Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Bird-a-thon Rediscovers Capital Species

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CARACAS, Oct 28 2006 (IPS) - Team Paují (named for the Pauxi pauxi, an endangered bird) won first place in the 10th Bird-a-thon, a birdwatching marathon, held Oct. 22 in the Caracas metropolitan area, sponsored by the Venezuelan chapter of the Audobon Society. Under the command of Swedish guide Johan Kvarnback, Team Pauí identified 88 species — including the black hawk-eagle (Spizaetus tyrannus) — in a 6-hour trek through parks and suburbs, in a friendly competition with other teams of 120 birdwatchers who searched skies, forests and ponds.

Caracas, “despite the ill treatment of the environment, is home to more than 200 bird species, while on the Avila (the mountain separating the capital from the Caribbean Sea), there are 450,” Audubon president Marieta Hernández told Tierramérica, after presenting Kvarnback's team with its prize of chocolates.