Birding takes flight after peace deal between Colombia and guerrilla group | 60 Minutes
In a Nutshell
Colombia's peace deal with FARC since 2016 has opened dangerous former war zones like Tatama National Park to birders, boosting ecotourism in the world's birdiest country (2,000 species) and preserving untouched habitats. Bird guide Diego Calderon Franco, once kidnapped by FARC for 88 days but sustained by birds, now trains ex-guerrillas as guides at Montazuma Rainforest Eco Lodge, fostering healing and income through birdwatching. Amid fragile peace and global bird declines, rare sightings like the gold-ringed tanager draw enthusiasts, while locals like lodge owner Michelle Topasco credit birds for family survival and conservation efforts.
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Colombia has 2,000 species of birds, more than anywhere else on Earth, due to its diverse geography and decades of war. Fighting among the Colombian government, left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and narco traffickers made some areas so dangerous that few people could go there, preserving bird habitats. Since 2016, when Colombia's government signed a peace deal with the FARC, the largest left-wing guerrilla group, it has gotten safer to travel. Untouched forests have become part of a growing ecotourism industry bringing millions of dollars to Colombia's economy. Birders flock there for species found nowhere else.
On the western slope of the Andes Mountains, in an area with few roads, lies Tatama National Park, a vast stretch of lush rainforest with powerful rivers. Delicate flowers blossom in the rain-soaked forest, and bird sounds fill the humid air. One of the wettest places on Earth. Traveled before dawn in a four-wheel-drive vehicle through untouched forest. Spotted birds like blue-gray tanager, cinnamon flycatcher, purple-throated woodstar.
Diego Calderon Franco, one of Colombia's most famous birding guides, knows them all.
Okay, check it out. This one, mate.
Go above the light. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The violet tells you. This is the female. This little one right there. The little one actually. Oh, that's look at the tail. The tail is so beautiful.
And this is the star here. This thing velvet purple coronet. There you are.
Diego's enthusiasm is infectious. Nearby, spotted drama between two empress brilliance hummingbirds, both males fighting over territory.
Actually, they are both Empress Brilliance males. So, they're actually probably two males fighting a little bit about territory. Hummingbirds, you know, they look cute, but they are real warriors. They will fight for resources all day long. The pink right underneath the throat is incredible.
Diego studies species so closely he imitates their calls.
Something like that that I can that would be like a wood wren. In the forest there is one here where we are that is called the munchique wood-wren that lives in the highlands and it's like but it's much happier. It has a different tone so it's more like much much of a yeah cooler v.
You've said that being a bird guide in Colombia is like being an explorer during the Victorian age. It is. How so? It is because all these explorers from the Victorian age, they were circumnavigating the globe and exploring and finding new species everywhere and because of, you know, troubled past, you can still, you know, be in Colombia, look at the isolated mountain range and you might find a new species for science.
Are there still bird species out there that haven't been discovered? Absolutely. We tend to think that we have explored it all that we know every corner of the planet and it's not the case.
This area was a no-go for a long time because illegal armed groups prevented habitat destruction but also access to see the birds.
More than 450,000 people were killed, most unarmed civilians, during decades of fighting between armed groups and government forces. 50,000 people were kidnapped. In 2004, as a graduate student, Diego Calderon Franco and two colleagues were seized by FARC in northern Colombia mountains on an expedition. FARC didn't believe they were bird watchers or biologists. Held hostage 88 days (3 months). Birders worldwide called for his release. It became a ransom demand; his father paid about $30,000.
How did you stay sane? Birds. You were being held prisoner, but we could see and hear nature.
Scribbled notes on cigarette paper scraps, saw slaty bristlefront for first time, made drawing and note: "Wow, this is my first Slaty Bristlefront kidnapped up there in the Perry Mountains." Three years after release, started business leading birding tours.
Favorite stay: farm at entrance to Tatama National Park, owned by Michelle Topasco and family. Moved here in 1990s to escape violence by right-wing militias in eastern Colombia, not realizing FARC was active here.
After we got here, we realized that it was the flip side of the coin. The guerrilla strike started. There were a lot of confrontations near here between the military, the police, and the guerrillas.
In 2008, FARC kidnapped and killed her partner. Had five daughters, thought about leaving but stayed to build lodging business for occasional visitors.
When you started this business, did some people tell you, "Oh, this is never going to work." Oh. In fact, they would tell me I was crazy. No one would give me a single peso for my project.
Now, thanks to birders, fixed it up as Montazuma Rainforest Eco Lodge. Much food grown on premises. Provides nourishment for hummingbirds. Colombia has more than 160 hummingbird species, the only birds that can fly forward, up, down, and backwards.
How fast are they moving their wings? How fast you think? How many times per second? 10. 80 times per second.
10 years ago, Colombian government reached peace agreement with FARC; nearly 10,000 fighters gave up guns. Needed new livelihoods. Diego introduced former captors to birding for forest guide roles.
What was it like to go birding with people who had been in FARC, who had been combatants? We totally forgot who we were. They weren't thinking like, "Oh, this is the guy we kidnapped, you know, 15 years ago." Birds connect you so much, and I think that's why they have this healing power.
Marcos Gua, once FARC guerrilla, now photographer. Diego helped him get first job. Captured video of green-and-black fruiteater building nest.
Did you know anything about birding before you met Diego? No, I didn't know anything at all. That was really my introduction to birds. Diego gave us the chance to attend workshops and training sessions. Bird watching became a doorway for us, not just into conservation and preservation, but also as a way to generate income for ourselves.
Colombia has problems: bombs in Cali, presidential candidate assassinated in Bogota. Eight days ago, 20 killed in explosion blamed on FARC faction that refused to disarm. Peace fragile, but more tourists than ever. At lodge, met Gary George and Joseph Brooks from Los Angeles. Bonded over black vulture.
Look at that. Oh my god. Look at that huge thing. Yeah. Do you see this? It's right there. The vulture. The black vulture.
Serious birders keep life list of roughly 11,000 world bird species seen or heard.
Some people collect salt and pepper shakers, but we collect bird sightings. So, we go around the world to do that. How many birds have you seen? We're very close to 8,000.
Brooks has tattoos of favorites: about 50 birds, e.g., satin bowerbird from Australia, red-crowned crane from Japan. Searched for elusive chami antpitta; heard call, it darted past too fast for camera.
It's like finding a jewel, like a prize. And being in that moment, everything else goes away. You're not worrying about anything else in your life. You're only present in that moment.
Worldwide, 60% of bird species declining due to logging, agricultural expansion, economic development. Michelle working to buy more land for preservation. Daughters pursuing biology, forestry, birding, conservation.
When you think about it, I mean, did the birds save you? Yes. They have given me everything I have, everything I am, everything my daughters are today. Two of your daughters got married. Are they married to birders? See, I never thought of birds as matchmakers, but it seems like here maybe they are. I believe so.
Glimpsed gold-ringed tanager, species only in this part of Andes, what birders come to see. Keystone for seed dispersal: chew berries, travel, defecate to plant seeds. Got better look later; felt like accomplishment, probably never see again.
Oh, wow. That's great. Now you belong to a higher cult of mortals for you have seen the gold-ringed tanager.
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