Country is for the bird-watchers

Our feathered friends have once again given Colombia’s tourist trade a boost.

Colombia once again came on top of May 11’s Global Big Day 2024, which invites birdwatchers to report different bird species they saw on that specific day, and in doing so has established itself as the leading destination for birdwatching worldwide, says Colombian tourist board ProColombia.

“With a total of 1,558 species recorded and 12,007 checklists submitted, the Country of Beauty outperformed countries such as Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, and India, positioning itself at the top of the global count,” the tourist board adds.

Global Big Day, which began in 2015, has seen Colombia rank first in the standings since 2017, except for 2021. In 2017, 1,487 species were recorded. Sightings then rose to 1,565 in 2018 and reached 1,617 in 2019. Although there was a slight decline in 2020, with 1,453 species spotted, Colombia rebounded in 2022 with 1,561 sightings and in 2023 1,547 species were recorded.

The birdwatching competition is organized globally by American university Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology, which invites people from around the world to observe and record birds for a day. The lab aims to gather data on the distribution and abundance of birds for its eBird platform, used for conservation and scientific research.

ProColombia says Colombia again topping the competition demonstrates that the country is great for birdwatching and will help it attract a greater share of the lucrative international birdwatching market.

“Facts are by our side,” a ProColombia spokesman says. “Colombia is the most biodiverse country per square kilometre in the world according to the World Wildlife Fund and we are committed to the conservation of our environment and our fauna. We have won the Global Big Day for several years, and the numbers speak for themselves, as they are always increasing every year.

ProColombia says Colombia’s strong performances can be attributed to the “vast diversity of bird species that inhabit the territory and there are a lot of specialists from Ornithological societies, foundations and tour operators that are constantly looking for new species. For example this year the country recorded several new species such as Long-tailed potoo, Scissor-tailed Nightjar, Wattled Curassow and Ocellated Poorwill.”

“Nature, sustainable and meaningful tourism are a priority for the National Government of Colombia,” the spokesman adds. “The Ministry of Trade, Industry and tourism is constantly supporting local organizations that are specialized in bird watching, where several of them are tour operators that are qualified for this kind of tourism in any of our six tourist regions. ProColombia is also part of the Destination Nature Program by (U.S. government agency) USAID that invites birders by the slogan ‘gossip flies because birds have much to tells us.'”

Colombian cabinet minister Germán Umaña Mendoza, whose duties include overseeing Colombian tourism, has stated that developing nature tourism with a conservation focus is a priority for the government, which has designed four birdwatching routes in various regions of Colombia. The fifth is being developed through Fontur, and a sixth has been announced.

The May 11 event was an opportunity to highlight the vast diversity of bird species that inhabit Colombia, promoting the country as a unique birdwatching destination.

“The outstanding performance of Colombia in the Global Big Day 2024 reflects our commitment to conserving natural wealth and consolidates our position as a world leader in birdwatching. We invite nature lovers to discover the magic of our landscapes and the extraordinary biodiversity of Colombia, The Country of Beauty,” says Carmen Caballero, president of ProColombia.n

The Colombian departments that stood out in the count were Antioquia, Meta, Valle del Cauca, Putumayo, and Cundinamarca, demonstrating the importance of biodiversity and conservation in these regions.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Tourism this year supported local organizations such as Acoaves del Cauca, the Ornithological Society of Córdoba, the Pajareritos Foundation of Putumayo; the Group of Birdwatching Operators and Specialists of the Amazon Birdwatching Group, and the Ethnocultural Educational Institutions El Mamey in Magdalena and Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento in Meta. Together, they contributed around 491 species registered on the eBird platform.

They received field workshops with specialized guides, interpretive activities for scientific recognition, binoculars, birdwatching guides, and other logistical elements. The educational material and equipment were left at each destination to contribute to capacity-building processes and encourage more young people to participate in birdwatching and conservation.

ProColombia, the promotion agency of the country, for its part, joined the USAID Destination Nature program to boost the bird count under the slogan “Gossip flies because birds have much to tell us”, a strategy that encouraged participation from both experts and enthusiasts during the event.

“It is excellent news to have once again ranked first in the number of bird species spotted during Global Big Day. This not only shows that more people are joining these citizen science days supported by the Program but also shows that Colombians are becoming aware of the importance of conserving our biodiversity and natural environments,” said Julián Guerrero, Director of the USAID Destination Nature Program.

For more information about Colombia, visit Colombia.travel/en.