He’s Biologist of the University of Magdalena, bird lover and ambitious entrepreneur.
To talk with Gabriel de Jesus Utria Ortega, is to find a spokesman of the birds that inhabit in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. He speaks passionately about them.
Gabriel publicized his work with birds by uploading photos to Facebook.
He believes that life united him with avitourism, he never thought that those species he heard every morning when he woke up would become the greatest love for his life.
His life has been surrounded by challenges, so many that have made him a warrior with wings that surpass the mountains along the way.
Birds have made him discover himself, it has taken him to academy and recently to entrepreneurship. He’s learned so much from them that he’s already learned to fly like them.
Read More: Fracisco Troncoso, el ‘incubador’ del aviturismo en el Magdalena
A LOVE WITH THE SCENT OF A SAW
Gabriel’s first encounters with the birds had as their epicenter the most beautiful house they could have; the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
He grew up with his siblings in a biological station that his parents took care of in San Lorenzo, in the upper part of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. There he guided the biologists of the Unimagdalena who were going to carry out their projects.
One of the most emotional memories he has of that time is the sound of a crying cat that he searched for a long time with her sisters, but never found. It wasn’t a cat; it was a Thrush.
He learned that truth when he learned more about birds while studying biology. He decided to study that career when a biologist visited his home discovered its potential.
THE FAMILY PROJECT
At the university he participated in the creation of a tropical dry forest station. They monitored 195 species of birds using the environmental patch in the city to feed.
The toucans were visiting the station, Gabriel loved them. So much so that it became the logo of the family project called Birding Santa Marta, a tour operator that is 80% dedicated to birdwatching.
The Utria Ortega brothers embody the passion behind Birding Santa Marta.
In 2015, together with her sisters, he formed this society after seeing the deficiency of an operator who will professionally provide birdwatching services in an area with such a variety of species.
From the company they generate environmental awareness with their activities, they promote the Samarian enterprise and invite the whole world to fall in love with our most beautiful gift: birds.
