Spectacular birds of the Southern Yungas forests

October 30, 2014 by Michael

We have been so astounded by the richness of the Southern Yungas ecoregion that another visit was necessary. This time to the Eco-Portal de la Piedra lodge in the Santa Barbara region, a mountain range east of Calilegua. The forested mountains are complex, as you progress upwards you pass through a number of ecologically distinct types.

We walked from approximately 1,000m to 2,200m and camped overnight, horses carrying our equipment and food.

The lower slopes are the domain of the iconic Toco Toucan, here seen flying over the Quebracho canopy, it’s only in these forests and those in Missiones province, especially around Iguacu falls, that this bird can be seen in Argentina.

Toco over the canopy

Fruiting trees are a magnet for many tropical forest birds like the Toucan

the Scaly-headed Parrot –

and the Green-cheeked Parakeet

The lower transitional forest is more humid and comprises many dense thorny acacia shrubs with taller trees such as the Cebil and Laurels. Tropical Kingbirds, Narrow-billed Woodcreepers, Tropical Parulas, Red-eyed Vireos and White-tailed Doves appeared and then disappeared, almost as if the forest absorbed them back into its greenery. Big colourful birds are outnumbered by tiny indistinct ones, such as the Tyrannulets –

A Mottled – cheeked Tyrannulet.

We criss-crossed the jungle, following ancient logging trails, dropping down to a stream then up again. By following precipitous ridges we avoided deep forested ravines, these ridgeways were more open than the forest either side, ideal habitat for the Rufous- collared Nightjar.

At around 1500m we entered the rainforest with its moss draped Myrtles and Ceder trees, tall evergreens that provided a dense canopy, The thorny acacias disappeared, replaced by luxuriant ferns and here we found the Black-capped Elaenia & Cinnamon Flycatcher, pictured below.

This was also the home of White-crested and Slaty Elaenias, Grey Flycatchers, inquisitive Plush-coloured Jays, Black-capped Thrushes and this White-chested Tyrannulet.

as well as the endemic Yellow-striped Brush Finch.

We passed along a narrow, dark, damp, rock strewn pass and were immediately ‘buzzed’ by the tiniest of birds, the rare and local Blue-capped Puffleg.

The following day we explored the montane ‘alisos’ forest above 2100m, home to the nesting Alder Parrot. Above the trees soared the Andean Condor, but the Alder Parrots were keeping quiet, after all they would have eggs by now, we heard a few in the distance even saw several pairs as they passed over the forest canopy but were unable to find a nest in the time we had. After the breeding season this endangered parrot moves to the lower Transitional forest for the winter and congregates at large roosting sites.

It seems that if we wish to photograph this wonderful bird we will have to return in the winter also.

Battling with biodiversity

October 9, 2014 by Michael

The lush forested hills in the foothills of the Andes in NW Argentina, reaching up to 1700 metres, are an immensely valuable source of water for the agricultural lowlands beneath. For six months of the year from November, the moisture laden winds blow from the Atlantic. These clouds race across the hot dry chaco plains and then in a series of violent thunderstorms drench the greenery of these slopes. This ‘vertical’ rain combined with the summer heat creates low ephemeral clouds that drift amid the trees, giving rise to cloud forest. The ‘gift’ these clouds give to the vegetation is a slow magical release of moisture ‘horizontal rain’. The trees beneath are clothed in moss, lichens, bromeliads and orchids – this is the Yungas !

We accessed the area along route 83 and spent a week in this wonderland, in the Calilegua National Park.

One of the rangers of the park is Nicolas, he lives in the park with his partner Soledad and young child, Andina.

The rangers house where Nicolas, Soledad and Andina live.

The richness of this national park is due to the three types of distinct forest it contains. The lower slopes a threatened habitat – Piedmont woodland, a little higher the Selva and higher still the Montana forest. Steep ravines intersect the whole, giving rise to a multitude of complex micro-climates, ecosystems and wildlife.

Swallow-tailed Kite

Swallow-tailed Kite

Female Red-brocket deer

Female Red-brocket deer

Rusty-browed Warbling-Finch

Rusty-browed Warbling-Finch

A dozen lifetimes would not be enough time to see and understand its unique flora and fauna. We could but only raise our binoculars and cameras to that which passed us by, marvelling at the wonders that crossed our path.

: Bee

Where ever we walked the variety of nature exploded before us with vibrancy and energy. We battled to identify what we could, but the odds were overwhelming. Insects that looked like Crane flies but were multi-coloured and hopped on the ground. Birds that sang and called but tantalisingly remained hidden in the dense foliage, flocks of parrots that flew noisily overhead. Trees of every hue, some small and leggy, others massive that soared into the heavens, this was the Southern Yungas eco-region.

Andes Ecoregions

June 18, 2014 by Michael

The Andean Wildlife Project is to make a photographic record of ecoregions within the Andes. An ecoregion is a relatively large area of land or water that contains a distinct assembly of plant species and animals which give it a unifying character. The scale of an ecoregion is highly suitable for consideration for global conservation planning as it encompasses biogeographically related communities, not otherwise found at site level.

On this our first expedition into the Andes we visited two ecoregions.

The first was the moist and humid temperate Southern Yugas rainforests ( no 4 on the above map) our chosen site was the Alisos National Park near Concepcion.

The two groups of animals that were most conspicuous during our time their were the Parrots and the butterflies. These are Red-mitred Parrots, there was a flock of about 300 of these birds in the valley where we camped. The whole group foraged together, noisily moving from one part of the valley to another. Once settled in a suitable group of trees they quietened down for an hour or so and fed.

The weather that brings these rains to the forests comes off the South Atlantic in the summer. The clouds speed across the hot Chaco flatlands until they reach the foothills of the Andes, there they stop and it rains and rains and rains.

The Yungas forests cloth the eastern slopes of the Andes from north western Argentina through Bolivia and way up into Peru.

Below is a Helicoius butterfly, probably H melpomene,, the Postman butterfly a common mimicking species in the forests of Alisos.

The second ecoregion we visited was the high Puna (no 5 on the above map), specifically the Laguna Blanca National Park in Catamarca province at an elevation of about 3,500m.

The animal that frequents these raw mountain plateaus were Vicunas. These were mercilessly hunted several decades ago but protected areas have now brought this beautiful animal back from the brink of extinction.