An Ande guide to birds

Gray-breasted Mountain Toucan • Photo by Roy Lowe

There will be some colorful language spoken at the next Yaquina Birders and Naturalists presentation, “The Spectacular Birds of the Colombian Andes” on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

Colombia boasts the highest bird diversity on Earth, with more than 2,000 recorded species.

Roy Lowe visited Colombia with some friends in March of 2023 on a trip that ranged from near sea level to 13,000 feet in the Andes Mountains. Lowe’s presentation will feature myriad colorful images of many of the birds encountered, from awesome mountain-toucans, to brilliant tanagers, scintillating hummingbirds, secretive antpittas, and the bizarre-but-beautiful Andean cock-of-the-rock.

Lowe is a local avid photographer and birder who was employed with the US Fish and Wildlife Service for more than 37 years until his retirement in 2015.

Tuesday’s presentation begins at 6:30 pm at the OSU Extension Lincoln County Office, 1211 SE Bay Blvd, in Newport. For more information, go to lincolncityaudubon.org.