Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve, known in Spanish as Reserva Natural de las Aves Reinita Cielo Azul, is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

near

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and has the ninth-largest population in the country, with 68 ...

in central

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. The reserve is set among

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

forest on the eastern slopes of the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of ...

. It measures and adjoins the

Yariguíes National Park Yariguíes National Park (Spanish: ''Serranía de los Yariguíes'') is a natural park in north central Colombia. It is located in the Santander department and measures . It was officially designated as a national natural park in 2005. See also * ...

. The reserve was founded in 2005 by

Fundación ProAves Fundación ProAves is a nonprofit environmental organization in Colombia established in 1998. Its primary aims are to protects birds of conservation concern and their habitats across Colombia. ProAves has over 60 full-time professional staff. It ...

, a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

environmental organization An environmental organization is an organization coming out of the conservation or environmental movements that seeks to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human forces. In this sense the environment ...

that owns and manages several reserves in Colombia, with the assistance of the

American Bird Conservancy American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a non-profit membership organization with the mission of conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. Its focus is on threats to birds in the Western Hemisphere – threats which include ov ...

. It was established to provide an area of protected habitat for migratory

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s from

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

such as the

cerulean warbler The cerulean warbler (''Setophaga cerulea'') is a small songbird in the family Parulidae. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in eastern North American hardwood forests. In the non-breeding season, it winters on the eastern slope of the And ...

as well as locally

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

species. The reserve has incorporated a coffee farm, producing

shade-grown coffee Shade-grown coffee is a form of the crop produced from coffee plants grown under a canopy of trees. A canopy of assorted types of shade trees is created to cultivate shade-grown coffee. Because it incorporates principles of natural ecology to pro ...

which it promotes and sells as conservation-friendly Cerulean Warbler Coffee to cover the operating costs of the reserve.

Birds

Some 270 bird species have been recorded from the reserve. As well as the cerulean warbler, critically endangered local birds found there include the

gorgeted wood-quail The rare gorgeted wood quail (''Odontophorus strophium'') is a small ground-dwelling bird. This tiny member of the New World quail family has been found in the larger oak forest remnants in the eastern Cordillera ( Serrania de Yariguies and NorA ...

chestnut-bellied hummingbird The chestnut-bellied hummingbird (''Saucerottia castaneiventris'') is a Near Threatened species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Colombia. Taxonomy and systematics The chestnut-bell ...

and mountain grackle. Other threatened species include the

rusty-faced parrot The rusty-faced parrot (''Hapalopsittaca amazonina'') is a Near Threatened species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela and possibly Ecuador.Remsen, J. V ...

white-mantled barbet The white-mantled barbet (''Capito hypoleucus'') is a species of bird in the family Capitonidae. It is endemic to Colombia. Its natural habitats are tropical moist montane forests, pastureland, and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss. ...

black inca The black inca (''Coeligena prunellei'') is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to Colombia.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdL ...

, Upper Magdalena tapaculo, turquoise dacnis and the

recurve-billed bushbird The recurve-billed bushbird (''Clytoctantes alixii'') is an Endangered species of Thamnophilid antbird that inhabits dense stands of secondary vegetation at the northern end of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela. It is named for its extraordi ...

. The

Yariguies brush-finch The Yariguies brush finch (''Atlapetes latinuchus yariguierum'') is a subspecies of the yellow-breasted brush finch, discovered in 2004 in Colombia. Description The feathers of the breast, abdomen, and throat are yellow; those of the coverts, ...

is a new subspecies recently discovered just outside the reserve. Other animals of conservation interest include the spectacled bear,

crab-eating fox The crab-eating fox (''Cerdocyon thous''), also known as the forest fox, wood fox, bushdog (not to be confused with the bush dog) or maikong, is an extant species of medium-sized canid endemic to the central part of South America since at least ...

and Santander

poison dart frog Poison dart frog (also known as dart-poison frog, poison frog or formerly known as poison arrow frog) is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical Central and South America. These species are ...

Access

Accommodation is available at the reserve, which is two hours by road from Bucaramanga to San Vicente, and twenty minutes by

4WD Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

vehicle from San Vicente up to the reserve. The lodge is above sea level.

References

External links

Fundación ProAves
{{Protected areas of Colombia, state=expanded Birdwatching sites Nature reserves in Colombia Geography of Santander Department Tourist attractions in Santander Department Protected areas established in 2005 2005 establishments in Colombia