Cartagena After several cups of coffee and a quick breakfast, our crew jumped in a car early on Christmas morning to navigate our way to the Baru peninsula, jutting out from Cartagena into the Caribbean Sea. We knew it would take us more than an hour, but we were hoping with an early start, the traffic would be slimmer on the holiday, and that we might beat some of the heat. As directions thundered down on me from Google Maps and the back and passenger seat drivers of mi familia, we dodged motorcycles, taxi cabs, and potholes through the barrios, the huge sidewalk market, and then the industrial area around the port with its gantry cranes on one side and refineries and warehouses on the other to make it to the Aviario Nacional. It was humid, but relatively mild when we arrived, and we had successfully beaten the crowds that might follow us.
Simply put, it was an amazing experience. The aviary is stretched over six acres in a walking trail that goes from open areas to different environments from ponds to desert to rain forest, and the birds – and people – are fenced in to observe them. There are twenty-one different exhibits. Reportedly there are 2000 birds from 165 separate species, most of them native to Columbia or South America, so many are a surprising marvel for a visitor from North America. Gorgeous peacocks wandered around between sections. Multicolored parrots screeched at visitors and sent us off on our way. It was amazing to see harpy eagles, toucans, a herd of flamingos, various kinds of storks, dozens of different, colorful tangers, owls both large and small, and dozens of birds caught in my camera for hopes of finding a bird book or website later for identification. We were in heaven!
I kept thinking about what a great project from the Columbian government, the Aviario Nacional was. The backstory was a bit different. It turns out it was assembled over the last dozen years ago by Rafael Vieira and his family, who owned and developed the complex because of their love of birding. Many of the birds, including the endangered species, were gifted to the Vieira’s as rescue birds, while others were collected. The family and their friends seek to “show the world the biodiversity of the country and to preserve the birdlife that is threatened — which is the case for almost 80 percent of the species that call the aviary home.”
However, this aviary came to be, it is a tremendous gift to anyone who cares about nature and the diminishing environment around us. These birds represent the bounty and beauty that is in the world around us. They may fly around or overhead, largely unseen and unheard, if not singing calls to its fellows, but for we, mere mortals, the whole thing is simply wonderous.
