Good views of the endemic Cundinamarca Antpitta was a trip highlight. (Trevor Ellery) COLOMBIA: FROM THE CHOCO TO AMAZONIA 18 NOVEMBER ̶ 10/15 DECEMBER 2019 LEADER: TREVOR ELLERY This tour was once again designed to visit the parts of Colombia that most other tours don’t reach. It involved a fair amount of travel and some complicated logistics (including events such as strikes and aborted landings, which were completely out of our control). It felt at times as if we took in every nook and cranny of Colombia, as we ranged widely from north to south and from east to west. Such a comprehensive and ambitious tour was bound to produce a large list and we logged 692 species. More important was the huge wealth of species, which were not just specialities but were also rare, localised or simply poorly known. Highlights were many and included superb views of the enigmatic Recurve-billed Bushbird (despite a lost day due to a national strike), at its Colombian stronghold. The moment a gang of the endemic Mountain Grackles swarmed around us, in the unique Oak forests high above the arid Chicamocha Canyon, will also stay long in the memory. Those same oak forests provided jaw dropping views of the charismatic White-throated Screech Owl, to add to the Cinnamon Screech, Choco Screech, Crested, Spectacled and Mottled Owls we had already seen on 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Colombia from the Choco to Amazonia 2019 www.birdquest-tours.com the tour. Paujil reserve served up its usual magic, with an unbelievable nine Blue-billed Curassow’s visiting the feeders. The trails there also played host to Black Antshrike, Bare-crowned Antbird, Russet-winged Schiffornis and Black-billed Flycatcher. The Coffee plantations below the Cerulean Warbler reserve are always productive and we found Double-banded Greytail, Beautiful Woodpecker, White-eared Conebill and a stunning Yellow- browed Shrike-Vireo. The main reserve and its environs also kept us busy with Turquoise Dacnis, Niceforo’s Wren, White-mantled Barbet, Magdalena Tapaculo and both Undulated and White-bellied Antpittas. Further mouth-watering species we found on the main tour included Yellow-headed and White-bibbed Manakins, Magdalena, Parker´s, Jet, White-bellied, Spotted and Klages’s Antbirds, Yellow-headed, Black-headed, Ochre-breasted and Moustached Brushfinches, Chestnut-capped Piha, Red-bellied Grackle, Humboldt’s Sapphire, Apical Flycatcher, Chestnut-bellied, Green-bellied, Indigo-capped and Tooth-billed Hummingbirds Blue-whiskered, Scarlet-browed and Scarlet-and-white Tanagers, Sooty Ant Tanager, Spot-crowned Barbet, Bronze-tailed Thornbill, Brown-breasted Parakeet, Rose-faced Parrot, Northern Screamer, Green-tailed Goldenthroat, Golden-bellied and Blue-throated Starfrontlets, Dwarf Cuckoo, Dusky Pigeon, Tolima Dove, Bogota Rail, Black-and-chestnut Eagle, Black and Black-and-white Hawk-Eagles, Tody Motmot, Brown and Red-billed Scythebills, Silvery-throated Spinetail, Stiles’s and Pale-bellied Tapaculos, Cundinamarca Antpitta, Velvet-fronted Euphonia, Grey-throated Warbler, Noble Snipe, Semiplumbeous and Plumbeous Hawks and Lanceolated Monklet! The Mitu extension was also an intense birding experience and we managed to locate most of the specialities of this increasingly popular destination. Both Grey-bellied and Chestnut-crested Antbirds involved some hard work but showed well. Azure-naped Jays were especially obliging, as was a gaudy male Guianan Cock-of-the rock. We picked up further Manakins with Yellow-crested and Black Manakins and Saffron-crested Tyrant-Manakin, all being seen on the same memorable morning. Fiery Topaz were watched hawking for insects, Citron-bellied Attila eventually showed well and we also enjoyed Bronzy, Paradise and Great Jacamars. Further highlights included Plumbeous Euphonia, White-crested Spadebill, Orinoco Piculet, Collared Puffbird, Rusty-breasted Nunlet, Pompadour Cotinga, Blackish-grey Antshrike, Cherrie´s and Spot-backed Antwrens, Pavonine Quetzal, Tawny-tufted Toucanet, Point-tailed Palmcreeper, Cinnamon Neopipo, Brown-headed Greenlet, Black-collared Swallow, White-bellied Dacnis and Amazonian Inezia. Perhaps best of all was the amazing views of a Bar-bellied Woodcreeper, species number 8000 for one of the tour participants. Our tour started with an early morning visit to the windswept Paramo above Guasca. We quickly found our main target, the near endemic Bronze-tailed Thornbill, with an adult perching up in the early morning sun. While searching for the Thornbill we added a few commoner species including Grass Wren, Pale-naped Brushfinch, Black-crested Warbler and Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant. We did not linger however and we soon dropped down to an area of temperate forest, where we were fortunate to quickly locate our second main target, a group of noisy but endemic Brown-breasted Parakeets. They gave fantastic views in flight, showing off their dazzling wing pattern and were also scoped more distantly. Having seen both these key species early, we were able to indulge in some more general birding. A Black-billed Mountain Toucan perched in a nearby tree, while some time working on the skulkers produced good views of the near endemic Pale-bellied Tapaculo and a Rufous Antpitta (of a vocally distinct race). Brown-bellied Swallows hawked overhead and mixed flocks held Golden-fronted Whitestarts, Black-headed Hemispingus, Pearled Treerunner and White-banded, White- throated and Black-capped Tyrannulets. A group of bold and noisy Rufous Wren’s scolded us, Green-and- black Fruiteaters flitted across the trail and some furtive Andean Guans moved through. Further diligent searching produced Longuemare’s Sunangel, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant, Andean Siskin, Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager, Fawn-breasted, Beryl-spangled and Blue-and-black Tanagers and a delightful Blue-backed Conebill. We also logged no less than five species of Flowerpiercer with Glossy, Black, White-sided, Bluish and Masked all being seen. A nearby pool held a group of Andean Teal and a quick road side stop produced a pair of the endemic Silvery-throated Spinetail. The late afternoon was spent at a pleasant hummingbird garden where we enjoyed the dazzling, near-endemic, Blue-throated Starfrontlet, along with both Black-tailed and Green-tailed Trainbearer. Commoner species included Glowing Puffleg, both Lesser and Sparkling Violetear, Great Sapphirewing, Tyrian Metaltail and plentiful White-bellied Woodstars It proved to be a great introduction to the huge hummingbird diversity that can be found in Colombia. The second day was spent visiting Monteredondo. This site lies close to the main road that runs from Bogota down into the Llanos plains of Eastern Colombia. A huge landslide had completely shut the road for months before our visit but it had reopened just before the start of the tour. It took us five hours to actually reach the site but by mid-morning we were quickly enjoying good views of the localised Ochre-breasted Brushfinch. We then managed to find our main goal, a pair of the elusive and endemic Cundinamarca Antpitta. After some gentle coaxing almost all the group enjoyed views of this enigmatic species and the leader even managed to obtain a photo. Despite some intermittent and at times very thick fog we did manage to find a few other species including a pair of furtive Black-collared Jays. A group of Northern Mountain Caciques were bold and 2 BirdQuest Tour Report: Colombia from the Choco to Amazonia 2019 www.birdquest-tours.com pugnacious and a Tyrannine Woodcreeper showed well. A small mixed flock held Streaked Tuftedcheek, Common Bush Tanager and a couple of Cinnamon Flycatchers. With further construction at the base of the road threatening to leave us trapped, we decided to head to lower elevations earlier than normal. As we descended we made an impromptu stop, to take in a majestic soaring Black-and-chestnut Eagle, a real bonus. Once past the cement crews we searched the secondary habitat and quickly found the localised Green-bellied Hummingbird. Flocks were more plentiful here and we picked up a plethora of commoner species, including White-vented Plumeleteer, a pair of Red-headed Barbets, Golden-faced Tyrannulet, Scrub Greenlet, a nice group of Inca Jays, both Pale-breasted and Black-billed Thrushes, Tropical Parula, American Redstart, Blackpoll, Black-and-white and Canada Warblers, Magpie, Speckled and Blue-necked Tanagers, Purple Honeycreeper and Grey Seedeater. We then made the fairly long trek back to Bogota. Our third day basically became a travel day. A national strike had been called in Colombia and rather than early morning birding in Bogota, we thought it wise to head straight to the airport. As we sat watching protestors shut down roads across the city, it certainly seemed the right decision. Our flight to Bucaramanga was uneventful but soon after arrival it became apparent that all roads leading to our next destination were being blocked and we had to retire to a nearby town for the afternoon. With large protests planned throughout the city of Bucaramanga, we were confined to barracks, so to speak, and after an early dinner we settled down for and early night. Our only brief birding during the day and mainly from the car produced Red-crowned Woodpecker and Fork-tailed Flycatcher. We enjoyed fantastic views of the incomparable Recurve-billed Bushbird. (TE). We escaped from Bucaramanga very early the next morning and most were champing at the bit to get birding. It was still quite a long drive to the Bushbird Reserve but the roadside marshes produced Wattled Jacana, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Bare-faced Ibis, Cocoi and Little Blue Herons, Snowy Egret and White-winged Swallow. A quick roadside stop added Brown-throated Parakeet, Cattle Tyrant, Bicolored Wren, Carib Grackle, Shiny Cowbird and most surprisingly, a single Orange-crowned Oriole. By mid-morning we had finished our journey along the valley, climbed back into the eastern Andes and were soon on the trails. We first found an obliging pair of Klages’s Antbirds and then, after a little searching, located a vocal pair of Bushbirds.