Colombia Trip Report 1000 Birds Mega Tour 22Nd November to 20Th December 2013 (28 Days)
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Colombia Trip Report 1000 Birds Mega Tour 22nd November to 20th December 2013 (28 days) White-capped Tanagers by Adam Riley Tour Leader(s): Forrest Rowland and Trevor Ellory Top 10 Tour Highlights (as voted by participants): 1. Santa Marta Screech-Owl 2. Guianan Cock-of-the-rock 3. Chestnut-crested Antbird 4. Azure-naped Jay 5. White-tipped Quetzal Trip Report - RBT Colombia Mega 2013 2 6. White-capped Tanager 7. Black-and-white Owl 8. Black Solitaire 9. Crested Ant Tanager 10. Bare-crowned Antbird Tour Intro Colombia has become iconic among Neotropical bird enthusiasts…that is to say, anybody who has ever seen a Cock-of-the-rock, Manakin lek, or hummingbird feeding station in the Andes! It is impossible to avoid falling in love with this diverse, impressive, stunning part of the world – and Colombia has the best of it. Guianan shield, Amazon Basin, three Andean ranges, tropical valleys, coastlines, and the famed Santa Marta Mountains are only what is NOW recognized as accessible. As time passes, access increases, and Colombia (rather than becoming more mundane) just becomes more mysterious as new species reveal themselves and new habitats become known, and we look to ever more remote parts of this complex nation. The mystery and wonder of Colombia, perhaps more than any other country, begged a challenge: is it possible for a commercial tour to record more than 1000 species of birds in less than a month? If so, Colombia was obviously the place to do it! The following is a much abbreviated account of one of the most spectacular journeys this author has ever embarked upon, and cannot possibly do justice to the marvelous sights, sounds, smells, and tastes one encounters after spending a whole month in Birder’s Paradise – Colombia! Tour Summary We all congregated in Colombia’s cosmopolitan capitol city Santa Fe de Bogota, on November 22nd, 2013. A few of the participants had entered Colombia early, for arranged pre-tour events ranging from a visit to Mundo Nuevo, cultural tours around the city, and, for one participant, a week-long excursion to the distant corners of Northwest Colombia in search of Urrao Antpitta, Baudo Oropendola, Sooty-capped Puffbird, and others. The first birding day of the tour, and the official kick-off, was at 4:30am, the following day. It was dark, it was early, and we were excited for our first of 27 days in the field! As a group, we spent the following day visiting an assortment of habitats and elevations accessible from Bogota. One of the most amazing things about being based in Bogota is how much diversity you can access with relatively little travel time, despite the enormity of the metropolitan area. Habitats we visited included the elfin forests and paramo of PNN Chingaza, temperate forests around BioAndino, and the temperate wetland habitats and White-tipped Quetzal by Adam Riley agricultural setting around Huasca. We had a decent array of highland birds, despite being a bright, sunny, day (the worst weather you could hope for at elevation!) and set a nice pace for this epic tour. Some of the more exciting bird encounters included amazing looks at several Bogota Rails, Brown-breasted Parakeets perched at eye-level, Pale-bellied Tapaculo, several species of stunning tanagers including Scarlet-bellied and Black-chested Mountain-Tanagers, rare Black-headed Hemispingus, even a nest (perhaps the first for science?) of the near-endemic Bronze-tailed Thornbill! Trip Report - RBT Colombia Mega 2013 3 Due to a major logistical hiccup (our confirmed airline reservations were mysteriously lost by Satena Air), we were forced to leave extremely early from Bogota, headed to Villavicencio, for a new chartered flight to reach our most-anticipated destination – Mitu. After arriving at the hangar, and finally deciphering that we were looking at another indeterminate delay getting off the ground, we decided to make the best of it nevertheless. We went birding! I’ve never birded around Villavicencio, but co-leader Trevor Ellory has. We spent brief time in two locations, both of which yielded some amazing birds. Napo Sabrewing was, by far, the biggest surprise. And the individual in question was incredibly obliging! This was the first major range extension we produced during our tour, but not the last by a mile. Other good birds during our delay at Villavicencio included Blackish Antbird (another huge range extension), White- chinned Jacamar, Spot-winged and White- browed Antbirds, a dapper male Blue-fronted Lancebill, and a singing male Purple-throated Euphonia (very local in Colombia…not known Napo Sabrewing by Jonathan Rossouw from the area). Finally, at around 2PM, we departed for Mitu in a pristinely-kept DC-3. Flying at low altitude in a DC-3 still decorated in original D-Day decals over the llanos and Amazon of Colombia was, we all agreed, one of the best experiences of the trip! Mitu was, in a nutshell, fabulous. It is impossible to put into the words the allure of a place so little- known, the thrill the potential for new discovery conveys, and the actuality of seeing rare and splendid birds at every turn! Mitu was that place for us. We spent time at 4 conventional sites, and one new site. Our hope-for-misses were Pavonine Quetzal and White-bellied Dacnis. Heard-only targets were Grey-legged Tinamou, Black Manakin, White-naped Seedeater (which, admittedly hurt a little) and Brown-banded Puffbird. Of the other 314 species we encountered in 3.5 days, the list of incredible birds we found is far too long to list! First, the surprises: Dark- breasted Spinetail, Short-billed Leaftosser, Western Striped Manakin, and Coraya and Musician Wrens were all relative surprises, as they had not been recorded in this area, definitively, before. The highest quality birds we encountered were: Gray-bellied Hawk (my second only!), 4 species of macaw, Orange- cheeked Parrot, Black-bellied Thorntail, Green- tailed Goldenthroat, all 4 Jacamars (Yellow- billed, Bronzy, Paradise, Great), Tawny- tufted Toucanet (surprisingly ornate), Orinoco Guianan Cock-of-the-rock by Jonathan Rossouw Piculet, Yellow-throated and Scaly-breasted Woodpeckers, Ruddy Spinetail, Point-tailed Palmcreeper, 5 species of Foliage-Gleaner, both Rufous-tailed and Slender-billed Xenops, Guianan Cock-of-the-rock, Pompadour Cotinga, Blackish-gray Antshrike, Stipple-throated, Rufous-tailed, Cherrie’s, Yellow-throated, and Spot- backed Antwrens, Gray-bellied, White-plumed, and Chestnut-crested (AMAZING!) Antbirds, Trip Report - RBT Colombia Mega 2013 4 Amazonian Tyrannulet, Double-banded Pygmy-Tyrant, Saffron-crested Tyrant-Manakin, Yellow-crested Manakin, Brown-headed Greenlet, Azure-naped Jay, Fulvous Shrike-Tanager, and Short-billed Honeycreeper. The list doesn’t really do it justice, as birding was consistently interesting, with only a few dull moments at all. The landscape, habitats, and people were all fascinating! We were all reluctant to leave…but we had another 650 species to find! The following morning, before our flights heading northwest into the Magdalena drainage, we hit the environs of Parque La Florida. Renovation efforts have made this part much nicer, and safer, to visit, though some of the best birds we had were at a site nearby. An incredible responsive pair of Apolinar’s Wrens, Subtropical Doradito, gorgeous Rufous-browed Conebills, no less than 3 Noble Snipe out in full view (!!!), and lengthy views of a foraging Silvery-throated Spinetail, among other great birds. We then embarked for Bucarramanga… Two full days at the Cerulean Warbler Preserve (owned and operated by ProAves) were almost enough to do it justice. We had some rainy moments, but managed most of our target birds nonetheless. A morning around the gardens and in the coffee plantations below the preserve yielded incredible, eye- level, close views of the stunning namesake of the Preserve Indigo-capped Hummingbird by itself. Indigo-capped and Chestnut-bellied Hummingbirds, Adam Riley Bar-crested Antshrike, Turquoise and Yellow-tufted Dacnises, several species of tanagers, White-eared Conebill, Black-headed Brush-Finch, Slate- headed Tody-Flycatcher, and the endemic Yellow-browed Shrike-Vireo were all highlights from the lower elevations. The best two birds, certainly, of the plantations were the inconspicuous Sooty Grassquit (seldom seen on a tour anywhere!) and an excited pair of Niceforo’s Wrens. After an uphill slog through cow pastures in early morning light, we made it to the forests of the Lengerke Trail, and the heart of birding in the area. Black Incas, Gorgeted Wood-Quail, and Golden-winged Manakins were around the recently-abandoned feeding station, but the best birds frequented the mixed flocks of the forest, with a few skulking exceptions like Parker’s Antbird, and the Upper Magdalena Tapaculo, which we eventually had nice looks at! The lovely endemic White-mantled Barbet, Brown-billed Scythebill, Uniform Antshrike, Rufous-rumped Antwren, Wing-barred Piprites, Plumbeous-crowned and Rufous-browed Tyrannulets, Variegated Bristle-Tyrant, Whiskered Wren, Black-capped, Speckled, Metallic-green, and Saffron-crowned Tanagers, and the rare Colombian Mountain Grackle all appeared for us. After night fell, we attempted a Parker’s Antbird by Adam Riley calling Cinnamon Screech-Owl, and enjoyed the prehistoric, indescribable, calls of Wattled Guans on the return hike to the lodge. Trip Report - RBT Colombia Mega 2013 5 The drive, and subsequent boat ride, to El Paujil (also owned by ProAves) is a long one. The roads are iffy, at best, and there are often complications. Luckily, for us, it was uneventful! We even managed to pick up many nice species en route, including Jet Antbird, Northern Screamer, Long- winged Harrier (range extension), Tree Swallow (very rare in Colombia), and an impressive host of waders and waterfowl. The spectacular, local race of Boat-billed Herons, which appear to be nearly entirely white, showed for us on the boat ride in, as well as several nice Spectacled Caiman.