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, funga, or features of geologic ...

near

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander Department, Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and is the ninth most populous city i ...

in central

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. The reserve is set among

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

forest on the eastern slopes of the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River (, ; 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 its lower reaches, ...

. It measures and adjoins the Yariguíes National Park. The reserve was founded in 2005 by

Fundación ProAves Fundación ProAves is a nonprofit environmental organization in Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. Th ...

, a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

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 environme ...

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

American Bird Conservancy American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a non-profit organization, non-profit membership organization with the mission of conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC is the second BirdLife International partner in the United ...

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

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s from

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

such as the cerulean warbler as well as locally

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

species. The reserve has incorporated a coffee farm, producing shade-grown coffee 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, chestnut-bellied hummingbird and mountain grackle. Other threatened species include the rusty-faced parrot, white-mantled barbet, black inca, Upper Magdalena tapaculo, turquoise dacnis and the recurve-billed bushbird. The Yariguies brush-finch is a new subspecies recently discovered just outside the reserve. Other animals of conservation interest include the

spectacled bear The spectacled bear (''Tremarctos ornatus''), also known as the South American bear, Andean bear, Andean short-faced bear or mountain bear and locally as jukumari ( Aymara and Quechua), ukumari ( Quechua) or ukuku, is a species of bear native to ...

, crab-eating fox 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 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 in Colombia Nature reserves in Colombia Geography of Santander Department Tourist attractions in Santander Department Protected areas established in 2005 2005 establishments in Colombia