Category: News

News

Guiding for a British crew traveling through Ecoturs (July 16 – 27, 2013).

28 - 07 - 2013

From July 16 to 27 (2013), Daniel guided a British crew traveling through Ecoturs (ProAves), visiting wonderful birding sites in the Central & Western Andes, including Otún-Quimbaya Wildlife Sanctuary, Rio Blanco, Los Nevados National Park, three ProAves´s reserves (Las Tangaras at Carmen de Atrato, Yellow-eared Parrot at Ventanas´s Pass above Jardin and Chestnut-capped Piha at Anorí), Morro Amarillo (Jardin), and La Romera ecopark in the outskirts of Medellín. Short birding stops were done along rural roads, at Combia (outside city of Pereira), La Florida (as we drove out of Otún-Quimbaya), Peña Lisa near Bolombolo and water reservoirs at Porce hydroelectric dam (as we drove back to Medellín).

Many nice birds were seen and enjoyed throughout, with a wide array of endemics & near-endemics. At Otún-Quimbaya we saw the Cauca Guan (E), Stile’s Tapaculo (E), Greyish Piculet (E), Multicoloured Tanager (E), Chestnut-breasted Wren, Bar-crested Antshrike (NE) and Rufous-breasted Flycatcher (NE), along with Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Torrent Duck, White-capped Dipper, Torrent Tyrannulet, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Streak-capped Treehunter, Black-billed Peppershrike, Ashy & Plumbeous-crowned Tyrannulets, and a soaring Black-and-chestnut Eagle, among others.

Río Blanco provided nice views of magnificent antpittas, including Brown-banded (E), Chestnut-crowned and Slate-crowned Antpittas, along with flocks of endangered Golden-plumed Parakeet. Also, Golden-headed Quetzal, Black-billed Mountain-Toucan, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Streaked Tuftedcheek, Long-tailed Antwren, Dusky Piha and Black-collared Jay.

At Los Nevados we had very close views of a gorgeous male Bearded Helmetcrest (NE) and a feeding flock of Rufous-fronted Parakeet (E), as well as magnificent views of Crowned Chat-Tyrant, Many-striped Canastero, Paramo Tapaculo, Andean Tit-Spinetail, Black-capped Tyrannulet, Golden-crowned Tanager, Black Flowerpiercer and Paramo Seedeater, among others.

Las Tangaras provided many good birding moments, including great views of Mountain Choco specialties such as the Beautiful Jay (E), Crested-Ant Tanager (E), Black-and-gold Tanager (E), Gold-ringed Tanager (E), Choco Vireo (E), Alto de Pisones Tapaculo (E), Nariño Tapaculo (NE), Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager (NE), Purplish-mantled Tanager (NE), Glistening-green Tanager (NE), Rufous-throated Tanager (NE), Indigo Flower-piercer (NE), Fulvous-dotted Treerunner, Buffy Tuftedcheek, Yellow-breasted & Rufous-rumped Antwrens, Yellow-breasted Antpitta (NE), Bronze-olive Pygmy-Tyrant, Handsome & Ornate Flycatchers, Olivaceous Piha, Orange-breasted Fruiteater (NE) and Dusky Bush-Tanager (NE).

Munchique Wood-Wren (E) was well seen at “La M” above Carmen de Atrato, along with nice birds such as the Black-throated Tody-tyrant, White-browed Spinetail, Rufous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant, Blackish & Spillman´s Tapaculo, and Yellow-bellied Chat-Tyrant.

Yellow-eared Parrot flocks were well seen both at Ventana´s Pass and Morro Amarillo near Jardin. Parker´s Antbird (E) and Black-Chested Jay were seen at Morro Amarillo. Besides, Ventana´s Pass provided good views of the Golden-fronted Whitestart (NE), Streak-throated & Smoky Bush-Tyrants, Red-hooded Tanager, Citrine Warbler and Scarlet-rumped Cacique at low elevations.

At Chestnut-capped Piha Reserve we enjoyed close views of a group of seven Chestnut Wood-Quails (E) roosting early in the morning at a giant fern, Chestnut-capped Piha (E), Red-bellied Grackle (E), White-mantled Barbet (E), Colombian Chachalaca (E), Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, Moustached Puffbird, Channel-billed Toucan, White-throated Spadebill, Golden-winged Manakin, Sooty-headed (NE) & Scaly-breasted Wren, and Black-headed Brush-Finch (NE).

At La Romera, Gavin managed to spot a splendorous male of the much desired Yellow-headed Manakin (E) which was well seen by all, along with more Red-bellied Grackles (E) and a pair of Spotted Barbtails.

We saw 39 species of hummingbirds, including the much desired Purple-backed & Rainbow-bearded (NE) Thornbills, Golden-breasted Puffleg (NE), Brown Inca (NE), Mountain Velvetbreast, Velvet-purple Coronet (NE), White-tailed Hillstar, Empress (NE) & Green-crowned Brilliants, Greenish Puffleg, Wedge-billed Hummingbird, Tawny-bellied Hermit, Tourmaline Sunangel, Violet-tailed (NE) & Long-tailed Sylphs, Purple-throated Woodstar (NE) and Western Emerald.

We missed some of the birds in the wish list, including the Masked Saltator & Bicolored Antpitta (Rio Blanco), Black-thighed Puffleg (Los Nevados), Black Solitaire (Las Tangaras), Chestnut-crested Cotinga (Jardin) and Antioquia Wren (Peña Lisa). Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer (E) was clearly heard but not seen at “La M”. However, we managed to register a respectable 372 species list with 19 species heard only.

From left to right, taking a break but still looking at the wish list: Francis Peplow, Daniel Uribe, Heather & Melvin Billington, Gavin Peplow.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

 

Featured Tours

These are our best tours, covering the finest birds in Colombia. We
specialize in Colombia endemic bird tours, emphasizing the rarest and most threatened
species while enjoying nature.

News

Short birding trip with Freddy & Adela Drews (March 31st – April 3rd, 2013).

05 - 04 - 2013

In their recent visit to Colombia, Freddy & Adela Drews lingered for a short birding trip not far away from their family hometown in the city of Pereira (Central Andes). Thus, we agreed on visiting Otún-Quimbaya Wildlife Sanctuary, Cameguadua marsh & Rio Blanco. All three sites rendered us with incredible birds, including the endemic Cauca Guan, the rare Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Stile´s Tapaculo, Blackish Rail, Brown-banded Antpitta & Masked Saltator, among many others.

From left to right: Freddy, Adela, Albeiro Uribe & Daniel at Rio Blanco. Albeiro is truly an innate birder with amazing skills and deep love for the elusive antpittas. Lots of fun feeding those little creatures and birding a gorgeous cloud forest!

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

 

Featured Tours

These are our best tours, covering the finest birds in Colombia. We
specialize in Colombia endemic bird tours, emphasizing the rarest and most threatened
species while enjoying nature.

News

Back to Colombia for a second time: Peter Hawrylyshyn & Bob Lewis search for more hummingbird species and bird specialties at new birding sites (February 15 – March 03, 2013).

05 - 03 - 2013

After a highly successful introductory birding tour last August 2012, Peter & Bob return to Colombia in 2013 searching for several specific endemic species, visiting two additional important birding areas (Santa Marta and Cerro Montezuma). As stated by Peter´s concluding remarks: “Another amazing trip – we saw about 435 species of which 55 were lifers for Bob. The 59 species of hummingbirds which we saw included all our “must-see” target species except for the Mountain Avocetbill. Our hosts couldn’t have been friendlier, especially at Finca Montezuma and Finca Alejandría. … Accommodations at all the lodges were more than adequate … Once again the food was excellent, and no one got sick. Lastly, very special thanks yet again to Daniel for helping organize this custom tour. As more areas of Colombia open up to birding, chances are we’ll return for a third trip.”

And a nice hummingbird video prepared by Peter can be seen at: http://youtu.be/lyeNI4hAH6A

From left to right: Peter Hawrylyshyn, Bob Lewis and Daniel Uribe at the Montezuma road.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

 

Featured Tours

These are our best tours, covering the finest birds in Colombia. We
specialize in Colombia endemic bird tours, emphasizing the rarest and most threatened
species while enjoying nature.

News

Central Andes short tour with Happy Warblers touring company from New York (February 5 – 13, 2013).

15 - 02 - 2013

A short trip (February 5 – 13, 2013) organized for Joe Giunta´s Happy Warblers touring company from New York, attended by five birders. We saw very nice endemics & specialties such as the Cauca Guan, Sickle-winged Guan, Buff-necked Ibis, Hook-billed Kite, Blackish Rail, Yellow-eared Parrot, Golden-plumed Parakeet, Spectacled Parrotlet, Rusty-faced Parrot, Lyre-tailed Nightjar, Wedge-billed Hummingbird, Purple-backed & Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, Bearded Helmetcrest, Glowing Puffleg, Golden-breasted Puffleg, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Golden-headed Quetzal, Black-billed Mountain-Toucan, Grayish Piculet, Crimson-mantled & Powerfull Woodpecker, Streaked Tuftetcheek, Flammulated Treehunter, Tyrannine & Black-banded Woodcreeper, Bar-crested Antshrike, Long-tailed & Jet Antbird, Chestnut-naped Antpitta, Brown-banded & Slate-crowned Antpitta, Ocellated & Paramo Tapaculo, White-banded Tyrannulet, Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Apical Flycatcher, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Dusky Piha, Rufous-naped Greenlet, Black-collared Jay, Whiskered & Chestnut-breasted Wren, White-capped Dipper, White-capped Tanager, Flame-rumped & Scrub Tanager, Scarlet-bellied & Blue-winged & Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager, Plushcap, Black-backed Bush-Tanager, Slate-colored & Paramo Seedeater, Red-hooded Tanager, Golden-fronted Redstart and Yellow-billed Cacique, among others.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

 

Featured Tours

These are our best tours, covering the finest birds in Colombia. We
specialize in Colombia endemic bird tours, emphasizing the rarest and most threatened
species while enjoying nature.

News

More Andean endemics with magnificent birding crew from USA, UK & Canada (Dec. 28, 2012 to Jan. 5, 2013).

06 - 01 - 2013

From December 28th (2012) to January 5th (2013) we birded the Western & Central Andes for endemics & specialties with Wendy Money and daughter Trina Warren (USA), joined by Pauline Horton & Graham Leach (UK). After birding the Lomalinda Nature Reserve & Chicoral area above Cali, we visited the very nice hummingbird feeders of Juan José Arango & wife Anabelle in Cali. Then, we birded El Vínculo Nature Serve and Sonso marshes in Buga, after which we drove to Otún-Quimbaya Wildlife Sanctuary for a 2-night stay. Our route continued with a very productive stop at Cameguadua marsh in Chinchiná, Río Blanco, Los Nevados & Jardín, finishing in Medellin airport with a farewell to Wendy & Trina. Here, Eva Froese from Canada joined Graham and Pauline for an extension into the Chestnut-capped Piha Reserve in the Anorí area, Río Claro in the Magdalena Valley, Bellavista forest in Victoria and forest fragments at El Líbano, with a final visit to the hummingbirds at Recinto del Pensamiento in Manizales before driving back to Cali for Pauline’s & Graham flight back to the UK. Eva Froese stayed a bit longer, birding Río Blanco and Los Nevados before returning back to Canada.

Bird count totaled 462 species (23 species heard only). Endemics & specialties seen included, but were not restricted to, the following: Northern Screamer, Cauca Guan, Colombian Chachalaca, Yellow-eared Parrot, Bearded Helmetcrest, Black-thighed Puffleg, Golden-breasted Puffleg, Purple-throated Woodstar, White-Mantled Barbet, Grayish Piculet, Bar-crested Antshrike, Parker´s Antbird, Brown-banded Antpitta, Stile´s Tapaculo, Rufous-breasted Flycatcher, Apical Flycatcher, Chestnut-capped Piha, Sooty-headed Wren, Multicolored Tanager, Black-headed & Yellow-headed Brush-Finch, Sooty Ant-Tanager, Golden-fronted Redstar and Red-bellied Grackle, among others.

From left to right: Trina, Wendy, Graham & Pauline at the Yellow-eared Parrot Reserve above Jardin (Western Andes).

From left to right: Eva Froese, Graham Leach, Pauline Horton and Daniel Uribe, birding a trail at Chesnut-capped Piha Reserve.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

 

Featured Tours

These are our best tours, covering the finest birds in Colombia. We
specialize in Colombia endemic bird tours, emphasizing the rarest and most threatened
species while enjoying nature.

News

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

21 - 12 - 2012

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 and 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 and Diana Balcázar (Bogotá área).
  • 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 (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 (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.

A Field Guides group birding “La M” above Carmen de Atrato in the Western Andes.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

 

Featured Tours

These are our best tours, covering the finest birds in Colombia. We
specialize in Colombia endemic bird tours, emphasizing the rarest and most threatened
species while enjoying nature.

News

Touring for Central Andes Endemics: how good birding in Colombia can be (October 6 – 15, 2012).

17 - 10 - 2012

Birded the Central & Western Andes from October 6-15 (2012) with Robert & Sarah Carr from Boston (Massachusetts).  After traveling 1,200 kilometers we managed to see or hear 22 out of 28 expected endemics. We saw 327 species and “heard only” 21 species, for a total of 348 species in 8 days. In addition to the endemics, we saw 55 species considered to be true Andean specialties. For a detailed itinerary, please download the PDF that describes our medium length “Central Andes Endemics” tour from the Tours section of this web page.

Birds seen included the Grayish Piculet and Colombian Chachalaca at El Vinculo reserve; Blackish Rail & Cinnamon Teal at the Cartago marshes; Wilson’s  Phalarope on October 9th at the Cameguadua marsh (a rare migrant in this part of the country); Multicolored Tanager, Stile´s Tapaculo, Cauca Guan, Colombian Screech-Owl, Rufous-breasted Flycatcher and Red-ruffed Fruitcrow at Otún-Quimbaya Wildlife Sanctuary; Brown-banded, Slate-crowned, Chestnut-crowned, Chestnut-naped and Undulated Antpittas at Río Blanco, plus Chestnut Wood-Quail, Golden-fronted Whitestar, Golden-plumed Parakeet, Rusty-faced Parrot, Golden-headed Quetzal, Black-billed Mountain-Toucan, Crimson-mantled & Powerful Woodpeckers, White-throated Screech-Owl, Band-winged &  Lyre-tailed Nightjars, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Pearled Treerunner, Tyrannine Woodcreeper, Long-tailed Antbird, Dusky Piha, Black-collared Jay and Red-hooded Tanager, among many others.

Our Grand Vitara 4×4 allowed us to scout the Old Road to Los Nevados, where we had great views of the Black-thighed and Golden-breasted Pufflegs, Rainbow-bearded and Purple-backed Thornbills, Mountain Velvetbreast, Shining Sunbeam, Great Sapphirewing, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Tyrian and Viridian Metaltails. At 4,000 meters we enjoyed the Bearded Helmetcrest and as we came down the mountain encountered a group of Black-backed Bush-Tanager and a gorgeous Andean Pygmy-Owl vocalizing from a tree.

A short but productive visit to Neira road gave us a close encounter with the endemic  Yellow-headed Brush-Finch and a good sighting of the Moustached Puffbird. At Morro Amarillo we had amazing looks at a female Hook-billed Kite, Slate-colored Seedeater, Guira Tanager, Yellow-backed Oriole, Black-chested Jay and a close encounter with Parker’s Antbird, among many other birds.

Final day birding the road to Ventanas Pass above Jardín allowed us to see 30 Yellow-eared Parrrots, plus Yellow-vented Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Chat-Tyrant, Citrine Warbler, Black-capped Tyrannulet and Black-throated Pygmy-Tyrant.  On the afternoon we encountered a group of 7 gorgeous Red-bellied Grackles moving along with the beautiful Scarlet-rumped Cacique (the high altitude uropygialis subspecies) and Russet-backed Oropendolas. Closed the day with a farewell visit to the Cock-of-the-Rock lek near town.

In the words of Robert Carr after returning to Boston: “Dear Daniel, we had a great time on the trip!  This was certainly the best birding trip we’ve ever been on, and the memories will last with us forever.  We are looking forward to the chance when we can plan a return visit to bird a different region of Colombia”.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

 

Featured Tours

These are our best tours, covering the finest birds in Colombia. We
specialize in Colombia endemic bird tours, emphasizing the rarest and most threatened
species while enjoying nature.

News

Bird photography trip for Peter Hawrylyshyn, Bob & Hanno Lewis with emphasis on hummingbirds (August 22 – September 9, 2012).

10 - 09 - 2012

From August 22nd to September 9th (2012) we guided a magnificent bird photo trip for Peter Hawrylyshyn (Canada) and Robert (Bob) & Hanno Lewis (California, USA), aimed at obtaining images of certain hummingbird species and increasing the life list for Bob & Hanno. The itinerary was conceived by Peter & Bob according to their goals in obtaining images of birds, especially endemics & near-endemics of central Colombia. A detailed trip report written by Peter Hawrylyshyn can be downloaded from our “Trip reports” section.

Among other sites, we visited Rogitama Private Reserve, Chingaza & Los Nevados National Parks, Siechia wetlands, the Enchanted Gardens of San Francisco de Sales, Bellavista Forest in Victoria, Rio Blanco, Jardin, Las Tangaras & Chestnut-capped Piha Reserve of ProAves and La Romera Ecopark in Medellín.

In summary, Hanno saw 95 lifers, Bob 62 (including his 4000th life-bird!) and Peter saw 60 species of hummingbirds including 14 of his “must see” birds. We took plenty of images, enjoying remarkable photo opportunities for species such as: Bogota Rail (E), Silvery-throated Spinetail (E), Matorral Tapaculo (E), Spot-flanked Gallinule, Short-tailed Emerald (NE), Rufous-browed Conebill (NE),  Coppery-bellied Puffleg (NE), Bronze-tailed Thornbill (NE), Indigo-capped Hummingbird (E), Red-billed Emerald (NE), White-mantled Barbet (E) , Sooty Ant-Tanager (E), Velvet-fronted Euphonia (E), Bar-crested Antshrike (NE) , Golden-fronted Whitestart (NE) , Brown-banded Antpitta (E), Black-thighed Puffleg (NE), Golden-breasted Puffleg (NE) , Yellow-eared Parrot (E), Rufous-breasted Flycatcher (NE) , Black-and-gold Tanager (E), Glistening-green Tanager (NE), Purplish-mantled Tanager (NE), Indigo Flower-piercer (NE) , Toucan Barbet (NE), Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager (NE) , Velvet-purple Coronet (NE), Empress Brilliant (NE), Purple-throated Woodstar (NE), Brown Inca (NE), Violet-tailed Sylph (NE), Scrub Tanager (NE), Red-bellied Grackle (E) , Colombian Chachalaca (E), Parker’s Antbird (E), Black-headed Brush-Finch (NE) and Sooty-headed Wren (NE).

To see a sample of the bird images taken by Bob Lewis, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/boblewis/sets/72157631494733382

And Peter´s images will soon be published here: http://www.pahphoto.com

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

 

Featured Tours

These are our best tours, covering the finest birds in Colombia. We
specialize in Colombia endemic bird tours, emphasizing the rarest and most threatened
species while enjoying nature.

News

Birding for one day – and it was great! (August 17, 2012).

18 - 08 - 2012

August 17th (2012) we did a one-day birding trip to Rio Blanco & El Recinto del Pensamiento with Jean Rosenberg and daughter Nathalie from Massachusetts. The day began with a sighting of Rusty-faced Parrots feeding on mistletoes in Rio Blanco, a good breakfast and a short walk to the first of three Antpitta feeding stations. Here, we enjoyed the Brown-banded (endemic), Chestnut-naped & Chestnut-crowned Antpittas.  In the second feeding station the Bicolored Antpitta (near-endemic) showed briefly but was well seen. And in the third station we had a close encounter with the Slate-crowned Antpitta, feeding on earthworms just 5 feet away from us!

A pleasurable hike through the forest yielded long views of a family of four Long-tailed Antbirds, feeding along bamboo thickets with the tiny Rufous-crowned Tody-Tyrant. Some of the birds that showed up really well: Andean Guan, Beryl-spangled Tanager, Black-capped and Superciliaried Hemispingus, Blue-and-black Tanager, Pearled Treerunner, Golden-fronted Whitestart (near-endemic), Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Mountain Elaenia, Masked Trogon, Green-and-black Fruiteater and Azara’s Spinetail. Before leaving Rio Blanco we had great views of the Golden-plumed Parakeet (a group of 30 flying over, plus 5 birds perched in front of the lodge baranda) and the White-capped Tanager (a group of 5, perched).

Late afternoon we visited the hummingbird feeders at El Recinto del Pensamiento. Hummingbirds seen here plus those seen in Rio Blanco made a total of 16 species for the day!  The species seen were: Tourmaline Sunangel, Buff-tailed Coronet, Long-tailed Sylph, Tyrian Metaltail, Speckled Hummingbird, Collared Inca, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, White-bellied Woodstar, Green-fronted Lancebill, Bronzy Inca, Wedge-billed Hummingbird, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Andean Emerald, Green Violetear, Sparkling Violetear and Rufous-tailed Hummingbird . Before the day ended, we had a close encounter with the Sickle-winged Guan, Golden-crowned Flycatcher and Pale-edged Flycatcher.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

 

Featured Tours

These are our best tours, covering the finest birds in Colombia. We
specialize in Colombia endemic bird tours, emphasizing the rarest and most threatened
species while enjoying nature.

News

Birding Otún-Quimbaya Wildlife Sanctuary for some bird images with Juan Jose Arango and Anabel Vanin (August 3 – 5, 2012).

06 - 08 - 2012

Birded Otún-Quimbaya Wildlife Sanctuary on August 3, 4 & 5 (2012) with Juan José Arango and wife Anabel Vanin, searching for some photo opportunities. Four months before, Juan José & Anabel birded Río Blanco with Daniel Uribe, managing to take nice photos of all five species of Antpittas.  ¿Could a similar success be repeated in Otún-Quimbaya?

Not easily: first morning at Otún was rainy, non-stop! Thus, we decided to evacuate the area moving into the outskirts of Pereira city, visiting two sites with nice hummingbird feeders, one at William Peña’s house, and the other at Villa Martha Coffee Farm. Here, we had good photo opportunities, not only for hummingbirds (White-necked Jacobin, Black-throated Mango, Steely-vented HB, Rufous-tailed HB), but for the very nice Bar-crested Antshrike, Spectacled Parrrotlet, Golden-faced Tyrannulet and Bay-headed Tanager, among others.

In the afternoon, we drove back to Otún-Quimbaya and in spite of intermittent showers, we enjoyed greatly stopping at a wooden bridge for photos of both male & female Torrent Ducks. Then, in the forest near the lodge we took good images of the endemic Grayish Piculet, Azara’s Spinetail, Slate-throated Whitestart, Blue-and White Swallow, Montane Woodcreeper, Black Phoebe and others. In the morning of our last day, we took good photos of the beautiful Tropical Parula, Fawn-breasted Tanager, near-endemic Rufous-breasted Flycatcher, Common Bush-Tanager and Yellow-bellied Seedeater. We also had fair views of the Cauca Guan and splendorous Ref-ruffed Fruitcrow (but no good photo opportunity) and a blind encounter with the endemic Stiles’s Tapaculo that never showed himself to our cameras!

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

 

Featured Tours

These are our best tours, covering the finest birds in Colombia. We
specialize in Colombia endemic bird tours, emphasizing the rarest and most threatened
species while enjoying nature.

© 2011 Birding Tours Colombia. All photographs, texts and contents appearing in this website are protected by international copyright laws and are not to be
downloaded or copied in any way without the written permission of the author.