Colombia Inirida – The Amazon’s Wild West 11th February to 18thFebruary 2022 (8 days) Llanos Extension 18th February to 22nd February 2022 (5 days) Cerros de Mavecure Many are the marvels of Colombia’s Wild East. Just a couple fairly short flights away for most of us, in extreme eastern Colombia, lies the bustling little town of Inírida. One would hardly expect such a lively little town here at the edge of Amazonia, but thankfully for birders and other nature enthusiasts, Inírida provides a wonderful base for exploring the surrounding forest, which bursts with birds. Long neglected, away from the urban centers and tourism hubs elsewhere in Colombia, Inírida offers the nearest edge of the western Amazon basin. RBL Colombia - Inírida & Llanos Extension Itinerary 2 Based at this comfortable and richly biodiverse outpost, we spend six nights in Inirida at the same hotel, and then have only short commutes from it to the birding sites. And these sites host many scarce, rare and seldom-seen specialties. Formerly known as Puerto Inírida, the town was renamed simply Inírida in 1974, and today serves as the departmental capital. Also a key spot for fisherman in pursuit of peacock bass, it is increasingly popular among tourists seeking wildlife or hoping to behold the magnificent Cerros de Mavecure. About a 90 minute boat-ride south of town, these three black domed monolithic mountains rise from the edge of the Guianan Shield, casting a heavenly shadow over the steamy tropical forest that surrounds them. The highest peak at 2336 feet above sea level, is named Pajarito, the “little bird”. Inírida’s existence is one of convergence. Perched at the edge of the Guianan Shield, with a crazy confluence of rivers and recognized as one of the most important river systems in the world, it is a haven for Amazonian birds and even some more associated with the endless plains of the Llanos of Orinoquia. For visiting birders it provides a great base to search for scarce Amazonian species, unique white sand forest specialists and some really range-restricted birds too. This is surely the best place in the world to see the little-known Orinoco Softtail, and in 2017 a Thamnophilus antshrike was discovered here that may be a new species. It is a great place for macaws and for jacamars, with about 5 species of each on offer, and specials like Black Bushbird, Black Manakin, Pale-bellied Mourner, and White-naped Seedeater are all good possibilities. When chance favors, visitors sometimes see what is surely the strangest of the Cotinga family, the odd Capuchinbird, while Amazon River Dolphins and giant otters delight many visitors as well. Many highlights and scintillating birds await in Colombia’s Wild East. A place that was long known for illegal mining, it is also home to a number of indigenous groups, and now hosts a burgeoning tourism industry. Our Llanos extension gives us the opportunity to explore the little visited eastern plains of Colombia where we will search for several range restricted species including Pale-headed Jacamar, White- bearded Flycatcher and Orinoco Goose. We also hope to take in a whole plethora of waterbirds including the stately Jabiru, charismatic Sunbittern and ungainly Horned Screamers. We will bird in the open seasonally flooded grasslands and gallery forest of the Llanos and undertake jeep, tractor-pulled and boat safaris with nocturnal excursions possible as well. This is a highly enjoyable addition to several of our Colombia Tours. THE TOUR AT A GLANCE… INIRIDA Day 1 Arrival in Bogotá Day 2 Fly to Inírida; afternoon birding Day 3 Sabanitas area Day 4 Matraca & La Rompida Day 5 Cano Vitina & The Cerros de Mavecure Day 6 Pajuil Trail & Rio Inírida Day 7 Exploring the Mighty Orinoco Day 8 Return flight to Bogotá and depart, or begin Llanos Extension RBL Colombia - Inírida & Llanos Extension Itinerary 3 LLANOS EXTENSION Day 1 Arrival in Bogota Day 2 Flights to Yopal; transfer to Hato La Aurora, birding en route Day 3 Hato La Aurora Day 4 Cascabel and environs Day 5 Yopal to Bogota TOUR MAP… RBL Colombia - Inírida & Llanos Extension Itinerary 4 Inirida – The Amazon’s Wild West Day 1: Arrival into Bogotá. Upon arriving in the city of Bogotá, you will be transferred to a comfortable hotel in the city. Here you will be met for a welcome dinner by your tour leader with time to talk through some of the exciting adventures to come, including details about the flight tomorrow to Inírida. Day 2: Flight to Inírida, afternoon birding. Our morning flight into Inírida is under two hours in duration. After arrival we will get settled into our hotel, and then head out into the field for some Large-billed Terns by Markus Lilje afternoon birding at one of the nearby hotspots. Some of the first birds we encounter often include common species such as Large-billed Tern, Swallow-winged Puffbird, Cobalt-winged Parakeets, and Yellow-headed Caracara. When the sun gets lower, we’ll search for Spotted Puffbird and Black Manakin, and then as dusk settles around us, we’ll watch the Orange-winged Parrots, and the Scarlet and the Red-and-Green Macaws as they head for roost spots, and we’ll hope to snag sightings of Least Nighthawk too. After check-in today we can settle in for the week, as we will spend all our nights at the same hotel until we return to Bogota on Day 8. Day 3: Birding the Sabanitas area. Perhaps the most species-rich hotspot of the trip, combining rural roadside birding with white sand savanna and white sand forest birding, Sabanitas provides a big bunch of birds, right out of the gate. Sabanitas is an indigenous community that welcomes birders to enjoy their land, and some days here when the weather is suitable, we may top 100 species. One of our big targets here is the odd and unpredictable Capuchinbird. A crow-sized, crazy-looking cotinga, with a bald head and orange-brown plumage, they issue out incredibly loud somewhat cow-like sounds. We’ll hope to hear them, as the sound is remarkable, and keep fingers and toes crossed that we might even see one, but along the way there are plenty of other birds to keep us busy. Out in the savanna Southern Rough- winged Swallows and Short-tailed Swifts whizz around, while macaws may be seen coming and going. The meadow area sometimes has Plumbeous Euphonia, Cherrie’s Antwren, Yellow-green Grosbeak or even Pale-bellied Mourner. Once in the woods, we’ll hope for Yellow- crowned Manakin and Pompadour Cotinga, as the Screaming Pihas Bronzy Jacamars by George L. Armistead RBL Colombia - Inírida & Llanos Extension Itinerary 5 make their exclamatory cries. Lunch will be out in the field today, and we’ll return to the hotel before dinner. Day 4: Matraca & La Rompida. This morning’s outing is to Matraca, one of the best stretches of várzea forest we’ll see here during our visit. After a short 5-minute canoe ride we will spend our morning on foot walking a lovely trail in primary forest. Here we have a chance for Orinoco Softtail and Black Bushbird, and a myriad of other great birds including, Green-tailed Jacamar, Black-fronted Nunbird, Gilded Barbet, Várzea Schiffornis, Cream- colored Woodpecker, and five or so species of antshrikes. Black Bushbird by George L. Armistead After lunch we’ll get back on the boat and head north on the Rio Inírida until it empties into the even bigger Rio Guaviare, which form the border between the department of Guainía, where all our birding has been to this point, and the department of Vichada where we seek out a few new birds. We’ll make land on a white sand beach and keep our eyes open for waders like Collared Plover, Pied Lapwing and Buff-breasted Sandpiper, but our big target here is back in shrub woodlands a little higher up off the riverbank. In 2017 an antshrike in the genus Thamnophilus was discovered here and it is unclear whether or not it might be a new species. The curious antshrike resembles the Chestnut-backed Antshrike in both voice and appearance, but that species is not known from anywhere nearby, found really only on the other side of the Amazon River, hundreds of kilometers away in Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil. The antshrike here appears darker overall, but while we await genetic analysis and further study, the fascinating mystery continues to make us all wonder. Regardless, this is a bird we want to try and see, and along the way we could well pick up other nice birds like Sand-colored Nighthawk and Black-capped Donacobius. We’ll see what the weather looks like and either plan a picnic dinner tonight on the beach, or return to the hotel to eat before retiring for the night. Day 5: Cano Vitina & The Cerros de Mavecure. With two main sites on the docket today we’ll check the weather and determine the best order of operations, but the plan will be to do a couple hours of birding in white sand forest near town, and also a longer outing to the magnificent Cerros de Mavecure. White sand birds we might search for include the sneaky and very range-restricted Yapacana Antbird as well as the big-billed White-naped Seedeater. A 90 minute boat-ride downriver, we will visit the remarkable Cerros de Mavecure, and see the black domes, and enjoy the scenery and birds ‘Mystery’ Antshrike by George L. Armistead RBL Colombia - Inírida & Llanos Extension Itinerary 6 around them.