Photos by Doug Wechsler ©VIREO. |
Photos by Doug Wechsler ©VIREO. |
The reserve at Utuana, close to the Peruvian border in Loja province, protects a small remnant of hilltop evergreen forest at 2500m altitude in the transitional zone between humid montane forest and the dry forest of the Tumbesian endemic region. It is dedicated to the memory of the young Danish biologist Hanne Bloch who was tragically killed in an aircrash while traveling to Ecuador in 1998. It is managed jointly by Fundación Arcoiris of Loja, and Fundación Jocotoco.
Very little of this type of habitat remains, and this reserve protects one of the larger intact sections. The trees in the forest are heavily laden with epiphytic plants (see images to left). Numerous endemic birds are present in this location, including Piura Hemispingus Hemispingus piurae , Black-crested Tit-tyrant Anairetes nigrocristatus , Watkins's Antpitta Grallaria watkinsi , Rainbow Starfrontlet Coeligena iris , and Bay-crowned Brushfinch Atlapetes seebohmi . (Click on the images below to see a larger picture).
Read about Fundación Jocotoco's other reserves in Ecuador
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