Venezuela: Hato Pinero New Year Dec 27, 2006—Jan 04, 2007
Posted by Jeri Langham
Jeri Langham
Jeri M. Langham has a Ph.D. in plant ecology from Washington State University, and after 38 years as a professor of biological sciences at California State University ...Related Trips
For over a decade, I have wanted to co-lead a tour with David Ascanio, a wonderful individual who is regarded widely as Venezuela’s premier birder and tour leader. Unexpected conflicts this year for both my usual co-leaders, Gary Langham and Shawn Hayes, made it possible to finally have David co-lead as I returned to Hato Piñero for my 20th VENT New Year’s tour. David has led many tours to this ranch over the years so we had a wonderful opportunity to share our favorite destinations and our best locations for some of the tougher-to-see species. Amazingly, we added six new species to my cumulative list (Bran-colored Flycatcher, Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrant, Gray-breasted and Ash-throated crakes, Pectoral Sandpiper, and an out-of-range Broad-winged Hawk), the latter four being new records for Hato Piñero.
A good example of what awaits visitors to this marvelous Venezuelan ranch can be found in excerpts of our first two days from the journal I write during every tour and later mail to all the tour participants:
Mario, the driver of our specially-designed open-topped truck, and ranch-hand spotter Gertrudis have the routine down pat. We leave in mid-afternoon our first day here and return spotlighting in the cool of evening. Spectacular daytime species this year were two tiny Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, an Aplomado Falcon that flew right at the truck, two huge Horned Screamers, Scarlet Ibises, and Scarlet Macaws, but we had a constant stream of new species as we headed out to Los Cerritos. My owl-call imitations were especially fruitful today as many small responding groups contained new birds ranging from small flycatchers and tail-pumping antshrikes to Venezuelan Troupials. As always, we arrived at Laguna Alta by Los Cerritos in late afternoon. Stunning Scarlet Ibis groups flew by to their roost with numerous other species and we saw our first capybaras, the world’s largest rodent. There were dozens of Black-bellied and White-faced whistling-ducks on the far side of the pond. As darkness descended, we ate cold fruit and various kinds of cookies and chips and washed them down with cold drinks. My favorite snacks are always the plantain chips with garlic flavoring. Most of the group could not get over the many stars, the brightness of the half moon, and the glowing-ember eyes of all the spectacled caimans in the smaller pond. It was a slow mammal night, but we all saw white-tailed deer and crab-eating zorros. We had great looks at Pauraques and White-tailed Nightjars, but my favorite was the rufous-phase Tropical Screech-Owl. It cooperated beautifully for photos. After dinner we completed our first checklist and headed for bed.
By 5:30 a.m. the next morning we were eating arepas with cheese and butter, as well as delicious scrambled eggs with tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions. The two waitresses couldn’t believe that some members of our group preferred to put jelly on their arepas rather than the ranch-made butter and cheese. As we headed out in the truck at dawn, a pair of Bat Falcons zoomed overhead, probably looking for their last meal of the morning. Neither David nor I had ever seen such large flocks of Crested Oropendolas as those that flew over just before we reached bamboo alley. We estimated over 500 individuals. A Zone-tailed Hawk was our next best bird before reaching the great marshy area where birds came from all corners. White-bearded Flycatchers and Lesser Kiskadees vied for attention with Black-capped Donacobius, Black-collared Hawk, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Yellow-knobbed Curassow, Green Ibis, Pied Water-Tyrant, Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Cocoi Heron and others. About an hour later, we finally moved on. At the big muddy pond, we spent some time off the truck walking over to photograph the huge Jabirú nest with three large youngsters, and the many spectacled caimans and Llanos sideneck turtles that lined shores of the pond. A very tough-to-find species we saw here was American Pygmy Kingfisher. Further along in a leafless tree, a large termite mound had a pair of Orange-chinned Parakeets and a pair of Russet-throated Puffbirds claiming its two nesting cavities. We also had great looks at Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture and a side by side comparison of Bare-faced and Sharp-tailed ibises. The dry forest trail at Caño San Jerónimo was excellent, giving us over a dozen new species and better looks at some birds we had seen previously. We were back for lunch by noon.
I always recommend a siesta after lunch, but some of the group spent the time sitting on the porch watching the fruit feeder and/or birding the trees around the buildings. At 3:30, Mario arrived with the truck and we drove at a good clip toward Caño San Jerónimo. We only made a few stops on the way and continued west. By late afternoon we had passed through the large tracts of dry, deciduous forest and arrived at the open fields of Charco Azul. Fork-tailed Flycatchers were an instant delight, but Bicolored Wren and, especially, Dwarf Cuckoo, were two prime target birds that we found here. Just past the little bridge, some of the group saw a spectacled caiman take down a White-necked Heron.
As the sun was ready to go down, we arrived at the second roosting area for Scarlet Ibis and other species. Again we broke out the cold fruit, cookies, plantain chips, and drinks. Through the two spotting scopes we observed a pair of Horned Screamers perched high in a tree, and then our target Nacunda Nighthawks flew high overhead, followed by some large fruit bats. Spotlighting was superb. David caught a Lesser Nighthawk for us to examine up close. We saw two Great Horned Owls fly away, but got excellent views of a Spectacled Owl. We also had wonderful views of four Great Potoos and one Common Potoo. A very cooperative Boat-billed Heron and a pair of Double-striped Thick-Knees also allowed photos, as did White-tailed Nightjar and many Pauraques. By my count, we saw 136 species today.
For the last few years, the fate of this 200,000-acre ranch in the upper Llanos of Venezuela has been in limbo because Venezuela’s President Chavez has been taking over large properties. Hundreds of letters written by former visitors have at least temporarily helped to save it. As an ecologist, I consider Hato Piñero a superb world-class example of how well cattle ranching and conservation can work together. If you have considered a visit to this birding paradise, move it to the top of your list. VENT offers my New Year’s tour, as well as one in February and another in November that are both led by David Ascanio. He and I will co-lead again this coming December. Please come join us!