Quetzals and people living in harmony
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Resplendent Quetzal : The people who protects the most beautiful bird in the world
Birdwatching in Costa Rica is an extraordinary experience, thanks to the fantastic diversity of the country, the ease of finding birds, and the general infrastructure and high quality lodges.
There are many ways to do responsible tourism. This is one of the most remarkable example.
This article is about the Resplendent Quetzal and a group of farmers who found the way to protect the environment, and the quetzal population by showing the birds to the visitors they have a better way of living in a sustainable way.
Costa Rica can be divided in three main regions. Caribbean lowlands, Pacific lowlands and mountains. The highest peaks in the country located at 2.000 meters or more are part of a very unique and special ecosystem : The highlands
One of the regions with the highest endemism in the entire country is the mountain of Dota area. It has 51 endemic bird species, found only in these mountains and in a small corner of western Panama, and nowhere else in the world. Most of these endemic species are very easy to see, and they are frequent birds on the trails of the national park and in the gardens of the hotels in the valley. This area is one of the must-see sites for birdwatchers and photographers for its great variety of species, the fantastic color of the birds and the presence of some emblematic species of this ecosystem. People who come to Costa Rica for photography or birdwatching visit this area sooner or later in their trip.
Of all the birds that birdwatchers and photographers want to see, the favorite is the Resplendent Quetzal. This is one of the most sought-after birds by birdwatchers worldwide. Alexander Skutch author of Birds of Costa Rica, described the male Resplendent Quetzal as “a supremely lovely bird; the most beautiful, all things considered, that I have ever seen.
Quetzals are trogons. There are six species of quetzales, but the most striking species due to the length of its tail and the beauty of its plumage is the Resplendent Quetzal.
This species is found only in Central America and the lower part of Mexico.
The subspecies mocinno inhabits southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, eastern El Salvador, and north-central Nicaragua. The subspecies costaricensis inhabits Costa Rica and the western highlands of Panama.
There are scientific studies showing that both subspecies have been separated by more than 3 million years and that they should be considered different species, so that in the future we will probably speak of two species instead of one
The savegre region, in the Talamanca mountain range, is the best area in the country and perhaps in the whole world to find quetzals. Local experts think that the population in this part of the country have no less than 1.200 individuals.
Quetzals are not endangered in this part of the country and it are a common bird. However, it is a bird that lives in the forest canopy and it is generally difficult to find in the forest.
Quetzals have a varied diet that includes berries, insects, and lizards. But its main food is the wild avocado. There are at least 60 different species of wild avocados en the highlands, and quetzals eat all of them. Is not the same avocado we eat, they are much smaller. It is normal for this bird to make altitudinal migrations during the year, moving higher or lower in elevation depending on the season in which the avocados are in fruit. But in the Dota area, avocados are found almost all year round, so quetzals stay.
At all the farms there are forest patches, large and small, where wild avocados grow as part of the natural vegetation. As a result the presence of quetzals is common. People do not hunt or disturb them in any way, but there is a practice that affects the reproduction of these birds.
Quetzals nest in holes they make in trees. They don’t have as stronger a beak as woodpeckers, so they need dead trees with softer tissue to make their nest. When a tree dies and begins to decompose and its wood softens, female quetzals start working on the nest. The presence of dead trees in the forest is really important and is crucial element in the process of reproduction of Quetzals. On the other hand, local farmers use the wood for cooking. They have electricity, but they prefer woodstoves to prepare their meals. Because most of farmers in this area live in a protected area they can not cut living trees. The locals go to the forest, find a dead tree and cut it down. For obvious reasons this tradition of cuting dead trees is not helpful to quetzals.
Kabek is a word in Cabecar, one of our indigenous groups. It literally means Quetzal. The Kabek project started 2010 . It all started when Jorge Serrano, owner of Paraiso de Quetzales Lodge and two farmers, realized that they could convince farmers not to cut trees and that the presence of avocados and quetzals on their farms could be a long-term sustainable attraction. In this way, a group of farmers got organized to identify and care for avocados, protect the dead trees, and to build artificial nests for quetzals. The owners of Paraíso del Quetzal and a group of guides and local ecologists began to study the bird’s life cycle, its movement patterns, and its feeding and nesting habits. They also created a non profit organization called Costa Rica Wildlife Fundation that raises funds for conservation and is conected with Global Wildlife Fundation that works on research projects outside of Costa Rica. More and more people joined the project and nowadays Kabek has 23 families working together.
This group of people became experts in quetzals. They knew where and at what times of the year they could find these birds, and with the help of farmers, they could easily find the trees that quetzals were feeding on or nesting in. They realized that this information was very valuable for the protection of the species, but it was also a very valuable resource for sustainable ecotourism.
So they started selling the experience as a quetzales observation tour. This is how it works. Tour operators contact the Paraiso de Quetzal hotel. They assign a guide for the tour. The guide contacts the farmers and they tell him on which farms are the feeders or active nests. All farmers communicate by phone, so they can know where the quetzals are. In case the quetzals move to another tree on another farm, the farmers let the guide know, and in this way he and the group head safely to the site where they have a high probability of finding the birds . Tourists who visit Costa Rica for a birding holiday find in this tour a remarkable experience.
The groups are small, they never go to public places but visit trees located on private properties. All observation sites have facilities to use the toilets, roofed places in case of rain and flat surfaces to place the tripods of cameras and telescopes.
The tour costs $ 30 per person. Farmers earn $ 5 for each tourist, and they keep records of the number of tourists that visit their property. Farmers receive their fee if the visitors see the quetzal on their farm, if tourists do not see it, the owner earns nothing. But the chances to miss the bird on their farm is really low.
But this activity has become a very valuable economic resource for these families. Many of these people have a higher annual income from tourist visits compared to what they earn on farming. This is a good example.
Mr William grows blackberries. However the visitation of tourists is so important, as he normally receives a check of $ 10,000 annually, and this is more than he earns in agriculture. As a result of this, more families want to be part of this Kabek project and there is a general awareness that the nests of quetzals and avocado trees must be preserved. In 2019, the families that are part of the project received a total of $ 30.000. They also receive some money in the low season, when the tourist dont visit the area much.
The Kabec project has brought a great benefit to the quetzal population because local people protect their habitat. Artificial nests have been successful because they are safer for chicks and predation is decreased.
The Northern Emerald Tucanet is a beautiful bird we all want to see, except the quetzals. This tucan is a major predator of quetzal nests. The local farmers try to keep this predators away in order for the quetzal population in the region to increase and also for the population of wild avocados wich depend on quetzal for seed dispersion to increase.
There is an obvious benefit for local guides who receive a daily payment for each tour and also tips from visitors. The hotel receives money for the sale of the tour, and for the sale of the breakfasts and lunches for tourists who finish the tour at the end of the morning. Many of these tourists want to repeat the experience the next day or want to go looking for many of the other bird species in the Dota area, which is one of the best places in Costa Rica for birdwatching and photography, and the site with the highest bird endemism in the entire country.
Finally, tourists benefit greately and enjoy their extraordinary chance to watch and photograph Resplendent Quetzals. They are going to see quetzals like they never imagined they could, in addition to the satisfaction that their money goes directly to help the species, its conservation and to improve the standard of living of the local population.
As a result of Kabek, the quetzals, the environment, the people who work in tourism, the local population and the birdwatchers and the tourists all enjoy the benefits . Quetzals are never guaranteed in a birding trip in Costa Rica, but Kabek offers indeed the best chance of finding it in ideal conditions.
But not all the companies use Kabek. Because they dont know the project or because they pretend they dont know it. Despite the obvious benefits of Kabek, several local and international tour companies organize quetzal sighting tours taking tourists to the feeding and nesting sites along the edge of the public road. This is not the best option. These groups blocks the way, and it is very difficult for the birders to share the same bird among so many people who carry their telescopes and tripods with large cameras. In our experience after many years of birding, this visitors get a poor viewing of the bird most of the time.
This happens because the touroperators dont know about Kabek or dont want to pay the $ 30 that the activity with Kabek costs.
Tourists who take that tour believe that their experience is the same as that of all other visitors and that this is the only way to see quetzals. They think that all tours are the same and that all companies look for quetzals in the same conditions of discomfort. But it is not true. Our company Wildbird Tours and other local operators discovered Kabek years ago and operate the tour with them. We know that kabek is the best option in Dota – savegre area for those looking for quetzals, and also for an outstanding birdwatching trip in the highlands of Costa Rica.
well, now you know this tour exists. If you have booked a birding tour to Costa Rica is almost for sure you have Dota/ savegre highlands included in your itinerary. Please check if Kabek tour is mentioned in your trip plan. If not, ask your tour operator to include this tour in your itinerary when you visit the highlands or, better, contact us!!
You can make the difference and create a positive impact to the forest, the local people, and specially, to the Resplendent Quetzal.
Wildbird Tours organizes birdwatching tours and photography trips to Costa Rica and Panama. Birding groups, customized birding holidays and bird watching vacations anywhere in Costa Rica.
