Colombia - Multicoloured Tanager Tour Naturetrek Tour Report 23 January - 2 February 2017 Report compiled by Alejandro Solano Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report Colombia - Multicoloured Tanager Tour Tour participants: Alejandro Solano (leader) with six Naturetrek clients Day 1 Thursday 23rd January The tour started with an overnight flight from London Heathrow to Bogota Day 2 Friday 24th January Fly to Cali; Cali Country Club; La Lolita In the early morning our overnight flight arrived at Bogota International Airport, where we connected with an internal flight to Cali. Once at Cali we met Alejandro and boarded our vehicle. We drove through the Cauca valley and experiencing the first sightings of numerous birds as we enjoyed the countryside. Our first stop was the lovely Cali Country Club where birds were everywhere. Whilst enjoying breakfast we could see big groups of Bare-faced Ibis, Cocoi Herons, Neotropic Cormorants and other more common waterbirds. Then we had a nice stroll and kept on finding more attractive species with our first encounter with the endemic Greyish Piculet, flocks of Blue-crowned Parrots, Southern Lapwing and both Spot-breasted and Red-crowned Woodpeckers. Later we transferred to our lodge for the night. The gardens were great for birding and, after lunch, we saw lots of hummingbirds including Green Hermit, White-necked Jacobin, Crowned Woodnymph and Andean Emerald. We also saw other charismatic species such as Acorn Woodpecker, the endemic Colombian Chachalaca, and the gaudy Inca Jay. It had been a great day to begin a very rewarding trip in the country with the most birds in the world! Day 3 Saturday 25th January Queremal Road We had an early start and headed to a low pass over the western Andes before continuing down to the Pacific foothills to explore the Queremal-Anchicaya road. Our first stop was to see a female Lyre-tailed Nightjar at its nest, incubating a very young fluffy chick! Next was a wonderful stop for a typical breakfast with birds coming to the feeders. We enjoyed close views of Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Glistening-green Tanager and many others. Before continuing we saw many more birds including a family group of stunning Toucan Barbets which were colourful as well as having good calls! We spent the rest of the day exploring the more forested areas closer to the foothills and had a packed lunch. At the lunch site we found a Colombian endemic outside its usual range - Greyish Piculet at 400 metres above sea level on the Pacific slope! Another noteworthy bird of the day was Spot-crowned Barbet. © Naturetrek October 17 1 Colombia - Multicoloured Tanager Tour Tour Report Day 4 Sunday 26th January Km18; Sonso We started with breakfast and birding at La Lolita where the best birds were Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Andean Motmot, Inca Jay, Acorn Woodpecker and Colombian Chachalaca. We then packed our bags and moved on. We stopped at the legendary important bird area of Km18 where we birded along the San Lorenzo ridge finding Golden-crowned Flycatcher, a co-operative pair of the usually elusive Azara’s Spinetail, and a flock of Tanagers with Metallic-green and Beryl-spangled as the dominant species. Further on we arrived at Finca Alejandria and became tantalised with the hectic activity at both the hummingbird and banana feeders. It was all happening before us, and then we discovered a family of the endemic Multicolored Tanager! First we saw a female, then two young, and after a few more minutes, a male in full glory! Also in the area were Saffron-crowned, Golden, Scrub, and Hepatic Tanagers as well as a pair of stunning Red-headed Barbets. Hummingbirds were active and included Long-tailed Sylph (subspecies emma is a potential future split to Green-tailed Sylph), the localised Blue-headed Sapphire, lots of Andean Emeralds, and many others. We then did a walk with further birding and returned to eat Argentinean-style asado (grilled meats) which was just as good as the birding. In the afternoon we drove to Buga on the back roads and enjoyed the countryside scenery. We stopped at Sonso lagoon. It had rained so we couldn’t access it but the road to the main entry provided some good birding. We had telescope views of Common Potoo and saw lots of Bare-faced Ibis, a single Glossy Ibis, several nice Limpkins, an Osprey soared and a Dwarf Cuckoo was enjoyed through the telescope. Nearby a Grey-necked Wood Rail called but didn’t show, however an obliging Jet Antbird did a great show as it posed and sang for us. Finally we proceeded to our comfortable hotel in Buga for a nice dinner and a good rest. Day 5 Monday 27th January Buga to Montezuma We had a very civilised and plentiful breakfast at the hotel and enjoyed common birds coming to the side of the pool, adding Yellow-crowned Amazon and Cattle Tyrant to our list before leaving. We drove north and then headed west, passing the coffee-planted slopes around Apia before reaching Pueblo Rico, where we changed to our 4x4 vehicles to do the last leg to Montezuma, where the staff were expecting us with a delicious lunch. Lunch was packed with birding as there were both banana and sugar-water feeders in front the open dining area. We had close up views of our firsts choco endemic hummingbirds such as Violet-tailed Sylph, Empress Brilliant and the ever-so enchanting Velvet-purple Coronet. At the bananas were Black-winged and Buff-throated Saltators, the stunning Crimson-backed Tanager and some old friends like Scrub, Palm, Blue-grey, Lemon- rumped and Silver-throated Tanagers. After lunch we were shown to our rooms. After a rest we set out on an afternoon session nearby. As we started the birding seemed quiet, but later we started to get some good birds such as the choco endemic Black Solitaire, Colombian endemic Black-and-gold Tanager, and nearby on one of the creeks we had a very showy family group of yet another endemic, the Crested Ant Tanager! Nearby, coming to eat at our feet, was a confiding Olive Finch. Although the afternoon seem slow to start with, it ended being very productive in terms of specialties. 2 © Naturetrek October 17 Colombia - Multicoloured Tanager Tour Tour Report After returning to the lodge we had a shower, worked on the bird log and soon were on our beds, dreaming of all the good birds! Day 6 Tuesday 28th January Montezuma Road We started early with a coffee before departing to the highest parts of the birdy Montezuma Road. We made a stop before breakfast as we heard one of our targets, the Colombian endemic Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer. Soon we were enjoying telescope views of a bird singing happily. In the meanwhile Leo (our local guide) set hummingbird feeders at the edge of forest. We had an al fresco breakfast and then set off to find our other target species which we found with ease as it came singing at very close range; the sonorous Munchique Wood Wren. We then spend the morning doing roadside birding, finding a few birds at the time. Suddenly a nice flock came at eye level and we watched a great number of the special ones from the area such as Lacrimose Mountain Tanager, Purplish-mantled Tanager, Grass-green Tanager, a family of Sharpe’s Wren, Dusky Bush Finch, Yellow-vented Woodpecker, the hard to find Tanager Finch (a pair was nicely photographed!), Black-throated Tody-Tyrant, Green-and-black Fruiteater and the gaudy Golden-fronted Whitestart, to name the most exciting. We then continue the birding and admired the number of orchids and flowering plants until we were met with our lunch. Lunch was served in the company of hummingbirds that attended the feeders, and we enjoyed both, having excellent views of Greenish Puffleg, Velvet-purple Coronet, Empress Brilliant, Collared Inca, White-tailed Hillstar, Violet-tailed Sylph, and nearby came both White-sided and Bluish Flowerpiercers. Little was happening after lunch so we headed down some more and luckily, on one of the bends, we came across a pair of Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonia collecting nest material. Then rain started and we looked for shelter. We then return to our base and enjoyed a nice cosy dinner and a great night’s sleep! Day 7 Wednesday 29th January Montezuma to Otun This morning we enjoyed watching birds coming to the gardens and feeders, and having our last look at some of the chocó endemics such as Empress Brilliant, Velvet-purple Coronet and the scarce White-tailed Hillstar. Other birds around breakfast were Red-headed Barbet, Slaty Spinetail, Ornate Flycatcher, Sooty-headed Wren, Blue- naped Chlorophonia and Fawn-breasted Tanager. We then set off towards Otun. On the way we added the neotropical boreal migrant, Broad-winged Hawk. We reached Otún-Quimbaya, our base for the night, and had time to settle in before getting ready for another birding session. In the afternoon we had a very rewarding walk in the grounds where we had the pleasure of finding the two most important targets of the Otún valley; the endemic Cauca Guan and the enchanting Red-ruffed Fruitcrow! Both the Guan and the Fruitcrow where encountered in good numbers and we even found a Cecropia tree laden with so much fruit that both birds could be seen at the same tree and in the same field of view of our optics! Next we saw a puppy Crab-eating Fox, sunbathing in the fields close to our cabins, which allowed for great pictures as well! © Naturetrek October 17 3 Colombia - Multicoloured Tanager Tour Tour Report Day 8 Thursday 30th January Otun to Rio Blanco We left very early in the morning to be on time for the feeding of the Antpittas at what is the Colombian epicentre of this gaudy family of birds.