Author: Michael

My name is Harry and I’m angry. Scientists and birders know me as a Collared Aracari but my friends call me Harry.

 

I live in the tropical forests of South America. My favourite place to nest is Colombia as the forests are big and quiet (or they used to be).

 

This is me with my angry face on.

 

 

Today some guys turned up in a big truck and started lopping down my trees.So off I flew to see a good mate of mine, Hattie, thinking, she’ll know what to do!

 

This is Hattie, she’s a Howler Monkey and when I told her what had happened, she howled (that’s what Howlers do best). Now she’s mad too, and when she’s upset you wanna watch it, look at those teeth.

 

Hattie had an idea, go and talk to the guys, reason with them, tell ’em to stop. After all it’s not their forest, they live in the city. We think that’ll sort the problem.

 

So that’s what we’re going to do tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hummingbirds are the Champion bird family on the high tops of the Andes. They are the High Hummers.

Chimborazo Volcano, Ecuador

Smart adaptations enable them to survive at these oxygen depleted heights

 

 

During our overlanding travels in South America we have seen many of these High Hummers. This one is the Ecuadorian Hillstar found on the upper slopes of the Chimborazo Volcano. Despite being on the Equator, the upper slopes are dangerously cold. During icy wintery days this tiny bird has to crouch on the ground to shelter.

At night it will go into a state of ‘torpor’, slowing down its whole metabolism.

 

 

Ecuadorian Hillstar

The Living Wild in South America  team have produced a NEW VIDEO, High Hummers.

Go to our Video page to be amazed at what these tiny birds have to do in their daily battle to survive.

 

Every day brings a moral to living, today was  knowing there were Three ways to earn a living.

 

You can stand around with your mates, waiting for something to turn up, such as these Snowy and

Great Egrets were doing.

 

 

You can go work hard, like this Tricoloured Heron. Scouring the sea and rocks for a morsel to eat.

 

 

Or you can keep an eye open for an opportunity, maybe use a bit of cunning –

 

 

and get youself a free meal !

 

The bird with the white moustache is the Inca Tern, so named for its beautiful plumage, likened to the spectacular costumes of the Inca kings.

 

The birds are mainly to be found off the coast of Peru where the Humboldt Current comes close to the shore. This cold current brings a constant upwelling of nutrient rich water from the ocean floor which leads to a bonanza of fish, in particular anchovies, the favourite food of the Inca Tern.

 

 

On previous visits to Peru we had seen distant Inca Terns a long way out over the sea, but never close and never on their breeding grounds. The place to guarantee finding the birds is Paracas National Reserve, near to Ica, south of Lima. Getting there meant taking the only road, along the coast where the vast yellow dunes of the Atacama desert reach down to the coast itself.

 

 

Paracas National Reserve protects both a large part of the ocean as well as the adjoining desert. Getting about, especially away from the few tourist centres is not easy.  There are no facilities and a 4-wheel vehicle is essential. Neither of these are a problem to us and we were able to scout out various bays looking for potential cliffs where the Terns might nest.

 

 

We found a secluded bay, inhabited by just two fishermen living in a makeshift canvas awning, with whom we exchanged beer for freshly caught Mackeral. We stayed for three idyllic days, surrounded by the endless saffron mountains and lulled to sleep at night by the rythmic wash of the tide coming and going.

 

 

The days were pleasantly hot and every afternoon a strong wind blew off the sea.

 

 

The pebbly seashore awash with strands of green seaweed attracting Sanderling, Surfbirds, Whimbrel and Golden Plover, all migrants from North America. Far off over the waves we could watch as the Inca Terns danced over the surface, occasionally darting into the blue to pick a fish.

 

 

Eventually we found a small section of cliff where Inca Terns were breeding. Access was dangerous due to the fragile and sloping edges of the cliff but we were able to watch the birds as they flew right by us.

 

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Evenings were the best time to watch for the birds as many more individuals returned to the cliffs from feeding out at sea.  At that time, young birds would appear from their sheltered crevices and call to their parents.  These calls would send the adults into a frenzy of activity, fluttering around the cliff tops, uttering a soft mewing sound.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An alien circling high above our planet will see that the highest mountain on Earth is in Ecuador. The reason for this is that Mount Chimborazo stands on the widest part of the Earth, the equator.

When Alexander von Humboldt measured Chimborazo in 1801 he thought it was the highest mountain, so in true Humboldt style he tried to reach the summit. At 5,800m (19,000 ft) all his indian guides had deserted him and he himself had bleeding gums and was gasping for every small breath he could manage.

Humboldt is one of the greatest naturalists of all time and father of Biogeography. He was the first and greatest explorer of South America, a man whose writings encouraged Darwin to follow in his footsteps,

…. and, by the way, more places on earth have been named after this man than anyone else!

 

 

Our exploration of Chimborazo was far less exciting, hardly noticable in any way at all. But this mountain, or should I say Volcano, has left a lasting impact on us.

What drew us to Chimborazo in the first place was a hummingbird, the Chimborazo Hillstar, that lives on its volcanic slopes.

We crossed over the border from Peru and headed as directly as we could towards the volcano.  With ever more sinking hearts, the twisting roads led us hour after hour through a highly agricultural mountain realm. Our imagination of what to expect in Ecuador had led us into a world of fantasy. We were expecting Ecuador to be wild and forested, it is not. This is a landscape that has been tamed by man for hundreds and hundreds of years. The majority of the forests have gone, the mountainous slopes turned into a tumbling of neatly kept tilled terraces. The growing of potatoes, maize, carrots and beans being the mainstay of the local economy.

Even in Ecuador, wildlife has to find hidden corners to survive.

 

 

Driving  up one set of hairpin bends we eventually straightened out onto a plateau and beyond, perhaps thirty miles away, stood a most beautiful sight, an ‘ice cream’ shaped dome of a mountain, Chimborazo.

Several hours later we arrived at the National Park road which led to the entrance gate. It was late afternoon so decided to park close by and drive further on the following morning. Our camp that night was at 4,150m (13,500ft). This is 3,000 ft higher than Hannibal had taken his troops over the Pyrenees, to smash the Roman army, a high altitude endeavour that cost the lives of 30,000 of his troops.

We had a shocking night, our sleep being fitful as the temperature inside our sleeping compartment dropped well below zero, we were even too cold to retreive the oxygen from our driving cab. For the second time in a day, our imagination of being on the equator, in Ecuador, the land of flowers and exotic fruits had played games with us. Chimborazo had caught us unawares.

 

 

In the morning the ground outside glistened with frost. Our aim to be out before dawn being a ditched romantic dream. We huddled inside and ate hot porridge, retrieved the oxygen and went back to bed. When I did stagger outside, our first and, to date, our only Carunculated Caracara stood close by looking at me, a look of wonder on its face.

 

 

In the afternoon  we were able to drive to the highest point vehicles can go, 4,900m (16,000ft).  We had been at this altitude before in Chile but Chimborazo was much colder as a strong breeze blew from the mountain’s snowy summit and down its red rocky slopes.

Getting about with heavy camera equipment was a struggle and only very short walks were possible. The pebbly red and white ground crunched as we crossed a frozen moonscape of rock.  Snowman high bushes with dark prickly leaves and orange flowers dotted the ground. We were aware of occasional ‘wraith’ like apparitions ‘zip.. zip..zipping’ over our heads. They were hummingbirds, but as they disappeared over the rocks and away, we never managed to see them properly and we hardly cared, we were done in !

We retreated to a warming car and soft seats and drove down to a local village some distance away,  our admiration for Humboldt growing by the minute.

The following day dawned sunny and we managed to get to the highest parking area by mid-morning. The summit of the volcano was shrouded by swirling mist, making our hunt for the hummingbird even slower and more deliberate, breathing was difficult and every step felt as if we had bricks tied to our feet.

As on the previous evening, we saw hummingbirds occasionally fly high over our heads, but they disappeared over the moon-like scree slopes.

The reason why this Hillstar is here at all in such an inhospitable environment is due to one plant,  the orange flowering shrub Chuquiraga jussieui, one of the national flowers of the Andes, a native to the highlands of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It is the flowers of this shrub that provide the nectar, for the enigmatic Hillstar Hummingbird. The bird though, does a much more important task for the plant, transporting its gene laden pollen from one shrub to another.  The plants are not common being widely scattered across the landscape so to chance pollination to the wind is too risky a strategy, enticing a efficient servant to do the job for it is much safer.

We decided the best way for us to see a Hillstar close too was to watch some of the Chuquiraga bushes.

 

 

Suddenly one shot into the air from over a ridge but again disappeared. Puzzled, we continued our vigil, hands and cheeks becoming more numb by the minute. The bird re-appeared and settled down again in view on the ground in the lee of a bush. The reason we had been unable to find the birds was because they were going onto the ground, seeking shelter.

 

 

Another bird appeared and darted behind a rock, I slowly edged forward and peeked behind and it immediately flew off. Putting my cold hand where the bird had been sitting, I felt a slight warmth radiating from the rock, heated by the sun during the morning.

Like us, the birds were desperate to keep warm, this was their and our limit of endurance.

 

 

Colour, energy, succulent food and sultry heat, these are all the ingredients for a love affair in the tropics.

The two partners are passionate about one another.  They need one another, they cannot live without each other and each are dressed in costumes that sparkle – like all great celebrities do.

These celebrities are firstly,  the energetic, dazzling hummingbirds of the New World, who move about the tropical forest like high speed racers.

 

 

Secondly there are the architecturally shaped, exotic, Heliconia plants. They hide away amid the dark green foliage, but are clothed in an orange or red mantle that would outshine a queen.

 

 

The hummingbirds seach for the plants and the heliconias wait for the birds.

When we walk through tropical forests there is often a sense of foreboding. The darkness and damp humidity surround us as we stumble over storm thrown trees. Occasionally amidst the dim verdant luxuriance we can see splashes of bright enticing colours.

 

 

These are the Heliconias and they brighten up the forest as nothing else quite does. In fact Heliconias are so named after the greek Mount Helicon, the home of the muses. The muses were the goddesses of literature, science, art and music, all the aspects of life that are bright and beautiful, most worthy and sought after.

Heliconias and Hummingbirds are partners that evolution has crafted for millions of years. Heliconia plants have designed their weird and wonderful shapes to attract different species of Hummingbirds.

A Green Hermit Hummingbird, its wings beating at 50 beats a second, holds itself steady whilst it bends its head sideways and manoeuvres its bill into a tiny tubular flower.

 

 

Deep within their colourful outer shells, the plants hide tiny insignificant flowers rich in nectar.  Hummingbirds have tongues twice as long as their bills and it is this as well as their ability to hover in flight which enables them to extract the nectar.

A Violet-tailed Sylph extracting nectar to nourish its high speed lifestyle.

 

 

In so doing the flowers deposit pollen on the bird’s head and when the bird visits the next flower, pollination is complete.  A love affair in the tropics that benefits the whole forest.

 

At the coldest time of the year the wonder of wintering geese cheers us up and we know the seasons have changed when we hear their airborne cries and yelps. January and February in northern Europe is deepest winter, the earth held in an icy grip. A tough time for most birds – but not geese. The Netherlands are the winter sanctuary for hundreds of thousands of geese from Russia and the far North, like these Barnacle Geese.

 

 

In Arizona, New Mexico and southern California the wonder of wintering geese comes in the form of Snow Geese, which arrive by the million, pushed by the harsh winter in their summer breeding home of arctic Canada.

 

 

Argentina’s mid- winter is July and a beautiful goose, that breeds in the high Andes, then descends to lower elevations.  This is the Andean Goose and we were fortunate to see many of these birds in NW Argentina near to Tafi del Valle in the province of Tucuman.

 

 

Paula and I would be out well before the orange glow of dawn streaked across the marsh. Settling down at our favourite spot close to a fence we would wait. Eventually their high pitched calls would alert us as the geese drfrited low over the willow trees and came down onto the frosted grass.

 

Andean Goose Chloephaga melanoptera, Tafi del Valle, Tucuman Argentina

Having lived Wild in South America for some years we can honestly say that not all tyrants are in Venezuela.

We love Venezuela but there are more Tyrants outside the country than in it.  I’m talking about birds of course, the family of Tyrant Flycatchers.

 

White Headed Marsh Tyrant at nest

Tyrant Flycatchers are the largest family of birds in the World, living throughout the Americas from Canada down to Patagonia.

Tyrants are unscrupulous, agressive, domineering and vicious and many of these traits apply to the feathered family of Tyrant Flycatchers. The birds are highly territorial and we have seen them defend nest sites against much larger birds, other Tyrant Flycatcher species or even hawks. We saw this pair of White-headed Marsh Tyrants defend their beautiful domed nest against Strange-tailed Marsh Tyrants.

 

Male Strange-tailed Tyrant, Ibera marsh, Argentina

 

All Tyrant Flycatchers have relatively broad, flattish beaks which have a small hook at the end. This indicates that their preferred food is other animals. Insects provide much of their food but many of the larger species will take small amphibians and reptiles as well as small rodents.

 

Black-billed Shrike Tyrant, Los Cardones N.P Argentina.

From a birdwatcher’s or bird photographer’s point of view they are not the most exciting of bird families. However the success of the family, there are 400 species, makes them an unmissable element of new world ornithology.

Only two thirds of all the Tyrant Flycatchers are actually flycatchers.

They are to be found in practically all habitats -from the lowland tropical forests of Peru

 

To the high altitudinal volcanic mountains of Chile.

 

Everywhere in the Americas is home to one tyrant or another. Our time travelling over the wildlands of Patagonia was interspersed with views of the Chocolate-vented Tyrant. During the breeding season the birds would call into the fierce Patagonian winds, siren voices in the wilderness. These are the tyrants that bring pleasure to our lives.

 

The northern coast of Chile is rocky and desolate, but one day we came across a very special rock.

 

Special because it was both inaccessible and yet close enough to the shore to easily see the wildlife that lived on it.

 

 

We camped on the beach for three days and saw just two fishermen in that time. The only sound was that of the sea and birds.

 

Toyota Hilux with 4-wheel camper

 

Red-legged and Guanay Cormorants nested on the rock. Whilst Peruvian Pelicans and many other birds used it as a safe place to rest.

 

 

By carefully walking across the slippery rocks I was able to get close enough to watch and film the birds without disturbing them.

 

 

An opportunity to get some great shots

 

 

There is nothing new about aerial photography. What’s new is that now anyone can now do it.

 

 

 

We have a drone with us in South America, which we use for landscape and habitat photography.

 

We have found that with a Phantom 4 drone its a great advantage to use our iPad as the monitoring screen.  Its size and high resolution enables us to follow the drone easier.

 

 

We were camping for a night in a wonderful location in southern Chile, surrounded by blue lakes and snow clad mountains.

We knew that in front of us was a magnificent landscape, but how were we to photograph it.

 

 

Launching the drone directly above our van, we were able to get this image of the valley, a landscape we only imagined existed.

 

 

 

The Red and Green macaw feeds off the fruit of the Boukavia Palm. But a biologist may want to get much better pictures of the actual fruit.

 

 

Using the drone enabled us to get close up to the fruit.

 

 

The Baker river and valley is one of the most pristine landscapes in southern Chile.  The glacial fed river being a luscious emerald colour.

 

So we launched the DJI Phantom 4 drone.

 

 

 

There are many occasions when a drone is not sufficient.  Only a plane will do, but beware.

 

 

Aerial Photography from a plane is not easy.  Choose the plane carefully. There will be little room, the weather may cause a small plane to shake about. Wing struts may get in the way.

 

But a plane is the only way to get high and get the shots you really want.