Whitehawk Birding and Conservation USA +1 208 473 2473 Panama +507 6617 0928 +507 6267 9745 [email protected] Birding Colombia: Three Andean Mountain Ranges Tour 2019 Trip Report By Edwin Campbell September 07-18, 2019 Undulated Antpitta, one of the seven antpittas observed in Manizales, Colombia Colombia is considered a mega-diverse country in biodiversity, and has the highest rate of species by area unit worldwide and the highest rate of endemism. The variety of environmental conditions that the Andes Mountains (three ranges) create allow for this higher diversity of wildlife. On this tour, we explored a variety of different altitudes, different slopes and even different mountain ranges which gave us the chance to verify first-hand the bird diversity found here. In 12 days we visited several different environments including paramo, cloud forest, dry forest, moist forest and wetland – recording more than 480 species of birds, of which a little more than 20 were endemics. Some of the highlights include Buffy Helmetcrest, Turquoise Dacnis, Multicolored Tanager and White-mantled Barbet. Tour Leader: Edwin Campbell Whitehawk Birding and Conservation - whitehawkbirding.com - [email protected] Birding Colombia 2019 - Trip Report Local guide: Ferney Salgado Highlights of the trip 1. Getting a “group lifer” – the Colombian endemic Velvet-fronted Euphonia. Armero is the most reliable place to find this euphoria. However, when we started birding here, things were so slow we almost gave up. 2. At least one endemic bird per day. With the exception of the first day, we saw one or more Colombian endemic bird every day of the tour. 3. The soaring moments: Raptors were undoubtedly one of the groups most appreciated by us, and several moments were particularly memorable: when a King Vulture pair flew over us in Victoria (Caldas), and when a White-rumped Hawk, a small Andean raptor, soared and called above the cloud forest at the Old Los Nevados Road. 4. Seeing six species and registering eleven of a rather elusive group, the antpittas, was surely a great experience for all of us. Among the birds in this group that stood out are Crescent-faced Antpitta, Undulated Antpitta and the Colombian endemic Brown-banded Antpitta. 5. After spending two hours searching for a target species at the highest point (4,120m/13,517f) of our tour in the Central Andes, we finally felt the oxygen levels return to normal as we began our descent. Most certainly, the Buffy Helmestcrest was one the most-wanted birds of the trip. The relief that we felt upon finding this bird was intensified by the extraordinary landscapes that we discovered at every curve on our way down. One of 52 hummingbirds seen – the regional endemic (Colombia & Ecuador) Brown Inca Whitehawk Birding and Conservation - whitehawkbirding.com - [email protected] ! !2 de !39 Birding Colombia 2019 - Trip Report Itinerary Day 1: September 07 – Start of the Tour: Bogota to Cali Early this morning we met all of the participants at the El Dorado Airport in Bogota to take our flight to Palmira (Cali). While we waited to board, we held a short orientation for the tour. Upon arriving in Palmira, we met our local guide, Ferney, and our driver, Mario. The excitement levels were so high that we decided to go straight to our first birding site – Río Bitaco Forest Reserve at Chicoral. By the time we arrived, it was a bit late in the morning for birding and, because the season had been quite dry, this cloud forest was almost unrecognizable. The start of our walk were very quiet. The first birds we found were Golden Tanager and Slate-throated Redstart. A few minutes later, we ran into a colorful mixed flock – Flame-faced, and Metallic-green tanagers, Red-headed Barbet, Uniform Antshrike, and Olive-backed Woodcreeper were just a few birds that stood out. Our walk ended at La Minga Ecolodge where we were able to appreciate the myriad of hummingbirds visiting the feeders – Booted Racket-tail, Long-tailed Sylph and Fawn-breasted Brilliant left us dumbstruck. After a few hours and a delicious lunch, we traveled on to our lodge, making several stops along the way. These birding stops produced some great birds like Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Collared Trogon, Yellow-vented Woodpecker and Blue-naped Chlorophonia. Despite having started late, our day was very productive, with over 80 species seen. Birding at Chicoral Whitehawk Birding and Conservation - whitehawkbirding.com - [email protected] ! !3 de !39 Birding Colombia 2019 - Trip Report Day 2: September 08 – El Descanso (Doña Dora) and Old Buenaventura Road On the way to our first birding spot of the day, we made a quick stop in order to see our first endemic bird. We were treated to the sight of a group of Colombian Chachalacas foraging on the roadside. During this short stop, we also saw Wedge-tailed Grass-Finch and big flocks of Scaly- naped and Blue-headed parrots. Upon our arrival at El Descanso, Doña Dora greeted us with a delicious breakfast, which we ate while enjoying the views of Empress Brilliant, White-whiskered Hermit, Toucan Barbet, and Rufous-throated Tanager, to mention a few. We then continued our journey down the western slope of the Western Andes, an area influenced by the Choco region. Among the characteristic birds of the Choco that we encountered, a few stood out: Spot-crowned Barbet, Choco Toucan, Pacific Antwren and Gray-and-gold Tanager. However, not only the birds with restricted distribution captivated on this day. The Slaty-capped Shrike-Vireo (pale-legged subspecies of the Choco region of Colombia and Ecuador) put on a show for us when responding to playbacks. It perched at eye-level, showing its contrasting yellow eyebrows against its gray head. It was also quite exciting to hear an antpitta vocalizing. It was a familiar sound and Ferney identified it as Fulvous-vented Antpitta – formerly called Thicket Antpitta. On our way back, we stopped at El Descanso for a few minutes – enough time to add a new species to our list – Tricolored (Choco) Brushfinch. Day 3: September 09 – Santo Antonio Forest (Km18) and Sonso Lagoon Sonso Lagoon at sunset. Buga, Colombia Whitehawk Birding and Conservation - whitehawkbirding.com - [email protected] ! !4 de !39 Birding Colombia 2019 - Trip Report We woke up very early this morning, and began the day with some birding around our lodge, Lomazul. We added a few new species to our list including White-naped Brushfinch, Golden- naped Tanager and the endemic subspecies of Acorn Woodpecker. After breakfast, we started our walk to Finca Alejandria – “the hummingbird paradise”. It was a very pleasant walk, and we were treated to a tremendous show of a group of Chestnut Wood-Quail, another Colombian endemic bird. “More chickens” was our first thought upon seeing movement on the ground, but then a group of wood-quails crossed the road. Then, a couple of them showed up at the roadside and they finished the show by crossing the road again behind us. The spectacle did not stop there. A Chestnut-breasted Wren started calling close to us. After searching briefly, we spotted the bird and could clearly see it singing. We saw many others birds during our walk such as Glossy-black Thrush, Rufous-naped Greenlet and Plain Antvireo. At Finca Alejandria we were searching for the endemic Multicolored Tanager. Though this bird never did show up at the feeders, we caught a glimpse of it in the brush. While we waited, we also saw Black-billed Peppershrike, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager, Purple-throated Woodstar and Fawn-breasted Brilliant. Our next destination was Sonso Lagoon in Buga. We made a few stops along the way in order to increase our bird list, which we did. We added Gray Seedeater and Blue-necked Tanager, to name a few. When we arrived to the wetland, we saw several aquatic birds: Snail Kite, Striated Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron and many more. Some dry forest and grassland species also showed up, including Dwarf Cuckoo, Little Cuckoo, Yellow Oriole, Red-breasted Meadowlark and an impressive number (five) of Common Potoo. We spent the entire evening here, almost until sunset. We were expecting to find the endemic flycatcher, but weren’t that lucky. Day 4: September 10 – Sonso Lagoon and travel to Montezuma Lodge Disappointed that we didn’t see our target bird at Sonso Lagoon, we hoped for a second chance today. The plan was to visit the lagoon again in the morning before leaving to Montezuma Lodge. Before breakfast, we did a little birding in the garden of the Guadalajara Hotel, making a couple more additions to our list: Buff-necked Ibis and Yellow-crowned Parrot. Then we visited the wetlands again, where Spectacled Parrotlet swarmed around looking for food among the bushes. We felt very lucky when one bird – the Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher, showed up this time around. We also got second looks at a few species such as Jet Antbird and Red-capped Cardinal, but there was still no sign of our target bird. It was almost nine o’clock, and was time to move on. We had already given up, when Ms. Elcira saw a bird perched above us. “I think it’s the Apical Flycatcher,” she said. She wasn’t mistaken. It was our target species. We left there very happy to know that we had fulfilled our goal. We began our drive on a road that runs along the western side of the Cauca River. We observed several birds from our van, but when we passed by a wetland full of brown spots just before the Toro Toll Station, we had to stop the car.