Manu National Park - One of Earth's Great Treasures

About ten years ago I stumbled across a show on cable TV (it was on A&E I think and was called something like "Spirits of the Rainforest") about Manu National Park in Peru. I had never heard of the place and I ended up so emotionally engaged it reminded me of times at the movie theater when I got into a movie so much I sit through the credits and the usher ends having to come and boot me out. This show was like that for me.

The most prominent feature of Manu is that it is the "poster child" for biodiversity. It reputedly has 1000 species of birds and 15, 000 species of plants and on and on. It spans the mountains regions of the Andes down to the lowlands of the Amazon basin. This surely is a key factor in it's biodiversity.

Some of the signature birds found in Manu National Park include the spectacular raptor, the Harpy Eagle, the beautiful and colorful Scarlet Macaw, and the unusual and probably primitive species linked by some to Archaeopteryx, the Hoatzin. There is even a species of Tanager that has been spotted by birdwatchers but not yet described by science! It is no doubt a haven for colorful and interesting birds.

I cannot do justice to this incredible place in an article such as this, I can only hope to put it on your birding radar screen if it wasn't before. When the Discovery Channel show aired they said they had originally not wanted to publicize this park, for fear of spoiling it due to excessive human intrusion. Then they decided that people needed to know about it if it was to be saved. So now you know.



Resources:

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• Birding Trip Description

Roger Tory Peterson's Most Exciting Birding Experience

I have another article from the Jan/Feb 1988 issue of BirdWatcher's Digest (BWD) that I thought would be interesting to share. It involves the "Father of Modern Birding" Roger Tory Peterson. As a kid I learned his "field marks" system and still use it to this day. He basically brought birding (then called birdwatching) to the masses. He was asked to describe his most exciting birding experience. Can you guess what that might be?

Before I tell you about the most exciting experience, I would like to mention some of the runner-ups that he discusses in the article as they are amazing in their own right:

• The sighting on New Years day 1948 of the last Whooping Crane in Louisiana. He was taken to see the bird in a small two-seater plane and was able to see the bird at a distance of 200 feet.
• He discusses seeing a lone curlew at the mouth of the Merrimac river in Massachusetts that he describes a bird that "showed its sickle-shaped bill to be very stubby - shorter than any immature Whimbrel I had ever seen" Could it be an Eskimo Curlew he wonders? He never felt like he made a positive identification but I get the sense that that was what he thought it was. Interestingly enough he mentions the discovery this past summer (which would be the summer of 1987) of three Eskimo Curlew nests in Northeastern Canada. This is a revelation to me because, according the the National Geographic field guide, the last confirmed sighting was in Barbados in 1963. Most interesting....
• He writes about seeing "dozens of Dusky Seaside Sparrows" on early trips to Florida. He said he had not even targeted this species on the trip - he was more interested in the Black Rails that had been seen in the area (Merritt Island).
• In 1952, he took his friend James Fisher around the perimeter of the continent and saw three California Condors in the Sespe ridges around Ventura. Quite a sight I imagine!

So what was his most exciting birding experience. It came in May of 1942 in a place called the Singer Tract. He pens the following words to describe the moment:
 

"Breathlessly we stalked the insistent toots, stepping carefully, stealthily, so that no twig would crack. With our hearts pounding we tried to keep cool, hardly daring to believe this was it - the bird we had come 1,500 miles to see. We were dead certain this was no squirrel or lesser woodpecker, for an occasional blow would land - whop! - like the sound of an axe. Straining our eyes, we discovered the first bird half hidden by the leafage, and in a moment it leaped into the full sunlight."

The bird he had found was the Ivory billed Woodpecker. They were later to find a second bird, both of which were females. These were probably the last two woodpeckers left in the Singer Tract as the last sighting came in December 1946. There is now hope that this species is not extinct but nonetheless one can see why Peterson would choose this sighting as his most exciting birding experience. It is a rare, beautiful, and spectacular bird and that adds up to excitement to a birding enthusiast to be sure!

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Naturalist Roger Tory Peterson Taking Notes on Osprey Unruffled by Close Presence of Birder Premium Photographic Print

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A Northern Birding Wilderness - Crex Meadows, WI

A large scale wildlife refuge that is known to birders in the Midwest but probably not well known elsewhere is the Crex Meadows Wildlife Refuge in northern Wisconsin. It comprises 30, 000 acres of mostly sedge marsh and brush prairie ecosystem that is home to 270 species of birds and 600 species of plants. Its large number of bird species and the vastness of the area creates that special feeling that only wild places can generate and makes it a delight to visit.
A couple of the specialties that I found on a visit in July, 2003 are the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow and the Le Conte's Sparrow (often found in the pump house area). I was never able to lay eyes on these two birds but instead identified them by song - so if you go it is well worth your while to learn these two songs. The interesting thing about the song of the Le Conte's Sparrow is that it is so high in pitch that you cannot hear it without some adjustment. It feels like you are "entering a room" when you finally hear it. Another bird to try for along the pump house road is the always elusive Yellow Rail. I was not lucky enough to hear one on my visit.

A bird that is relatively common at Crex Meadows and is fun to see and hear is the Bobolink (shown above). I think the bird is handsome and I love the unique "burbling" song. Two other birds with unique songs that you will probably find there during the breeding season is the Clay-colored Sparrow and the Upland Sandpiper (this is one of those birds where I always have to check the name because they changed the name from when I was a kid). The insect like buzz of the Clay-colored Sparrow is quite distinctive and Crex Meadows is my life lister of this species. The "wolf whistle" of the Upland Sandpiper is a song that even non-birders enjoy. Be sure to check the fence posts for this species.

One species that the refuge is famous for is the Sharp-tailed Grouse. These birds conduct their mating dances here so if you enjoy this type of spectacle this is the place to see it. There are special viewing areas set up so check with the Visitor's Center as to their location.


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Northern Wisconsin is a very beautiful area and this wildlife refuge is a treat for birders to visit. If you get up into this neck of the woods you will absolutely not regret a visit.

An Intriguing Bird Sighting

In the mid 1970's I went on a backpacking trip to the San Juan National Forest in southwestern Colorado with some college buddies. Unbeknownst to me at the time this trip was to provide me with one of my most interesting life list sightings.

We had made our way to Durango, Colorado and after gathering provisions, from there we headed out to the trailhead. We climbed all day and ended up in a coniferous forest at elevation in the San Juan Mountains. With the notable exception of the colorful Steller's Jay that I pointed out to them, none of my friends were too interested in birds. So I set out exploring by myself in this unique habitat. When birding, a lot of times I like to stand in one place for a while and see what shows up. As I stood there about 10 feet away in a pine tree, I spotted a distinctive bird that, if you get a good look at it, is not likely to be mistaken for any other bird - a male Olive Warbler. I knew what it was right away, and I was thrilled because it was obviously a life lister. I pulled out my field guide to check on the sighting and I noticed that the range of the bird did not encompass southwestern Colorado! But there it was right in front of me. Upon reading the description in the field guide, I noticed that the habitat was exactly right for this species - an open coniferous forest at an altitude above 7000 feet. So apparently this adventurous male had decided to colonize the habitat where he knew he could make a living. I think that there are probably individuals in most species that will try a play like this. If they succeed they have no competition - at least for a while. If they do not succeed they are removed from the gene pool and the experiment is over.

This sighting was the highlight of a very fun trip. The scenery and exercise were wonderful and seeing a beautiful and unexpected life lister made it all the better.