By Julio Delgado

Julio is a bird guide and lodge owner based in Colombia

Dear readers of 10,000 Birds — I want to share some news from Colombia.

As many of you will have seen, Colombia was hit by the strongest earthquake the country has felt in years — a genuine test of our resilience. Some people lost their lives, others lost loved ones, many were injured, and some lost everything they had. I want to hold space for that first, because the human cost has been real and heavy, and my thoughts are with everyone still grieving or rebuilding.

In the middle of the difficulty, I’ve also witnessed something I’ll never forget: the extraordinary solidarity of ordinary Colombians. All last week, I watched people help rescue neighbours, carry in food, water, tents and medicine, and show up for complete strangers. I spent part of it delivering water and food to rescuers and to families who had lost their homes, and helping relatives whose house came down. That spirit — people giving whatever they can — is the thing I’ll remember most.

A note for the birding community specifically, since some of you may have trips planned or be thinking of visiting.

Along with a number of Colombian tour operators and lodges, I’ve been part of a coordinated effort to take stock — checking on people across the birding-tourism industry, identifying who was affected and needs help, and assessing which areas are operating normally. The good news is that the great majority of operators, tour leaders, local guides, drivers and lodges came through with only minor or cosmetic damage.

At my own lodge, beyond a serious fright, the damage was limited to broken crockery and kitchen items, pictures and mirrors off the walls, and a few roof tiles — no cracks, no structural damage.
Among the well-known birding sites, only one in Valle del Cauca is known to have sustained more significant damage. The great hotspots that anchor Colombia’s birding itineraries — across the Western, Central and Eastern Andes and beyond — are, as far as the industry census has been able to confirm, safe and open.

The harder story is a more human one. While the sites themselves largely held up, some of the people who make Colombian birding what it is did not escape so lightly. A number of lodge staff and local guides suffered serious damage to their homes — the kind of personal loss that doesn’t show up on a list of operating hotspots, but that matters enormously to the families living it. These are the people who cook the meals, spot the antpittas, and drive the mountain roads for visiting birders, and several of them are now rebuilding.

This is why Colombia’s birding-tourism operators have come together behind a shared relief effort — a crowdfunding campaign called Birders Together, for our community and those hit hardest. If you’d like to contribute and support these community members as they recover, the link is here: https://vaki.co/en/vaki/birders-together

From my own local patch (the Western Andes around Cali) and the main birding routes, these sites are all reported safe and operating: Doña Dora, KM 18, La Florida, San Felipe, Bosque de Niebla, Finca Alejandría, Yotoco Lodge, Araucana Lodge, Atuncela, Río Bravo, Laguna de Sonso, the Buga area, and the Manizales sites including Otún Quimbaya, among others. The main sites around Medellín and Santa Marta are also reported unaffected. In general, the principal stops along Colombia’s birding routes are fine.

If you have a trip planned, I want to offer reassurance: we are operating normally and at full capacity. And to anyone considering Colombia — this is a moment when our work matters more than ever. If you have any doubt about an upcoming tour, please contact the person or company you booked with; if they confirm all is well to proceed, come and visit us.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has kept their tours — it means a great deal. There’s a saying we hold onto here right now: one of the best ways to help is simply to come, enjoy the birds, and support the wonderful people of this country.

Right now, all of us need to keep working and moving forward.

Thank you so much for your support.

Photo: Whiskered Wren