2010 VENT Casa María & Hato Piñero Birdlist. D. Ascanio. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours CASA MARIA & HATO PIÑERO February 9-17, 2010 Leader: David Ascanio Compiled by: David Ascanio Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, inc. 2525 Wallington Drive, Suite 1003 Austin, TX 78746 www.ventbird.com 2010 VENT Casa María & Hato Piñero Birdlist. D. Ascanio. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours Casa María & Hato Piñero Feb. 9-17, 2010 Leader: David Ascanio If there’s a perfect combination for a relaxed & easy tour in the Neotropics that one is our Casa Maria & Hato Piñero tour in Venezuela. Just looking at the number of bird species and the richness of each area will give you an idea of what I mean: In a 9 days tour we managed to see more than 260 species of birds while visiting several habitats from cloud forest to savanna, wetlands and grassland. Best of it, every day we didn´t spent longer than three hours and a half in the morning and only two to three hours in the afternoon. Our first location was Casa Maria. This lodge is arguably the best one in the country. Here, a combination of an insect and moth atracting light bulb, bird feeders and a inmense garden serves as home for several hummingbirds, tanagers, flycatchers and night birds. Add to this scene great meals, superb desserts and 3- dimmesional slide show given by one of the best enthomologists in Venezuela. While in Casa Maria we visited large tracks of cloud forest, shade coffee and citrus plantations and birded in easy-to- walk roads contiguous to the lodge. After this superb experience in the northern mountains of Venezuela we drove south to the northern plains to Hato Piñero. This ranch is located in a region unique to the continent occupying a third of Venezuela’s territory. Here the landscape is dominated by flatlands with watercourses draining into the Orinoco River. Grasslands dominate the area while patches of tropical dry forest and gallery forest breaks the homogenity of the region. This is the land were large concentrations of birds can be seen and a viable population of wild cats remains. Being a wildlife rich area we spent more days at the ranch and drove across the safari vehicles throughout the roads of it. As in the previous years we arranged an optional short night outing and still saw most of what you expect to see in a regular birding tour. This year was somehow different than any previous R&E tour to these locations. Since November 2009 most of northern South America have been under the influence of el Niño weather pattern 2010 VENT Casa María & Hato Piñero Birdlist. D. Ascanio. thus bringing a severe drought to the whole country. In fact, some time in March we registered the hottest day in Venezuela for the last 103 years! I believe that is the reason why we reported less number of individuals per species at the ranch. Among the favorite bird species of the tour there was a mosaic of preferences. While some participants highlighted the avifauna of the ranch choosing King Vulture, Great Potoo and Gray Pileated Finch others thought that Scarlet Macaw, Long-billed Gnatwren and Sunbittern deserved such honor. Surprisingly, the list was longer than expected and included Whistling Heron, Sooty-capped Hermit, White Hawk, Guira Tanager, Horned Screamer, Northern White-fringed Antwren, Slate-headed Tody Flycatcher, Golden Tanager, Jabiru, Common Tody Flycatcher, Burnished-buff Tanager, Ringed Kingfisher and Stripe-backed Wren. The birdlist enclosed hopes to refresh some of the great time we shared during the tour. In trying to give you an easy understanding of the continuous changing taxonomy I have added comments to each species when pertinent. Nevertheless, for an up-dated taxonomy of the birds of the Neotropical region please visit the South American Classficiation Committee (SACC) at <http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html>. Also, for seeing several of the videos taken of the birds of both locations please visit the Internet Bird Collection at http://ibc.lynxeds.com/users/david-ascanio. I want to thanks Gertrudis Gamarra, Desiree Starke and Mario Garcia for sharing their knowledge and skills on locating of the avifauna of Piñero, and to Norbert Flauger for taking us into the wild areas surrounding Casa Maria and for a great slide show. Not to say the least, a big thank you goes to Gaby and her staff in Casa Maria for superb meals and unforgettable desserts! I hope to see you again in another R&E tour in a bird-rich country in the Americas. Maybe in our Trinidad & Tobago tour or the more strenuous Dominican Republic tour. Or, you may want to think about joining us in the easy-going Amazon Cruise or even in a short Puerto Rico tour. I will be very grateful to see you again. Thank you for coming with us! 2010 VENT Casa María & Hato Piñero Birdlist. D. Ascanio. The Birdlist. The birdlist follows the taxonomy and nomenclature of Birds of Venezuela by S. Hilty (2003) and include some recent taxonomic changes. Some of these changes have been inserted in the birdlist, but when a different English name is given in Hity (2003) such name appears in brackets. For further information regarding the current accepted taxonomy of the birds in the Neotropical region please visit the South American Classification Committee (SACC) at: http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html Pelecanidae Brown Pelican. Pelecanus occidentalis. This species was common along the Caribbean coast. Phalacrocoracidae Neotropic Cormorant. Phalacrocorax brasilianus. We saw scattered individuals in Hato Piñero. Anhimidae Anhinga. Anhinga anhinga. This time we reported only few individuals in Hato Piñero. Fregatidae Magnificent Frigatebird. Fregata magnificens. We had scattered sights along the Caribbean Sea. Ardeidae Whistling Heron. Syrigma sibilatrix. We saw a pairs almost daily along the road leaving the main house. This species is certainly one of the most beautiful herons in Venezuela. Capped Heron. Pilherodius pileatus. We managed to enjoy great views of about 4 individuals in one afternoon. This year we have seen more individuals that in previous years, and is probably due to the severe drought. Cocoi Heron. Ardea cocoi. Daily views in Piñero although not numerous. Great Egret. Ardea alba. Daily views although not numerous. Little Blue Heron. Egretta caerulea. 1 or 2 individuals were seen every day at Hato Piñero. Snowy Egret. Egretta thula. We saw only a pair in the east side of the ranch. Cattle Egret. Bubulcus ibis. Numerous. In our list it shows that it was seen daily in Casa Maria and in Piñero. Black-crowned Night-Heron. Nycticorax nycticorax. We enjoyed views of individuals in juvenile and adult plumage in Hato Piñero. Boat-billed Heron. Cochlearius cochlearius. We had superb views of few individuals during the optional night outing in Hato Piñero. Rufescent Tiger Heron. Tigrisoma lineatum. We had superb views of juveniles and adults in Hato Piñero. It is fascinating to see how this species remains quiet over small wetlands when fishing thus waiting for the moment to hit the bill against the water and catch the prey! Threskiornithidae Hato Piñero is a superb place for enjoying and learning about the ibises. In the ranch we were able to observe all six species to occur in the country. 2010 VENT Casa María & Hato Piñero Birdlist. D. Ascanio. Buff-necked Ibis. Theristicus caudatus. Unlike most other ibises, this species avoids direct contact with water. We enjoyed close views of it while they were searching for arthropods in the fields with native grasses. Sharp-tailed Ibis. Cercibis oxycerca. A pair was seen at dawn flying out of the roost near the main house. Green Ibis. Mesembrinibis cayennensis. Unlike most other ibises, this species remains lonely and prefer areas either inside or close to forest. Also, unlike the Buff-necked Ibis this species is usually close to water in wet grasslands or muddy grounds. Only 4 individuals were seen in Piñero. Bare-faced Ibis. Phimosus infuscatus. The least conspicuous of the ibis given its dull plumaje and pale face colors. At about 17 individuals were seen in Piñero. Scarlet Ibis. Eudocimus ruber. We were rewarded one afternoon with great views of this astonishing ibis. Unlike the last year, this time we managed to see about 10 individuals. Roseate Spoonbill. Ajaia ajaja. We observed loose groups or individuals in the small wetlands along the road to Hato Piñero. Ciconiidae Wood Stork. Mycteria americana. Few individuals (9 Ind.) were reported in the ponds along the road or soaring. Jabiru. Jabiru mycteria. 3 pairs were enjoyed feeding on eel, fish and small reptiles in drying ponds in Hato Piñero. Anhimidae Horned Screamer. Anhima cornuta.We enjoyed great views of this weird species, the closest resemblance to a unicorn in the Americas! Anatidae Black-bellied Whistling-Duck. Dendrocygna autumnalis. The last year we observed more than 400 individuals flying around laguna Los Cerritos in Piñero. In contrast, this year we observed 14 individuals in the same location! Muscovy Duck. Cairina moschata. We enjoyed a couple of groups of 4 inndividuals each in Hato Piñero. Cathartidae Black Vulture. Coragyps atratus. Daily views. Turkey Vulture. Cathartes aura.. Most sights were of individuals of the the North America race (septentrionalis) while only one individual of the resident race ruficollis was seen near the biological station of Hato Piñero. Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture. Cathartes burrovianus. A pair was soaring low over dry grasses in west side of the ranch. King Vulture. Sarcoramphus papa. We had a great vulture experience when seeing most of the previous species plus 4 adults and 1 subadult feeding on a carcass found along the southern road of the ranch.