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The Grand Colombian Birding Tour by Ben Freeman
January 15th - February 11th 2010
 In an action-packed month we recorded 653 species, with an additional 29 species heard only. Of this total, we saw 48 endemics (with three more endemics heard only) and saw an additional 47 species that I consider to be near-endemics. This is a remarkably grand total for a Colombian biridng tour that included a grand total of zero sites on the Amazonian side of the Andes and nothing on the Pacific slope below 1500 m. That is to say, this tour covered most every key birding site in the Western, Central and Eastern Andes of Colombia, the Magdalena Valley, the north coast of Colombia and Santa Marta Mountain. As this list of mountains suggests, the topography was rugged and the driving times were correspondingly rugged. Many of Colombia's best birding sites - mostly Fundacion ProAves bird reserves, especially for endangered endemics. But we got there, and boy was it worth it - loads of endangered and threatened species, species only recently discovered, brightly-colored avian gems and even a couple new records for various reserves!
Leader: Ben Freeman and Alexandra Class
Participants: Los Pajaritenos de Tejas: PK Martin, Etta Martin, CA Martin, Sandy Martin, Joe Ergonis, and Linda Ergonis
We ranged from the beautiful but chilly paramos of Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve and Nevado de Ruiz to the steamy lowlands at Paujil Bird Reserve, and everywhere in between. Our weather was generally favorable --- perhaps even too favorable, as a prolonged country-wide drought and many hot and sunny days diminished bird activity at several sites. However, we were able to overcome occasional quiet afternoons; the list of avian highlights was long indeed, including Santa Marta Warbler, White capped Tanager, Andean Condor, White tipped Quetzal, Choco Vireo, Santa Marta Parakeet, Indigo Flowerpiercer, Ocellated Tapaculo, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Gold-ringed Tanager, Wattled Guan, Black Inca, White tailed Starfrontlet, Dusky Starfrontlet, Bearded Helmetcrest, Yellow-eared Parrot, Toucan Barbet, Chestnut Piculet, Beautiful Woodpecker, Recurve-billed Bushbird, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Scaled Fruiteater, Club-winged Manakin, Black Solitaire, White headed Wren, Turquoise Dacnis, Rufous-browed Conebill, Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer, Rosy Thrush Tanager and Sooty Ant-Tanager -- wow!
15 Jan 2010: On a bright and sunny afternoon, Alexa (or Alex if you prefer) and I picked up the Martin/Ergonis group at the airport. Both the birding group and the pair of young American guides were easily distinguished from the Colombian crowds in the new Medellin airport, conveniently located outside of the city.
We rapidly introduced ourselves and the assembled Martins/Ergonises brought us up to speed on the Bogota portion of the trip, guided by another EcoTurs guide - Diana Balcazar, which went well. However, it is not really a hardcore birding trip if you are staying in a plush hotel in the capital city -- where are the hardships and long drives? - so we agreed that the real birding would begin right here - right now -- in Medellin. The first step to this goal was of course to load up our van, a rather new 15-seat vehicle ably driven by Diana Yepes.
On our way to lunch, several groups of soldiers standing guard along the highway alerted us to our proximity to the hacienda of the Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe. As we posed little threat (Six Texans in a Colombian van = little threat - hmmm), we continued on our way without problems. For lunch, we raided Carulla, a very upscale grocery store, leaving with wine bottles for the coming days and delicious turkey wraps and buckets of fruit salad for an in-the-van lunch.
Joe took advantage of his captive audience to introduce us to "The Bet" and "The Rules of The Bet." It is far too complicated (or at least it was complicated enough to provoke daily conversations during the trip) to summarize in the brief space afforded in a trip report, but it will suffice to say that we all bet on the number of species we will record (the range was from 220 to 700; how could Hans guess 220???), at least two people must record every species, and a "heard only" counts for nothing - zilch, nada. Our first rest stop was at a scenic restaurant overlooking - on a far hillside -- the Medellin dump. Linda took advantage of this opportunity - the closest we would come to dump birding in Colombia - to get great pictures of a juvenile Cattle Tyrant while the parents hopped tamely on the restaurant windows.
Shortly after lunch, Diana illustrated her "fixer" abilities - for the first but not last time - by solving Joe's struggles to use his brand-new Colombian cell phone. We wound upo our first curvy road towards Anori, then down the Porce Valley passing the large hydroelectric operation, finally arriving at Fundacion ProAves "Chestnut-capped Piha Bird Reserve". This reserve protects a portion of mountainous forest at the northern tip of the Central Andes, where initial ornithological explorations in 1999 discovered the Chestnut-capped Piha among a good variety of other Colombian endemics and exciting birds. The climate is pleasant at 1600 m, and the lodge itself is comfortable, with good food and easy access to forest and nice hummingbird and banana feeders on the patio.
16 January 2010: After a typical Colombian breakfast of hot chocolate, coffee, pre-toasted toast (that we left on the plate) and scrambled eggs, we headed up into the forest. The first uphill section left us pausing to catch our breaths at a convenient territory for Parker's Antbird, and the recently described (1996) antbird, named for the late great Ted Parker, responded quite well to playback. Interestingly, the female came quite near to us, while the male refused to leave the comfort of the shadowy tangles.
We kept climbing, and a string of burbles and chirps alerted me to a nearby flock of endemic Red-bellied Grackles that we were soon watching forage in the canopy, oblivious to our presence - a truly gorgeous forest grackle, with brilliant scarlet bellies and whitish waxy tips on its' head feathers. Just then, a small mixed flock proved frustratingly difficult to watch, although we did get our first good looks at gregarious Yellow-throated Bush Tanagers, a brief look at a female White-winged Tanager, and an incredibly still Brown-billed Scythebill. Our pulses quickened, however, when the reserve's namesake - the Chestnut-capped Piha - flew into the trees above our heads, and showed well. Typically, the chestnut on the cap of this key endemic was limited or absent - I rarely see chestnut feathers on this bird even with unobstructed head views, and suspect that only full adult males illustrate this trait. A Highland Motmot provided good views, while Sooty-headed Wrens proved less cooperative, but we eventually spotted them.
The rest of our hike was frustratingly quiet, as a strong sun stifled bird activity. The benefit to the sunny weather was a good showing of soaring raptors, as we saw White-tailed Hawk, Swallow-tailed Kite, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, a beautiful Barred Hawk, and
a pair of King Vultures. We also became familiar with the constant refrain of the Ruddy Pigeon: "Hit the Foul Pole!"
The forest guard Jose brought our packed lunch up to the ridge, which we enjoyed in a drowsy state, sprawled out in the shade. Joe took a little nap, which provided the opportunity for a butterfly to settle on his hat, much to Etta's delight.
The forest was so quiet we decided to return to the lodge, pausing to watch a pair of Andean Solitaires in the treetops. At the lodge we took Joe's advice to take care of our feet (shoes off!) and sat down to familiarize ourselves with the resident hummingbirds - Andean Emerald, Green-crowned Brilliant, West Andean Emerald and Green-crowned Woodnymph. Black-winged Saltators, Orange-bellied Euphonias and Scrub, Crimson-backed, Lemon-rumped and Summer Tanagers were among the birds visiting the banana feeders, all providing leisurely studies.
17 Jan: After a very quiet first day at the reserve, it was an easy decision to return to the forest trails. We decided to make a special effort to see the endemic Chestnut Wood-Quails at the site where Jose was attempting to feed them, and our efforts paid off when a pair circled close around us, calling loudly and crossing the path mere meters from our feet. A pair of Uniform Antshrikes showed well, and our good fortune continued with a nice flock, where we were able to pick out a Streak-capped Treehunter and a female Multicolored Tanager from the swirling tanagers and flycatchers. However, she left quickly and we were keen to spot this beautiful bird again. While searching for the next flock we were pleased to watch a cooperative Greenish Puffleg, and soon enough we spotted another tanager flock. We picked out a Yellow-throated Vireo, a possible new record for the reserve, and then turned our attention to the tanagers. Hot and heavy birding; among the Speckled, Silver-throated, Golden, Beryl-spangled and Bay-headed Tanagers we found a male Multicolored Tanager, spectacular in his turquoise, golden and green plumage.
Happy to have seen this Colombian jewel, we attempted to bring out an uncooperative White-crowned Tapaculo that was eventually seen by most of the group. A White-tipped Sicklebill showed briefly for PK, who also spotted a puffbird while visiting the outdoor men's room. After a tense moment's wait we were able to refind an excellent Moustached Puffbird, which sat calmly for extended observation while a pair of Red-headed Barbets and a Golden-winged Manakin fed in a fruiting tree.
After a lunch and midday siesta we explored the road. It took time, but eventually we all had good scope looks at a singing male Pale-eyed Thrush and a female Collared Trogon posed for photos. A flycatcher-rich mixed flock added Marble-faced Bristle-Tyrant, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, Ornate Flycatcher and Lineated Foliage-gleaner to our list, while Etta made the find of the day, spotting a Blue-necked Tanager sitting on a nest in a distant cecropia, a spot of brilliant turquoise against the green foliage in binoculars and a beautiful sight in the scope. As dusk approached we heard the distant calls of a Pavonine Cuckoo, and Linda and Alexa briefly saw a Cinnamon Screech-Owl.
18 January 2010: Our last morning at this excellent reserve started on a high note, as a Tropical Screech-Owl showed well, and a male Lyre-tailed Nightjar flew incredibly close, his ridiculously long tail trailing behind him in the dawn light. Excited, we decided to make a final attempt on the road for the endemic Stiles' Tapaculo, which hopped calmly in the underbrush, providing binocular views. Binocular views of an endemic tapaculo! While watching the tapaculo, we heard a loud rustling in the bushes, and a huge Wattled Guan emerged and began munching on fruit, every field mark visible on this usually very elusive cracid! A brilliant male Red-headed Barbet capped the morning's birding, and we were back to the lodge with smiles to pack up for our long drive to Las Tangaras Bird Reserve on the Choco - Antioquia border.
A roadside stop produced great views of a pair of endemic White-mantled Barbets, pumping their tails in time to their hollow hoots, while a pair of zebra-striped near-endemic Bar-crested Antshrikes foraged along the road. A pair of local campesinos took interest to our activities, and alerted us to a nearby band of Inca Jays. We stopped further down the road, at a slightly lower altitude, where a brilliant male Yellow-tufted Dacnis appeared above our heads and we looked down from a bridge to watch a Scaly-breasted Wren showing well beneath us. CA found a slender green snake on the bridge and helped it on its way off the road.
Lunch at Pescadito 1 was tasty, and soon we were passing through the modern city of Medellin on our way west. We stopped for delicious ice cream popsicles at a nice roadside restaurant where PK admired the woodworking of the tables and chairs on display. Our long drive continued, and we crossed the mud-brown Cauca River and began to ascend the Western Andes, stopping at the wonderful plaza at Ciudad Bolivar to stock up on supplies - bread from the two-story breadstore, sliced and sent down an elevator shoot-- that Alexa and Sandy and CA went to, tomato, avocado and cheese for tomorrow's sandwiches, as well as nutella, mora jelly and peanut butter. Linda loaded up with a bottle of vodka (which made it through the entire trip and still inhabits Giles Pub in El Dorado reserve), limes and sugar. A late afternoon bar fight near the parque Bolivar was (luckily) a rather slow-motion affair, we managed to stay clear of the cascade of broken class and clumsy lunges.
We finally arrived after dark, where our hotel was basic but not nearly as bad as I had been led to believe. Only one restaurant in town was open, but the trout they served was quite tasty, and we slept well, eagerly anticipating our morning's birding in the Choco forests of ProAves latest reserves - Las Tangaras Bird Reserve. At this point we performed a complex logistical dance, leaving our bags in Diana's van and taking day-packs, in anticipation of reuniting with Diana the following night in Urrao.
19 January 2010: We woke early and piled into a jeep, flushing several Common Pauraques on the drive to our birding site. While eating our field breakfast of granola and yogurt we were pleased to spot a Rufous bellied Nighthawk winging overhead with its distinctive fluttering flight.
Birds began to appear in the dawn light, with a Bronze-olive Pygmy-Tyrant foraging and making it's strange mechanical wing-snapping "pop." A small band of Handsome Flycatchers moved through, while we saw our first beautiful Violet-tailed Sylphs. A large flock of Red-bellied Grackles winging overhead was a pleasant surprise, although we had already had great looks at this endemic (one of my favorites) at the Piha reserve.
This was my first time at this site, and it quickly became apparent that the excellent moss and orchid-festooned cloud forest along the road held an astonishing variety of sharply-attired birds. A pair of Crimson-rumped Toucanets perched over the road, and our first flock was full of wonderful tanagers, including pretty endemic Black-and-gold Tanagers (we could easily see the baby blue shoulders!), the aptly-named Glistening-green Tanager, the exquisite Purplish-mantled Tanager and a good variety of others including Dusky Bush Tanager, Saffron-crowned, Flame-faced and Rufous-throated Tanager. A Red-faced Spinetail foraged reclusively in a mossy tree, while a backlit group of Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonias included one Yellow-collared Chlorophonia that unfortunately disappeared too quickly to be seen by all.
Regenerating forest along a landslide contained a pair of Tricolored Brush Finches and a large group of foraging Sharpe's Wrens, before things really heated up when an Olive Finch hopped into view just before a pair of Toucan Barbets arrived into a nearby tree, followed by a close pair of calling Golden-headed Quetzals. Wow! So much color in so little time - you gotta love the Andean birding experience!
We were joined by the newly hired (and very enthusiastic) ProAves forest guard Hoovert, and began to climb the trail, which I had been assured was a short and easy hike. It was fairly level initially, and we were soon watching a large family group of charismatic White-headed Wrens, a spectacular find and another lifer for your guide! CA got a brief look at a Black Solitaire in the forest before we stumbled on a massive mixed flock. It moved too quickly to find all the goodies, but most people got good looks at Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner and Yellow-breasted Antwren, while a Fulvous-dotted Treerunner was seen by some. After the whirlwind of activity and motion it was nice to watch a very still Olivaceous Piha at close range, and we continued up the trail, passing a beautiful waterfall before zig-zagging up the steep hillside. We finally reached the ridge to views of the spectacular Colombian endemic Gold-ringed Tanager for Alexa and myself before dense fog made birding frustratingly difficult. We were able to pull out a Narino Tapaculo, but had to leave the ridge disappointed at having missed one of our major targets for the day.
I spotted a Choco Vireo - another of our major targets -in terrible light at the top of a distant tree on the descent, but it was too far away to see for most. More pleasing was a close-range male Orange-breasted Fruiteater at eye level lower down the trail, affording excellent views of its brilliant orange bill and throat - what a bird! Just then a pair of small birds began to forage just above our heads and I was ecstatic to identify them as Choco Vireos! All the field marks for this recently discovered vireo were eminently visible at close range, and we were even able to watch as one captured a large caterpillar and slowly ate it on a branch not 30 feet away!
Flush with success we returned to our jeep for a late lunch and were able to watch a confiding Indigo Flowerpiercer and Wedge-billed Hummingbird before departing for our long drive to Urrao (say it with me: Ooh - Rao!) over a dusty mountain road, stopping for the endemic Flame-rumped Tanager in route.
Roadwork threw a wrench in our plans to look for Munchique Wood-Wrens on the drive to Urrao, but thankfully the road crew did quick work fixing the culvert they were working on, and we were soon on our way, bumping along for the three hour drive to the pleasant town of Urrao, where Diana was waiting for us in the van. Covered with dust, we ate a late dinner and retired to our nice hotel for a well-deserved rest after a long, wonderful and exhausting day.
20 January 2010: Pleasingly, we were able to sleep in this morning, and spent a profitable couple hours exploring the town and restocking on key supplies (such as machetes complete with decorated leather scabbards for souvenirs). CA and PK found a woodworking shop they were able to examine, and the proprietor explained the various types of prized local woods (especially a wavy-patterned wood called "crespo") and even gave small boards of these sought-after woods to the Texans for a keepsake!
After some ice cream we departed for Finca Pineda, the end of the road on the way to Fundacion ProAves Colibri del Sol (Dusky Starfrontlet) Bird Reserve. This reserve, located in the mountains above Urrao, protects high altitude forest and paramo that is the home to several key endemics, including the recently rediscovered Dusky Starfrontlet and a newly discovered antpitta. However, access to this beautiful site is not for the faint of heart, as the cabins are reached by an hour and a half horse ride.
A bit sore from the horseride, we were pleased to unpack at the lodge. The lodge itself is basic but quite comfortable and situated in a beautiful steeply sloping valley (the stream was quite low at the time of our visit but still had excellent White-capped Dippers). White-bellied Woodstars, Tourmaline Sunangels, Collared Incas and Mountain Velvetbreasts frequented the hummingbird feeders, and soon a mixed flock of mountain tanagers passed upslope. The flock was led by Hooded and Lacrimose Mountain-Tanagers, and also contained some brilliant Blue-and-black Tanagers, but the real highlight was a pair of stunning Red-hooded Tanagers (traffic light coloration: red head, green back and yellow breast and belly) that perched in the canopy and gave scope views to all.
We tried to avoid steep climbs on a short afternoon walk, but that's hard to do when everything seems to be straight up or down! Nonetheless, we found a couple small mixed flocks that contained a Plushcap, and we all got good views of Capped Conebill (here with a blue cap), Gray-hooded Bush-Tanager, Russet crowned Warbler, Slaty Brush-Finch and the near-endemic Golden-fronted Whitestart.
Over an excellent hearty dinner of soup, chicken, rice and vegetables (we never quite got used to the voluminous serving sizes of Colombian meals!) we made our plans for the following day - morning with the newly discovered antpitta, then a horseride up to the paramo and a final climb on foot to the paramo! Luis Robelio, the excellent ProAves forest guard at the reserve, and Avery Bartels, a Canadian birder spending several weeks volunteering at the reserve in order to study the antpitta, would accompany us on our explorations.
21 January 2010: While we ate a tasty breakfast, Luis gathered worms for the antpitta feeding. When he was ready, we followed him across the rocky jumble of the stream and to the antpitta arena. Antpitta feeding is truly a boon for birders and photographers (and the antpittas themselves!), and we were pleased to see at least two of the newly discovered Fenwick's Antpitta (and several Stripe-headed Brush-Finches) arrive to eat worms off of Luis's platters. The bird is named after George and Rita Fenwick, president of the American Bird Conservancy, who personally donated the funds to purchase the Dusky Starfrontlet reserve. It appears that the bird is most closely related to the Brown-banded Antpitta, endemic to the Central Andes.
Thankful to Luis for his good work in "training" the antpittas, we then hopped back on our horses for the hour ride up to the end of the horse trail. It was not easy going, and PK handled a spill with admirable equanimity. With some relief we dismounted at the top of the trail, but although we could hear endemic Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercers on the hillside they proved tough to find, and we settled for Black-throated Flowerpiercers and Glowing Pufflegs as consolation for the moment.
There was no choice but to keep climbing higher in the search for flowerpiercers, so we began to climb Luis's trail, an exquisite trail made entirely of wooden steps with a handrail carved into the steep slope and made entirely with a machete (no chainsaw!). Somehow Luis finished this trail in only two months! We could really feel the altitude as we climbed higher, and were once again grateful to Luis for the hummingbird feeders he has established halfway up the trail, where we were afforded point-blank views of gorgeous endemic Dusky Starfrontlets. The male in particular is far from "dusky" a description applied to the first specimen of this species in 1953, which happened to be a rather dingy immature bird.
The paramo at the top of the trail was spectacular, dotted with frailejones (Espeletia sp.), a silversword-type plant that appears as if out of a Dr. Seuss story, fuzzy grayish-green leaves growing out of a three-foot stalk and topped with yellow flowers. The sun was shining mightily, illuminating the beautiful landscape but keeping bird activity down, and we soon entered a magical moss-laden elfin forest in continued search of the flowerpiercer. Finally my constant Andean Pygmy-Owl calls brought in an inquisitive Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer for good looks at the bird, and we happily turned downhill. A mixed flock held several mountain tanagers and warblers, and some of us were able to spot a Golden-crowned Tanager.
Our horses were waiting for us to take us back to the lodge, where we ate another great meal and readied ourselves for the final hour and a half horseback ride. The horses seemed pleased to be on the trail homeward, and picked up the pace wherever possible. We then departed for a white-knuckle drive down the mountain. Brakes smoking, we arrived at an excellent restaurant for a delicious fish dinner (order phoned in ahead of time), and then carried on to Jardin, a pleasant colonial town a bit further south in the Western Andes. Our party handled a hotel mix-up with considerable grace, and we eventually checked in to a quite decent hotel on the town square and promptly fell asleep - what a day of antpittas, horses, starfrontlets and flowerpiercers, more horses, and a long drive!
22 January 2010: Our night's sleep interrupted by the loud (and curiously arrhythmic) chiming of church bells at 4:04 am, soon we were up and loading our two jeeps to begin the climb into the mountains above Jardin to ProAves Loro Orejiamarillo Bird Reserve. The first birding stop was unexpected, prompted by a massive flock flying across the road. By the time we had assembled we were able to pick out both a tangle-loving Rusty winged Barbtail and a beautiful Rufous-crested Tanager among the more common flock members. Further stops produced the first Broad-winged Hawk of the trip (duly noted by Joe as "Broadway Hawk") and a calling group of Citrine Warblers - here pertaining to the Western Andes richardsoni subspecies which exhibits very different plumage from "normal" Citrine Warblers.
Further on the road we ran into another birding party - fancy that! A couple from Ohio were doing research on shade coffee birds, and was spending the day birding around ProAves Loro Orejiamarillo Bird Reserve. They were very friendly and kind enough to point out a pair of Chestnut-crested Cotingas nest-building - we had fantastic views of these very rare highland cotingas. This spot proved hot with bird activity, and over the next hour or so we had a pretty male Green-and-black Fruiteater, a very close Yellow-vented Woodpecker, Azara's Spinetail (finally!), a great Streaked Tuftedcheek, Striped Treehunter, Black-capped and White-tailed Tyrannulets, a pretty Slaty-backed Chat-Tyrant and Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager.
Continuing ever upwards we had our first gorgeous Grass-green Tanagers, and a Spillmann's Tapaculo eventually showed. Bird activity slowed, so we settled in to eat our rather huge and flavorless packed lunch, wrapped with far too much plastic and styrofoam for my taste. The view from the top of the road was spectacular, with the steeples of Jardin's church clearly visible, but far below. However, a flock of tanagers was upon us and we had fantastic views of a gleaming Golden-crowned Tanager at close-range, while Blue-backed Conebill and Black-capped Hemispingus were new additions to our trip list.
Now it was time to settle in to our Yellow-eared Parrot lookout site in the Loro Orejiamarillo Bird Reserve. This Critically Endangered parrot appears to be entirely dependent on wax palms for nesting and roosting (although interestingly, a new population recently discovered south of Bogota is not dependent on wax palms). Wax palms are long-lived mountain palms that can achieve heights of 150-180 feet, and have been traditionally cut to use the fronds for Palm Sunday celebrations. In order to protect the population of this parrot - which historically ranged into Ecuador but appears confined to a handful of Colombian sites at the moment - ProAves has done substantial education work in Jardin and worked with the church to halt the harvesting of wax palms for religious celebrations. The population of parrots appears to be increasing and it now seems to be possible that the parrots may begin to reoccupy their former range.
After a wait of over an hour the parrots duly obliged, and a group of 16 Yellow-eared Parrots winged over the hillside, perching and affording decent scope views before wheeling away. A pair of Speckle-faced (White-capped) Parrot flew by before we decided to return to the forest in search of Munchique Wood-Wren, as we had missed our first try for that endemic due to roadwork. We found a calling bird that proved unresponsive, before a pair of flew across the road and subsequently gave the distinctive Munchique Wood-wren tinkling song, although they frustratingly did not return. Finally, we spotted a Band-winged Nightjar on the road back to Jardin, that stayed perched long enough for both jeeps to get a look.
We toasted our wonderful day (and Alexa's birthday!) and Yellow-eared Parrot success at a very nice local restaurant on the plaza before hustling over to the best cafe in town for a celebratory (and delicious) coffee and brandy drink in honor of Alexa. A great end to a great day of birding, with nothing scheduled for the following early am - a "lie-in"!
23 January 2010: We sampled the local pastries and pigs-in-blankets sipping on good Jardin coffee over an 8:00 am breakfast - how civilized! The coffee was such a hit that Linda and PK put in a large order, and when that was finally roasted to satisfaction we hit the road once again, re-crossing the Cauca River and heading back into the Central Andes. A fantastic lunch at a roadside restaurant near Chinchina left Joe raving about Colombian food once more (especially in comparison to India), although unfortunately CA left his hat there. We then motored through the unappealing city of Pereira and through a rainstorm to the Otun-Quimbaya reserve.
This reserve is a fantastic site with several exciting birds, some of which (such as Multicolored Tanager) we had already found at the Piha reserve. Upon arrival we hit the road looking for our two principal targets, the critically endangered Cauca Guan and fantastic Red-ruffed Fruitcrow. Both were pleasingly common, and the fruitcrows were even giving their low cow-like moan from the canopy - three males together probably comprised a lek. Birding was tough in the harsh light, as a flock stayed high in the canopy and proved difficult to watch - better was a Highland Motmot foraging on the road!
A tasty dinner on site at La Suiza (now reopened; the hotel and restaurant concession within the Otun-Quimbaya reserve) ensued, and after some last minute phone calls it was decided that we would forgo our full morning at Otun-Quimbaya in favor of driving to the west in hot pursuit of the Gold-ringed Tanager. Aside from the tanager, I wanted everyone in the group to see Black Solitaire and Fulvous-dotted Treerunner that we had only briefly seen at Las Tangaras Bird Reserve. With our new plan set, we returned to Pereira to spend the night at a comfortable hotel as programmed.
24 January 2010: The Gold-ringed Tanager required sacrifice on our part. Sacrifice in the form of a 4:00 wake-up in anticipation of an hour and a half drive to El Cairo. The drive itself was uneventful, apart from taking a bit more time than anticipated (what else to expect from a Colombian drive?), and we met our jeeps and Johhnier, our local guide, shortly after 6 am. After loading up, we rattled up the road to our first stop. Unfortunately, the Crested Ant-Tanagers in the valley were vocal but not responsive, so we continued on to the forest.
A great mixed flock appeared just after we arrived to the forest, containing Glistening-green Tanagers and a cooperative Fulvous-dotted Treerunner, but excitement really soared when a pair of Gold-ringed Tanagers appeared, and shortly thereafter a Black Solitaire perched in the open, affording good views for all. A Long-tailed Antbird showed well in a bamboo patch, while a Munchique Wood-Wren would not emerge despite our best efforts. Eventually we reached the pass and crossed into the Department of Choco, where another pair of Gold-ringed Tanagers showed well and an Orange-breasted Fruiteater sat confidingly in the open. A hawk-like scream had me confused, but then Alexa found the bird responsible for the call: a female Scaled Fruiteater perched in the nearby canopy, and great scope views were had by all of this excellent find. We continued down the road, getting great looks at many more Gold-ringed Tanagers. Other additions were Glossy-black Thrush, Black-billed Peppershrike and a great assortment of hummingbirds, including Green-fronted Lancebill (one of which was perched on the road, actively flycatching), Violet-tailed Sylph, Velvet-purple Coronet, White-tailed Hillstar, and Empress Brilliant.
The lower part of the road held the hoped-for Club-winged Manakin, which put on a great show doing its amazing dance, complete with the otherworldly buzz-snap noise produced by the manakin's modified wing feathers. A mixed flock held Subtropical Cacique and our only Olive-sided Flycatcher of the trip, and a Black-and-gold Tanager was another bonus. A reclusive bird in the shrubbery turned out to be a Bay Wren, while an Indigo Flowerpiercer showed well before it was time for a quick lunch (introducing CA to the wonders of Nutella) and then we had to depart, as a long drive to Manizales was still to come. A final stop produced a male Barred Becard next to its nest, and then we were back on the road, departing the wonderful Western Andes of Colombia for the last and final time.
A further bonus of our change of schedule was that we were able to stop for a second time at the same Chinchina restaurant, where CA recovered his hat and we savored our Gold-ringed Tanager success. Without further ado we drove on to Manizales and checked into our truly excellent city hotel, where we were able to get our bags into our rooms despite the efforts of an overzealous - but very friendly - bellhop.
25 January: We breakfasted in our hotel before departing for the brief twenty-minute ride to Rio Blanco. Before even arriving to the reserve proper we stopped to photograph a very obliging pair of Highland Motmots, and our birding kept going strong as we went straight to the antpitta feeders. We knew the drill by now - sit down, watch the forest guard toss some worms on a buried plate, wait for delightful long-legged plump antpittas to hop out! This time it was the Chestnut-crowned Antpittas we watched, while endemic Brown-banded Antpittas showed as well, and Stripe-headed Brush-Finches performed mop-up duty on the worms, just like at the Dusky Starfrontlet reserve.
A flock swirled overhead, and good views of an Emerald Toucanet convinced us it was time to hit the trails and leave our antpitta friends behind (for the time being). A Masked Trogon perched obligingly in the open before Alexa spotted a Crimson-mantled Woodpecker that put on quite a show. We continued on the trail in search of birds, and birds there were! A screeching flock of Rusty-faced Parrots perched in a nearby bare alder tree - scope views - and remained there for nearly five minutes, allowing all of us to study this rare and beautiful parrot. Then a Tyrannine Woodcreeper popped up quite close, before Sandy thought we were maybe in a good spot for a tapaculo. After some playback, an Ash-colored Tapaculo duly emerged and we were all able to study its long tail, differentiating it from the normal Scytalopus tapaculos.
Tapaculo fever continued, as the shrill screams of an Ocellated Tapaculo came closer and closer, and soon there were Ocellateds on both sides of us. Although they stayed fairly well hidden, we all had good looks at this beautiful bird, the cover to our field guide! A very loud double-rap (CA later commented on the sheer power of the bird's knock) alerted us to a nearby Powerful Woodpecker, before a flock passed by in difficult light - we picked out a Rufous-breasted Flycatcher and Capped Conebill (here with a white cap), but surely missed many more.
After a tasty lunch we headed back to the forest, disappointed at the lack of hummingbirds at the lodge feeders. Apparently a month-long drought had reduced the normal torrent of hummingbirds to a mere trickle, although Buff-tailed Coronet was new for the trip. We waited for a Masked Saltator to show at a probable nest-site in vain before continuing onwards. CA found a Rufous Spinetail in a small flock before we played the antpitta game again, trying to lure out a calling Bicolored Antpitta. This time we were interrupted by calling White-capped Tanagers, which responded strongly to playback and spent the better part of an hour surrounding us, calling and generally showing off their beautiful plumage - white caps, rosy throats and a velvety-black body. What a stunning bird - and one of my personal favorites! After another tasty dinner at Rio Blanco we returned to our excellent city hotel for a well-deserved rest, visions of huge White-capped Tanagers dancing in front of our eyes.
26 January: This morning we packed the van and drove east out of Manizales, uphill to the spine of the Central Andes and our destination for the day, Los Nevados National Park. The Nevado de Ruiz volcano was spectacular in the early morning light - a huge snow-capped dome that is generally shrouded in mist and rain. We began to study the high-altitude birds over a cup of coca tea - the massive Stout-billed Cinclodes, rather tame Tawny Antpittas, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, White-chinned Thistletail, the sharply-attired Andean Tit-Spinetail, Sedge Wren and Plumbeous Sierra-Finch all made appearances. However, it was a distant soaring bird that really upped the excitement, as an Andean Condor whirled and banked in the distant sky. Then, our target for the morning showed up right in front of our noses, as a male Bearded Helmetcrest fed and perched nearby, replete with its strange and very noticeable crest.
Our good early morning weather was fading, but not before the Condor made a second appearance, this one much more spectacular. It perched on a nearby cliff face before soaring out above the road, disappearing in and out of the mist, soaring effortlessly by adjusting each of its primaries individually. The lower portion of the road added Andean Teal, Ruddy (Andean) Duck, Paramo Tapaculo, Viridian Metaltail, Pale-naped Brush-Finch, Glossy Flowerpiercer and brief looks at a fly-by Great Sapphirewing, before the worsening weather convinced us to descend for lunch, where a Cattle Tyrant seemed quite out of place at 3500 m!
Mist and rain accompanied us as we drove east, dropping out of the Central Andes and into the heat of the Magdalena Valley. We checked into our slightly campy hotel near Mariquita and spent a profitable hour restocking supplies in Mariquita itself, returning to the hotel with new sandals on our feet and ice cream in our stomachs. Dinner was a protracted affair, as our food did not arrive for nearly an hour! By the time we were served, exhaustion had crept in and it was straight to bed for all.
27 January: We woke early (what else is new?) to drive into the foothills of the Central Andes in search of the endangered endemic Yellow-headed Brush Finch, which occupies a very small range in central Colombia. However, our plans were met by reality on the road up to Libano in the form of engine trouble - Diana's fan belt had snapped. While she pulled over and began to make a string of phone calls, I flagged down a passing van (which just happened to have eight seats) and we carried on our way. Over a coffee in Libano, I decided to hire the van for the day and it was on the birds.
The landscape around Libano was highly agricultural, but we duly arrived at the small patch of forest where we look for the brush finch. Our first bird was a wonderful Barred Forest-Falcon, a very sleek raptor that obligingly perched in the open for us, calling all the while. Our second bird was an equally obliging Olivaceous Piculet, and our third bird was the Yellow-headed Brush Finch itself - success! We all had good studies of this rare bird - much brighter yellow than illustrated in our field guide, and essentially limited within Colombia to the department of Tolima.
It took some patience, but eventually a pair of Whiskered Wrens emerged from a patch of viny tangles, and we soon had a much better view of a small flycatcher Alexa had found - turned out to be a White-throated Spadebill, a bird I certainly did not expect in this small forest fragment! Stepping aside for a herd of cattle to pass through, we continued our search for Tolima Dove on the road, where a female Gorgeted Woodstar - looking fairly bee-like - frequented a patch of rosy flowers.
Activity was quite slow, and even a pair of calling Black-headed Brush-Finches (near-endemic) proved difficult to see clearly. While a good variety of tanagers and migrants flitted in the trees around us, the hoped-for dove and Crested Ant-Tanager refused to show. We walked into the forest on a small path in search of the ant-tanager; despite an hour-long vigil on the shady banks of the tanagers' preferred stream, the birds did not appear. However, once again a butterfly took quite a liking to Joe, perching on his cheek and slowly flapping its' colorful wings!
After another tasty Colombian lunch at Libano's finest restaurant (and introducing PK and Linda to the pleasures of guanabana juice in milk), we bid our last and final goodbyes to the Central Andes and drove down to an excellent patch of dry forest near Mariquita. Here there were almost as many birds as there were biting flies, and that's saying something! We got off to a good start with good looks at a Shining-green Hummingbird, often a tough bird to see well, and the distinctive "chip---whirr" notes of the Slate-headed Tody-Tyrant had us watching a pair of these diminutive tyrannulets after a brief wait. A small wetland held huge Greater Anis, resplendent in their bluish plumage with a malevolent-looking piercing white eye, a Purple Gallinule, a pair of Yellow-chinned Spinetails, Lesser Kiskadees (allowing us to study the comparatively long bill of the Lesser, as opposed to the Greater), Boat-billed Flycatcher and a handsome White-bearded Manakin. Best of all, however, were two showy pairs of the endemic Velvet-fronted Euphonia - we were able to watch as the two males engaged in an aggressive display contest, head-bowing and embarking on short fluttering flights.
Suddenly a pretty White-fringed Antwren hopped into view, before two other antbirds - the Jet and White-bellied - responded and hopped out of the tangles, tails pumping in unison with their whistled songs. Another excellent hummingbird to find was a Violet-bellied Hummingbird, while a black-phase Hook-billed Kite gave us brief views. A Gray-necked Wood-Rail scurried across the road in front of us, while a noisy trio of Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrants passed through the shrubbery and a Greenish Elaenia made a brief appearance. The final star of the day was a pair of Barred Puffbirds perched quite close to the ground and oblivious to our presence - always a treat to see a puffbird so well!
Finally, we spotted a Capped Heron on the river on the way out, and returned to the hotel to update our trip lists after our first taste of lowland bird diversity!
28 January 2010: After a lengthy pre-dawn drive we arrived to La Victoria, a small humid forest reserve that nonetheless is quite good for several key endemics. Indeed, soon after arrival we heard the melodious calls of the endemic Sooty Ant-Tanager and were soon watching a pair of these understory denizens, slate-gray with bright reddish-pink crests and throats - what a delight! Calling Western Slaty-Antshrikes appeared from every direction, and Buff-rumped Warblers foraged along the road. A flycatcher passed through that was reminiscent of Antioquia Bristle-Tyrant, a target for the day, but it wasn't quite right for the bristle-tyrant, and we kept going.
I was pleased to hear the garrulous chortling of Colombian Chachalacas among the loud screeching calls of the macaws and parrots at the wildlife rehabilitation center at La Victoria, and we were soon watching the aviaries of macaws, with one chachalaca flying to and fro above the aviaries and a second loudly calling from within the aviary! A brief debate about the origins of the aviary chachalaca ensued, but clearly the bird outside was a wild, and thus countable, bird! An Orange-billed Sparrow popped up briefly in the lush undergrowth, and a juvenile Double-toothed Kite accompanied a foraging group of White-footed Tamarin's (small grey monkeys with long tails and impish faces). This raptor has a predilection for following monkey troops through the forest, and preys on large insects that the monkeys disturb while moving through the canopy, not on the monkeys themselves.
We ran into a small mixed flock while climbing the hill trail, and had good views of Red-rumped Woodpecker and Rufous-naped Greenlet before a pair of endemic White-mantled Barbets passed through. Sandy and I flushed a roosting owl - most likely a Striped Owl - and six Plumbeous Kites soared overhead. It was getting hot by this point, and while I heard Beautiful Woodpeckers calling, they remained frustratingly out of sight. Returning to the forest, we had good looks at a juvenile-plumaged (but calling) near-endemic White-bibbed Manakin, and Joe and I glimpsed a Gray-cheeked Thrush (guide and a participant - anything for the count, right Joe?). It was getting towards midday, so we departed La Victoria and drove to La Dorada for a fantastic lunch at a restaurant Alexa and I particularly enjoy, stopping on the way to admire an imperious Savanna Hawk.
It was a long dusty drive to Puerto Pinzon, the access point for ProAves' Paujil Bird Reserve, although we did stop en route for Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Ringed and Amazon Kingfisher and Yellow-crowned Parrot before our nightfall hike down to the reserve cabins (although some of us were able to arrive to the cabins in style, catching a ride in a jeep that was able to navigate the entrance track!). A Vermiculated Screech-Owl called tantalizingly close to the cabins, but refused to show, and we soon learned why; a photographer had taped the bird earlier in the evening and the bird had wised up to playback! The existence of a second group at the reserve complicated lodging arrangements, and once again our group handled a logistical problem with aplomb, as PK, Etta, Joe and Linda all shared one air-conditioned cabin and CA and Sandy made do with a room with a fan.
29 January 2010: It was a hot and humid night, but we were quite lucky with weather in the morning - cloud cover persisted until late morning, keeping temperatures down. Bird activity was highest at dawn, when Alexa found a singing Chestnut-bellied (Thick-billed) Seed-Finch - the form we saw is all black with a prodigious beak. Other birds hopping around in the comparatively cool dawn included Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet (giving its hopeful call: "free beer!") and Gartered Trogon (formerly Violaceous or Northern Violaceous), while White-bearded Manakins zipped around their lek giving their strange popping calls. A frenetic couple minutes produced all the toucans of the area, as Channel-billed (Citron-throated if you like your toucans split up) and Black-mandibled Toucans and Collared Aracaris all cavorted in nearby treetops. The trail eventually emerged onto a lightly-travelled road, where a nice assemblage of lowland tanagers fed in low shrubbery, and we were able to find Golden-hooded, Plain-colored and Yellow-backed Tanagers, Blue Dacnis and Purple Honeycreeper.
A Bright-rumped Attila showed well, flashing its lemon rump for all to see, before Alexa somehow spotted a very still Broad-billed Motmot deep in the viny foliage, and a Golden-headed Manakin popped into a nearby fruiting tree, it's pale eye gleaming against it's - well - golden head. The rest of the road was very quiet, although we did catch up with a Black-crowned Tityra and found a pair of calling White-tailed Trogons, and the forested trail back down produced an excellent Southern Bentbill, truly an odd little flycatcher. The humidity had increased by lunch, and we were happy to study the newly set-up hummingbird feeders. White-necked Jacobins dominated the proceedings, while Blue-chested Hummingbird, White-vented Plumeteers and Stripe-throated and Long-billed Hermits came through for brief sips of sugar water.
Even the hardest of hardcore birders takes a midday break at Paujil, and we were no exception. We hit the trails at 4:00 pm, and were very happy to have done so, as Etta found a woodpecker that turned out to be the much sought-after endemic Beautiful Woodpecker! And beautiful it truly was, with a red crown and golden-yellow nape. A pair of Snail Kites perched next to the lagoon was a bonus, and the woodpeckers' eventual departure convinced us to head for the shade of the stream trail. This trail is a favorite of mine, winding through dense forest in a streambed full of animal tracks and invertebrates. In fact, one of the finds of the day was a perfect circular depression in a sandbar, full of gelatinous eggs - some unknown frog had been hard at work! The afternoon was quiet but very pleasant, and we did see a Long-tailed Tyrant and a nice pair of Chestnut-backed Antbirds. Then, on the walk back, I spotted a White-whiskered Puffbird that perched quietly for all to admire.
On that high note we returned for dinner, and, as a bonus for those of us without air-conditioning (CA and Sandy) two Tropical Screech-Owls posed in a small pine tree next to the lodge. Screech-owls or air-conditioning, a tough choice.
30 January 2010: Our mission on our second full day at Paujil was to continue the search for the marquee bird of the reserve, the Blue-billed Curassow. This Critically Endangered cracid is present in the reserve but very difficult to find - however we were hoping that the newly-initiated feeding table might bring in a curassow or two for viewing.
To get to the feeding table, we first had to cross the river. This was actually rather pleasant, as the extended drought had lowered water levels to knee-height, and the cool water and clean sand felt good. Once across, we followed the trail along the river, passing by a territory of the near-endemic Black-billed Flycatcher for good views of this rare tyrannid. Climbing higher, we taped in a Rufous Mourner, which obligingly sat overhead, before stumbling upon a group of Marbled Wood-Quail. After initially scurrying off, we managed to bring back the head male of the covey, who gave us the once over before departing himself. Unfortunately the curassows were not to be found, but we did find a singing Slate-colored Grosbeak with its bright red beak, a good bird for the region, as well as a very responsive pair of Black-bellied Wrens, and Alexa found a curious juvenile male Black-tailed Trogon, apparently a new bird for the reserve.
After some tough birding in the morning, it was very pleasing to find an small but active mixed flock on the return to the lodge, where we had great views of White-fronted Nunbirds, including one individual eating a small frog, a Cinnamon Woodpecker gleaming in the sunlight, Masked Tityra, and a Rufous Motmot that vigorously objected to the presence of a nearby Cocoa Woodcreeper.
We made our final valiant attempt for the curassow in the afternoon, doing the stream trail again before climbing through a hillside of primary forest and returning to an overlook. No curassows to be found, but we did spot a shy Pale-vented Thrush along the stream (and a second - identical - mass of frog eggs---a special gift from Joe to Alexa), and the overlook afforded views of a perched Laughing Falcon, and numerous parrots including Orange-winged and Mealy Parrots and Blue-and-yellow and Chestnut-fronted Macaws. A Great Antshrike began calling downslope, but only Etta was up to the challenge of tracking down that skulker, which duly rewarded her effort by giving good close-range views. Meanwhile the evening breeze was quite pleasant, and the day was capped off by great looks at the Vermiculated Screech-Owl (finally!).
31 January 2010: This day was primarily a travel day, but we still managed to get some good birds. We deposited our bags at the lodge for the horse to carry up, then dusted off our heels and began birding our way out of the reserve. It was great to catch up with an excellent pair of Bare-crowned Antbirds along the track, with the male's strange baby blue skin on the forehead easy to see with the naked eye as they hopped in front of us. Even at an early hour it was sweaty going climbing the hill, but a pair of responsive Purple-throated Fruitcrows provided a welcome break, putting on a great show fanning out their purple throats in display. Finally, as we were waiting for Diana the driver to arrive on the horse (first it carried our bags up and then returned to the lodge to bring up our driver!), a pair of Fulvous-vented Euphonias perched nearby, our last bird at Paujil.
The air-conditioning in the van felt oh-so-good, and we began the long drive to the Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve, stopping in route to look at a pair of Northern Screamers and a Short-tailed Hawk. Later, on the main road, we stopped at a large wetland with several more pairs of Screamers to go with a nice array of waterbirds, and before long we had arrived at our lunch spot, specializing in water buffalo meat and buffalo dairy products. We tried much of what was on offer, and decided that the caramel (arequipe) flavored yogurt was really the best, while the meat itself was quite tasty. I must also mention the restrooms, tastefully labeled "Bufalitos" and "Bufalitas."
The afternoon proved to be a test of our - and Diana's - patience. We turned off the main highway, and began the ascent to San Vicente de Chucuri. The road was initially paved and quite good, and we passed a nice laguna complete with wild Muscovy Ducks. However, the road soon became rutted and very difficult for our low-clearance van, and we had to get out and walk several times. When we finally connected with the main road, we were overjoyed to sail along its smooth paved surface and gave Diana an ovation. It was, however, a tease, as the main road quickly deteriorated and became almost rougher than the first road! One nice bonus was a great study of a group of four Crested Bobwhites along the road, but we were all pretty fried by the time we finally pulled into San Vicente de Chucuri at dusk and transferred to two jeeps for the final haul up to ProAves' Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve, where a hot dinner and lukewarm showers awaited us.
1 February 2010: Despite the previous days transportation adventure, there was no rest for the weary today. The lodge at the Cerulean Warbler Reserve is located in the coffee zone, and to access the forest we were obliged to ride horses once again, this time for an hour-long trip through pasture to the entrance of the forest. Joe's stirrup broke, and he began his weight-loss program by hiking most of the way up to the forest.
The Lengerke Trail is a 150 year-old stone trail, constructed by a German immigrant (Lengerke) to Colombia in the 1850s. It was built over a 20-year span in order to provide a trading route linking the five principal towns of the area, a feat of engineering that surely caused much misery for the laborers who built the path. Luckily for us, the trail is still in good shape, is very picturesque and provides access to the forest. Unluckily for us, the stones are mossy and extremely slick, and we had to walk with extreme care in order not to be sent tumbling. Still, there are good birds to find, although PK and Etta were the only two to spot the critically endangered endemic Gorgeted Wood-Quail as they passed the quail feeding station in the morning. Everyone, however, was able to get good looks at the next two endemics on display - the mousy Upper Magdalena Tapaculo and the dazzling Black Inca, foraging in a tree with several delicate Booted Racquet-tails, while it was good to see another pair of Parker's Antbirds (previously seen at the Piha reserve).
A bit of patience brought out a White-bellied Antpitta, and we then had a good run with several mixed flocks, which contained goodies including Montane, Lineated and Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaners, Plumbeous-crowned Tyrannulet, Rufous-naped Greenlet, Oleaginous Hemispingus, Bluish Flowerpiercer, Golden-naped, Flame-faced and Metallic-green Tanagers, Golden-winged Warbler and Yellow-breasted and Moustached Brush-Finches.
Bird activity was good, and we carried on to the high point of the trail in hopes of Colombian Mountain-Grackle. CA spied a large group of Russet backed Oropendulas on a distant hillside - which sometimes flock with the grackles - but the hoped-for grackles failed to materialize, and we began the long walk downhill. A newly set-up hummingbird feeder on the way down was great and afforded close up Black Inca views, with the blue chins and shoulders very visible. Our horses were waiting to carry us back to the lodge, where we sipped a much-deserved glass of wine and had a tasty dinner before heading straight to bed.
2 February 2010: After a demanding day in the cloud forest, I decided that a more relaxed day in the coffee and cacao zone would be in order, so, after a relatively civilized 5:45 breakfast, we embarked on a pleasant, mostly downhill walk through a working agricultural landscape packed with loads of nice birds. The first portion of our walk took us through pastures and gardens where we found a pair of calling Pale-breasted Spinetails, a Bran-colored Flycatcher and what seemed like dozens of charismatic Bicolored Wrens, among the usual variety of open-country species.
Before long, we had arrived at a section of trail with several flowering trees, ideal to look for the endangered endemic Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird. After watching some of the common hummingbirds zip to and fro, I heard the distinctive call of the Chestnut-bellied, and Alexa soon spotted it working the orange blossoms of an Erythrina tree. We were able to study it for only so long, however, before a brilliant blue bird popped up in a nearby bare tree - a male endemic Turquoise Dacnis! Then, a Bar-crested Antshrike flew into view, the hummingbird and dacnis both returned for encores, and we were a happy group indeed! Shade coffee and cacao truly do hold a good variety of Neotropical migrants, and we found good numbers of Acadian Flycatcher, Tennessee, Canada, Mourning, Black-and-white, Yellow and Blackburnian Warbler, American Redstart, Summer Tanager and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks during our morning walk.
Carlos Julio, the excellent forest guard at the reserve, whistled in a Rufous-and-white Wren for close views, which initiated the discussion of if, perhaps, the wren we were watching might be a Niceforo's Wren. It seems quite possible, as the bird was flat dull brown above and had substantial black markings on the face. There was no time to debate the finer points of taxonomy at the moment, however, as a Spectacled Parrotlet hopped into view atop a telephone pole, a Sooty-headed Tyrannulet foraged in nearby shrubbery, and a pair of beautiful Golden-rumped Euphonias came in nicely. By this time it was mid-morning, and turning our attention to the skies yielded soaring raptors in the form of a Hook-billed Kite, a juvenile Gray Hawk, and a distant Black Hawk-Eagle.
Cacao plants- the source of chocolate - have meaty fruitpods hanging off their branches, of which only the bitter seeds are processed to make chocolate itself. We sampled the fleshy fruit encasing the seeds, and pronounced the fruit delicious - a very nice snack. We then followed the Lengerke Trail downhill - much less slippery in the sunnier agricultural zone - and eventually arrived at the local school just as a flock passed by. I knew we had to hurry, as the flock in question often contains some goodies, even in midday, and we were soon watching Rufous-browed Peppershrike, a near-endemic Yellow-browed Shrike-Vireo, a beautiful male Guira Tanager and a pair of Cerulean Warblers. We then hopped in a truck for the climb back to the reserve, stopping for a perched Bat Falcon and Lineated Woodpecker, and were soon admiring endemic Indigo-capped Hummingbirds and a couple Short-tailed Emeralds at the reserve feeders.
Having seen all our target birds in the morning, we spent a relaxing afternoon around the lodge, adding Baltimore Oriole to our list, taking a quick peek at the coffee processing facility at the lodge and equipping ourselves with EcoTurs hats. Etta's M & M's were a hit with the kids at the lodge, and the International Space Station traversed the night sky while we sipped our wine glasses. Nice day.
3 February 2010: After nearly three weeks of demanding birding and long drives around Colombia, CA and Sandy decided they wanted something different - for three days at least. So at 4:30 am they took a truck to the Bucaramanga airport and flew to Cartagena for rest, relaxation and sightseeing - you know, the things normal tourists do. This was already planned in the schedule, so the rest of the group had our own missions, which of course consisted of more birds.
We had seen most of what there was to see in the coffee and cacao zone, and didn't fancy another trip up to the forest. However, we spent a couple morning hours below the school and managed to track down some good birds. Nesting Spot-breasted Woodpeckers were new, as was a tail-shaking Tropical Peewee and a Scrub Greenlet (you'll have to trust me - there was no way to see color on a bird that backlit!). A pair of White-vented Euphonias was quasi-new for the reserve (I had found them in the same site the previous year but they still weren't on the list), and best of all, a female Large-billed Seed-Finch (gargantuan bill) and small group of near-endemic White-eared Conebills showed well. We also had great looks at another pair of Spectacled Parrotlets.
Upon reuniting with our van, we embarked on the long drive to San Gil (leaving on the "best" road into San Vicente de Chucuri), stopping for yet another fantastic lunch in the pretty colonial town of Giron. We finally arrived to San Gil in the evening, and made our first attempt for the Niceforo's Wren that are known from the area. The city park (El Gallineral) where the wrens have been seen is quite lovely, full of large trees completely draped with Spanish moss -type epiphytes, but this was a new site for me, and, although I followed the directions I had been given, there were no wrens to be found. A tasty soup with poached eggs satisfied our hunger, but there was no choice to go with our initial plan, and depart in the morning with a local guide in search of the wren.
4 February 2010: Our local guide, Carlos, duly arrived to our hotel in the pre-dawn and directed us to a second site, near the park but upstream on a small river. We walked up a stone trail, playing the tape at hopeful-looking sites, but without any luck. More regular birds like Plain Antvireo, Bar-crested Antshrike, Rufous-browed Peppershrike and Rufous-capped Warbler were very much in evidence, but the trail quickly deteriorated and it became apparent that Carlos knew next to nothing about birds. Nevertheless, we were determined to carry on to the areas that I had been told were the best for the wren, and we clambered over and around slippery boulders, crossing and re-crossing the river on perilous stones and finally arriving at a decent-looking patch of dry forest, once pausing so Carlos could hack a path through an overgrown patch of abandoned sugarcane, where he was attacked by a beehive for his efforts and received multiple stings. Despite a concentrated effort, we found nothing new bird-wise, and our only exit to this frustrating morning consisted of literally climbing up a waterfall and then scrambling up a dusty hillside to the road above, where Diana was mercifully waiting.
We tried Gallineral Park once again, but once again struck out on the wren, although Straight-billed Woodcreeper and Northern Waterthrush were new for the list, and Linda got lots of great pictures of Saffron Finches and an assortment of warblers and flycatchers. Needless to say, our San Gil experience was less than satisfying, although once again our group displayed considerable tenacity just to complete the morning's off-trail river-climbing adventure! A tasty lunch at Bwey Restaurant (slogan: "We Know Meat," and they certainly did) revived our spirits, and we pressed on to Ocana, a pleasant town in Norte de Santander Department located conveniently close to the Recurve-billed Bushbird Reserve. For those of us with the energy to leave the hotel, tasty seafood crepes and chicken skewers awaited.
5 February: We made the quick drive to the reserve entrance in the pre-dawn, and after a steep hike, were in a patch of the Chusquea bamboo favored by the reserve's namesake, the fabulous Recurve-billed Bushbird. Playback elicited a response, but the bird wouldn't come close. Moustached Brush-Finches and Stripe-breasted Spinetails proved much more responsive, and Alexa spotted a female Rufous-shafted Woodstar along the road (a difficult bird in Colombia and a lifer for yours truly!).
The road held a good variety of frugivores, with Chestnut-bellied Thrushes pleasingly common, looking like a fancied-up American Robin. For some reason this seems to be the best place in South America (at least that I have come across) for this generally scarce thrush. Other birds included a nice pair of Crimson-rumped Toucanet, a crisp Golden-breasted Fruiteater and a couple new tanagers for the trip, Black-headed and Burnished-buff Tanagers along with common Speckled Tanagers (The Burnished-buff is generally an Amazonian bird, but can be found alongside its close relative Scrub Tanager at Ocana; perhaps a hybrid zone?).
Birding slowed considerably after mid-morning, although a Golden-olive Woodpecker showed really well, and we returned to town to revisit the crepe restaurant for lunch. It was good as usual, and Joe continued his fruitless quest to exchange US dollars for Colombian pesos. Carmito, the friendly forest guard at the reserve runs a small banana feeding station, where we sat in the afternoon and saw a nice pair of Highland Hepatic Tanagers at close range.
Back in the reserve, we found some obliging Chestnut-capped Brush-Finches before finally stumbling across a pair of Gray-throated Warblers, a much-wanted bird for PK in his pursuit to see each and every warbler in the Americas. Just before dusk we set up our positions for the Bushbird, which began to call quite close. Alexa and I had quick looks at the male Recurve-billed Bushbird, which unfortunately departed before anyone else could see it. Retreating to town for a delicious chicken soup, we decided to give the bushbird one last final chance at dawn the next day.
6 February 2010: The hike up to the bushbird territory seemed steeper than ever this morning, and, pausing for pre-dawn Colombian Chachalacas, we once again waited in the most promising patch of bamboo for our quarry. Once again it was responsive to my playback, but once again it passed tantalizingly close and immediately vacated the vicinity; I fear the most accessible territories of this great bird have essentially been taped-out.
A long drive to the coast compelled us to depart, and I must pause to complement the flavor of the local mangos we sampled near Aguachica - delicious. We drove north at respectable speeds (55-70 mph!) through the flatlands of northern Colombia, a landscape dusty full of dirty towns and thirsty cattle. A large roadside lagoon proved to be a great stop, as we found a pair of mating Great Black Hawks, a pair of beautiful Black-collared Hawks, a hunting (and successful) Osprey, Black-billed Whistling-Ducks and Blue-winged Teal, good looks at Cocoi Heron and Limpkin, a cute Pied Water-Tyrant and two distant Buff-necked Ibis, a very good bird for Colombia. We passed through Aracataca (Gabriel Garcia Marquez's boyhood home) and, an hour later, the rippling Caribbean Sea was a welcome sight. We arrived to Mendihuaca, our beach-side hotel for the next two nights, ahead of schedule (for once), and were pleased to see CA and Sandy waiting for us, looking awfully relaxed and decked out in Caribbean beach attire. We unpacked the van for the last time and said our goodbyes to Diana (who planned to immediately drive 12 hours straight to Medellin!) The buffet dinner was very tasty, and we fell asleep dreaming of plentiful waterbirds.
7 February 2010: The day's first omen - our new driver clenching a flashlight in his teeth, changing a tire in the dark - was far from hopeful, and our new vans' top speed was quite slow for my liking - I wanted to be birding with the waterbirds at Camarones at dawn, as fishermen sometimes scatter the assembled waterbirds early in the morning. Upon arrival we barely had time to watch Magnificent Frigatebirds overhead and Grey Kingbird, Yellow Oriole, Great-tailed and Carib Grackles and Scaled Doves on our way to the beach, stopping for a bathroom stop (and despite appearances, those were the best bathrooms around!).
Luckily the waterbirds were numerous and close by, and we spent over an hour admiring a large group of American Flamingos (~80), numerous Scarlet and White Ibis, plentiful Roseate Spoonbills, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, four Great Blue Herons, dozens of Reddish Egrets (photo; both white and blue phase), Tricolored and Little Blue Herons, shorebirds including Willet, Whimbrel, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone and Marbled Godwit (very rare in Colombia), Royal, Caspian, Sandwich, Common and Gull-billed Terns, and Laughing and Lesser Black-backed Gulls (another Colombian rarity; initially misidentified as Kelp Gull).
Eventually we were fairly confident we had seen the lot, and turned our attention to the desert scrub in the area. Despite its short and scrubby nature, there are lots of great birds (several near-endemic) to be found in this habitat, only present in northeastern Colombia and northern Venezuela, and we soon found several Black-faced Grassquits, a beautiful Russet-throated Puffbird, amazing Vermillion Cardinals including two very confiding females (just as spectacular as the male in my opinion!), tiny Slender-billed Inezias, Black-crested Antshrike, Northern Scrub Flycatcher, Tropical Gnatcatcher and a brief Pileated Finch.
A different patch of scrub immediately yielded a pair of wonderful Chestnut Piculets, while Bare-eyed Pigeons and Brown-throated Parakeets winged overhead. White-whiskered Spinetail came satisfyingly close (the most beautiful spinetail), and we took advantage of the morning's cloud layer to keep birding, adding Venezuelan and Brown-crested Flycatchers, Buffy Hummingbird, Red-billed Emerald, Glaucous Tanager and Trinidad Euphonia. Water levels were very low, limiting the clouds of mosquitoes, and a low stockpond drew in a flock of Green-rumped Parrotlets to drink, offering unbeatable views of this little pearl.
Well satisfied from an action-packed mornings' birding, we returned to the beach for a seafood lunch. Rice cooked in coconut oil was very tasty, while the fresh fish and shrimp were delicious. A leisurely lunch on the Caribbean beach, palms waving lazily in the breeze - not so bad if you ask me! (And we even picked up House Sparrow and Bronzed Cowbird!). We headed out after lunch, however, hoping to catch up with a couple more scrub species. We found plenty of birds, but they were mostly repeats from the morning, although a flushed Rufous-necked Wood-Rail was great to find. Finding the birding a bit slow, we decided to call it quits, and drove back to Mendihuaca in time for dinner, and were even able to catch the final quarter of the Super Bowl (Go Saints! CA and I cleaned up on our pre-game bets). What a day!
8 February 2010: After a 5:30 breakfast we made the short drive to nearby Tayrona National Park, home of beautiful tropical dry forests and postcard-perfect beaches. Our local guide Christian was supposed to have arranged for an early arrival to the park (officially closed until 8 am, obviously not a favorable rule for birders!), but was nowhere to be found. Luckily I was able to talk our way into the park, and we were soon watching several Lance-tailed Manakins in the subcanopy, including juvenile males with green bodies and black caps.
Brown-capped Tyrannulets and Cinereous Becards flitted about in the treetops, while a passing motorcyclist told us a group of Red Howler Monkeys was around the corner. Sure enough, a group of these charismatic primates was on fine display, including a female carrying a small baby and a vocalizing male. Being birders, we were just as attracted to the pair of calling Keel-billed Toucans, while numerous Buff-breasted Wrens inhabited the understory.
Although the park was officially closed, motorbike traffic was intense, and we fled to the safe haven of a nearby trail, hiking through a tangled dry forest dotted with numerous large sculpted boulders. Lovely stuff, and a nice group of titi monkeys endemic to northern Colombia (the name is escaping me at the moment: white-mantled, perhaps?) passed around us, but the birds were hard to come by. A Squirrel Cuckoo led us to one of Tayrona's lovely beaches, before we returned to the birds and were rewarded with a couple tyrannids: Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet and Forest Elaenia.
Back on the road we finally found a small lek of White-chinned Sapphires and an obliging pair of gleaming Rufous-tailed Jacamars, while a Prothonotary Warbler foraging furtively in the canopy was also new for the trip. A rustling in the understory turned out to be a Little Tinamou, which ambled nonchalantly along the roadbank much to our delight (an exhibitionist as far as tinamous go!). We finally spotted a full adult male Lance-tailed Manakin, and then it was back to Mendihuaca to pack up.
A midday stop at La Quinta de San Pedro - where Simon Bolivar, the liberator of South America, died - was an illuminating history lesson and a pleasant experience (loads of huge iguanas and a pair of panting Russet-throated Puffbirds!). Then it was goodbye to the hot lowlands, and we began the ascent of Santa Marta Mountain to El Dorado Bird Reserve, reaching the tranquil town of Minca, located at the base of the coffee belt, 800 m above sea level. We checked into Sierra Sound, our excellent hotel, and got a lift up the road from our driver Vicente before he departed. Birding was excellent as always above Minca, and we were soon watching a variety of nice birds as we ambled down the road.
Our first pygmy-owl session got things jumping in the shrubbery, including White-bearded Manakins, Barred Antshrike, Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrants, a pair of Black-headed Tanagers, a dull Golden-fronted Greenlet, brightly-attired Swallow Tanagers, a female Red-legged Honeycreeper, and, finally, one of our principal Minca targets: the nattily-dressed Golden-winged Sparrow. A group of rowdy Black-chested Jays passed through, and a flowering tree held (albeit in terrible light), a couple Coppery Emeralds and a White-vented Plumeteer. Before we knew it it was getting dark, so we returned to town on foot, stopping on the outskirts of Minca to spot a Social Flycatcher, our first of the trip - somehow this species is quite difficult in Colombia!
9 February 2010: I had warned the group about the road up to ProAves EcoLodge in El Dorado Bird Reserve in the heart of the Santa Marta Mountain. We took the road in pieces, however, finding a great variety of birds in route. Indeed, our very first stop immediately produced five flyover Military Macaws - a spectacular bird! We saw most of the previous afternoon's species again, and this time pulled out a pair of Rufous-and-white Wrens. Interestingly, these wrens looked much more rufous-backed and clean-faced than the debated wren we had found at the Cerulean Warbler Reserve - more work to be done!
We kept climbing in the coffee zone, still on the search for Rosy Thrush-Tanager and a couple others. A section of young coffee held our first Santa Marta endemic in the form of a pair of White-lored Warblers at 1200 m, at the low end of the altitudinal range of this species. Nearby, we found an attractive pair of Rufous-breasted Wrens, and then heard the tell-tale chuckle of the Rosy Thrush-Tanager. After a tense moment it flew directly over our heads, and began calling from a dense shrub downslope. All was not lost, however, as we could just see its' head and bill jerking upwards every time it called. Great stuff! Just then an IPod malfunction cut a playback session short, but some of us were still able to spot a Rusty-breasted Antpitta in the tangles.
A further stop at a flowering tree held a White-lined Tanager, Steely-vented Hummingbird, more Coppery Emeralds, Sparkling Violet-ears and an intriguing unknown large hummingbird that disappeared far too quickly. We stopped at a local "Eco-tienda" to fill up suitcases with local coffee (excellent quality) and continued upwards. Our next stop produced more endemics in the form of Santa Marta Brush-Finch and Streak-capped Spinetail, a pair of beautiful Blue-naped Chlorophonias (photo; nesting) and some Cinnamon Flycatchers (Santa Marta race; photo) before a flower-filled garden brought in a female Blossomcrown for repeated visits - one of the tougher Santa Marta endemics to find!
We finally rattled our way up to the EcoLodge, a beautiful building in surely one of the world's top birding sites, where hummingbird feeders held plentiful Purple-crowned Woodnymphs and an occasional Tyrian Metaltail, while noisy Crested Oropendulas flew to and fro. We had limited time on Santa Marta Mountain - just one full day - so headed out quickly in search of the mountain's numerous endemic birds. A small mixed-flock held Black-throated Tody-Tyrant, Black-capped Tyrannulet, Olive-striped Flycatcher, Brown-capped Vireo, Montane Woodcreeper and Montane Foliage-gleaner, while a fruiting tree attracted a nice male Golden-breasted Fruiteater. Then I heard a distant White-tipped Quetzal which came in beautifully to tape, and we were soon watching two gorgeous males perched above us - what a bird!
A nice overlook produced fly-bys of Scarlet-fronted Parakeet and Red-billed and Scaly-naped Parrots, before we added to our growing list of Santa Marta endemics with Santa Marta Mountain-Tanager, Yellow-crowned Whitestart and Rusty-headed Spinetail. While Joe did not believe me initially, that was indeed the Caribbean Sea glinting in the distance far below us! A Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush in a tree was an unusual and welcome sight, while a skulking bird finally showed well and we got fantastic looks at a Spotted Barbtail - very hard to find, let alone see well! Back at the lodge we lucked out and found a Santa Marta Antpitta in the dim light at the newly-established antpitta feeder; turns out it is far from regular at this point in time! A Black-hooded Thrush put the cap on a fine day, and then we turned our attention to the endemic, still undescribed Santa Marta Screech-Owl being named after EcoTurs Director - Robert Giles! The owl called from a tantalizingly close distance, but refused to be seen, so we turned in, ready for our big day atop the mountain.
10 February 2010: Well before dawn, we loaded into our jeeps and bumped our way up the road. By the time we reached the bamboo-dominated forest at the top it was dawn, and the central peaks of Santa Marta Mountain shone majestically in the still air. Birds were vocal, and a Santa Marta Parakeet soon whizzed by. A Santa Marta Warbler hopped into the open, much to PK's enjoyment (another warbler!), while the endemic whitestart and spinetails were seen numerous times at close distance.
While walking along the road, we found a pretty Yellow-bellied Chat-Tyrant, before we found a group of Santa Marta Parakeets for amazing close views. Later, an accipiter zipped across the road. Luckily for us it returned, and we had brief looks at a Cooper's Hawk, a very rare migrant to Colombia and a new record for the reserve. Santa Marta Bush-Tyrants had been calling off and on in the morning, so it was a relief to finally spot a pair of these elusive flycatchers. The forest was curiously lacking in flowering shrubs, so when we finally found a nice bush full of red tubular flowers we decided to wait and see if any hummingbirds would visit. Our patience was immediately rewarded when a female White-tailed Starfrontlet came in to feed, and later returned for another go-around. A second group of Santa Marta Parakeets again provided fantastic views, and I don't think the group believed me when I explained that this bird is often very difficult!
A bamboo patch held a Rufous Antpitta that came in close and allowed for obscured views (a likely candidate for a split in the future; the Santa Marta form certainly sings differently than other Andean populations). A mixed flock (with six endemics!) added Black Flowerpiercer, while the highland Santa Marta Gray-breasted Wood-Wren subspecies showed well and a pair of Emerald Toucanets popped into view (two more possible future splits). We kept trying for better views of the antpitta and the endemic Brown-rumped Tapaculo, but it frustratingly refused to show. Then, when the whole group entered the bamboo in a tapaculo hunt, one hopped up to Sandy, who had remained on the road - Sandy's tapaculo luck remained strong!
Having seen almost all of the mountain-top specialties, we began to go down the road, seeing the common endemics many more times. A stop at the lodge proved productive, as a male White-tailed Starfrontlet visited the feeders, his pure white tail flashing as he flew. We continued downslope, finding a pair of Masked Trogons and calling out a Santa Marta Tapaculo for satisfying looks. Trevor Ellery, another EcoTurs guide, had spent several days at the lodge relaxing after his own tour, and had told us that the Black-fronted Wood-Quail were visiting the lodge compost pile semi-regularly in the evening, so we returned to the lodge to try our luck.
Unfortunately, we only heard the quail, but got great looks at Colombian Brush-Finch, just split from Stripe-headed Brush-finch. A final try for the screech-owl once again ended without seeing the bird (although we heard it oh so close!), although Alexa alerted us to a troop of Night Monkeys for some consolation.
11 February 2010: Our last and final morning in Colombia! There was one last Santa Marta endemic to find (of the regular ones; the Santa Marta Woodstar had not been seen in two weeks and would take a lot of luck), so we duly set out for lower elevations in search of the Santa Marta Foliage-gleaner. We quickly found a pair that remained skulking but did pop up into view twice, no binoculars necessary!
By this time in our trip, The Bet had taken on increased significance. We certainly held constant discussions of the likely winners, and PK was holding on by a thread. He had guessed that we would find 647 species on the trip, while CA and Diana had wagered 650. At this time we were sitting on 646, according to Joe's official count; money on the line!
A Rusty Flowerpiercer pushed the count one higher, while we had repeat Blossomcrown views. Then Alexa spotted movement above the trail, and we were soon looking at a huge perched Band-tailed Guan (648). The hunt was on, and a Venezuelan Tyrannulet showed well (649). Then, Alexa shouted out "Toucanet," and sure enough, a Groove-billed Toucanet (650) flew overhead and perched in a nearby tree. A White-necked Thrush was icing on the cake, and CA and Diana were in the money (as for yours truly, I am sad to say that I grossly underestimated our bird-finding prowess and wagered far too low!).
We had done very well bird-wise in our short time on Santa Marta Mountain (and our much longer time in Colombia for that matter!), and returned to the lodge to pack up. An early lunch was to be the last tasty and large-portioned Colombian meal of the trip, and we eagerly headed down the hill, Joe dreaming that 12 additional species would push him into the winner's circle. Unfortunately for Joe, birding was relatively slow on our midday ambles through Minca's coffee zone and dry forest, and the last and final bird of the trip was a pair of One-colored Becards (#652 according to Joe's count, used as the official count). A flock of Blue-headed Parrots swirled overhead, and one perched atop a prominent tree - a fine avian send-off to a fantastic trip! An hour later we said good-bye at the Santa Marta Airport, the azure Caribbean Sea gently rolling onto a white-sand beach alongside the runway. It was a fitting end to a fantastic trip, with great company and birds to match!
Many thanks to EcoTurs Colombia for organising the tour and Fundacion ProAves for their excellent bird conservation work and reserves. Also special thanks to Robert Giles and Angela Gomez for all their support and help.
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