek to see the variety of birds. Meta has an inventory of 2,060 species, including migratory, erratic and local.
“Venezuela is close to 1,500 registered species,” said David Jara. “But due to the lack of scientific information, visits, documentation and people who practice this type of activities, unfortunately no new species have been recorded.” From having only 5 observers in Meta, they now have more than 1,500 that will participate in the Global Big Day.