Yellow-eared Parrot is just one of more than 70 endemics, many of them rare and endangered, to be found in Colombia. Photo: ProAves
Colombia’s 440,000 square miles are the richest area for birds on the planet. Some 1,870 species have been recorded in an area roughly 3 times the size of Nevada, among them no fewer than 73 endemics. Though our adventure will provide ample opportunity to observe a large number of common coastal and Amazonian species, this tour concentrates on visiting reserves that protect the last remaining habitats of some of the most range-restricted—and in some cases, the most endangered—birds in the world.
Colombia is in many ways the most “European” of all the South American countries, but we’ll be visiting parts of the country that are still quite wild, making some days of this tour rugged. We’ll walk to and from our accommodations at El Paujil, with horses carrying our bags for us. There are long drives between some of our destinations, and we’ll be taking some of our meals in the field. Some of our birding time will be spent on foot. This is a rigorous trip with some long drives, but those willing to take on the challenge will find the rewards great.
All the areas visited on this tour are safe, and have been thoroughly scouted in collaboration with scientists from the Colombian NGO ProAves. Our leader, Barry Walker, is one of the most respected and experienced birders in South America, familiar with all the sites we’ll be visiting; the group will also be accompanied by a professional driver and a Colombian travel coordinator. The openness and friendliness of the Colombians we’ll meet, combined with the endemic birds we’ll see, make this a can’t-miss tour for any world birder with a sense of adventure and the eagerness to truly experience areas that very few have ever visited.
Day 1: The tour begins today in Bogotá, where our guide will meet us for the transfer to our hotel. Night in Bogotá.
Day 2: We’ll head out today for a two-hour ride to Chingaza National Park, where among the species we will look for is the endemic Brown-breasted Parakeet. Night in Bogotá.
Day 3: After an early breakfast in our hotel, we’ll spend the hours from to approximately 9:30 am in La Florida Park, searching for four endemics: Bogotá Rail, Apolinar’s Marsh-Wren, Silvery-throated Spinetail, and Rufous-browed Conebill, along with the common Andean wetland birds. We’ll then have a short ride to the airport, where we’ll catch our flight to Armenia; arriving in the late morning, we’ll find our van waiting at the airport. We’ll stop for lunch along the way and then drive to Perreira and our country cabins at Otun Quimbaya, near La Suiza. We’ll spend the late afternoon birding or relaxing in the lodge’s birdy garden. Night at Quimbaya Otun Ecological Reserve.
Day 4: We’ll have the entire morning to bird Quimbaya Otun on a beautiful track through pristine forest at 6,500 feet. The endemic Cauca Guan is common here, and we also have a chance at the spectacular and endemic Chestnut Wood-Quail; Sickle-winged and Wattled Guans are here, too. We’ll be on the lookout for the endemic Grayish Piculet and Multicolored Tanager, as well as exciting mixed feeding flocks. After lunch we’ll head for Ibague, stopping near Tobia for the endemic Apical Flycatcher and other species of arid scrub. We’ll expect to arrive in Ibague around 6:00 pm, where we’ll spend the night in our comfortable hotel.
Day 5: This morning we’ll drive to a forest remnant above Ibague to look for such desirable endemics as Tolima Dove, Bar-crested Antshrike, Apical Flycatcher, Crested Ant-Tanager, Olive-headed Brush-Finch, and Blossomcrown. After lunch we’ll make the six-hour drive to the El Paujil Reserve, searching along the way for Northern Screamer, White-throated Crake and others. Night at El Paujil Reserve; our accommodation here has a pleasant rainforest feel, and the rooms have private bathrooms.
Days 6-7: We’ll have two days at the El Paujil Reserve, exploring the well-developed system of trails and a lovely stretch of little-traveled road. The reserve was created to protect the critically endangered Blue-billed Curassow, a species thought to be nearly extinct until 2003, when a ProAves expedition located a viable population here. That species will be our main target here, but we’ll also be looking for such birds as Colombian Chachalaca (endemic), Saffron-headed Parrot (endemic), Pale-bellied and Stripe-throated Hermits, Black-mandibled Toucan, Barred and Black banded Puffbirds, White-mantled Barbet (endemic), Cinnamon and Beautiful (endemic) Woodpeckers, Bare-crowned Antbird, Black Antshrike (endemic), Black-billed Flycatcher (endemic), Antioquia Bristle-Tyrant, Sooty Ant-Tanager (endemic), Plain-colored Tanager, and more. Nights at El Paujil Reserve.
Day 8: Our early birding at El Paujil reserve will end around 9:00 am, when we’ll depart for the seven-hour drive to San Vicente and the Reinita Cielo Azul (Cerulean Warbler) Reserve. We’ll stop for lunch along the way and also look for the endemic Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird. We’ll transfer to jeeps to complete the drive to the reserve accommodations, spacious rooms with a large balcony from which the endemic Indigo-capped Hummingbird is commonly seen and the very rare Turquoise Dacnis is possible. Recurve-billed Bushbird has recently been recorded here. Night at Reinita Cielo Azul Reserve.
Day 9: We’ll head for the forest at first light and spend the entire day birding the Reinita Cielo Azul Reserve; lunch will be a picnic. Several threatened Colombian endemics occur here, including Gorgeted Wood-Quail, Black Inca, White-mantled Barbet, Parker’s Antbird, and Turquoise Dacnis-Tanager. Mountain Grackle occurs in temperate forest just above the reserve. Also here are Wedge-billed Hummingbird, Collared Trogon, Mustached Puffbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Stripe-breasted Spinetail, Uniform Antshrike, Slaty Antwren, White-bellied Antpitta, Ornate Flycatcher, Rufous-naped Greenlet, Yellow-throated Spadebill, and Moustached and Yellow-breasted Brush Finches; of particular interest here are two still undescribed tapaculo species. Night in the Reserve Lodge, with comfortable rooms with private bathrooms, balconies, and a birdy garden.
Day 10: This morning we’ll walk down through coffee plantations where we can see Bar-crested Antshrike and Large-billed Seed-Finch; we also have good chances at a variety of boreal migrants. If we haven’t already seen it, we’ll have a quick look for Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird before departing on the five-hour drive to Ocaña, with lunch en route. Night in Ocaña.
Day 11: We’ll spend the entire day at Hormiguero de Torcoroma Reserve, where our target is—as the reserve’s name suggests—the Recurve-billed Bushbird. We’ll be in the bamboo at dawn, and plan to walk the trails until lunch. Among the many other species of note here are Black-fronted Wood-Quail, Lined Quail-Dove, Lazuline Sabrewing, Red-billed Emerald, Andean Toucanet, Stripe-breasted Spinetail, Long-tailed Antbird, Yellow-legged Thrush, the endemic Gray-throated Warbler, Speckled Tanager, Black-headed Tanager, and Moustached Brush-Finch. Night in Ocaña.
Day 12: This will be a long travel day to Santa Marta. We’ll leave early to avoid the traffic, driving a few hours before we stop for breakfast at a truck stop retauarant. We expect to arrive at our beachside hotel for lunch, and an optional afternoon excursion will look for Chestnut-vented Chachalaca, Bare-eyed Pigeon, Chestnut Piculet, Panama Flycatcher, and Bicolored Conebill, as well as many herons, shorebirds, and other coastal species. Night in a beachside hotel at Rodadero.
Day 13: Taking our breakfast in the field, we’ll spend the morning around Salamanca, looking for Chestnut-winged Chachalaca and Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird. Other birds here may include Bare-eyed Pigeon, Russet-throated Puffbird, Chestnut Piculet, Panama Flycatcher, and Bicolored Conebill, as well as many herons, shorebirds, and other coastal species. As the day heats up we’ll head east of Santa Marta to Riohacha to bird desert habitats and the Los Flamencos Reserve, where specialties include Green-rumped Parrotlet, Buffy Hummingbird, Black-backed Antshrike, White-whiskered Spinetail, Slender-billed Inezia, Vermilion Cardinal, Orinocan Saltator, Pileated Finch, and Tocuyo Sparrow. Night in Riohacha.
Day 14: We’ll spend the morning at Los Flamencos, hoping to encounter any species we may have missed before, then head up to the cooler Santa Marta Mountains. After lunch in Minca we’ll bird nearby lower-elevation sites looking for Coppery Emerald, Black-backed Antbird, Rusty-breasted Antpitta, Venezuelan Tyrannulet, Royal Flycatcher, Red-and-white Wren, Santa Marta Tapaculo (endemic), Blossomcrown, Rufous-capped Warbler, Swallow Tanager, and Golden-winged Sparrow. We’ll arrive at the El Dorado Lodge at dusk, an extremely comfortable accommodation with a very birdy garden, where many endemics can be seen directly from the balcony. Night at El Dorado Lodge.
Days 15-16: We’ll devote two entire days to different elevations on the San Lorenzo Ridge. On one of the days we’ll take our four-wheel-drive jeeps to higher elevations in search of endemics such as Santa Marta Parakeet, Black-backed Thorntail (rare), Santa Marta Woodstar, White-tailed Starfrontlet, Rusty-headed and Streak-capped Spinetails, Santa Marta Antpitta, Santa Marta Bush-Tyrant, Santa Marta and White-lored Warblers, Yellow-crowned Whitestart, Santa Marta Mountain Tanager, Santa Marta Brush Finch, and Santa Marta Seedeater. Other birds possible here include Black-fronted Wood-Quail, Lined Quail-Dove, White-rumped Hawk, White-tipped Quetzal, Golden-breasted Fruiteater, and Gray-throated Warbler. The area also harbors a still undescribed species of Megascops owl. Nights at El Dorado Lodge.
Day 17: After an early breakfast we’ll drive to Santa Marta Airport for a mid-morning flight to Bogotá, where participants not joining the extension will make their international connections.
Yellow-eared Parrot and Chestnut-capped Piha Extension
maximum group size: six participants
Day 17: After an early breakfast we’ll drive to Santa Marta Airport for our mid-morning flight to Medellin via Bogotá. We’ll have lunch on arrival, then drive to the Chestnut-capped Piha Reserve for dusk. Night in the reserve’s accommodations, with private bathrooms and birdy surroundings.
Day 18: The piha reserve, officially Arrierito Anioqueño, is home to the recently described Chestnut-capped Piha, the bird we’ll be actively searching for. Other species to be found here include Black Tinamou, Blue-fronted Parrotlet, Colombian Screech-Owl, Parker’s Antbird, Red-faced Spinetail, Striped Woodhaunter, Fulvous-breasted Flatbill, Stiles’s Tapaculo, Chestnut-breasted Wren, Red-bellied Grackle, and Multicolored, Black-and-gold, Purplish-mantled, and Scarlet-and-white Tanagers. Night in the reserve’s accommodations.
Day 19: Following the morning’s birding (it’s also possible to relax and watch the feeders in the garden) and lunch at the reserve, we’ll depart for the seven-hour drive to Jardin. Night in Jardin.
Day 20: We’ll take jeeps to the Yellow-eared Parrot Reserve. Once common all the way down into central Ecuador, this critically endangered parrot is now known from only a couple of sites in the western and central Andes of Colombia. Collecting of leaves for use in religious ceremonies has nearly wiped out the Yellow-eared Parrots’ favored nest tree, the wax palm. A new 300-acre reserve has been acquired to protect some of the prime forest here, but the parrots wander widely in search of food, making it impossible to buy up all of the habitat used by the birds. ProAves has put considerable effort into public awareness programs, and local people now recognize the parrots and are proud to have them on their land. Other birds we may see here include Glowing Puffleg, Yellow-vented Woodpecker, Spillman’s Tapaculo, Handsome Flycatcher, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Barred and Green-and-black Fruiteaters, Sharpe’s Wren, Golden-fronted Whitestart, and Tanager Finch. We’ll leave in the late afternoon for Medellin, where we’ll spend the night.
Day 21: We’ll fly to Bogotá mid-morning, where the extension concludes and participants will make their international connections.
Updated: 07 October 2008
Prices
- 2009 price about $6,990
- Single Occupancy Supplement $310
- Parrot and Piha Extension about $2,180
Notes
The itinerary for this tour was adjusted in October 2008.
Maximum group size seven with one leader (six on the extension); the group will be accompanied as well by a driver and a Colombian travel coordinator.
Note that single accommodation is available only on those seven nights spent in city hotels; no singles are available at the reserve accommodations used on this tour.