Llanos & More 2019
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Field Guides Tour Report Colombia: Llanos & More 2019 Nov 10, 2019 to Nov 20, 2019 Dan Lane & Trevor Ellery For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE. The Llanos are part of the Orinoco River drainage, so what better way to banner this list than with a bird with "Orinoco" in the name? Orinoco Goose. Photo by Dan Lane. This tour really is as much a sampler of the Bogota area as it is of the Llanos. The two regions are quite distinct from one another, one being nestled in the Andes, but also obviously affected by the nine million people of Colombia’s capital city. The other is a lowland plain that feeds eastward into the Orinoco River, and is mostly composed of open country and wetlands. The avifauna of these two areas are also quite different, with few species in common. We began in Bogota, the capital, and largest city in Colombia… and home to an amazing amount of traffic! We headed NW to the edge of the Magdalena Valley to visit a park called Laguna Tabacal, where we explored some second growth woodland around a mountain pond. From there, we hit the hummingbird feeder extravaganza at Jardin Encantado, and finally headed on a ride that took us hither and yon through the Bogota valley, up dead ends and back down, and finally to our lodging near the town of La Mesa, the Finca La Tuscana. This was our base for the next two days as we explored the area around Pedro Palo and then Chicaque National Park, after which we returned to Bogota. After a night spent in the city, we headed east, over the Eastern Andes and down the Amazonian slope to a side road to Monterredondo, which featured patches of montane forest. As we feared being trapped behind a blocked road, we raced back to the highway and on down to the city of Villavicencio, at the foot of the Eastern Andes. The following morning found us in a lovely patch of forest known as Bosque Bavaria. That afternoon, as rains opened on us, we headed north to the town of Yopal, encountering an amazing amount of road construction along the way! From Yopal, we headed north and then east into the Llanos themselves, finally arriving at our lodge of Juan Solito, a part of the ranch called Hato La Aurora. We spent three days here, visiting gallery forest and riding on a tractor trailer setup (which I doubt few will forget anytime soon!) out into the savannas and patches of woodland and wetland. Our third full day there we visited the main ranch house, enjoyed a fine meal, and marveled at their gardens and feeders, then rode back to our lodge. Finally, we headed back to Yopal, flew to Bogota, and spent our final morning visiting the remnant marsh at the edge of the city called La Florida with local guide Diana. These outings provided many fine memories of the birds we encountered, from the diminutive endemic Indigo-capped Hummingbird to the hefty Horned Screamer, the familiar Cerulean Warbler to the outlandish Wire-tailed Manakin, and from the Mountain Cacique to the lowland-dwelling White- headed Marsh-Tyrant. We enjoyed the multicolored Golden-bellied Starfrontlet, the French vanilla-colored Capped Heron, the cryptic Common Potoo, and the murky Black Inca. We got to see a crowd of Black-throated Mangos around feeders, and also a lone Ochre-breasted Brushfinch as it skulked on Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 1 the roadside. The raucous Violaceous Jays caught our attention, whereas the more reclusive Green-and-black Fruiteaters hid their impressive colors in similarly-hued forest canopy, and the showier Amazon Kingfishers zipped along the Araripo River. There was much more, nearly 400 birds, as well as a nice smattering of mammals (Capybara, anyone?) and even some great herps (Anaconda!). My thanks for sharing these experiences with me, and perhaps we can do it again in another great birding destination! Good birding, Dan KEYS FOR THIS LIST One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant BIRDS Tinamidae (Tinamous) LITTLE TINAMOU (Crypturellus soui) [*] Anhimidae (Screamers) HORNED SCREAMER (Anhima cornuta) – A goose and duck relative that we saw in some numbers in the llanos. Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) WHITE-FACED WHISTLING-DUCK (Dendrocygna viduata) – The less common of the two whistling-ducks we encountered. BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK (Dendrocygna autumnalis) – I believe it was gray-billed young of this species that we mistook for Fulvous on an occasion or two. ORINOCO GOOSE (Oressochen jubatus) – An attractive sheld-goose that is surprisingly common here! It has declined drastically in many parts of its range. BLUE-WINGED TEAL (Spatula discors) – A few in the llanos, but a huge number at La Florida in Bogota. LESSER SCAUP (Aythya affinis) – A small number on the pond at La Florida. ANDEAN DUCK (Oxyura ferruginea andina) – Until recently, this was considered part of Ruddy Duck. Birds in Colombia are rather intermediate between the North American and more southerly Andean forms, but apparently Clements has decided to split the two into species and considers this intermediate Colombian population to be a subspecies of Andean! Not sure I like it... Cracidae (Guans, Chachalacas, and Curassows) RUFOUS-VENTED CHACHALACA (RUFOUS-TIPPED) (Ortalis ruficauda ruficauda) – The chachalaca that we encountered in the llanos. SPECKLED CHACHALACA (Ortalis guttata) – The chachalaca we encountered around Villavicencio. Odontophoridae (New World Quail) CRESTED BOBWHITE (Colinus cristatus) – What an attractive quail! We saw them on several occasions, but our first view (and the only one through a scope) was on the drive from Paz de Araripo east into the Llanos, when we found a singing bird in a tree. Podicipedidae (Grebes) LEAST GREBE (Tachybaptus dominicus) – Only at Laguna Tabacal the first day. PIED-BILLED GREBE (Podilymbus podiceps) – At La Florida. Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves) ROCK PIGEON (Columba livia) – This, the "feral pigeon" was a fairly regular sight around towns. [I] PALE-VENTED PIGEON (Patagioenas cayennensis) – A daily sight in the llanos. BAND-TAILED PIGEON (WHITE-NECKED) (Patagioenas fasciata albilinea) – Fairly common in the Andes. RUDDY GROUND-DOVE (Columbina talpacoti) – We first saw this at Jardin Encantado, but it was also common in the llanos. SCALED DOVE (Columbina squammata) – The South American replacement of Inca Dove, common in the llanos. WHITE-TIPPED DOVE (Leptotila verreauxi) – This species is the same as that which reaches Texas. GRAY-FRONTED DOVE (Leptotila rufaxilla) [*] EARED DOVE (Zenaida auriculata) – Nearly every day on the tour. Interestingly, the form here has rufous tail corners, which are white in populations south of here. Cuculidae (Cuckoos) GREATER ANI (Crotophaga major) – This monster is quite a common sight in the llanos. I love their "bubbling cauldron" chorus. SMOOTH-BILLED ANI (Crotophaga ani) GROOVE-BILLED ANI (Crotophaga sulcirostris) – We only encountered one pair of this species at the lunch spot at "La Chapa". As I was explaining at the time, the voice of the Colombian and Venezuelan birds is rather distinctive compared to other populations, and I suspect an undescribed form, either subspecies or species, is involved. STRIPED CUCKOO (Tapera naevia) – Mostly heard, but we eventually saw one on our final day at the llanos lodge. LITTLE CUCKOO (Coccycua minuta) – A mini-Squirrel Cuckoo that we saw at the nighthawk spot. SQUIRREL CUCKOO (Piaya cayana) YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO (Coccyzus americanus) – An ID on the fly, literally, when we spotted one land in a tree over the road as we drove back to Yopal from the llanos. Caprimulgidae (Nightjars and Allies) Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 2 BAND-TAILED NIGHTHAWK (Nyctiprogne leucopyga) – A rare and local species anywhere in its range, we got to hear the peculiar "chunk- cheewunk" song and then watch several fly around at dusk at La Aurora. COMMON PAURAQUE (Nyctidromus albicollis) – Wow, were there a lot of these nightjars on the return drive on the tractor-trailer! The density of flying insects there may explain this in part... Nyctibiidae (Potoos) GREAT POTOO (Nyctibius grandis) – A parent and young sat patiently over our lunch stop on the drives out and back from La Aurora. COMMON POTOO (Nyctibius griseus) – One on our night drive in the llanos. Apodidae (Swifts) WHITE-COLLARED SWIFT (Streptoprocne zonaris) SHORT-TAILED SWIFT (Chaetura brachyura) Trochilidae (Hummingbirds) WHITE-NECKED JACOBIN (Florisuga mellivora) – Several at Jardin Encantado. WHITE-BEARDED HERMIT (Phaethornis hispidus) – In the gallery forest in the llanos. LESSER VIOLETEAR (Colibri cyanotus) – Formerly called Green Violetear, but that species has been split into this and the Mexican Violetear of Middle America. SPARKLING VIOLETEAR (Colibri coruscans) RUBY-TOPAZ HUMMINGBIRD (Chrysolampis mosquitus) – A fine male at Jardin Encantado. BLACK-THROATED MANGO (Anthracothorax nigricollis) – Holy jeepers! I've never seen so many at one time! TOURMALINE SUNANGEL (Heliangelus exortis) SPECKLED HUMMINGBIRD (Adelomyia melanogenys) – A mid-elevation hummer that we encountered at Chicaque and again at Monterredondo. GREEN-TAILED TRAINBEARER (Lesbia nuna) – A brief glimpse of one zipping away across a field at the entrance to Chicaque. BRONZY INCA (Coeligena coeligena) [*] BLACK INCA (Coeligena prunellei) – What a save! Just as lunch was about to be served, a bird came to the staircase of the Refugio building at Chicaque, and waited for us all to see it before departing! [E] COLLARED INCA (Coeligena torquata) GOLDEN-BELLIED STARFRONTLET (Coeligena bonapartei) – A rather smashing high elevation hummer that is a near endemic that we saw well at the feeders at the Chicaque restaurant. BOOTED RACKET-TAIL (Ocreatus underwoodii) WHITE-BELLIED WOODSTAR (Chaetocercus mulsant) – A male of this widespread Andean species was at Jardin Encantado.