Birding hot spots in
SurinameBirding hot spots in
Suriname
Checklist for all of Suriname
(728 birds as of December 2009)
List of the birds of: Nickerie,
Weg naar Zee, Paramaribo, Peperpot, Warappakreek
List of the birds of: Zanderij,
Brownsberg, Raleigh Falls, Palumeu, Sipaliwini Digital distribution
maps of all the birds Back to the
introduction Sketch map of Suriname with for some places an indication of the number of birdspecies known (area of the cirkels). The numbered places are (with checklists), 1: Sipalawini (>380 sp.) 2: Raleigh Falls/Voltzberg (>470) 3: Brownsberg (>400) 4: Zanderij (>400) 5: Paramaribo (>370) 6: New Nickerie (>250). For the Central Surinam Nature Reserve, CSNR, the number of bird species is currently at over 510. For the total of Suriname I count 728 species. (December 2009).
Surinam is situated along the Atlantic coast in South America,
north of Brazil. It borders Guyana (in the west) and French
Guyana (east) and Brazil (south). An indication of the birds to
be expected in the different zones of Suriname is given in the checklist of all
birds of Suriname.
Lowlands, originally mostly swamps with sandridges, now the region with most of the habitation and agriculture. The coastal zone is narrow in the east (30 km) and broadens towards the west of the country (100 km). The coast itself has mostly mudflats and mangroves, not many sandy beaches. Places to visit for birders are:
In the west: Nickerie and Coronie (coast, ricefields, lagoons, swamps). Near Paramaribo: Weg naar Zee, road to Uitkijk, several plantations along the Commewijne river and Meerzorg/Peperpot and in Paramaribo the Cultuurtuin. More to the north-east: Warappakreek en Matapica/Krofajapasi (coast and lagoons).
To the south of the coastal area lies a savanna belt, also much wider in the west than in the east. It has white sand savanna's, savanna forests and swampy places. All types can be found near the Zandery airport, with beautifull places like Hannoversavanne. A little to the west lies the Coesewijne savanna .
About three quarters of Suriname is occupied by forests. The most beautifull and interesting place to be is the Raleigh Falls/ Voltzberg area, a nature reserve in unspoiled lowland forest. It has a rich fauna (f.i. 8 species of monkeys, jaguar and puma) and more than 470 species of birds have been recorded here (see checklist). The Raleigh Falls are part of the Central Surinam Nature Reserve, CSNR, of 1.6 million hectare and a count of 500+ bird species. The region near Palumeu in the south-east also is a good place for birding.
Places with higher elevations have a different avifauna and are in general more difficult to reach. The easiest place to visist is the Brownsberg nature park, about 100 km south from the capital. It is 500 m high and more than 400 species of bird are known from it (see checklist). Other places are more difficult to get to.
The Sipaliwini savanna in the south has many birds that are seldom seen in the rest of Suriname. It is a wide, open savanna and has more than 300 species recorded. It borders the enormeous nature reserve of Tumucumaque in Brazil. As it is not often visited, a checklist is not given but the bird population can be appreciated in the checklist
Nature reserves
Descriptions of the flora and fauna of some nature reserves and parks can be found on the site of STINASU, which organisation is responsable for all these places.
