Bearded bellbird lek sites in Venezuela/Trinidad/Guyana? (1 Viewer)

Hello,
I've got more of a 'locations associated with a species' question than a 'species associated with a location' one, but I figured this would be the most appropriate place to post.
I'm a graduate student at Cornell and am beginning work on vocal communication and learning in the bearded bellbird (Procnias averano). I'm in the process of looking for possible field sites and could use help finding an appropriate one in either Trinidad, Venezuela, or Guyana.
I am already aware of the population near the Asa Wright center in Trinidad, but could use some advice from anyone familiar with other large populations (i.e. not scattered individuals) of these birds. Ideally, the site would be close enough to a research station or town that daily travel to the leks would be feasible.
Any advice you could provide (either about potential field sites or contacts who might have relevant information) would be very much appreciated. And if you are concerned about what I'd be doing out there, this will be a primarily observational (non-invasive) study.

Thanks in advance!

Hi procnias, I see this is your first post, so may I welcome you on behalf of all the staff and moderators at Bird Forum.

I'm sure someone will be along soon to advise you

D

Hi procnias,
And another welcome to the Birdforum.

The only info on Bearded Bellbird leks I have is the ASA Wright center in Trinidad that you mentioned. Their property has some, including this Bearded Bellbird that I photographed there.

Best of luck,

Hi Procnias,
As Dave says you really can't go wrong with Asa Wright. They have an adjacent research centre which has accommodation for research workers (William Beebe Tropical Research Centre) -it might be worthwhile contacting them ( see: www.wbtrs.org/facilities.html ).

Male Bearded Bellbirds call throughout the year except august/september when the birds are in moult. They are very easy to find at the Asa Wright lek but can be heard calling throughout much of the Arena valley though the AWC birds have become pretty tolerant.

All in all Asa Wright is something worth shouting about:

Hi again,
Thanks for the info Dave and Steve (outstanding pics by the way! Were those birds down in the subcanopy when you photographed them or do you have really good telephoto lenses?). I guess I should explain why I'm interested in finding P. averano populations other than the Arima Valley one. The Trinidad bellbirds all seem to have lost a vocalization which is present in other areas of it's range. The Asa Wright guys have the 'bonk' and 'tonk' calls but not the 'kering kerong' call (although it was present in the late 1800's there), whereas Venezuelan birds have all three. I'm interested in comparing vocal repertoires and how they are used between these behaviorally dissimilar groups. The other reason I'm looking for feasible sites other than William Beebe Research Station is the cost. I'm probably going to have 2-3 field assistants and be down in the field for 3-4 months each year, and the WBRS is more expensive than most other stations I've come across (like the one at Henri Pittier NP in Venezuela). Thanks!
Julian (a.k.a. procnias)

Hi Julian thanks for your comments on the photos -my bird was a real poser who sat for an extended period in oblique sunlight on a fairly low subcanopy perch almost at eye level with me.


I can't be a lot of help having never birded Guyana or Venezuela. However I do remember reading about birders who spent some time staying at a guest-house run by a local birder in Bolivar State, Venezuela. They used this as a base to bird the 'staircase road' -La Escalera. Both Bearded & White Bellbirds are found in this area & if memory serves me right both were easily seen & heard from the road. Try this link for some basic info: www.birdvenezuela.com/birding_la_escalera.htm .

A quick google search came up with this report which suggests B.Bellbird is found around km mark 116 with White Bellbird also in the area (see: www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=560 ). Contacting the Venezuelan Audubon society may prove useful for further advice: www.audubonvenezuela.org/ .

White Bellbird is exceedingly rare on Trinidad perhaps the presence of a second sympatric Bellbird species in Venezuela may be relevant in explaining the extra vocalisations of the mainland birds.
Good luck,
Steve

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the suggestions! You answered another question of mine that I neglected to ask: possible areas of sympatry between P. alba and P. averano. I'm very interested in the possibility of character displacement (diverging songs) between species in sympatry (as you alluded to). I'm hoping that while I'm travelling around looking for potential field sites I'll also be able to record P. averano and P. alba in zones of sympatry and allopatry.
Cheers,
Julian

Martyn Kenefick is a birder that has moved to Trinidad, from where he has led bird tours to e.g., Guyana. He would be a good person to ask if he has the kind of information you are interested in. Contact him at martynkenefick "at" hotmail.com (address copied from a web site http://www.wow.net/ttfnc/rarebird.html, so I cannot imagine he minds me posting it here).

Niels

I am aware of a number of sites in Venezuela, but I'd suggest contacting David Ascanio who knows as much about Venezuelan birds as anyone. He's pretty busy, but it still worth trying to contact him via the email on his site:

http://www.ascaniobirding.com/

Additionally, I am aware of one site in for the endangered nominate taxon (in NE Brazil), but it is pretty small compared to the Asa Wright leeks, and probably less reliable. And yes, there are areas of sympatry between P. alba and P. averano, although they (at least to some extend) are separated by altitude in the area of overlap.

Bearded Bellbirds

Hi Procnias
I've had by far my best views of this species at Asa Wright in Trinidad, as others have mentioned. I've had the birds right overhead and almost deafening me! Like others, I've also seen Bearded Bellbirds in numbers on the Escalera, together with White and a stack of other Cotingas. You might contact Chris Sharpe (sharpebirder AT gmail.com) of Provita about leks. He mentioned something about altitudinal migration here and there's some seasonality. For reserach stations, you could stay at the National Park Institute place just past the top of the Escalera. Chris also put me on to a place in Sierra San Louis near the Andes too - I forget the exact name, but the geology there is outstanding. There are some good cheap inns up in that area too.
Regards, DT

procnias said:

I'm a graduate student at Cornell and am beginning work on vocal communication and learning in the bearded bellbird (Procnias averano). I'm in the process of looking for possible field sites and could use help finding an appropriate one in either Trinidad, Venezuela, or Guyana.
Ideally, the site would be close enough to a research station or town that daily travel to the leks would be feasible.
Any advice you could provide (either about potential field sites or contacts who might have relevant information) would be very much appreciated.

Click to expand...

Back from Trinidad and Venezuela

Hello,
Well, I'm finally back from my bellbird search in Trinidad and Venezuela. I thought I'd just give a quick recap of how it went. First off though, thanks to all of you who helped me out with information, it's greatly appreciated.
So, as expected, Asa Wright and the Arima Valley in general were great places to record and watch bearded bellbirds (Procnias averano), although better valleys were Maracas, Guanapo, Aripo, Cumaca, and the village of Brasso Seco (suprisingly, all of these have less deforestation than Arima). I also tried the Montserrat Hills for bellbirds (I received a tip that they may have recolonized after going locally extinct) but found nothing.
My last couple of weeks in Trinidad were spent looking for the resident population of bellbirds in the Trinity Hills (SE tip of Trinidad in the Petroleum fields). Unfortunately I found no bellbirds here either.
In Venezuela I visited La Escalera and found a multitude of singing Bearded and White Bellbirds. I was surprised to find that they are broadly sympatric for much of the upper Escalera (some males were singing within earshot of one another). The Bearded Bellbirds tend to be higher up towards La Gran Sabana.
After this I headed to Rancho Grande near Caracas in the North and found nothing in the cloud forests until getting information from the station manager that there are plenty farther down on the N slopes (via a tiny hamlet known as La Trilla). A man named Simon showed me a long trail heading S back towards Rancho Grande along a valley filled with bellbirds, so I had a fair bit of success here as well.
I then went straight for the Sierra San Luis and used a hostel in Cabure as a base to explore the surrounding mountains for P. averano. I found good populations near El Haiton de Guarataro, Curimagua, and along the Camino de Los Espanoles. This is a great place to bird!
My luck ran out after that. I headed to eastern Venezuela next (on my way back to Trinidad) to sample populations near Caripe, Las Melenas, and the hills above Macuro. Everyone I spoke to in these places knows the song of the bellbird, but said I was too late in the season to see or hear them (June). I spent a week looking in the hills above a small town called Las Margaritas (~6 mi E of Caripe), a few days at Las Melenas near Cerro Humo, and a couple of weeks exploring trails between Macuro, Don Pedro, Ensenada Yacua, and Uquire. I ended up with pretty much all the endemics of the area, but no bellbirds.
That's pretty much it. If anyone has recordings they'd be willing to share of P. averano calling at any of the sites I mentioned (near Caripe, Las Melenas, E paria peninsula, Trinity Hills, etc...) I would be forever grateful. Again, thanks for your help, and happy birding!

procnias said:

I then went straight for the Sierra San Luis and used a hostel in Cabure as a base to explore the surrounding mountains for P. averano. I found good populations near El Haiton de Guarataro, Curimagua, and along the Camino de Los Espanoles. This is a great place to bird!

Click to expand...

I would second that. Didn't see any bellbirds myself (but heard them) near the Haiton as well.