26 - 12 - 2013
A customized tour for David Hartwell (Treasurer, Audubon Society) and wife Elizabeth de Baut. Eleven full days allowed us to visit 13 of the best birding sites in the Eastern Andes, Magdalena Valley and Central Andes. We visited Chingaza National Park, Siecha gravel pits, Páramo de Guasca, Rogitama Nature Reserve, La Florida Park in Bogotá, Enchanted Gardens of San Francisco, road to Cambao, Bellavista forest in Victoria, Los Nevados National Park, hummingbirds at Recinto del Pensamiento in Manizales, Río Blanco, Cameguadua marsh and Otún-Quimbaya Sanctuary above Pereira.
David saw exactly 100 lifers in this trip! In total, we saw 375 species (with 23 species heard only). Some of the highlights included the endemics Cauca Guan, Colombian Chachalaca, Chestnut Wood-Quail, Bogotá Rail, Brown-breasted (Flame-winged) Parakeet, Black Inca, Indigo-capped Hummingbird, White-mantled Barbet, Grayish Piculet, Silvery-throated Spinetail, Brown-banded Antpitta, Pale-bellied (Matorral) Tapaculo, Multicolored Tanager, Velvet-fronted Euphonia, Sooty Ant-Tanager and Crested Ant-Tanager.
Also, the near-endemics Rusty-faced Parrot, Bronze-tailed Thornbill, Bearded Helmetcrest, Coppery-bellied & Golden-breasted Puffleg, Golden-bellied Starfrontlet, Red-billed & Short-tailed Emerald, Bar-crested Antshrike, Rufous-breasted Flycatcher, Scrub Tanager, Rufous-browed Conebill and Golden-fronted Whitestar.
Other neat birds included the endangered Golden-plumed Parakeet, Andean Teal, Torrent Duck, Capped Heron, Spot-flanked Gallinule, Noble Snipe, Spectacled Parrotlet, Lyre-tailed Nightjar, Tawny-bellied Hermit, Wedge-billed Hummingbird, Amethyst-throated (Longuemare´s) & Tourmaline Sunangel, Purple-backed & Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, Glowing Puffleg, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Booted Racket-Tail, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Gorgeted Woodstar, Western Emerald, Golden-headed Quetzal, Citron-throated Toucan, Black-billed Mountain-Toucan, Yellow-vented & Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Streak-capped & Flammulated Treehunter, Tyrannine Woodcreeper, Long-tailed Antbird, Slate-crowned Antpitta, Ash-colored Tapaculo, Black-capped Tyrannulet, Bronze-olive Pygmy-Tyrant, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Dusky Piha, Striped Manakin, Black-billed Peppershrike, Rufous-naped Greenlet, Black-collared & Black-chested Jay, Chestnut-breasted Wren, Black-chested Mountain-Tanager, Plushcap and Masked Saltator, among many others.
Elizabeth & David facing a stormy afternoon at Paramo de Guasca, Eastern Andes of Colombia.
Daniel, Elizabeth & David at Otún-Quimbaya Wildlife Sanctuary, Central Andes of Colombia.
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