Trip to Cundinamarca area of Colombia -March 13-17

Green tailed Trainbearer, Observatorio de Colibries, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Andean Siskin (life bird #1700), La Calera, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022

Golden-fronted Redstart (Yellow-fronted), Junin, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Cinnamon Flycatcher, Monterredondo, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Fawn breasted Tanager, Finca Las Hermanas, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

I just returned from a short trip down to Colombia with the main targets being two range restricted warblers (Gray throated Warbler and Golden fronted Redstart). I arrived into Bogota on the afternoon of March 13 and then had three full days of birding before heading to Orlando to spend some time in Florida before finally coming home (more on the Florida trip in a later post). The original plan for this March was for us to make a return trip down to Rio Magnolia Lodge in Costa Rica but without both of us having recently had Covid we didn’t want to take the chance of her getting stuck down there if she tested positive. As I would not have to have a negative test to get back in the US after recovering from Covid in January I decided to plan a short out of the country trip and I settled on the area around Bogota. This was my second trip to Colombia with my first trip being back in February 2021 to the Santa Marta Mountains in the northeast corner of the country. I booked my guides (Oswaldo Cortes and Camilo Orjuela) though Bogota Birding (a company recommended to me by Breiner Tarazona who I had as a guide in the Santa Marta Mountains).  I have nothing but good things to say about the guides and the company and would highly recommend them if in the area.  After a very early flight out of Hartford with a connection in Miami I was scheduled to arrive in the early afternoon. There was a slight flight delay in Miami but not too bad and I arrived just a little late into Bogota. That’s when the real delays started! It took over an hour and a half to get through immigration and then another half hour waiting for the hotel shuttle and yet another half hour to get checked in at the hotel. By this point it was early evening so I had dinner and relaxed a bit before trying to get some sleep to prep for an early start on Monday.  A more detailed post on the warblers of the trip can be found at the following link: Warblers in Colombia -March 2022.

Gray throated Warbler, Laguna El Tabacal, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

Swainson's Thrush, Laguna El Tabacal, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

Moustached Puffbird, Laguna El Tabacal, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

Bare faced Ibis, Laguna El Tabacal, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

Black billed Thrush, Laguna El Tabacal, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

I met Oswaldo and the driver Sebastian at 5AM and we headed to Laguna El Tabacal with the main target there being Gray throated Warbler. After a long drive off to the northeast through terrible traffic in the city and a stop for breakfast we made it there around 7:30 and started walking first the road and then the trails. My first lifer of the day was a small group of Spectacled Parrotlets fly over and added another lifer with a flyover Bare faced Ibis. Once we got on the trails we had a single Gray throated Warbler fairly quickly but it disappeared after showing briefly. We then spent hours trying to get better photos of the warbler but never really got any great shots. Nonetheless I got some great looks at the warbler plus had a ten other life birds along the way. It was a great way to spend nearly six hours for sure. 

Golden fronted Redstart (Yellow fronted), Alto de Vino, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

Black crested Warbler, Alto de Vino, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

White sided Flowerpiercer, Alto de Vino, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

After lunch we headed up to Alto de Vino on our way back to Bogota. We walked along various parts of the road and turned up some fantastic looks at Golden fronted Redstarts (yellow fronted subspecies) as well as other birds. Another lifer was also present among a horde of other species with a calling Black billed Peppershrike. We ended birding for the day as thunderstorms moved in but not before getting great looks at some Black crested Warblers.  The end of the day saw us spending lots of time in the horrible Bogota traffic and I finally got back to the hotel around 6:45. It was a fantastic way to begin the trip with both target species seen and a total of 13 life birds for the day.  

Magpie Tanager, Finca Las Hermanas, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Blue necked Tanager, Finca Las Hermanas, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Scaled Piculet, Finca Las Hermanas, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Golden-crowned Warbler (Cabanis's), Finca Las Hermanas, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Mountains, Monterredondo, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Golden naped Tanager, Monterredondo, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Booted Racket Tail, Monterredondo, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Montane Foliage Gleaner, Monterredondo, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Cinnamon Flycatcher, Monterredondo, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Collared Inca, Monterredondo, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Giant Cowbird, Finca Las Hermanas, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Russet backed Oropendola, Finca Las Hermanas, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Tuesday was another early 5AM start out of Bogota heading off to the southeast with the final destination being Monterredondo. The guide for this day and the following day was Camilo Orjuela. Thankfully the traffic out of the city was a bit better than the previous day. We made it to the start of the road up the mountain a bit before 8AM and immediately had a life bird for the day with a small group of Magpie Tanagers. We then continued up the hill with various stops along the road, steadily gaining elevation and with it new species of birds. The big target bird for the day was the Cabanis’s subspecies of Golden crowned Warbler which is considered a full species by some and is then known as Cabanis’s Warbler. We had a pair fairly early on but then spent nearly an hour and a half trying to get a photo. We got brief but good looks of the warbler but this is another skulking species that spends all its time down low in thick tangles and just would not cooperate for photos. I eventually got a few partial body shots and a few blurry photos but that would have to suffice. The rest of the morning into the afternoon was spent moving steadily higher up. We ran into a few mixed flocks and added more species for the day. We eventually got into the clouds and although the visibility was poor, thankfully we had  no rain. The area is known as being the location where Cundinamarca Antpitta was first discovered in the early 1990’s. The entire range of the species is in the area where it was first discovered and is a Colombia endemic. The area became inaccessible for years as the location was a FARC controlled area so was a no go zone until a peace treaty was signed and the area opened back up.  A bit before three we headed back down the mountain and started the long drive back to Bogota with a few brief stops along the way back down. The traffic was bad but not as bad as Monday and we made it back to my hotel around 6:30. Another long but productive day. Eight life birds overall plus a few new subspecies.

Bogota Rail, Guasca wetland, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022

Southern Lapwing, Guasca wetland, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022

On my last full day in Colombia we headed out early once again. This time we headed east from the city.  On our way to the reserve we made a brief stop at a small wetland in the hopes of turning up a Bogota Rail. Neither of us had too much hope finding it in this area but we figured we would give it a try anyway. We not only heard it but saw it briefly as it came out of the vegetation briefly before disappearing. Bogota Rail is a rare endemic species and not one that is easy to find away from just a few known areas. 

Golden-fronted Redstart (Yellow-fronted), Junin, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022

Masked Trogon, Junin, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Black billed Mountain Toucan, Junin, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Ochre breasted Brushfinch, Junin, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022

As we climbed the mountains heading to the reserve the clouds grew thicker and the rain moved in with visibility down to just perhaps fifty feet at times. We were both worried we would be birding in these conditions all day. Thankfully when we arrived at the beginning of the road into the reserve the fog lifted and the visibility increased a lot. The first stop turned out to be a productive one with great looks at a number of species including Masked Trogon, Black billed Mountain Toucan, Ochre breasted Brushfinch and others.

Andean Teal, Reserva Bosque Guajira, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Bare faced Ibis, Reserva Bosque Guajira, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Andean Guan, Reserva Bosque Guajira, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Mountains at midday, Paramo Grande, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

We then worked out was steadily upward with multiple stops along the way where we turned up a few mixed flocks as well as notable sightings including a couple each of Yellow headed Caracara and Bare faced Ibis (both species flagged in eBird). On our last stop before heading down we found three Andean Guans and added another lifer for the day.  We made a brief stop midday in paramo and although the birding was slow the views were great as the clouds that limited visibility to just a few dozen feet had cleared.  

 Andean Siskin (life bird #1700), La Calera, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022

Silvery throated Spinetail, Observatorio de Colibries, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Green tailed Trainbearer, Observatorio de Colibries, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Green tailed Trainbearer, Observatorio de Colibries, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Tyrian Metaltail, Observatorio de Colibries, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Glowing Puffleg, Observatorio de Colibries, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Blue-throated Starfrontlet, Observatorio de Colibries, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Black tailed Trainbearer, Observatorio de Colibries, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Scarlet bellied Mountain Tanager, Observatorio de Colibries, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Black Flowerpiercer, Observatorio de Colibries, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

We finally made it down to just outside Bogota where we had a very late but delicious lunch. Once we were totally stuffed we made another stop before going back to the city. Our destination was a small hummingbird observatory. Even before we made it to the observatory the road in produced some great sightings including a lifer Rufous browed Conebill and great looks at a few Andean Siskins (species #1700 for me). The observatory was fantastic for hummingbirds with ten species including two new ones for me (Blue fronted Startfrontlet and Glowing Puffleg). The stop also produced some great non hummingbird highlights including a pair of Silvery throated Spinetails building a nest and a flyby Black backed Grosbeak (both lifers). The last day of the whirlwind tour ended a bit before seven at my hotel after another eventful trip through Bogota traffic. 

Overall for trip I found 194 species (plus multiple new subspecies) with 32 of them lifers including all my target species (and subspecies) for the trip bringing my world wide total up to 1706. My Colombia list now stands at 305 species after just two short trips there.  The guides were superb and I would highly recommend using Bogota Birding if planning a trip to the area.

Link to warblers on the trip here.

Southern Ecuador Part 1 (Nov 7-Nov 10)

Black crested Warbler, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Recently back from a trip down to Southern Ecuador with the main focus being a variety of warblers.  The target species for the trip included Gray and Gold Warbler, Citrine Warbler, Three banded Warbler, Masked Yellowthroat (two subspecies-Black lored Yellowthroat and Maranon Yellowthroat) plus the local subspecies of Olive crowned Yellowthroat (I had previously seen two other subspecies (Belding’s Yellowthroat and Chiriqui Yellowthroat) in Costa Rica. These various yellowthroat subspecies likely represent unique species and some taxonomic classification organizations already recognize them as such. I also wanted to try to find the gray bellied subspecies of the Russet crowned Warbler. In addition I hoped to get some photos of other warbler species I have seen in the tropics before before but did not get photographs including Three striped Warbler, Black crested Warbler and Spectacled Redstart.  As it is the tropics I also hoped to add a bunch of other species too.  This was certainly a bucket list trip and one I had been looking forward to making for a few years (the pandemic curtailed lots of travel plans but thankfully some areas are opened up now with obvious restrictions).  The trip began with a late afternoon flight down to Miami on Saturday so I could get a reasonably early flight down to Guayaquil. I was sweating the various legs of the trip as American Airlines had experienced multiple days of thousands of flights being cancelled just a few days before.  This would be my second trip to Ecuador with the my previous visit in November 2015 with posts from that trip attached (Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 and part 5).  More details on the warblers for the trip at the following link: southern Ecuador warblers.

Ecuadorian Ground Dove, Carretera Transversal Austral toll booth, Guayas, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

 Saffron Finch, Carretera Transversal Austral toll booth, Guayas, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

Horned Screamers, Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve, Guayas, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

Gray and Gold Warbler, Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve, Guayas, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

Striated Heron, Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve, Guayas, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

I arrived into Ecuador in the late afternoon of Sunday and met up with the guide (Charlie Vogt) from andean birding for the duration of the trip (he came highly recommended by the Griffiths who had used him as a guide on their trip to Ecuador). We stayed the night in Guayaquil and then headed out after breakfast on Monday morning for our first stop which was along the road near a toll booth in an area of savannah where among the many species in the area I picked up three life birds (Saffron Finch, Chestnut throated Seedeater and Ecuadorian Ground Dove). We then continued south along the coast down to the Marglares Churute Ecological Reserve where we made a several stops including a short hike in the forest that turned up the first target species of the trip with the sighting of a few Gray and Gold Warblers. They were not super cooperative for photos as they worked there way through the forest but I did eventually get some shots.  The hike also produced three more life birds with Pallid Dove, Jet Antbird and Amazilia Hummingbird. The other nearby stops added even more new species with Wattled Jacana, Straited Heron and Horned Screamer (which the guide picked up in a very distant tree). The various ponds in the area contained a wide variety of waders and some ducks as well as a number of raptors. After leaving that area we ran into an issue with our original planned route as a landslide had closed the road. We had to reroute which added at least an extra hour onto our already long day of driving as we headed toward our final destination for the day in Saraguro. 

Masked Yellowthroat (Black lored Yellowthroat), Uzhcurrumi, Azuay, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

Scrub Blackbird, Uzhcurrumi, Azuay, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

We made a few very brief stops to stretch our legs but most of the rest of the day was spent driving. Nonetheless we still managed to add a couple more new species including the second target bird of the trip.  A pull off in the hills in an area with dense scrub vegetation produced a Masked Yellowthroat of the Black lored subspecies. This bird is recognized as a distinct species by some bird classification authorities and is known as Black lored Yellowthroat. The other new species for the day was a quick drive by look at a Yellow rumped Cacique. We made a lunch stop in a small town and we were such celebrities they wanted photos of us for their Facebook page and gave us each small gifts…I assume not many gringos stop by! Monday produced 13 lifers including two of my targets. We then spent the night in Saraguro in a small hostel named Achik Wasi (which I’m fairly certain has the worlds hardest mattresses!). 

Chiguanco Thrush, Saraguro, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Jungle in the fog, Chinchipe, Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Black crested Warbler, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Spectacled Redstart, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Citrine Warbler (species #1600 for me), Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Bearded Guans, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

White banded Tyrannulet, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Buff breasted Mountain Tanager, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Pearled Treerunner, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Tuesday started early with a predawn breakfast before we headed out. We were not even out of the driveway when we spotted the first lifer of the day with a couple Chiguanco Thrushes. We made it to our first birding location in Reserva Huashapamba a little after six and despite the fog we had some good luck in turning up birds including some vocal Bearded Guans, a couple tapaculo species and multiple tanager species (list here). The real highlight however was finding four of my target species with Citrine Warbler being a lifer and my 1600th species ever. The other targets were Black crested Warbler, Russet crowned Warbler and Spectacled Whitestart. I got marginal photos of most of these as well as other species. We finished off the morning birding the area of Cerro Acanama which was also foggy and made photos a bit tough to get but did hold some higher elevation species.  We birded the road once again on the way back down the mountain and with the fog slightly lifted got better looks and some photos of various species.

Peruvian Pygmy Owl, Vilcabamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Long tailed Mockingbird, Vilcabamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Ash breasted Sierra Finch, Vilcabamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Paradise Tanager, Road north of Zumba, Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Russet backed Oropendola, Road north of Zumba, Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Green Jays (Inca Jay), Road north of Zumba, Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Maranon Thrush, Road south of Zumba, Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

White banded Swallow, Rio Isimanchi, Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

After a few hours of birding we started the long drive toward Zumba down on the Peruvian border in the Maranon Valley. We made a number of brief stops on the way with a few turning out to be quite productive with multiple lifers including distant looks at a couple Paradise Tanagers (one of the more spectacular tanagers in a family that contains loads of spectacular tanagers). It is a long way down a dirt road We stayed the night in a small hotel in the middle of Zumba where every noise expected in a small town went on all night from dogs and chickens to people to motorcycles to music. It was not a great place to try to get some sleep but I luckily come prepared to sleep through loud noises. I managed a very impressive 23 lifers on Tuesday.

Yellow tailed Oriole, El Chorro, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

Wedge tailed Grass Finch, Pucabamba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

Lesser Elaenia on nest, Pucabamba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

Blue gray Tanager (White edged), Pucabamba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

 Silver beaked Tanager, Pucabamba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

Black faced Tanagers, Pucabamba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

Lined Antshrike, Pucabamba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

Peru/Ecuador border, La Balza, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

Vermilion Flycatcher, La Balza, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

We were out the door early once again on Wednesday and with the whole day available we headed south birding along the road all the way to the Peruvian border. Although the morning started off rather cloudy with some fog, the sun eventually won out and it got hot by the time midday rolled around. We made several stops along the road as we worked our way toward the Peru border. Overall most stops were quite active and produced a number of notable sightings including Yellow tailed Oriole, Wedge tailed Grass Finch and Vermilion Flycatcher. Once we got to the border we learned it was still closed off due to the pandemic so our plans to have lunch in Peru got quickly changed. We did get to go out on the bridge after getting permission from the border guards and I added a few species to my Peru list. Without lunch available at the border we had to head back to Zumba for lunch. We took a midday break due to the heat before heading back out again around 1:30. 

Mountains, Road west of Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

Silvery Tanager, Road west of Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

Saffron crowned Tanager, Road west of Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

After a midday break we headed west out of town to some higher elevations and despite a lot of effort we failed to turn up the Maranon subspecies of Masked Yellowthroat but the day was very hot.  Although we did not the yellowthroat we did run across a couple mixed species flocks and got some good tanagers among the other species.  The scenery to the west of Zumba was quite impressive.