COLOMBIA: THE CENTRAL & WESTERN ANDES MARCH 13–28, 2018 LEADERS: STEVE HILTY & CHRISTIAN DAZA LIST COMPILED BY: STEVE HILTY Regional guides: Yessenia Tapasco (Montezuma Lodge) and Arturo Parra (Río Blanco Reserve) VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM COLOMBIA: THE CENTRAL & WESTERN ANDES MARCH 13–28, 2018 By Steve Hilty Last year I summarized this trip with the following comments (here paraphrased in part) “. many curvy roads, landslides, massive road construction projects, masses of tractor-trailer trucks, out-sized meals for carnivores, enchanting cloud forests, spectacular mountain scenery, hummingbirds, antpittas, colorful tanagers, mixed species flocks, and friendly, helpful, out-going people. And now, after a near two- decade period of unrest lasting until the very early 2000s, a young generation of Colombian birders, of which there are many, are discovering new birding locations, adding new species to the country list, already the largest in the world, organizing bird fairs, exchanging photos on Facebook, and contributing in many ways to the advancement of ornithology and environmental education in their country. And, it is in many cases, due to them that we have access to so many wonderful birding sites on tours like this one.” This year our first outing was to a site near Cali where a collection of hummingbird and fruit feeders attracted a parade of incredibly colorful birds. It was so pleasant here, in fact, that we stayed all day. The following day we made our first foray into the Río Anchicayá Valley, exploring several higher elevation sites including Señora Dora’s “El Descanso” restaurant complete with bird feeders and yet more new tanagers and hummingbirds. On our third day we drove deep into the heart of the Anchicayá region. Now well-known to Colombian birders, this stunningly beautiful valley harbors incredible bird and plant life. With steep, green mountain valleys, plunging waterfalls at almost every bend in the road, and exciting mixed species flocks, it ranks as one of the top birding destinations in the country. This area also holds special interest for me because some forty-seven years ago I began my graduate dissertation work studying tanager foraging behavior and plant flowering and fruiting cycles on a high ridge overlooking this lovely valley. The site was far from any road, and my wife and I used mules for the 4–5 hour trek to reach this spectacular site. It was an exciting time in our lives and remarkably, the region today has changed relatively little over the years, still retaining its original beauty. Nowadays there are a few more people living along the old gravel road that provides the only access into this valley and on to the Pacific coast, but deforestation in this foothill and lower montane region is minimal, and the entire valley retains its pristine beauty. A few of our bird highlights included Tooth- billed Hummingbird, Spot-crowned Barbets digging a nest hole, a Blue-whiskered Tanager, and a lovely male Blue-rumped (Chocó) Trogon. During succeeding days we visited Laguna de Sonso, an old oxbow lake in the floor of the Cauca Valley, and then the Montezuma Lodge within Tatamá National Park in the Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 Colombia: The Central & Western Andes, 2018 Western Andes. With magnificent scenery in all directions and fabulous birding, we added, among many species, a Black-billed Mountain-Toucan, and shortly thereafter a Munchique Wood-Wren, an endemic special to me because I discovered it on Cerro Munchique at the south end of the Western Andes in 1978 and eventually helped describe it new to science in 2003. Other exciting birds included several endemics— Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer, Orange-breasted Fruiteater, Gold-ringed Tanager, and Black-and-gold Tanager. There also were hummingbird feeders at various elevations, all of them well-attended, and a remarkable collection of colorful tanagers including Grass-green Tanager, Purplish-mantled Tanager, and Glistening-green tanager. This site and the Anchicayá Valley well deserve their status as top birding destinations in Colombia. Crossing the Cauca Valley and driving northeastward into the Central Andes, we spent a night at the Otún-Quimbaya Reserve located near the city of Pereira. It holds an unusual assortment of difficult to find species, among them Red-ruffed Fruitcrows and endemic Cauca Guans, both seen repeatedly. We also added a rarely seen Hooded Antpitta here, a species much sought by birders after its discovery here a few years ago. Unfortunately, this species is now suffering from excessive audio playback by a parade of well-meaning but often over-zealous birding groups. From Otún we relocated to the nearby city of Manizales where we prepared for a visit to Nevado del Ruiz, an active volcano. Following a delicious breakfast at a tiny restaurant near treeline, we spent much of the morning searching for birds found in the high-elevation páramo and adjacent elfin woodland. Tops, of course, were Buffy Helmetcrests, cute Sedge (Grass) Wrens, and a couple of sightings of delightful Tawny Antpittas. Midday and afternoon found us at a hotel noted for hot thermal baths and one of the most dazzling collections of hummingbirds on the planet. The following day at the Río Blanco Forest Reserve, the water source for Manizales, and also the location of several antpitta feeding stations, the antpittas did not disappoint. We saw three kinds of antpittas and a couple of rather sharp-looking Gray- browed Finches. Later we added numerous tanagers, mountain-tanagers, flowerpiercers, a Plushcap (now placed within the tanager family), and a super exciting Masked Saltator, before moving to a new location just added to our itinerary this year—the Hotel Tinamou. And what a surprise! It was so good we could hardly leave. If there was ever a site that offered more relaxing comfort, better food, and exceedingly easy-to-see birds than the Asa Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad, this is it! A Common Potoo brooding a partly grown juvenile was also a big hit with everyone. At the delightfully quaint town of Jardín, we journeyed to the Yellow-eared Parrot reserve (we saw them perched close at hand and a flock of 19 in flight) and then attended a matinée performance of glorious Andean Cocks-of-the-rock just a few blocks from our hotel. Crested Ant-Tanagers and Red-bellied Grackles also made surprising visits late in the afternoon. Leaving Jardín the following day, we stopped for a morning of dry forest birding at lower elevation before continuing to the picturesque but traffic-congested city of Medellín. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 3 Colombia: The Central & Western Andes, 2018 After a morning at a small and rather well-hidden park near Medellín, we boarded a slightly delayed evening flight to Bogotá where our group scattered in just about every direction, three departing on late night flights, five others planning to spend one or more nights in Bogotá, and a couple off for more adventure in the Santa Marta area. As a group, I’ve had few if any in my 35 plus years of guiding that exceeded the collective enthusiasm of this group not only for birds but plants and all things living. Generous donations of wine each evening (we were almost a mobile wine dispensary) by three or four people added an additional and delightful dimension to our trip, and we owe them all a hearty thank you for their generosity. I think everyone will take away memories of colorful, if sometimes fleeting Andean tanagers, cloud forests, cloud-filled valleys, and friendly people. And you were likely also impressed with the sheer energy of the economy, the transport infrastructure, road construction, trucks, and a country hard at work. I’d love to show you even more of this delightful and alluring country where they say…“Your only risk is wanting to stay.” And trip highlights? The birds were so varied that almost everyone’s comments were different and included everything from an Ocellated Tapaculo, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, and Blue-whiskered Tanager to antpittas (or a more all-inclusive “ant-things”), the “mother” Potoo, and a Masked Saltator. ITINERARY (major sites) and data: 1. International arrival 2. Cali to Finca Alejandría, dept. of Valle. (ca. 1900m). 3. Upper Anchicayá Valley, dept. of Valle (ca. 1100-1450m). 4. Lower Anchicayá Valley (mostly 350-500m) 5. Laguna de Sonso (1000m); to Montezuma Lodge (Tatamá National Park) 6-7. Tatamá National Park, dept. of Risaralda (1400-2550m el) 8. Tatamá National Park; to Pereira and Otún-Quimbaya reserve. 9. Otún-Quimbaya, dept. of Risaralda (2000-2100m). 10. Nevado del Ruiz, dept. of Caldas; 4050m (summit 5432 m); Termales de Ruiz 11. Hotel Tinamú (ca. 1300m); long p.m. drive 12. Jardín and Reserva Natural de las Aves Loro Orejiamarillo (RNA Loro Orejiamarillo); p.m. near Jardín, dept. of Antioquia 13-14. Bolombolo area; to Medellín, dept. of Antioquia 15. Morning in La Romera Park evening flight to Bogotá 15-16. Late night international departures KEY: Heard = a species recorded only by voice (preceded by (*) [ ] = seen/hd only by Hilty (SH) or Christian Daza (CD) Boldface and underlined = endemic seen or heard; near endemics - also show boldface and underlined and identified as such Blue = scarce, local or of interest for various reasons Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 4 Colombia: The Central & Western Andes, 2018 Red = North American migrant M or MM = male or males; F or FF = female or females Trip statistics paint an interesting picture of the immense diversity of birds in the regions we visited on this trip: we saw: 11 species of woodpeckers (all seen); 9 parrots (5 or 6 seen well); 44 hummingbirds (all seen); 17 furnariids excluding woodcreepers (16 seen); 7 woodcreepers (6 seen); 8 antbirds (all seen); 9 antpittas (5 seen); 48 flycatchers (55; 48 seen); 11 wrens (7 seen); and a total of 75 tanagers (following new taxonomy; 60 under older taxonomy) including 18 Tangara tanagers (all seen).