New Reserve Protects Rare Crested Eagle, 300 Other Bird Species

A new nature reserve in Colombia protects 656 acres of tropical rainforest where, in 2021, the first Crested Eagle nest ever recorded in the country was located. The eagle pair returned to the area to build a second nest in 2022 and successfully raised a chick.

La Cristalina Reserve, in northwestern Colombia’s Alto Sinú region, was established earlier this year by American Bird Conservancy (ABC) partner Sociedad Ornitológica de Córdoba (SOC) with support from direct investment funds of the Conserva Aves initiative and other generous ABC donors.

La Cristalina, which has a bird list of more than 300 species, provides important habitat for the Critically Endangered Blue-billed Curassow and the Endangered Great Green Macaw. The Crested Eagle, which is listed as Near Threatened, has an extensive range but sparse distribution. It is found from southern Mexico south into Colombia, east to French Guiana, and south to central Bolivia and southern Brazil. Its population size is unknown.

La Cristalina’s establishment occurred partly due to the search for a lost bird, the Sinú Parakeet, which was last observed in 1949 in the nearby Sinú Valley. In recent years, SOC has conducted two field searches for the parakeet; raised awareness of the species with posters, stickers, and other materials in the region; and offered a 1-million-pesos reward for information on the species. Community connections and outreach to look for the parakeet led to the discovery of the Crested Eagle nest, which in turn helped establish La Cristalina.

“We are very excited about the creation of this new reserve,” said Eliana Fierro-Calderon, an International Conservation Project Officer at ABC. “There is still so much we don’t know about the Alto Sinú region, and we can learn more while protecting the habitat and the endangered species that live there. Our partner SOC has already made some amazing discoveries, and we are excited to see what else is hidden in this remote region.”

Conserva Aves is a regional initiative to create and expand subnational protected areas in Latin America. It is led by ABC, Audubon, BirdLife International, Birds Canada, and the Network of Environmental Funds in Latin America and the Caribbean (RedLAC).