News & Trip Reports

From 2009 to 2011: Setting up birding tours for Field Guides & Rockjumper.

We have completed three years of scouting and selecting the best birding sites in the Andes of Colombia and it is time to look in retrospective: marvelous traveling experiences, rewarding moments with most amazing birds and, above all, the joy that comes with new friendships.

It all began with Agroecotur’s work supporting ecotourism and agritourism initiatives by private nature reserves throughout Colombia. Learning about tourism and the traveling industry was possible thanks to high quality training provided by Professor Ricardo Anzola from the Instituto Interamericano de Turismo (IIT) with the support of World Wildlife for Nature (WWF), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Agroecotur’s founder organizations: CIPAV, Fundación Horizonte Verde, Resnatur, El Hatico Nature Reserve & the Molina family from the Cauca Valley. During those years (2004-2011), Daniel Uribe was Agroecotur’s Executive Director and much traveling was done visiting private nature reserves in the Amazon, Chocó, Andes & the Orinoco Region, working with landowners and local communities.

In February 2009, Proexport organized the first familiarization trip for representatives of birding companies from the USA & UK, in a successful effort to present Colombia as a hospitable birding destination. Trip was attended by guides & representatives from Birdseekers, Avian Adventures, Birdwatching Breaks, Bird Watching Magazine, About-U-Travel, Field Guides, Sunrise Birding & Detour Lic.. Localities visited included La Florida marsh in Bogotá, Chicaque Nature Reserve (Cundinamarca), La Romera Park (Sabaneta), El Almejal at Bahía Solano (Chocó), Río Blanco & Los Nevados, Otún-Quimbaya, Salamanca National Park (Barranquilla), Minca & El Dorado (Santa Marta Mountains). Carl Downing (Birding Colombia), Sergio Ocampo (Fundegar) and Daniel Uribe (Agroecotur) served as Colombian guides for that excursion.

Since then, the following tours for Field Guides and Rockjumper have taken place, building our current expertise and knowledge at Birding Tours Colombia as in-bound operators for birding excursions to Colombia:

• Field Guides scouting tour – October 17 to November 03, 2009. Visited La Romera Park (Sabaneta), Jardín (ProAves’s Yellow-eared Parrot Reserve & Morro Amarillo), Urrao (Proaves’s Colibrí del Sol), Anorí (ProAves’s Chestnut-capped Piha Reserve), Cañón de Río Claro (Puerto Berrío, Puerto Triunfo & Doradal area), Victoria Forest (Caldas), Río Blanco & Los Nevados, Los Alcázares Ecopark, Otún-Quimbaya, Cerro Montezuma, Paso Galápagos (El Cairo), Laguna de Sonso marsh (Buga) and montane forests at Chicoral, ending in Cali. Tour Leaders: Richard Webster and Rose Ann Rowlett (Field Guides), with Sergio Ocampo & Daniel Uribe as Colombian guides.

• Rockjumper Colombia II Andean Endemics – November 29 to December 17, 2010 (19 days), plus Santa Marta Mountains & La Guajira extension from November 25 to November 29 (5 days). Visited Chingaza National Park, Laguna de Pedro Palo, Cañón de Río Claro, Anorí, Jardín, Río Blanco, Los Nevados, Los Alcázares Ecopark, Otún-Quimbaya, Montezuma, Sonso marsh, Km El 18 (Old Road to Buenaventura) & Anchicayá.  Extension sites: El Dorado, Riohacha, Los Flamencos, Tayrona National Park, Isla Salamanca. Tour Leader: David Shackelford, with Sergio Ocampo (main tour), Diana Balcázar (Bogotá area), Waly Naranjo & Daniel Uribe (Santa Marta extension).

• Field Guides tour “The Cauca Valley and the Western and Central Andes I” – January 15 to January 31, 2011. Tour Leader: Richard Webster, with Daniel Uribe.

• Rockjumper scouting tour – January 10 to January 18, 2011. Visited Chingaza, La Florida marsh, Enchanted Gardens at San Francisco, Laguna de Tabacal, La Victoria, Los Nevados, Río Blanco, Los Alcázares Ecopark, Otún-Quimbaya. With Adam Riley, Daniel Uribe, Sergio Ocampo & Diana Balcázar (Bogotá area).

• Rockjumper Colombia I Andean Endemics – January 18 to February 05, 2011 (19 days), plus Santa Marta Mountains & La Guajira extension from February 05 to February 09 (5 days). Tour Leader: Adam Riley, with Sergio Ocampo (main tour), Diana Balcázar (Bogotá area) & Waly Naranjo (Santa Marta extension).

• Rockjumper Colombia II Andean Endemics – October 30 to November 17, 2011 (19 days), plus Santa Marta Mountains & La Guajira extension from November 17 to November 21 (5 days). Tour Leader: Forrest Rowland, with Sergio Ocampo (main tour), Diana Balcázar (Bogotá area) & Waly Naranjo (Santa Marta extension).

A great thanks goes to Richard Webster and Adam Riley for inviting us to work with them and learn from their expertise. Also, we appreciate the companionship of many great birders that have traveled through both of these companies and whose friendship is most appreciated.

Merry Christmas!

This hummingbird is the Bearded Helmetcrest, photographed at Los Nevados National Park, above the city of Manizales (Central Andes).

The beauty, elegance and unique looks of the Bearded Helmetcrest brings motivation to our logo at Birding Tours Colombia.

FELIZ NAVIDAD to all birders around the world!

Birding with Dominic Mitchell – Managing Editor of Birdwatch Magazine (UK)

Concomitant to the Birding Adventures TV excursions, Proexport requested us at Birding Tours Colombia to guide and operate the press trip for Dominic Mitchell, Managing Editor of Birdwatch Magazine (UK).

During this trip we had much joy and fun from amazing birds in close views such as the Sword-billed Hummingbird and endemic Brown-banded Antpitta in Rio Blanco, endemic Grayish Piculet and beautiful Great Antshrike in Otun-Quimbaya, endemic Parker’s Antbird and near-endemics Choco Tapaculo and Bar-crested Antshrike in Cerro Montezuma, just to mention a few. 

For a detailed review of his journey to Colombia and beautiful bird photos, see Dominic’s recount at http://www.birdingetc.com

In this photo, from left to right: Daniel Uribe, Dominic Mitchell & Yesenia Tapasco (our local guide); top: Oswaldo, a very experienced driver. Here, at Cerro Montezuma (Chocó Mountains).

Bogota Sunangel or not? The intriguing hummingbird at Rogitama Private Nature Reserve

When photos of the presumably re-discovered Bogota Sunangel (Heliangelus zusii) were briefly published at the Internet Bird Collection on December 05/2011, we quickly set our visit to old-friend Roberto Chavarro and wife Ginette at Rogitama Nature Reserve in the outskirts of the little town of Arcabuco in the Eastern Andes of Colombia, 3-hours north of Bogotá.

Excited with the great news and supported by Proexport, James Currie extended his stay in Colombia for three more days and flew from Cali to Bogotá, meeting there with Daniel’s brother, Félix. Daniel struggled with bad weather that stopped him from flying to Bogotá, having to spend an entire night at Pereira’s airport. Finally, the three of them met with Roberto Chavarro in Rogitama and lodged at comfortable rooms in the reserve for 3 nights.

A complete review of James Currie’s close encounter with this amazing hummingbird can be seen at:

http://10000birds.com/mystery-rogitama-hummingbird-captured.htm
http://www.talking-naturally.co.uk/tn77-james-currie-filming-bogota-sunangel/
http://blog.aba.org/2011/12/james-currie-on-mystery-hummingbird-in-colombia-new-species-lost-relic-other.html

In spite of multiple images and e-mails that have circulated through the internet, no definitive conclusion on the real identity of this bird has arisen yet. A group of Colombian ornithologists and conservationists are working on a diagnosis and we hope that a sound conclusion will arise soon.

In the meantime, we share here some of the photos of the bird taken during our visit to this beautiful reserve. Many thanks go to Roberto Chavarro, his wife Ginette and daughter for their hospitality and to Proexport for extending James’s stay in Colombia and facilitating Daniel’s trip to the area.

Guiding and operating for Birding Adventures TV episodes in Colombia

By the request of Proexport (the governmental office for the promotion of Colombia’s exports) Birding Tours Colombia organized and guided Birding Adventures TV excursions for the production of three birding episodes in Colombia.

From November 27 through December 04 we traveled with James Currie (host and producer of BATV), Richard Crossley (bird photographer and author of The Crossley ID Guide to Eastern Birds of North America) and Jeff Aderman (Cameraman), visiting the best birding localities in the Central Andes, Cauca Valley and Western Andes.

Amazing footages of the Bearded Helmetcrest were taken at Los Nevados National Park, Long-tailed Antbird and Lyre-tailed Nightjar at the Old Road to Los Nevados, five species of Antpittas at Rio Blanco, endemic Cauca Guan, Torrent Duck and Red-ruffed Fruitcrow at Otun-Quimbaya Wildlife Sanctuary, endemic Gold-ringed and Black-and-Gold Tanagers at Montezuma, Comb Duck in wetlands nearby Cartago and many other birds, mammals and gorgeous landscapes in an adventurous and exciting trip to Andean Colombia.

In this photo: Richard Crossley (left) and James Currie (right) after a pleasant and productive photo session at a wetland near Cartago in the Cauca Valley.