Nature
Calendar in a complete Year - by Regions
Andes
In the mountain Regions the lack of rain is also felt. At the
foot of these mountains the defoliation process begins as moisture saving of the plants to
avoid an excessive evapotranspiration, this occurs in the deciduous forest. This
phenomenon favors the use of scarce resources to allow the reproduction of many vegetable
species, which becomes the best moment to watch the arboreal fauna.
|
|
In this month, the rains stop and the chill strikes. With the stopping of the
rains, the flow of rivers and streams has reduced little by little in such a way that the
flooded lowlands has receded and the wild fauna began to move and concentrate around the
tidelands. |
Andean Region January
The Little Tinamou begins
its mating season. Its song, a beautiful, tremulous and prolonged whistle, can be heard
repeatedly during the day until sundown.
Here also the Immortelle
begins to flower, and as in the Coastal Region, birds can be seen flying among its
branches searching for flowers or insects that come attracted by the sweet nectar.
The Pink Shower Sennas
flower on the Andean foothills, brightening the landscape with the splendor of their pink
flowers.
The Longtailed Sylph is
nesting and the Andean CockoftheRock is courting. Among the latter, the males gather in
the lek where they make their displays hoping to be chosen by one of the females.
The Whitecapped Dipper,
which lives among the rocks and frigid waters of the torrential Andean rivers, begins to
build its nest.
The great Thrush, the
largest among its equals, is also building its nest.
February is the month to watch the birds of the forests that
are adjacent with the moor. Early in the morning and before the sun rays rise the
temperature, is a spectacle to get into those "midget" forests searching for the
wonders that the nature offers |
|
The
local fauna movements become more noticeable, besides the accumulation of waters to locate
those resources that form their diet. On the other hand, in many high mountain areas the
weather is still relatively humid , due to the ascent and condensation of the air masses
that rise from the lowlands and favor the forming of mixed bird flocks to locate their
nourishing resources.
|
Andean Region-February
The Andean CockoftheRock
begins its courtship vigorously. Its song, guttural and deep, can be heard at a distance.
Its ugly voice does not do justice to its beautiful looks.
Blue Butterflies are
frequently wandering around the forest trails with their characteristically irregular
flight.
But the best part of
February is the light. Mornings are the best of the year for seeing the cloudless
mountains, the clear peaks, the landscape in all its splendor.
March is the peak month of what is known in the plains as
"summer". Throughout this period scarce precipitation is registered all along
the country, which forces to an intense defoliation of the vegetable species including
those in the cloudy forest. That leaf carpet determines a greater concentration of bugs on
the floor, because in the canopy the excess of light and radiation do not allow the
development of a rich life.
|
|
In the
whole Venezuela the fauna restricts its activities to the beginning of the morning, ending
of the afternoon or to the night to avoid the high temperatures that are produced during
noon. |
Andean Region
-March
Among the mossy branches
of the San Isidro Forest, home of the Andean CockoftheRock, a beautiful tanager, the
ORegioneared Tanager, Chlorochrysa calliparaea, can also be found.
The Brazilian Rabbit roams
among the Espeletias, and sometimes frequents the salt licks set out for the cattle.
The Swordbilled
Hummingbird can be seen feeding on the flower of a climbing plant of the same family of
the passion fruit.
Along the mountain
streams, the Barwinged Cinclodes can be seen hopping.
Few flowers are in bloom
in the "páramo" at this time of the year.
April is the end of the drought. Many couples of parrots and macaws must
be taking care of the hole where they will nest in the up coming season for two months
already. However, in this month, the custody of this hole is done with more insistence due
to the proximity of the reproductive period.The flows of the rivers and streams are in
their lowest level, forcing many fish to go the surface. This situation is profited by the
Cranes the Gray Cranes, the GrayNecked WoodRail, such is the case of the Jabirus, which
accmulate in large numbers of adults and young, taking advantage in this banquet.
In many places of the
country the temperature may go higher of the 39º Celsius, reason why during |
|
noon most
of the country's ecosystems seem "off". Besides, April is the month of the
retiring. Thousands of neotropical migratory birds will make their moving towards North
America to begin there their reproductive period. In what respects to the resident fauna, many
mammals, reptiles and birds concentrate in the few places where there is the alimentary
resource available, some maybe varying their regular diet.
April also is characterized by being
the period of greater birth of bat species.
|
Andean Region -March
In Táchira, the
Lyretailed Nightjar, a nocturnal bird, can be seen placidly sleeping during the day
With May comes the water, and with them, the insects, the birds and the
amphibian sing in unison, as if they were celebrating the arrival of the resource of life.
In this month and during the next bimester the greater amount of nesting will occur in
almost all the tropic's representative ecosystems.In the Regions, the Hummingbirds fly at
amazing speeds like wanting to take nectar from every available flower in their zone of
forage.
The plains come to live at
night, owls actively hunting to feed their pigeons can be seen. The most dramatic change
occurs when the savannas get dressed with an extraordinary green color that does |
|
not remind
at all the desolation of the late drought. The rivers south of the Orinoco recover slowly from the scarce flow
they use to have. The great water falls nourish from the rains to form huge free fall
flows.
The most transcendent event takes
place in the country's great caves. There the oil bird (Steatornis Caripensis)
concentrates in numerous groups to begin their reproductive period, as well as most of the
bat species, that can be observed in their brood's birth and nursing period.
|
Andean Region-May
The only native conifer of
Venezuela, the "Criollo" Pine, is in flower.
There is increased
activity among the "páramo" birds. It is a good moment to observe them.
The Speckled Teals, which
have remained in small groups, now disperse throughout the "páramo" to nest and
breed.
In June it rains all over Venezuela, this is why it is commonly known as
the "winter month" or "of the water entrance".All along the Caribbean coast the sea
turtles begin their spawn period, being this an ancestral behavior of the surviving
species.
In the plains, and product
of a more accented sedimentation from the Andes, the rivers get colored in different tones
that go from dark brown to brick red, being this haulage the ingredient that will
stimulate life in this area.
If up North it rains
everyday, in the South it rains |
|
the whole
day. Guayana is a sole scream of adult and young parrots and macaws directing to the
sleeping and eating places. Whit this begins the dispersion of many species to the areas
distant from the damp areas. Now there is water everywhere. In the Orinoco, the beaches and sand banks
disappear under the growth and the waters go back into the shallow lagoons that are all
along the great river, which will serve as a breeding place for many fish species, which
will feed from seeds and small plants that are in the bottom of the lagoon.
|
Andean Region
- June
Among the Trumpetwoods of
the hillsides the Tropical Parula flies, searching for the protein globules produced by
this tree. These birds nest mainly during this month. They weave a round nest, where they
lay two or three eggs.
The Slatethroated Redstart
only begins to build its nest, which is a small moss cup built on the ground in the middle
of a ravine.
In July the raining period begins. During this months, the rainfalls seem
neverending, however, in the Coastal Region and due to a particular regime, a dry period
will begin and it will last until mid September. In the bird world, the plumage of the
immature, juvenile, subadult and adult get confused all over. The great number of pigeons
actively looking for seeds, fruits or an insect represent an identification challenge for
the observer. |
|
The Andes
are filled with life. The lands from the "páramos" show gorgeous colors due to
the greater period of flowering, that is why it is common to see Hummingbirds
(Trochilidae), Spinetails (Furnatidae) and Thrushes (Turdidae), actively moving among the
Espeletias.
|
Andean Region - July
The ornamental flowers of
the urban areas serve as a feeding place to the big Purpleeared Hummingbird, who with its
metallic song aggressively defends its alimentary territory.
The Andean Teals disperses
by pairs towards the small sized lagoons in the Andean paramo.
The Brownbellied Swallows
feeds its pigeons in the nests located all along the roofs and walls of the paramo areas.
The Bearded Helmetcress
moves actively among the excess of nectar due to the flowering peak of the vegetation of
the paramo.
The Rufous Wren of the
paramos can be heard singing among the Espeletias of the paramo lands.
Certain birds from the
"Páramo" nest at this time. Among them, the Bearded Helmetcrest. Its nest is a
small cavity on the bare rock, on the side that is protected from wind and humidity.
During August, the beaches of the Caribbean serve as a scenery for the
arrival of migratory shorebirds of North America. These birds concentrate around the
coastal damp areas where, among Flamingos and Herons, they feed from the rich fauna of the
salty waters.In Guayana and in the rest of the country a great silence is felt all the
time. With a good weather for |
|
the
breeding, and the ending of the reproductive period, most of the birds seem to rest from
the active months with a silent behavior. On the other hand, in the Western coast of Venezuela, in Falcón
State, a short rain regime begins.
|
Andean Region - August
Around this time, since
the breeding season of the birds is over and the young already feed on their own, large
feeding flocks begin to form. Mixed groups of tanagers and others gather to fly throughout
the forest, searching for fruits and insects.
The butterflies of the
Diaethreia marchali and Diaethria panthalis genus can be seen. They are also called
butterflies of the Coromoto Virgin, because on their posterior wings they have figures
resembling the numbers 88, 89, 68, 98, 69, 96, etc., which are numbers related to the
month of apparition of the Virgin in Guanare.
September is the best month for the watching of frogs and toads. A ride
along any damp area would be impressive because of the quantity of singing and croaking at
dusk and dawn.The birds begin the formation of "flocks of mixed species". |
|
In the
plains any mata surrounded by water serves as rookery for the nesting. During the
following months its a spectacle watching how these "maternities" begin leaving
their space for the reproduction of waders. This process will last until the endings of
December. |
Andean Region - September
Around the Andean forests,
the first migratory warblers, which come from North America, begin to appear.
This
is the month of the visits and the ending of the rains in the plains, where the rain falls
are now sporadic during noon. Regarding the visits, the arrival from the Northern hemisphere of
bird flocks searching for a refuge towards the south. One can see them crossing the lower
areas of the Regions to continue their pass towards South America. At least some 70
species of birds, that include Shorebirds, Gulls, Swallows, Songbirds and Hawks lodge in
the ecosystems of our country or pass through them on their way to |
|
other
warm areas of the tropic.The gallery forest disguises of nests of different sizes.
Platforms with sticks, gramine balls and feathers, bags hanging in an exposed branch and
even fifty centimeters diameter platforms of dry sticks in the lower branches of the
bushes. When in the interior of this last one two white color eggs can be observed, that
indicates the presence of the Rufescent TigerHeron.
|
Andean
Region - Octuber
The
Algodoncillo of the Mountain begins to flower.
The Espeletias, as well as other
plants from the "páramos", begin to flower.
t is a good time to observe the
Bearded Helmetcrest.
November is known as the month of the lowering, even when the dry
season begins in the whole country, in some areas isolated patterns continue. In the
Venezuelan Eastern coast it rains, in the Andes during the morning the atmosphere will be
cleaner, and in the plains almost the whole savanna seems flooded, but without so much
precipitation.In the Coastal Region, the ascent and condensation of the masses of air favors
the lasting of regular rains in the cloudy forest. In the Andes the rains |
|
end
later than the rest of the ecosystems. In the plains the water begins to stop and the damp areas begin
to dry gradually, being this a process that ends in April. However, this soil continues to
receive an important flow of those rivers that pour their waters through the eastern side
of the Andean Region.
|
Andean
Region - November
The
breeding season for the Torrent Duck, handsome inhabitant of the torrential Andean rivers,
begins.
The Speckled Teal and its young
can be seen around the Mucubají Lagoon.
The Espeletia is in full bloom,
as are most of the other Andean flowers.
The Bearded Helmetcrest becomes
conspicuous during this time of the year because the nectar of the flowers it eats can be
found everywhere.
The migratory birds from North
America, which began to arrive at the end of September, continue their route southward
through the Andean forests.
December is famous for bringing in the cold. This happens because
of the arrival of the soft trade winds, which move from the East towards the West, or said
in other way, in the opposite direction of the great rivers as the Orinoco and the Apure.In the high areas
the temperature lowers significantly in the early morning. In the plains the dry season or
"summer" has already begun, and with it, the regular processes of this time of
the year are showing: the floggings go away, the Savanna's grasses turn yellow and the
water fauna begins to feel the radical changes in the bodies of water. |
|
From
November the different migratory warblers may be found in the mountain forests. For many
hunting birds this month marks the beginning of the courting and reproduction period,
while some aquatic birds are initiating their process of flying with their babies. The lower forests seem drier everyday and
the falling of the leaves from the deciduous trees speeds up.
|
|