Your New Managers! John & Jaclyn

Hola!

We are John Whitefield and Jaclyn Knapp, the new seasonal managers of Reserva Las Tanagaras. We are very grateful to be here in such a gorgeous location bursting with vibrant diversity. We are excited to become acquainted with all the other creatures that live at Reserva Las Tangaras.

While we have not been here long it has been enough to leave a lasting impression and endow a love of the diversity offered in the New World Tropics. Every morning (unless we are doing ACOR tours and monitoring) we awake to a symphony of voices, singing for love or the morning sun. We attempt to spot where all the voices come from and identify them but we have yet to find them all! All the birds are very quick, sneaky and do not like to stay put for long, adding an extra challenge for us. The pictures below are a good example of how difficult it can be to spot wildlife amongst all the crazy diversity of plants. Try to find the Creature!

A Golden Tanager (Tangara arthus) hunting for it’s breakfast.

Choco Toucans (Ramphastos brevis) saluting the morning.

An Ornate Flycatcher (Myiotriccus ornatus) on it’s perch

The reserve offers many gorgeous subjects for photography both male and female, avian and mammalian.

On the right we have a common agouti (Dasyprocta spp.) enjoying some fruit. On the left we have a Plain Brown Woodcreeper (Dendrocincla fuliginosa) hunting in the moss.

The most common visitors to the reserve can be quite demanding in the mornings, but are soon satisfied once their sustenance has arrived (below).

A White Whiskered Hermit (Phaethornis yaruqu) approaches on the right, to the chagrin of a Green Crowned Woodnymph (male) (Thalurania fannyi) and Purple Bibbed Whitetip (female) (Urosticte benjamini).

Of course we shan’t forge the main attraction, available every morning and evening for your viewing pleasure!

Two male Andean Cock of The Rock’s (Rupicola peruvianus) perch and call as they perform for perspective mates at the lekking site. The lek is truly a spectacle of sound and color. Well worth the early rise or late return!

This is a snapshot, pun intended, of our first week as new managers of Las Tangaras. Stay tuned for further updates!

J & J