| Refreshed and republished on May 28th, 2024 |
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| This post was originally published on June 04th, 2021; this annually updated post presents our latest bird sightings— a delightful and critical aspect of our commitment to sustainability. |
According to the Colombian Ornithological Association, there are 1,966 species of birds in Colombia (20% of the global total). Colombia’s jungles, mountains, moors, valleys, and cities boast the world’s highest diversity of bird species. From this total of species found in Colombia, 1,672 are residents, 123 boreal migrants (migrated from the north), 17 austral migrants (from the south), and 84 are endemic (found only in the country).
Bird watching contributes to constructing peace between man and nature and promotes local development. The registry of birds in a territory can reveal information on its natural history and allows our company to track changes in accordance with the territory’s richness and abundance over time compared to other locations.
“This makes it possible to make management decisions that ensure the species’ survival,” explains Pablo Ovalle, a biologist at Luker Chocolate. “Especially the rarest and most susceptible birds to changes in their environment. These decisions can then maintain the interactions and ecological processes of the organisms in the ecosystem.”
In 2018, via The Chocolate Dream, Luker trained and equipped 20 workers with binoculars and field guides to participate in the Great World Birdwatching Day (GBD) at El Rosario, our cocoa farm located in Necoclí – Antioquia. On this occasion, the workers recorded 97 species (6.28%) of the 1,545 species reported in Colombia at the time, 13.16% of the species reported for Antioquia, and 1.41% of the world’s birds species.
In 2019, we flew higher! We exceeded the target set for GBD 2019 of 110 species observed in a single day. Our team recorded a total of 132 species, representing almost 10% of the birds reported in Colombia and 2% of the species reported worldwide.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic during 2021, Luker was still able to achieve our goal of observing more than 100 bird species in a single day. According to the GBD website, e-bird.org, a new number of participants was set where 51,816 people across 253 countries recorded 7,258 bird species in a single day. For four consecutive years, Colombia had been leading with the most sighted species. However, in 2021, Peru took the lead.
In 2022, more than 51,000 people from 201 countries participated in this incredible activity setting new records for the number of species observed. The global birding community achieved an astonishing feat by spotting a staggering 7,673 bird species, which accounts for almost 75% of the world’s bird species, in just 24 hours. This remarkable achievement surpassed the previous record set during the 2021 edition of Global Big Day by an impressive margin of 433 additional species.
Green-backed Trogon (Trogon viridis) observed in GBD 2023
This weekend bird lovers worldwide went out to make their sightings from all corners possible. In a remarkable 24 hours, the global birding community shattered records by spotting an incredible 7,636 bird species. More than 58,700 people from 199 countries joined this activity and submitted 148,270 checklists with eBird, setting new world records for a single day of birding.
The Chocolate Dream participants recorded 122 bird species, 7.9% of the birds recorded for Colombia on GBD 2022, and 1.5% of the birds recorded in the world on the day.
To achieve birdwatching in every corner of our country, those observing had to use online tools, such as WhatsApp groups, to share their sightings in different parts of the country. The recording of these 122 species resulted from a joint effort, with the participation of our team of Green Guardians, biologists, and collaborators from various regions of Colombia where our cocoa is sourced, including Antioquia, Huila, and Caldas. This demonstrates the wide reach of The Chocolate Dream in fulfilling dreams across different parts of the country.
Last Saturday, three new bird species were recorded on Luker’s Farms in Necoclí: White-fringed Antwren, White-throated crake and Aplomado Falcon. This year, we are excited to announce that Colombia was ranked first again, with sightings of 1,530 bird species in a single day. In Luker’s territory alone, we reached a record 273 species sighted in total across all editions of the GBD, demonstrating our commitment to the environment and the impact of The Chocolate Dream.
Julia Ocampo, Director of Sustainability at Luker Chocolate, concludes: “The purpose of The Chocolate Dream is to improve the sustainable well-being of the communities and producers that are around our anchor crops or in our spaces for innovation and intervention.
“We have identified how through cocoa we can transform and improve the ecosystem: of soils, of biodiversity and at the same time, protect forests and water. Alongside this is the added work with the communities. The conservation of fauna and flora is fundamental for Luker Chocolate. We are extremely satisfied to see how the number of individuals and bird species has increased over time.”