| Colombia - Birders' Paradise - 9th-28th March 2010 | | Print | |
Colombia has more bird species than any other country and this outstanding 20-day tour visits seven of the best nature reserves in search of the endemic and endangered birds of the region, taking in the Magdalena Valley, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Antioquia
Tour Details Dates: Tuesday 9th- Sunday 28th March 2010 Participants: 4 to 6 plus tour leader Focus: The endemic and endangered birds of Colombia Grading: Generally easy going with one or two demanding walks. Leader: Jonathan Barnard
Colombia – Endemics and Rarities in a Birders’ Paradise
This tour will concentrate on finding the endemic, endangered and range-restricted species that make Colombia a unique destination in global birding. We shall visit many of the superb reserves, owned and managed by the forward-looking conservation charity ProAves, during our twenty-day stay in the country. Among the trip highlights, we hope to find the critically-endangered Blue-billed Curassow which has been almost impossible to find in the wild; until ProAves discovered a viable population in the Magdalena Valley, now the protected El Paujíl Reserve. We shall also visit the flagship reserve of El Dorado in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, an area that holds the highest concentration of continental range-restricted bird species found anywhere in the world. The 1,600 acre reserve consists of subtropical and montane forest and is situated only a 2 hour drive from the popular tourist city of Santa Marta. The last of the seven ProAves reserves we visit - the Yellow-eared Parrot Reserve - is named after one of the most threatened birds of the Americas which is also one of the main target species of this tour. We visit a variety of beautiful and remarkable habitats from hot and humid, lowland rainforests to cool montane forests to an altitude of 2,850m (9,260ft.) Until recently Colombia was a largely forgotten part of Latin America for birders and ecotourism but, due to a great improvement in conditions, tourism is rapidly increasing – so don’t miss out on birding this wonderful country!
Itinerary – Colombia Endemics Bonanza
Day 1 Arrive in Bogotá in late afternoon where we will be met at the airport and taken to our hotel in the fashionable and secure Parque 93 district. We’ll take dinner in a restaurant near the hotel and proceed to the Bogotá Beer Company pub, where we can sample Colombia’s finest beer!
Day 2 5.30am departure to La Florida, a city park on the outskirts of Bogotá. The small areas of wetland hold two special birds endemic to the Bogotá area, Apolinar’s Wren and Bogotá Rail. There is also a small chance of Silvery-throated Spinetail, Subtropical Doradito and Rufous-browed Conebill. Then we head west, to our hotel near Honda. Here we will search for two endemics; Apical Flycatcher and Velvet-fronted Euphonia.
Day 3 We will spend this morning birding in a new ProAves Golden Poison Frog Reserve at Falan, in the foothills of the central Andes. Here search for very range-restricted endemic species such as Tolima Dove and Yellow-headed Brush-finch. In the afternoon we head north through the Magdalena River Valley for the El Paujíl Reserve for Blue-billed Currasow stopping for Northern Screamer and other more common birds along the way.
Days 4-5 We will spend all day in this lowland reserve looking for such endemics such as the gorgeous Colombian Chachalaca, Saffron-headed Parrot, White-mantled Barbet, Beautiful Woodpecker, Antioquía Bristle-Tyrant, Black-billed Flycatcher, the splendid Sooty Ant-Tanager and of course the critically endangered and beautiful Blue-billed Curassow. Other birds we might expect to see in this rich reserve include Crested Owl, Ruby-Topaz and Shining-green Hummingbirds, Black-breasted Puffbird, Southern Bentbill, Black Antshrike, Bare-crowned Antbird, Striped Manakin, Fulvous-vented Euphonia, Orange-crowned Oriole among many others.
Day 6 After a final early morning birding at El Paujíl, we will drive to the Cerulean Warbler reserve, located on the western edge of the Eastern Cordillera. This is the longest drive of the tour (around 6 hours). We will stop for lunch at a restaurant on route and make a short birding stop in the late afternoon.
Days 7-8 We will spend 2 days birding in the Cerulean Warbler reserve, looking for endemics and specialties such as Gorgeted Wood-Quail, Indigo-capped Hummingbird, the sharp Black Inca, the rare Yellow-throated Spadebill, Parker’s Antbird, Upper Magdalena Tapaculo and Colombian Mountain-Grackle. On the first day we will undertake a fairly demanding walk to the far side of the reserve. The trail passes through excellent subtropical forest which harbours a wide variety of excellent birds including the endemics listed above. In addition, we will search the mixed flocks for less common birds including Brown-billed Scythebill, Plumbeous-crowned Tyrannulet, and Metallic-green Tanager, finishing at an excellent site for the Mountain-Grackle and the newly described yariguierum subspecies of Yellow-breasted Brush-Finch The hardest part of the walk is the mile uphill from the lodge to the main forest area; horses canbe provided if requested in advance. Once inside the forest, the walking is less exhausting and the birds are plentiful, but the trail can be slippery. On the second day we will concentrate on the closer zones of the reserve, which are full of Neotropical migrants including a large wintering population of the reserve’s namesake, the Cerulean Warbler. This is also an excellent area for Colombian endemics and near-endemics such as Spectacled Parrotlet, Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird, Bar-crested Ansthrike and the bright Turquoise Dacnis. There is also a small chance of encountering the Recurve-billed Bushbird this day. Laundry facilities are available here.
Day 9 If we haven’t found Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird near the lodge the previous day, we will set off at first light and continue searching for this very rare hummingbird in gardens around the nearby town of San Vicente, conveniently along our route to Bucaramanga, where we will catch a flight to Santa Marta (via Bogotá), departing at 9 am. We’ll take an early lunch whilst we change planes at Bogotá airport, arriving around 1pm at Santa Marta. We’ll head straight for the city of Riohacha, stopping off on the way at Los Flamencos National Park to start our attack on the Guajira near endemics including Bare-eyed Pigeon, Buffy Hummingbird, Russet-throated Puffbird, Chestnut Piculet, White-whiskered Spinetail, Slender-billed Inezia, Black-crested Antshrike, Pileated Finch, the rare Tocuyo Sparrow, the incomparable Vermillion Cardinal and the Orinocan Saltator.
Day 10 We’ll resume battle at dawn, and hope to clear up most of the species we want to see before the midday sun gets too strong. We will also stop to check out the flocks of gulls, terns, waders and herons, including spectacular species such as American Flamingo, Scarlet and White Ibises, and Roseate Spoonbills. After an early lunch we’ll head straight for the El Dorado reserve (4 hours drive). As we begin our ascent of Santa Marta Mountain, we will make roadside stops in the cooler climes above the town of Minca, where we will look for Coppery Emerald, Golden-fronted Greenlet, Rosy Thrush-Tanager and Golden-winged Sparrow.
Days 11, 12, 13 Birding all day at El Dorado. We will be able to take things fairly gently and still have plenty of time to rack up the endemics at this gorgeous site which features views of both the city of Santa Marta below and the mountain peaks (the tallest in Colombia) above. Among the many endemics we will find the endangered Santa Marta Parakeet, the newly discovered Santa Marta Screech Owl, Blossomcrown, White-tailed Starfrontlet, Santa Marta Toucanet, Rusty-headed Spinetail, the newly described Santa Marta Foliage Gleaner, Santa Marta Antpitta, Santa Marta Tapaculo, Santa Marta Bush-Tyrant, Santa Marta Mountain Tanager, Santa Marta Warbler, White-lored Warbler, Yellow-crowned Whitestart and Santa Marta Brush-finch. And this list doesn’t include the many others we will see including Scarlet-fronted Parakeet, White-tipped Quetzal, the near endemics Streak-capped Spinetail, Brown-rumped Tapaculos, and Golden-breasted Fruiteater.
Day 14 After breakfast we will descend to Santa Marta to catch the 12.15 flight to Medellín, stopping off birding the lower elevations on the way for anything we may have missed. We’ll head straight for the Chestnut-capped Piha reserve, arriving at the new lodge late afternoon.
Days 15-16 In 2001, a ProAves expedition described the elegant Chestnut-capped Piha from a tiny fragmented forest in the north-eastern most Central Andes. The region’s fertile subtropical soils and rich gold deposits had resulted in extensive deforestation with few surviving forests. Surveys of remnant forests here discovered that a suit of endemic bird and amphibian species are severely threatened, leading to the acquisition of this reserve in 2006. Near the lodge the trails go right up onto a small ridge where the Chestnut-capped Piha and Red-bellied Grackle may be found. Other birds here include Stiles’s Tapaculo, Multicolored Tanager, Black-and-gold Tanager, and Parker’s Antbird. Black Tinamou, Blue-fronted Parrotlet, Colombian Screech Owl, Striped Woodhaunter, Purplish-mantled Tanager, Scarlet and White Tanager, Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper, Chestnut-breasted Wren. White-mantled Barbet, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Lanceolated Monklet, Lyre-tailed Nightjar, and Pavonine Cuckoo.
Day 17 After a quick early morning birding session we will return to the lodge for breakfast and then drive to the picturesque colonial town of Jardín, where we will stay in a hotel in the town square for two nights. ProAves is well known locally for its work to protect the Yellow-eared Parrot. It has recovered from just 81 individuals to more than 1,000 individuals in ten years, representing probably the most effective rescue in the Americas.
Day 18 We’ll take jeeps to the Yellow-eared Parrot reserve. This 130 hectare reserve has been acquired to protect some of the prime forest for the parrot, but the birds wander widely throughout the area in search of food, making it impossible to buy up the entire habitat. Some of the other birds here include Tawny-breasted Tinamou, Purple-throated Woodstar, Spillman’s Tapaculo, Handsome Flycatcher, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Sharpe’s Wren, and Tanager Finch.
Day 19 First thing we’ll visit some farms near the town where the Yellow-eared Parrots forage, giving us as second chance in the unfortunate event that we have missed them the previous day, and add a few secondary species to the trip list. Then we’ll head straight to Medellín airport, where we’ll take an internal flight to Bogotá to connect with our overnight flight home.
Day 20 Arrive London
Included in the cost: Return flight London/Bogotá, internal flights, all accommodation and food, all transportation and guiding throughout.
Not included: Airport departure tax (if applicable), drinks, tips, laundry, travel insurance and items of a personal nature. |