Mindo Christmas Bird Count, 2015
Hola from Reserva Las Tangaras!
This year’s Mindo Christmas Bird Count was an incredible experience, and we even saw a few new species at the Reserve! Not only is it great fun, the Count is an excellent opportunity to collect valuable data about avian diversity at the Reserve.
We counted a total of 116 species at the reserve, three of which were only documented on our route! These three were the Russet Antshrike, Rufous-rumped Antwren, and the Streaked Saltator.
Here are a few photo highlights from the day. From left to right: Beryl-spangled Tanager, White-capped Dipper, Violet-tailed Sylph (female), Golden Tanager, Broad-billed Motmot, Clubwinged Manakin (male), Flame-faced Tanager, Ornate Flycatcher, Booted Racket-tail (male), and Chestnut Mandibled Toucan.
We really enjoyed birding with our friends from Un Poco del Choco, another nearby biological station, as well as our two friends from Mindo who hiked into the reserve at 5 AM to help count all day!
It was a tremendous effort, and a job well done!
The day after the count, we went to Mindo to participate in the “desconteo,” the post-count meeting. Mindo recorded over 467 species, which is at least 2 more than last year! Such a high number is impressive given that the area experienced inclement weather in the afternoon.
We are very glad to have had the incredible opportunity to participate in the Christmas Bird Count before ending our term as Managers at Reserva Las Tanagaras! In all, managing the reserve has been a life-changing experience that we are extremely grateful for. Las Tanagaras is one of those special places that are becoming even more few and far between. We hope that everyone can visit at some point and experience it. We are excited for the next managers, Callie and Zak, who are already doing a fantastic job!
Cheers,
Amanda and Daniel
Reserva Las Tangaras 