Reserva Las Gralarias

  LAS GRALARIAS
GUEST HOUSE

Las Gralarias Guest House is one of Ecuador´s finest birding and nature lodges. It is situated just south of the equator at an elevation of 6200 feet (2068 meters) and just two hours from the city of Quito. This small lodge is located in the middle of the famous birding site Reserva Las Gralarias and provides first-class comfort and service while serving as a model for conservation and restoration of the western Andean Chocó cloud forest habitat.

Conveniently situated just 2 miles (3.5 kilometers) from the main highway, the lodge is easily accessible. It was designed for the comfort of our clients - in fact, you can drive right up to the front door.

The climate is very pleasant with comfortable temperatures (50-80°F/10-28°C). Often in the early mornings the sun rises from clear blue skies dominated by stunning views of the distant Pichincha Volcano and nearby bird-filled forested hills. By late afternoon spectacular formations of cumulus clouds may occur, and sometimes there are days with overcast. Generally there is only some rain in the afternoon, often followed by amazing celestial palettes of color as the sun sets over the western Andes. The main rainy season is normally short, from March to May. At this altitude and climate few bothersome insects are ever noticed, and tropical diseases have never been reported in this area.

From the lodge you have access to over 7 miles (12 kilometers) of birdy, uncrowded, well-marked trails. We maintain three feeding stations for hummingbirds and frugivorous species such as tanagers and toucans. More than half of all the bird species found in the wider Mindo-Tandayapa-Milpe area have been recorded at Reserva Las Gralarias. We currently have a bird checklist of 380+ species many of which are endemic to the Chocó Biogeographic Region of the Andes West Slope, and 12 species are considered to be at risk (p.65-66, Birds of Ecuador).

Specialties of the reserve include: Wattled Guan, Crested Guan, Hoary Puffleg, Dark-backed Wood-Quail, Cloud-forest Pygmy-Owl, Golden-headed Quetzal, Crested Quetzal, Beautiful Jay, White-faced Nunbird, Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Giant Antpitta, Yellow-breasted Antpitta, Moustached Antpitta, Chestnut-crowned Antpitta, Ochre-breasted Antpitta, Scaled Fruiteater, Orange-breasted Fruiteater, Green-and-black Fruiteater, Club-winged Manakin, Golden-winged Manakin, Olivaceous Piha, Powerful Woodpecker, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Yellow-vented Woodpecker, 7 species of parrots, 15 species of ovenbirds, 27 species of tanagers, mountain-tanagers and flower-piercers, 25 species of flycatchers, 26 species of hummingbirds and much more!

Our goal is to provide top quality birding and nature enjoyment in a comfortable setting while conserving the native cloud forest habitat and its fauna. We have sponsored local outreach environmental education programs, including a local birdwatching club for schoolchildren, as well as on-site research and are happy to hear from anyone interesting in volunteering to work at the reserve. The reserve encourages ongoing conservation-oriented biological research, not limited to avian fauna but including all aspects of tropical montane and cloud forest ecology.

We manage the reserve for the benefit of native flora and fauna and allow human visitors to enjoy the reserve in areas and ways that do not disturb the ecosystem. No trees were cut to build our buildings. Our constructions are 100% ecological, made with long-lasting non-toxic materials that require little maintenance. All buildings were constructed in previously pastured areas and the surrounding sites are now being regenerated with bird-friendly plants and native trees. Our water system is rainfall, collected in roof-tubes and cisterns and filtered through a pumping system. Used water is collected in septic tanks and gray water is filtered through a drainage field.

Our human footprint at Las Gralarias is minimal and blends harmoniously with our beautiful and tranquil surroundings. This lodge and reserve cater to birds, birders and nature-enthusiasts!

So, if you want top class birding and nature hikes without the crowds, this is the place for you!
We can provide transportation, complete accommodations and an on-site guide as well as full
birding tours in this area and anywhere else in Ecuador and South America.
Check out our tours at http://www.mindobirdtours.com

Advanced reservations only.
Contact us at:  [email protected]

Individuals interested in volunteering at or donating to the reserve are invited to contact us.
Donations are tax-deductible within the U.S.A. via the 501c3 non-profit Las Gralarias Foundation, Inc.
[email protected]

Visitor Comments
*"Dear Jane , Thanks for making our first trip to Ecuador amazing. Your knowledge and hospitality were the best. You also have an amazing staff. Milton is a wonderful guide - his knowledge of birds is priceless. Karina's cooking was delicious. Reserva Las Gralarias is birding paradise!" 14-19 January 2025, K and S Rogers, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

*" Jane, I'm back for the fourth time! Thank you for all the trips you're planned for us and all the hospitality you've shown us over the years. Here's to many more birds and conversations. Spectacular place. Muchas gracias!!" January 11, 2025. B. Fiero, Walden NY, USA.

*"2nd visit here (3rd to Ecuador) and always a treat to visit Reserva Las Gralarias. Jane Lyons is the best! Incredible talent of putting trips together in this great country. So much knowledge of the area and lodges." January 11, 2025.
J. Goulding, AZ, USA.

*"Thanks you so much for everything! I had as good a time the fourth visit as the first. Great birds, great food, and wonderful staff! Thanks much for Segundo and Milton for such excellent guidance. Jane - it's now time to come birding in Nashville. Until next time!!" 2-5 December 2024., S. Russenberger

*"Thank you so much for an amazing birding experience! Susie and I had the best time. After hearing about it from her, I couldn't wait to come and see Reserva Las Gralarias for myself. It more than lived up to my expectations - one of the best birding experiences I have ever had." 2-5 December 2024. JA Staples, Nashville, TN, USA.

*"Jane, this has been the most wonderful trip! Thank you so much for planning it for me and for hosting me here at your wonderful Reserva Las Gralarias. And there's more to come - Wow! P.S. You really need to write your memoirs."
13 Octubre-10 Noviembre 2024. Laura J., Austin, Texas, USA.

*"Gracias por tu amor por la naturaleza y por tantos anyos de pasión. !Eres una inspiración!" 16 Octubre 2024, Veronica K.

*"Siempre es inspirador conocer a mujeres que están cambiando el mundo con su fuerza e inteligencia. Gracias por todo tu trabajo en conservación. " J. R Velasquez. 16 Octubre 2024.

*"Muchas gracias por recibirnos y compartir su larga trayectoria en la conservación del Choco Andino." 16 Octubre 2024, Julieta Munoz, Quito.

*"Your kindness, generosity, hospitality all reflect the childhood friend I loved: rescuer of Connie Cuckoo! You've created a team to teach us about the birds and all around us with living patience. Please come. visit us in Mexico!"
2-5 August 2024, MLP &DD, Morelos, MX.

*"This has been one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had and I cannot thank the staff here enough. You all have been so kind and patient with us and it is so appreciated . Reserva Las Gralarias is so beautiful and I have learned so much just from the short time I have been here. You all should be so proud of what you have built here. Thank you all so so much. I hope to make my way back here in the future." 19-26 May 2024, CB, Michigan.

*" GVSU Study Abroad Class: to RLG Staff - THANK YOU!!!! You are so welcoming and accommodating. Our research projects were successful because of you! This amazing Reserva Las Gralarias is accessible to us because of your knowledge, skill, and open-heartedness." 19-26 May 2024, ES, Michigan, USA.

*"A terrific four days - returning to Ecuador after almost 35 years. Marvelous birding and excellent guides. Reserva Las Gralarias is a wonderful place and marvelous achievement and legacy. We have to come back soon and explore more of the country - only(!) 165 species, just a tenth of Ecuador's species list. Lot's to see next time! Best wishes and many thanks. " 12-16 May 2024, J&JS, UK.

*"Thanks for another great birding trip to Ecuador! - 5 antpittas, 5 owls, Crested Guan, Common Potoo, Lyre-tailed Nightjar, and many more. Segundo, Milton and Gabriel did a fantastic job of finding the birds and had the patience to point them out when I often could not see them right away. Already looking forward to another trip in the south or Amazon." 9 September 2023, JM, Japan.

*"What a great, relaxing experience. Great birdwatching. Fun and new found friends. Thank you for filling us in on your exciting and interesting history to get to have this beautiful facility." 11 August 2023, S&DP, Texas.

*"Reserva Las Gralarias is such a gift. Thank you for creating and maintaining the environment and for welcoming the world to it. And thank you to the entire staff for the warm welcome and kind attention and assistance." 11 August 2023, MM, Minnesota.

*"One of the highlights of our trip and life! Seeing the hummingbirds and tanagers was splendid. Thank you more than I can say." 11 August 2023, AM, Idaho.

*"Had a fabulous time at your reserve. Loved the birds." 11 August 2023, DS & JC, Arizona.

*"Thank you so much for an amazing visit." 11 August 2023, VB, Arkansas.

*"Great excursion. Once in a lifetime experience with that many hummingbirds. Great food and hospitality." 11 August 2023, NB, Texas.

"Thanks for a great visit with great birds, amphibians, food, fun and friends! Already looking forward to my next visit!" 10-20 June 2023, TK, Ohio.

*"Great stay and birding!" 19 January 2020, SA, MS, VM & JM, Pori, Finland. RS, Karde, Finland. LT, Tampere, Finland.

*"Thank you so much for the wonderful hospitality, food and of course the birds! I'm sure we will meet again, probably here!" 29 December 2019, SR, Nashville, TN.

*"Thanks for allowing us to share this amazing habitat. We have seen so many different bird species. Toucan Barbet and Giant Antpitta were the highlights. Good luck with all your efforts in the future." 29 December 2019, S&JE, UK.

*"Thanks for a lovely cloud forest Christmas with frogs and hummingbirds! So happy to have another fun stay at Reserva Las Gralarias. Keep up the wonderful work and come visit us in Santa Fe! " 27 December 2019, B&CS & family, Austin, TX.

Relaxing in the guest houses at RLG

Nighttime field research at RLG.

A stunning Crested Quetzal adorning a typical cloud forest mossy tree branch at RLG. Photo by Milton Delgado.

CONSERVATION PROJECTS OF
RESERVA LAS GRALARIAS

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Located in the westernmost foothills of the northwestern cordillera of the Andes some 200 kilometers above the Pacific Ocean, Reserva Las Gralarias sits just south of the equator, between 1750-2400 meters elevation. It is home to 24 of the 44 montane endemic bird species of the West Slope of the Andes and includes 12 of 19 bird species in this region considered to be at risk (p. 65-6, Birds of Ecuador).

We have recorded 25 species of hummingbirds, including rare and range-restricted species such as Black-breasted Puffleg, Hoary Puffleg, Gorgeted Sunangel, Empress Brilliant, Velvet-purple Coronet, White-tailed Hillstar and Wedge-billed Hummingbird. Other key attractions include Giant, Moustached, Yellow-breasted, Chestnut-crowned and Ochre-breasted Antpitta as well as breeding populations of Orange-breasted and Scaled Fruiteater. Additional bird species found at Reserva Las Gralarias include Cloud-forest Pygmy-Owl, Black-and-white Owl, Colombian Screech-Owl, Dark-backed Wood-Quail, Sickle-winged Guan, Crested Guan, Toucan Barbet, White-faced Nunbird, Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Golden-headed Quetzal, Crested Quetzal, Black-billed Peppershrike, Golden-winged Manakin, Club-winged Manakin, Olivaceous Piha, Beautiful Jay, Black Solitaire, Chestnut-throated Solitaire, Plushcap, Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager, and much more. In 2017 we published Hummingbirds of Reserva Las Gralarias.

Mammal species so far encountered on the reserve include Spectac led Bear, Two-toed Sloth, Oncilla, Puma, Mountain Coati, Tayra, Red-brocket Deer, Nine-banded Armadillo, Kinkajou, Olinguito, Andean Weasel, Rothchild´s Porcupine, Agouti, Collared Peccary, Pacarana, various squirrels, opossums and bats. One nectarivorous bat species, Anoura fistulata, described only in 2005, has also been found on the reserve. In 2019 we published Mammals of Reserva Las Gralarias.

ONGOING PROJECTS

HABITAT CONSERVATION
Our conservation objective is to purchase and protect high quality habitat for rare, endemic and special species in the Mindo area.   We have so far purchased, protected and restored approximately 1500 acres (585 hectares)
of key cloud forest habitat. We intend to expand our holdings in this beautiful area in order to help re-establish a habitat connection upslope that will provide a continuous protected habitat corridor from 1700 meters to 3300 meters elevation, along approximately 30 kilometers of the northwestern Andean slopes. We are currently planning to purchase at least another 700 acres of adjacent land to total 2000+ acres of protected cloud forest habitat.
Donors who are interested in helping fund this project are encouraged to contact the Las Gralarias Foundation at [email protected]. Donations are tax-exempt in the USA.

  FIELD RESEARCH
Birds:
*For ten years we operated a permitted bird banding project on the reserve in order to better understand the distribution and movements of the avifauna in this zone as well as to document individual characteristics of plumage and body measurements.

*In January 2009 the first-ever nest of the Chocó endemic Yellow-breasted Antpitta was found by Segundo Imba, caretaker at Las Gralarias, and was formally described by biologists Dr. Harold Greeney and Mery Juiña in January 2010.  [See article at boc1294-091117-ind:BOC Bulletin.qxd Nest with two young Yellow- breasted Antpittas Grallaria flavotincta, Reserva Las Gralarias, north- west Ecuador, 14 February 2009].

*In June-July 2010 UK student Elizabeth Noble of Leeds University conducted her master´s research documenting hummingbird behavior on the reserve.

*In April 2011 researchers from Yale University studied the Purple-throated Woodstar at Las Gralarias in an attempt to decipher the sounds made during courtship.

*In April 2012 a film and production crew of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) spent three weeks filming hummingbirds at Las Gralarias for their nature and bird television series and a special film entitled "Hummingbird Fight Club".

*From May 2017 - May 2019 we hosted the team of botanists and ornithologists who were studied hummingbird-plant interactions along the western slope of the Andes as a project of the Swiss Federal Institute of Research and with the cooperation of various Ecuadorian agencies and researchers.

We continue to regularly record bird activity, distribution and nesting behavior and keep ongoing documentation of bird observations on the reserve. Throughout the year we have visiting birders who contribute to our database of sightings and who are delighted by the species they find at our feeders as well as in the forest.

Mammals:
*In May 2008 we welcomed Suzanne Bartzke, a graduate student from Germany studying mammals and conservation at the University of Leeds in the UK. Suzanne conducted a survey of the mammals of Reserva Las Gralarias as part of her graduate degree in Conservation and Biology.  Her camera traps photographed an interesting variety of mammals on the reserve. We maintain several trail cameras which continue to provide us with some astounding photos of the little-seen and little-known mammals who live on the reserve. Our trailcams and visiting photographers have caught many photos of mammals.

Plants:
*In 2001 a team from Ecuador's National Herbarium conducted an initial survey of the plant life at Reserva Las Gralarias. Collecting 82 species of plants considered important to birds, the team found 11 species that are endemic to Ecuador. Of these 11 endemics, 5 are classified as vulnerable, 3 are classified as near-threatened, 1 is considered endangered and 1 is considered critically endangered. The species considered critically endangered is Podandrogyne brevipedunculata of the family Capparaceae and is found in three separate sites on our reserve. We are currently trying to identify the butterfly species recently discovered pollinating this rare plant. We have also been able to identify numerous plants that are important as food sources for various frugivorous and nectarivorous bird species. Thanks to our plant surveys, we have been able to ensure adequate protection for these rare and important plants and the birds and other animals that depend on them. In March and May 2011 we hosted two different botany field courses from Quito´s Catholic University, the New York Botanical Garden and Missouri Botanical Garden with some 40 students who studied the myriad of plants found in the amazing Andean west slope cloud forest.

In June 2023 students from Ohio Northern University hiking to their study sites in the cloud forest. Photo by Milton Delgado

We have hosted many butterfly and moth enthusiasts and researchers and even have three moth species named for the reserve and the founder. We have published the results of a thesis on 'Butterflies of Reserva Las Gralarias' and also hosted two field projects to identify as many species as possible of butterflies and skippers at RLG.

Amphibians and Reptiles:

*Since 2005 we have had ongoing field research on our many amphibians, resulting in dozens of published
   papers and posters and numerous new species
   discovered and described. (Photo above by Ray So)

   Also student researchers have studied sleeping patterns of anoles (photo left by Jane A. Lyons) as well as field projects on various other reptiles.

Here below a beautiful Spotted Genuine-Snake sunning at our uppermost site. (Photo by Tim Krynak)

In January 2024 this Spectacled Bear was photographed feeding in a palmito tree at Reserva Las Gralarias. Photo by Milton Delgado.

  FEATURED CREATURES
Our bi-monthly article about what is going on at Reserva Las Gralarias, including its innumerable creatures both animal and plant (I consider plants as creatures as they have amazing behavior) as well as the ecological systems that sustain our creatures and in turn benefit from them.
"CONNECTIONS"
By Jane A. Lyons
January 2024

At Reserva Las Gralarias (RLG), along with most of Ecuador, the end of 2023 was hectic, somewhat confused, with changing of the government after a late November 'abnormal' national election, and with most everyone happy to see the old year gone and planning to celebrate New Year's Eve. The October solar eclipse had brought us weird and not very pleasant weather, and then a drought had caused rolling and very inconvenient electricity black-outs throughout most of the country. We were all more than ready to end the year, celebrate its departure, and get ready for a brand new cycle.

The first bird I saw in 2024 was from inside my kitchen - the female Lyre-tailed Nightjar that has been our resident at Reserva Las Gralarias (RLG) since at least 2012 with three nests that I had found on our roof, and that, right before dawn, flies in to sit for a minute or two always at the same place on the low concrete retaining wall outside my house.

Perhaps due to the odd weather here and in Central America, our northern migratory birds were somewhat scarce in October. However, by late November they became abundant again: multiple Broad-winged Hawks that seem to be spending the winter at RLG, numerous Blackburnian Warbler throughout the reserve, Black-and-white Warbler, Canada Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Swainson’s Thrush, Summer Tanager, possible Chimney Swift, even a small group of very vocal Barred Parakeet from somewhere.

While birds of all kinds, including migratory species, have always been able to fly up and down and back and forth across the entire Western Hemisphere, mammals likely did not swim in the oceans or have any sort of boating skills so were completely restricted to either North America or to South America. These mammals had to wait until, some 10 million years ago, the Panama Land Bridge formed. This amazing land bridge or “isthmus”, for the first time in the history of our planet, connected two immense continents. Imagine all those intrepid southern hemisphere mammals eager to explore the north and all those northern mammals curious about what could be in the south. (Open source photos)

  The wonderful Panama Land Bridge (above), joining two continents and separating two oceans.
It also paved the way for extensive migration and biological mixing of land-bound plants and animals.

This very tiny land bridge actually runs mostly east-west and also separates the Atlantic Ocean to its north from the Pacific Ocean to its south, affecting ocean currents and marine life world-wide. It became, quite literally, the bridge that joined the two huge continents and allowed two-way biological traffic and subsequent mixing of north and south species. Prior to the formation of the land bridge there were no bears in South America, but one bear species moved south and its progeny eventually found what was to become Ecuador and even found Reserva Las Gralarias, where they still exist. In fact, we have quite a good population of South America’s only bear species, the Spectacled or Andean Bear (Tremarctos ornatus). This threatened species can be found in the high elevation grassy paramo, where they show substantial bright white and black colors and are primarily grassland bears, while the western Spectacled Bear are well-camouflaged with only shades of brown and black for living in the dark forests and especially among the dense trees.

The bears unfortunately are quite destructive of the trees but, on the other hand, they, along with birds and other mammals, disperse the trees’ seeds far and wide and are thus critically important in allowing these and other fruiting trees to be able to disperse and grow upslope and not just be carried downslope with the rain, waterways and eroding soil. As we know, dispersal is insurance against extinction.

I do worry that between our fruit feeders, sugar water feeders and palmito trees we will likely find a bear on our patios at some point. For now though, the bears are happily feeding in the palmito forests along the river as seen in a video and photos by Milton Delgado on January 3, 2024 (see photos below).

The native, resilient fast-growing palmito (Prestoea acuminata) trees provide plenty of food for the bears and other frugivorous mammals and birds, including many large clumps of fruits and extensive ‘hearts-of-palm’ found inside the tree trunks. This group of trees was inadvertently planted at the edge of our main patio, the seeds having been deposited by guans, and then swept off the patios where they quickly germinated, and in 15 or so years are now tall trees.

This trailcam photo (above) along Canyon 's Trail at RLG of a large male Spectacled Bear shows an interesting angle from below the bear’s head so that its flat teeth can be seen. A lifetime of chewing tough palm trees and bromeliads likely wears down their teeth.

A Spectacled Bear in the high elevation paramo zone east of Quito. These bears are much darker black and bright white than the dark brown cloud forest bears at RLG. Photo b y Milton Delgado.

No white on this bear’s face (above).

(Above.) A small bear, probably a female, photographed by a trailcam on Canyon’s Trail at RLG.

This Spectacled Bear has climbed a large palmito tree at the end of our river trail in an area that some 20 years ago was cow pasture. After eating all the reachable clumps of the palmito fruits, it is trying everything possible to reach the last very large clump of berries right below its nose, but without much success. I assume the palmito trees have their large, long rather flimsy branches so that some berries out near the end are meant for birds while the bears have to try to eat what is near the trunk (until the bears knock the trees over). We have had regular sightings and photos of Spectacled Bear at RLG since 2003. Our dogs have seen them, our staff have seen them, our volunteers have seen them, our construction workers have seen them, and we have a good array of photos of them on the reserve. We have seen them basically in all areas of the reserve. They appear happy at RLG due to clean, clear undisturbed water in our streams and river, plenty of bromeliads to tear apart and eat, some areas with apparently yummy wild blackberries, and the beautiful, amazing and important palmito trees, that they climb, tear apart and eat. They no doubt also prey on smaller animals or find carrion to eat. However, they seem to primarily be herbivores and ingest much fiber, which they regurgitate, along with all the fruits and palm hearts.

Photos: January bird species at RLG included Yellow-vented Woodpecker (left), Olivaceous Piha (center), Black-and-white Warbler (right), Crested Guan (below). Photos by Milton Delgado.

In January we enjoyed three different resident family groups of Ecuador’s largest guan, the Crested Guan (Penelope purpurescens) (above), related to the Megapodes or mound builders of Australia. Considered a threatened species, at RLG they mostly feed on palmito and other tree fruits. We have recently seen one pair with a flightless fledgling clamoring around the trees, along with many other frugivores such as Olivaceous Piha (above center), families of mountain-toucans, two species of barbets, two species of manakin, flocks of parrots and parakeets (below right, Choco Parakeet), two species of chlorophonia, and our regular understory species such as tapaculos, antpittas, wrens encircling the guest houses, woodpeckers large and small foraging in the taller trees, and hummers in very large numbers, likely including recent offspring, all very busy draining the feeders that have recently had to be filled four times each day.

An endemic Choco species, this one in a flock of Choco Parakeet feeding behind the guest house at RLG. Photo by Milton Delgado.

A male Blackburnian Warbler, our most abundant North American migrant species that shows up in significant numbers at RLG, here seen in the middle of hail-damaged elder leaves. Photo by Milton Delgado.

A bear in a tree in my front yard! Our bears at RLG are surprisingly arboreal. Photo by Jane A. Lyons

Hidden Pools along the Santa Rosa River at RLG.

A beautiful Red Brocket deer along the road at the guest house at RLG. These are surprisingly abundant at RLG.

We have occasional sightings at RLG of a troop of the critically endangered Ecuadorian White-faced Capuchin monkey. Photo by Jane A. Lyons.

Trailcam photo of a young Tayra at our banana feeder.

Trailcam photo of a Mountain Coati in our forest.

Trailcam photo of a large male Spectacled Bear on Canyon's Trail at RLG.

Trailcam photo of wild Peccary on Sr. Tim's Trail.

Do you see the puma? What camouflage!

   FOR MORE INFORMATION
CONTACT US AT [email protected].

TO SUPPORT AND HELP US EXPAND OUR ONGOING WORK TO
SAVE THE MONTANE CLOUD FORESTS OF THE
CHOCO BIOGEOGRAPHIC ENDEMIC BIRD AREA,
PLEASE CONTACT US AT
[email protected].

YOU CAN MAKE A DONATION VIA PAY PAL
OR MAIL A CHECK TO US.
DONATIONS TO THIS
501C3 FOUNDATION ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE IN THE USA.

 LAS GRALARIAS FOUNDATION

History

In 1996 Dr. Jane Lyons moved from Montevideo, Uruguay, where she worked for the U.S. Department of State, up to Quito, Ecuador to begin a new job as Head of the Americas program for BirdLife International, UK. Her main task was to launch the Important Bird Areas (IBA) program across the region and especially in South America. Jane had brought birding tours to Ecuador in 1990 and 1991 and was especially enthralled with the area around Mindo due to its fascinating bird activity and pleasant climate. She had already become an enthusiastic student of the beautiful lower elevation cloud forest habitat in Monteverde, Costa Rica and Henri NP in Venezuela where she had travelled and studied during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1997 she, as the BirdLife representative, along with local and national agencies launched Mindo as the first IBA in South America. In 1998, while birding on a Mindo area property, Jane offered to buy the property, and the owner immediately accepted. This small 7.5 hectare/18.75 acre plot was the beginning of Reserva Las Gralarias (RLG). The pair of Scaled Fruiteater that Jane had seen at the entry trail of this land convinced her that, even though the land was far from pristine, it had some rare and little known species of bird plus a lovely small creek running through it as well as a small cabin that was perfect for quiet weekends away from work in the big city of Quito.

Photo of old cabin

This new wildlife and nature reserve was Jane’s long-planned idea finally becoming a reality. It was mainly inspired by her lifelong love of birds and nature in general plus her increasing interest in the beautiful evergreen cloud forest habitat found in this mountainous area right on the equator. The name Reserva Las Gralarias came from the three species of Grallaria antpitta heard and eventually seen on this initial plot of land.

Photos of 3 app antpittas

In 2001 Jane received an email from a fellow in Ohio named Tim Krynak. He also was a birder and nature-lover who had been to Ecuador recently to attend a wedding and during his stay saw, to his amazement, a Blackburnian Warbler, a North American songbird that Tim knew well from Ohio, even from his own backyard, and that overwinters in northern South America including in the general area of Mindo. Tim decided that he had to know more about the area where this Ohio bird spent half of its life every year.
So he found Jane’s website and contacted her to see if he could be a volunteer at her new reserve called Reserva Las Gralarias and which was in fact about 10 kilometers away from where Tim had seen that first overwintering Blackburnian Warbler. Tim ended up coming to RLG in 2002 and most every year afterwards to volunteer with the reserve’s 10-year bird banding project and also to help document the avifauna and other wildlife of the reserve.

Tim’s first visit to the reserve was ‘rustic’ at best. He stayed in an old cabin on the new upper part of reserve which had no running water system at that time. After a week or so of working on the reserve Jane managed to contact some friends near Mindo town to see if Tim could shower at their place, which they kindly agreed to.

Photo of early RLG

As it turned out, Tim was an employee of Cleveland Metroparks, Ohio USA, and was very-well connected in his city’s environmental circles as well as socially in the city he where he had lived all his life. Cleveland in fact was well-known in the US as the city whose river had caught fire. The immense amount of contamination and garbage as well as oil spills in the Cuyahoga River actually caught fire and resulted in a burning river. “The water was nearly always covered in oil slicks, and it bubbled like a deadly stew. Sometimes rats floated by, their corpses so bloated they were practically the size of dogs. It was disturbing, but it was also just one of the realities of the city. For more than a century, the Cuyahoga River had been prime real estate for various manufacturing companies. Everyone knew it was polluted, but pollution meant industry was thriving, the economy was booming, and everyone had jobs.” (Excerpt from article “The Cuyahoga River Caught Fire at Least a Dozen Times, but No One Cared Until 1969”, by Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian Magazine, June 19, 2019). The community eventually learned a lot from this man-made disaster and began to change course in order to protect their city from future such environmental problems. So, Tim was in fact an experienced part of an immense environmental rehab project aimed at restoring nature at all levels and over a very large area. Our work at RLG regenerating native habitat fit right in with what Tim was professionally involved in.

And, as all that turned out, Tim happened to meet another nature lover and rehabber of all kinds of critters, who worked at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Katherine Duffy came with Tim on one of his early volunteer visits to RLG. By 2004 they were well-known at RLG and neighboring areas as “Señor Tim y Kathy”. They even formed a nature club of local children to learn about the local habitats and did much field work mostly documenting the reserve’s many species of frogs. And, again, as it turned out, Kathy was an expert on frogs. She had studied and worked with frogs in Panama, specifically the Panamanian Golden Frog (Atelopus zeteki), highly endangered due to habitat loss and fragmentation, over-collection for the pet and museum trade, and most notably, due to the spread of chytridiomycosis (amphibian chytrid fungus). Kathy and Tim’s early work on amphibians at RLG resulted in the reserve’s first inventory and booklet of the amphibians of RLG. And the reserve now has a trail named Sr. Tim’s Trail and a creek named Kathy’s Creek plus very healthy amphibian populations.

So, with huge luck, RLG had early on two very experienced 'habitat rehabilitation experts’ to help with the rehabbing of the 60-year old cow pasture that covered much of RLG.  By 2001 Jane had purchased an additional adjacent 11 hectares/27.5 acres and by 2002 an additional 73 hectares/182.50 acres of adjacent land all purchased since the original 7.5 acre plot. By 2004 she had purchased an additional adjacent 87 hectares/217.50 acres, for a total land size of 178.50 hectares/446.25 acres of separate parcels all consolidated into Reserva Las Gralarias.  In November 2004 the small newly constructed 2- bedroom guest house was officially opened on the site of the old stable and cow barn at the the reserve. Las Gralarias Guest House welcomed its first guests - birders from the USA. Ecuador was becoming well-known internationally as a bird paradise.

By 2005 Tim and Jane had decided to begin a foundation to raise funds and help in the work at RLG. The foundation would be the Las Gralarias Foundation based in the USA to support the work of Reserva Las Gralarias.

And, as it turned out, Tim knew just the right folks in Ohio to draw up the legal papers for establishing the new foundation. And also, Tim knew the perfect artist to create the Foundation's logo. In 2006 the Las Gralarias Foundation became a reality.

The Las Gralarias Foundation Founding Board Members
President: Tim Krynak, MSc (Ohio)
Vice-President: Jane Lyons, Ph.D. (Ecuador)
Secretary: Katherine Krynak, Ph.D. (Ohio)
Treasurer: Jo Ann Kubicki (Ohio)
Bob Barth, Ph.D. (Texas)
Nancy Charbeneau, MLA (Texas)
Noreen Damude, MSc (Texas)
Jeffrey Miller, Ph.D., (Oregon)
Shamus Terry, MA (Wisconsin)
Edward Krynak, Ph.D. (Washington)

Over the years the Foundation was lucky to acquire additional dedicated volunteer workers:

Membership: Mary Ann Beauchemin, MS (Texas)
Publications Team: Francie Bolter, Ed.D. (Arkansas);
Roy Averill-Murray, MS (Ecuador); Laurie Averill-Murray, MS (Ecuador)
New Board Member: Ruth Grant, M.D. (Missouri)

The Las Gralarias Foundation's legal purposes are:

The local children with Tim and Kathy in their Explorers' Club, using binoculars to see birds and searching for insects to identify.

In 2006 Tim and Kathy Krynak conducted the first inventory of amphibians at RLG, resulting in a booklet of photos with most of the species found. With our numerous clean and protected streams meandering through cloud forest habitat, RLG had and still has a surprising diversity of both rain frogs and glass frogs as well as many other frog species.

There were a number of unknown frog species found and describing them would take numerous years but eventually resulted in an amazing list of species including species new to science such as the Las Gralarias Glass Frog and the Las Gralarias Rain Frog

The most amazing discovery was the "Punk Rocker Frog' so named because it was 'spikey' all over its body until it decided to become totally smooth.

It took nine years of work to find the second individual of this species as well as discover its call which led finally to the description of this new species at RLG, officially known as Pristimantis mutabilis It eventually was found to be the only known vertebrate that changes shape. The type specimen was finally found by Henry Imba in a very old tree with old moss right behind Jane's house.

A huge thank you to all the amazing photographers over many years who have contributed their photos to Reserva Las Gralarias to help support its many projects. Their artwork and detailed documentation of our activities has been critically important to our success: Rebecca Abuza, Roy Averill-Murray, Dusan Brinkhuizen, Milton Delgado, Michael Gray, Scott Holt, Tim Krynak, Jane Lyons, Ray So, Joel Sartore, Luke Seitz and many more.

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