Costa Rica 6, Seventh Day In Costa Rica

I went to the cloud forest reserve, and that's all I did today, outside of eating breakfast and dinner (I usually miss lunch on these trips, since I usually don't get very hungry, plus, I can save money), and I listened to Mendehlsonn´s Scottish Symphony on Youtube, while working on a drawing of a hummingbird. The allergy attacks last night and this morning really sapped my energy, so I tried to go at a slow and measured pace today. I spent almost three hours in the cloud forest, where I took some of the gentler trails and made sure I had lots of time to sit on various benches and stare out into the forest. I met a couple of young Austrian guys in the forest and we chatted for a while. one of them is doing his pHD on renewable technologies for water purification. I also had a nice visit with an older American couple from Montana. They recognized me from Orchids Cafe yesterday where they were admiring a drawing I was working on. They were watching birds and we both seem to share concern that the large groups of birdwatchers are traumatizing the quetzals as they gather around, twenty or thirty at a time with their fancy bird watching equipment. They are timid and delicate birds, and this kind of attention can't in the long run be good for them. It is very difficult to have a conversation about this with anyone who lives here, as the quetzals are such a cash grab and these forest reserves are not cheap to enter, so no one wants to compromise their cash cow (or, bird!) This is also troubling because the quetzal is a threatened species. Here´s a bit of information I pulled off the internet: "According to the IUCN Red List (BirdLife International 2009), the conservation status of the Resplendent Quetzal is assessed as Near Threatened. Its CITES status is Appendix I. It is believed to be undergoing a "moderately rapid population decline" due to deforestation. BirdLife International calls for more monitoring to better establish the population estimate and trends. Additionally, suggested conservation actions include monitoring habitat loss and degradation, as well as protecting habitat corridors and the high and low elevation forests it inhabits. According to the Partners in Flight conservation vulnerability assessment (Berlanga et al. 2010), the Resplendent Quetzal is one of the 148 species of landbirds of highest tri-national concern for conservation in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Collar (2001) suggests that the Resplendent Quetzal may be the most threatened trogonid of modern day. Berlanga et al. (2010) describe the primary threats to the Resplendent Quetzal as habitat conversion for agriculture and livestock production, logging of mature forest, and climate change. According to BirdLife International (2009), some direct persecution probably still occurs, particularly in southern Mexico, but it is likely reduced. Stotz et al. (1996) describe its sensitivity to human disturbance as medium.' Traditionally, the Resplendent Quetzal's plumes were highly treasured by pre-Columbian populations in Mesoamerica. The long green uppertail coverts of the male quetzal covered the heads of high priests and royalty-the only people who could possess and wear them (Johnsgard 2000). However, it is believed that birds were trapped and released to harvest feathers and then allow them to regrow them (Skutch 1944). Others believe that a great deal of harvest occurred to procure the necessary feathers (Collar 2001). In contrast, Europeans collected quetzals in great numbers to sell their skins to museums and collectors. Skutch (1944) described the magnitude of quetzal trade that "reached such proportions that the Quetzals might well have been exterminated had not so many of them dwelt in wild mountainous regions which even today are most difficult of access and scarcely explored." Resplendent Quetzals also were captured for the caged bird trade but did not do well in captivity (Collar 2001). Wetmore (1968) noted that in the 1960s a great deal of hunting for quetzals still occurred, for their feathers as well as their meat. Additionally they were taken for zoos and private aviaries (Collar 2001)." Of course, seeing one of these magnificent birds is on a lot of birders bucket lists. I was privileged to see two, a male and female, last year in the reserve. Today I heard them calling in the forest. They have a gentle kew-kew-kew kind of call. Even if I don't live to see another one, I am reassured that they are still alive and well, even if I don't live to see another one. Other species have not been faring quite so well, such as the golden toad, which died out during the late eighties. It was here in Monteverde that it was first announced that climate change is having an indelible effect on species decline and extinction. It has also been rather charming seeing first time visitors here today get all gooey and gobsmacked about the beatuiful hummingbirds, too, such as the ones at the cafe near the entrance. I must be a bit jaded, since I have seen so many, but they are lovely. And even if I find all the camera equipment a bit, shall we say, crass, well, one could consider that a hundred years ago everyone would have been killing the poor birds so they could take them home as trophies. We really have come a long way, even if it might help for these enthusiastic barmy birders to curb their joy just a little bit so they can give the poor birds a little breathing space. As much as I love birds, I do not pursue them, believing that when a bird is willing and ready to be seen, then it will let itself be seen. And it helps to remember that the birds are also watching us.