Sussex Bird Club to meet March 8

Birding in Northern Colombia, South America: a Photographic Travelogue, will be presented at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 8, at the Lewes library.

Colombia is the birdiest country on earth, with more than 1,950 species (almost 20 percent of the world’s total). There are more species of birds in this country than in any other, and it is easy to see why. Colombia is tropical, yet it also has ample elevation changes due to the Andes, and it also has both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. The Andes become complex in Colombia, splitting into three ranges to provide increased habitat diversity, as well as rain shadow valleys between the mountains. Colombia also comprises a vast portion of the Amazon and the Orinoquia region.

Six adventurous birders from the Sussex Bird Club Lewes traveled with guide Stephan Lorenz of High Lonesome Bird Tours to the Santa Marta and Perija mountains, as well as the Caribbean coast, on a 10-day search for birds in March 2019. The trip yielded over 400 species of birds, many mammals and reptiles, and a deep exploration of the indigenous culture of rural Colombia. 

Rob and Carol Blye will present their photos and those of John Hoyt, Sharon Lynn and Dan Schieman in a one-hour travelogue presentation.

For more information, go to www.sussexbirdclub.com.