El Avila is often the first landmark to be noted by the visitor to Venezuela: it dominates the landward view from Simón Bolívar International airport and through it one must travel to reach Caracas. Looming up from the northern limits of the city, it provides a convenient reference to help the visitor orient her or himself in the capital.

Abutting the northern edge of the city and a 40 minute walk from downtown Caracas, El Avila is Venezuela’s most accessible national park and, although it is well known to local hikers and fitness enthusiasts, it has been long neglected by visiting birders. Early portraits of the Avila, including sketches by Alexander von Humboldt, depict a largely deforested mountain with grasslands occupying most of the southern slopes and a narrow band of cloud forest at the top. Indeed, the Avila has been cultivated for many centuries and the remnants of old coffee plantations, Spanish mule trails and colonial dwellings abound. The forest cover has been regenerating since the last century, a trend reinforced by the creation of the 85,192 ha El Avila National Park in 1958.

With elevations ranging from 120 to 2765 m, the Avila contains a range of habitats. On the coast, xeric coastal scrub gives way to forests which are semi-deciduous at the lower elevations, but become increasingly humid toward the ridge tops. Cloud forest prevails above 1600 m up until the appearance of sub-páramo vegetation above 2200 m on the mountain tops. The southern (city) side is notably drier, with semi-deciduous forests from the city limits up to about 1700 m, and above that a humid forest and then cloud forest.

The birds are typical of the Coastal Cordillera and consist of Andean species mixed with local endemics. Xeric scrub communities with several endemics are found along the coast, whilst tanager flocks are common in the more humid forests and many Andean species can be found in the sub-páramos. The Avila provides an excellent location to search for several Venezuelan endemics and specialities such as Blood-eared Parakeet, Green-tailed Emerald, Buffy Hummingbird, Rufous-shafted Woodstar, White-tipped Quetzal, Black-throated Spinetail, Caracas Tapaculo, Scalloped Antthrush, Handsome Fruiteater, Venezuelan Tyrannulet and Ochre-breasted Brush-Finch. The best birding spots are the Galipán – Hotel Humboldt ridge top for cloud forest specialities, Los Venados for hummingbirds (including Green-tailed Emerald, Rufous-shafted Woodstar and Spangled Coquette) and semi-deciduous forest species and Sabas Nieves and the Cortafuegos for more open scrub birding.

Photo: Caracas from the Sabas Nieves Trail (Chris Sharpe)

A variety of excellent hotels to suit all birders' tastes are to be found in Caracas.

Specialities and endemics

Rufous-vented Chachalaca S
Band-tailed Guan S
Helmeted Curassow S
Venezuelan Wood-Quail E
Venezuelan Parakeet E
Blood-eared Parakeet E
Maroon-faced Parakeet S
Lilac-tailed Parrotlet S
Pale-bellied Hermit S
Green-tailed Emerald E
Buffy Hummingbird S
Copper-rumped Hummingbird S
Rufous-shafted Woodstar S
White-tipped Quetzal S
Russet-throated Puffbird S
Moustached Puffbird S
Groove-billed Toucanet S
Scaled Piculet S
Black-throated Spinetail E
Crested Spinetail S
Guttulated Foliage-gleaner E
Scalloped Antthrush S
Plain-backed Antpitta S
Rusty-breasted Antpitta S
Caracas Tapaculo E
Golden-breasted Fruiteater S
Handsome Fruiteater E
Rufous-lored Tyrannulet S
Venezuelan Tyrannulet S
Stripe-backed Wren S
Black-hooded Thrush S
Trinidad Euphonia S
Glaucous Tanager S
Fulvous-headed Tanager S
Black-faced Grassquit S
Ochre-breasted Brush-Finch S

Full bird checklist Sharpe, C.J. in prep. Lista de las Aves del Parque Nacional El Avila, Venezuela. Sociedad Conservacionista Audubon de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela. 350 spp. confirmed so far. The Audubon Society seeks funding to publish this list – any offers are very welcome! Email Chris Sharpe.

Links

Bioparques: http://www.parkswatch.org/parkprofiles/avila/Avila_spanish.shtml
http://www.venezuelaturistica.com/IAvila.htm

(see also: 1. Birding Caracas)