Paul Matson's Birding Blog: Colombia (PART I) February/March 2024

Colombia 19 February to 8th March - PART I

I arrived back in the UK from the Philippines on 5th February, with a head cold and a stomach bug picked up on the plane and thoughts of a having to go on another birding trip in less than 2 weeks, which was even longer than the exhausting Philippines trip had me cursing myself with 'what on earth were you thinking of '. However, a few days rest and a a quick sort out of photos from the Philippines trip had me concentrating on the Colombia field guide and trip itinerary and I was gradually moving from nervousness to excitement.

My last trip to South America was the rather eventful Venezuela excursion in 2016, with that country quickly closed for tourism immediately thereafter and my only other previous South American destination, Ecuador, also suffering the same fate, I had a little apprehension as to what Colombia would entail, knowing very little about the country itself. In fact my views were probably rather tainted, probably like many in the UK, from watching 3 series of Narcos on Netflix and a simplistic view that the country was overrun by drug barons with the remainder being peasants. Thankfully, these views couldn't have been further from the truth.

The trip itself would concentrate on the 3 Andean ridges which run through the middle of the country, helpfully referred to as the East, Central and Western Andes, and the valleys in between, with the final few days on the Caribbean coast and the Santa Marta mountains.

The first part of the tour (PART I) would take us from Bogota to the surrounding mountains in the Eastern Andes both to the North East in Boyaca and to the South and West before travelling through the Magdelena Valley to the Central Andes and Ibaque and then towards Manazales on to Montezuma to the edge of the Choco which is the Pacific side of the Western Andes, around via Medellin to Rio Claro in Antioquia returning to Bogota. The second part of the trip (PART II) we flew up to Santa Marta, a few couple of days on the coastal area out towards Riohacha then up to the Santa Marta mountains and the San Lorenzo reserve.

and so the adventure begins.....

Monday 19th February

A day of travelling. I flew with Iberia from Gatwick via Madrid to Bogota. A straight-forward connection in Madrid and the flight arrived slightly earlier than scheduled in Bogota, a quick move through immigration and the relief when my bag appeared quickly on the belt, then a second relief the taxi-man was there holding a sign up with my name on it. The hotel was about 45 minutes drive in a modern district in the city with a grid type road setup surrounded by a mixture of new-build apartments, offices and retail spaces. It was around 10pm when I arrived at the hotel, and without any sleep on the flight went straight to the room and out for the count.

Pre-Day 1 - Tuesday 20th February

This was the day the tour started, but it wasn't until late this afternoon we were scheduled to meet the rest of the group. The hotel wasn't situated in an area where it felt like you could just wander the streets so I largely rested until the group met around 5pm.There was a Great Thrush singing somewhere in the vicinity in the middle of the night, so almost my first bird of the trip, but birds would have to wait until tomorrow. Interestingly Bogota is positioned in the Eastern Andes ridge and is at 2,600m in altitude. Not that I was particularly affected in the hotel but I did ensure my water intake was sufficient to acclimatise.

There were 8 participants - 4 Brits (Peter, Nick, Andy and myself), 2 Australians (Giles and Nina), 1 Austrian (Sabine) and 1 Finnish (Riita - who I had been on a trip to Georgia and Armenia with in 2010 !). We also had, our excellent leader in Trevor, a Spanish-speaking Brit and his excellent assistant, Manuela, an English-speaking Colombian.

We were leaving the hotel at 4am the next day, so an early start was in order which we would get used to as we typically left the accommodation between 4 and 5am for the next 4 weeks.

The front of our city centre hotel - The Blue Suites.

Day 1 !! - Wednesday 21st February

At last, after more than 48 hours, some birds were on the agenda even through I've called this day 1 as it was the first birding day. !

At the appointed hour of 4am, we bundled ourselves into the very comfortable minibus with our driver Jiura (probably pronounced huee-rah, but we ended up calling him hero) and headed South out of Bogota and up to the Sumapaz National Park, which was at 3,700m, which was noticeable for both is near freezing temperature and depleted oxygen. The different sites we would visit both today and every day from here would focus around Colombian endemic species, but obviously many more alongside. I'd calculated that about 30% of the birds I would see would be new for me (given a little overlap with previous Ecuador and Venezuela visits).

We arrived just before sunrise in the Paramo and slowly wandered down to a marsh looking area where immediately we flushed 3 Noble Snipe and had further scope views of this target bird sat out on the marsh. With the excitement of our first Colombian bird being a key one we then added several more with Apolinar's Wren, several Boyaca Antpittas were bounding around on the ground, Andean Teal (merida form), Chestnut-winged Cinclodes and Greater Yellowlegs.

We walked slowly up the road to another area of Paramo overlooking the large reservoir. Before long we had one of our targets and probably the key bird to find in this area and our first hummingbird of the trip in the Green-bearded Helmecrest. A very smart looking bird which was quick !. I was going to have to sharpen up on my camera speed as I was starting to get a lot of tail-only shots of birds exiting the view. a little time was spent in this area where we also added Andean Tit-Spinetail, Tawny-rumped Tyrannulet and Glossy Flowerpiercer. The Reservoir held Andean Duck, Ruddy Duck and American Coot.

Our first field breakfast was excellent and the coffee was welcomed !

Marshy outlook at sunrise

Seeing our first birds of the trip/

Apolinar's Wren

Boyaca Antpitta

Green-bearded Helmetcrest

Andean Tit-Spinetail

Chestnut-winged Cinclodes

American Coot

The reservoir

Sumapaz NP

Our first field breakfast

Our very comfortable minibus

We drove further on towards a military checkpoint where the local soldiers seem to tolerate our presence whilst other vehicles were diligently checked over. We birded from the road overlooking more Paramo vegetation with open marshy fields. We had a group of Brown-bellied Swallows fly past and a calling Many-striped Canestero only gave a brief view. We were luckier with Rufous-browed Conebill, Red-rumped Bush Tyrant and Brown-backed Chat Tyrant. There were some Plumbeous Sierra Finches and Rufous-collared Sparrows in the fields near the military checkpoint and a Black-chested Buzzard Eagle soared overhead.

We had been listening out for Bogota Rail and had heard a couple of distant calls but none close enough to suggest we might get a view. The road was quite dusty and there was a considerable amount of traffic going past, so late morning we decided to slowly head back down towards Bogota, we would have to try for the rail in other places in the next couple of days.

Rufous-browed Conebill

Plumbeous Sierra Finch

Greater Yellowlegs

More Paramo

After another hour of travelling, having descended to a warmer valley, we stopped in a couple of scrubby areas, firstly finding a Silvery-throated Spinetail and then our first mini-flock of the trip seeing the Golden-fronted Whitestart (ornatus form with the yellow face), a Pearled Treerunner, Tyrian Metaltail, Pale-naped Brushfinch, Black-crested Warbler, Russet-crowned Warbler and Supercilliaried Hemispingus.

Golden-fronted Whitestart

Just after midday, we stopped for a sit-down lunch, which was well received. We were just South West of Bogota and ended up in Parque Natural Chicaque around 2.30pm for our first Hummingbird feeder experience. Our main target here was the endemic Golden-bellied Starfrontlet, although it was a pleasure just being able to watch 'hummers' go about their business and to have a longer session missing the birds with the camera lens, I'm amazed I ended up with a couple of ok pictures.

We ascended a steep bank to a small cleared area where a few feeders were positioned and waited. We would get used to the mainly red plastic feeders that were used, filled with a sugar-syrup solution that hummingbirds loved.

We had several hummingbird species to start. Lesser Violetear, both Gorgeted and White-bellied Woodstars, Tourmaline Sunangel, Collared Inca, Buff-tailed Coronet and Glowing Puffleg. Then a Long-tailed Sylph turned up although fairly briefly. We had no sign of the Golden-bellied Starfrontlet and after more than an hour we were having to think about how long we gave this as it was still a fairly long drive back to North West Bogota where our hotel was located. Then around 4pm the star bird appeared, gave good views then vanished again. We we all elated, the wait had been worthwhile. We started to descend the path and a flock was moving through which included Blackburnian Warbler, Capped Conebill, Masked Flowerpiercer, White-throated Tyrannulet, Blue-black Tanager and the very smart Grass Green Tanager.

We added a few common species on the way back through Bogota, such as Southern Lapwing, Bare-faced Ibis, Tropical Kingbird, Western Cattle Egret and Shiny Cowbird. We arrived back at the hotel just after sunset for a shower, dinner and a well deserved sleep, an excellent first day.

Lesser Violetear

Gorgeted Woodstar

White-bellied Woodstar

Tourmaline Sunangel

Golden-bellied Starfrontlet

Gorgeted Woodstar

Tourmaline Sunangel - the colours are only visible when the light catches a certain angle.

Glowing Puffleg

Blackburnian Warbler

Grass green Tanager

Hummingbird Feeders

back into Bogota looking to the Eastern mountains where we were heading tomorrow

Day 2 - Thursday 22nd February

Another 4am start and we headed out of Bogota to the North East and over the nearest Paramo ridge to a forest reserve at Bioandino on the edge of the Chingaza National Park. There were a few target species here one of which was the Flame-winged Parakeet. The forest itself was rather more open than we had imagined and the trails were largely through fields rather than forest. However, we arrived around sunrise and birded and had breakfast outside the bus at the same time. One of the first species we saw were 3 Black-billed Mountain Toucan and some Chestnut-collared Swifts flew over. We drove a little further up the road and having heard some of the Parakeets calling, we scanned one of the valleys but to no avail.

We saw a Hooded Mountain Tanager and a Golden-headed Quetzal before our local guide took us into a trail and soon we were looking at a Muisca Antpitta, which gave great views but didn't hang around. We had several more false alarms with the Parakeets, before moving to another forest trail where we were shown the fantastic looking Andean Potoo. A bird that is particularly hard to see in Colombia, this individual, on it's usual top of stump pose, was actually on a nest with a chick. Over the next couple of hours we had views of Purple-backed Thornbill and our first Tapaculo of the trip, a Pale-bellied Tapaculo. These species are small mouse like birds, typically black, that skulk around in dark places and don't like to be seen so it always feels like a bit of a conquest when you see them, even though they are not really much to look at !. Other than that we struggled to see much else and the forest had already quietened down. We had more sounds of Parakeets that remained unseen and we had to leave the place having drawn a blank on these birds.

First light in Bioandino

we birded from this road into the valleys

Mixed vegetation

The forest was a bit more open than expected

Muisca Antpitta

Eastern Meadowlark

Andean Potoo

After a short drive, just before midday, we had a productive stop on the road and birded a small patch of dense forest, with a few new birds being seen which included a Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant, and 3 new hummers including the endemic Blue-throated Starfrontlet, Coppery-bellied Puffleg and Longuemare's Sunangel also an Andean Guan and a White-banded Tyrannulet added to our growing list.

Longuemare's Sunangel

Blue-throated Starfrontlet

Rufous-breasted Chat Tyrant

White-banded Tyrannulet

Bromeliad / Orchid

Orchid

After a lunch stop we drove for about an hour downhill to a couple of Gravel pits near Guasca, the habitat certainly being different to the higher patchy forest we were in this morning. A couple of the pits were marshy and looked ideal for Rails and Crakes. A few Andean Teal, Bare-faced Ibis, Southern Lapwing, Cattle and Great Egrets were present and there were Torrent Tyrannulets on the edge of the marsh. A Common Gallinule was the first bird to creep out of the reedy edge but with a bit of patience we saw the Bogota Rail that we had been hoping for, to some relief that we had not missed this endemic, although to look at it was almost identical to a Water Rail. As we headed back on the track towards the road, a scan over one of the pits also added 2 Spot-Flanked Gallinules.

Marshy pits near Guasca

Andean Teal

Bare-faced Ibis

We then had a drive of over an hour to end the day with some hummingbird feeders at Observatoir de Colibries, arriving around 4.30pm after a rather bumpy farm track for a few km's, which happened to coincide with my turn at the back of the bus !. The small finca was certainly set up well for the hummingbirds and we had a joyful feast of action. In terms of new hummingbird species we saw the magnificent Sword-billed Hummingbird both Black and Green-tailed Trainbearers and a Great Sapphirewing and plenty of the species we had already seen in the last couple of days although it was still tricky to ID each species at speed.

Although the shear number and continuous activity on the feeders, we found it hard to tear ourselves away when the time came to leave around 5.30pm. My rather erratic ability with the camera was still not improving much. I was rather hampered by the fixed 500mm lens on the camera which meant I couldn't stand far enough away to get the birds in the frame !!!!. Luckily the drive back to our hotel was less than an hour as we were close to the East of the city.

The day ended with shower, dinner and the list for the day, which was another incredible day.

Blue-throated Starfrontlet

Sword-billed Hummingbird

Sword-billed Hummingbird, If your nose was longer than your body imagine how difficult it would be going around corners.

Longuemare's Sunangel

Black-tailed Trainbearer

Glowing Puffleg

Tyrian Metaltail

Green-tailed Trainbearer

Great Sapphirewing

White-bellied Woodstar

Day 3 - Friday 23rd February

Another 4am start, but this time we were leaving with our bags as we wouldn't return to Bogota other than for flights. Bogota has an area and population similar to that of London. We were slightly cocooned in our own world to experience much of the atmosphere of the city and we hadn't seen much outside our hotel and the roads in the evening as we re-entered during rush hour, so it was tricky to comment too much, but it certainly seemed a vibrant place, yes the traffic was busy but perhaps not aggressively so as in other countries and it had the feel of a place improving in prosperity rather than being run-down.

This morning we were heading West out of the city and then South West to the Magdalena Valley, moving away from the Eastern Andes range. Our first stop for the morning from 6.15am was an area of forest near Laguna de Pedro Palo. There were lots of new species to see in this area and our first target was the diminutive but colourful Turquoise Dacnis. From the bus we walked for 40 minutes directly to a fruiting tree the bird was known to favour, standing on a slope looking up at the very large tree, it was obviously attractive to a number of species, as soon as we arrived there was a lot of activity.

A number of species arrived a Red-headed Barbet, Golden-faced Tyrannulet, Rufous-naped Greenlet, Brown-capped Vireo, Slate-throated Whitestart, Black-and White Warbler and a very smart Cerulean Warbler, Swainson's Thrush, Summer Tanager, Golden-naped Tanager, Golden Tanager and Black-capped Tanager. A White-booted Racket-tail and an Andean Emerald were the hummers on offer. It was quite hard to keep track, but not before too long in the top canopy we found a smart looking male Turquoise Dacnis. It didn't stay long but we had sufficient, albeit not close, views were had by all. We had a second viewing about an hour or so later, but it remained elusive, but as the main target was in the bag we could relax a little. A Hook-billed Kite kindly perched fairly close for us.

We eventually tore ourselves away from this tree and continued birding along the trails in this forest adding more species as we went. A very smart looking White-throated Toucanet. A group of Montane Foliage Gleaners and an endemic Moustached Brushfinch along with the commoner White-naped Brushfinch as we encountered a descending fog which hampered the viewing a little but still managed to see quite well a pair of Stripe-breasted Spinetails, 3 Yellow-backed Orioles, an endemic Speckle-breasted Wren was lured out and a Grey-breasted Wren and Scale-crested Pygmy Tyrant were seen as well.

We had incredible views of a pair of Moustached Puffbirds and had been keeping half an eye out for the endemic Black Inca, although were told it was rarely seen in this site and we would not be visiting any other location where it was found. If it was here it remained unseen although we were checking the red tubular flowers it apparently favoured. As the fog lifted a little a small flock gave us Yellow-Olive Flatbill, Olivaceous Piculet, Acorn Woodpecker and Smoky Brown Woodpecker, Flame-faced Tanager, Metallic-Green Tanager, Plain Antvireo and Slaty-capped Flycatcher.

As we started to exit the forest areas a Black Phoebe, Lesser Goldfinch and finally a Yellow-faced Grassquit. It was late morning, after 11am, we had a very productive morning and hopped back in the bus and were offered an early lunch / brunch as we now would spend the rest of the day driving to Cajamarca. We stopped at a restaurant as we got back to the main road, which was decorated with hats, all local styles worn in different parts of Columbia. The brunch was a hearty affair eggs, chorizo and beans with fresh juice and the restaurant soon filled up as we left.

Golden-faced Tyrannulet

A bit tricky for pictures but this was the Turquoise Dacnis

Hook-billed Kite

The cloud had descended into the fog, decent views of the Stripe-breasted Spinetail rather than decent pictures

Montane Foliage Gleaner

Swainson's Thrush

White-throated Toucanet

Unfortunately not a Black Inca, just a Lesser Violetear

Scale-crested Pygmy Tyrant

Moustached Puffbird

Our leaders Trevor and Manuela

The 'hat' restaurant

They didn't appear to have a healthy option on the menu.

After our satisfying lunch it was setting in for the long drive to Cajamarca. It was 3.15 when we had a stop for an hour in the very hot and dry Magdalena Valley. A very different habitat to what we had seen in the last couple of days. So the birds we saw were typically new for the trip.

Starting with Spectacled Parrotlet and Orange-chinned Parakeets a Northern White-fringed Antwren and a Barred Antshrike were birds typical of this scrubby habitat. Although the White-bellied Antbird took a little more patience to get a view of.

A Fulvous Crowned Scrub-Tyrant was a good bird to find, although not much to look at, Streaked Saltator, Grey Pileated Finch and Black-faced Grassquit were also new birds. We tried for the Apical Flycatcher but had no luck and need to get on with the travelling and it was also a little too hot to be out for too long.

Scrubby arid habitat in the Magdelena Valley

Tricky to see White-bellied Antbird

Barred Antshrike

Fulvous Crowned Scrub Tyrant

A final quick stop on a very busy side road late in the day and we picked up a Velvet-fronted Euphonia

We were then on track to arrive at our hotel in Cajamarca around 6.30pm, until about 5km's from the town when we found the road had been closed. We were sat in a traffic queue for an unknown amount of time, which eventually turned out to be 1hr 45 mins. Eventually getting going and arriving at the hotel at 8.15pm, it could have been worse and we were still able to have a late dinner, although I was keen to get some rest as it was penned in for another 4am start in the morning.

Velvet-fronted Euphonia in poor light

Day 4 - Saturday 24th February

The reason for today's 4am start was to transfer into 4WD vehicles and head up the mountain to an isolated reserve called the Giles Fuertesi Reserve also known as the Indigo-winged Parrot Reserve. We picked up our local guide, Diego, on-route, and were in a small car park area before it got light at 6am, by chance, I was in the front vehicle of the 3 with Trevor and Andy and we managed to see a Swallow-tailed Nightjar on the way up along with a couple of Sickle-winged Guan.

The Fuertes's Parrot or Indigo-winged Parrot, is a critically endangered species with a population estimated to be c 250-300 individuals. Originally identified as a species in 1911, it was then 'lost' for 90 years until discovered in 2002 in a small pocket of fast disappearing cloud forest in Colombia. The reserve we were now in was purchased in 2007 the land covering c19,000 hectares and is thought to house c70% of the total population. The birds are not always easy to see.

We had a coffee near the vehicles and started our day list with a Grass Wren and Plain-coloured Seedeater a few flyover Scaly-naped Amazons one of the first birds to appear was a Chestnut-naped Antpitta.

We made our way on the trails to a clearing which overlooked a forest valley where the Parrots were known to fly from their roost for the day. a few more Scaly-naped Amazons and White-capped Parrots flew over initially and some Lacrimose Mountain Tanagers appeared along with a Masked Trogon.

After about an hour we had 5 Fuertes's Parrots fly across the valley but seemed to land hidden from view, we managed a couple more brief sightings before we located to another clearing where 2 or 3 birds were seen well feeding. We spent quite a while watching these astonishing birds, before they eventually moved on. There were also some hummingbird feeders in the locality where another Sword-billed Hummingbird, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Shining Sunbeam and Black-thighed Puffleg were watched. We walked further along the trail and stopped where the trail was wide and straight, having our field breakfast and watching another Chestnut-naped Antpitta.

The trail took us out towards a more open area, with a Slaty Brushfinch being the only addition until we reached a viewpoint, where a Red-crested Cotinga was a good find on the far ridge. A Plain-breasted Hawk flew over and we could hear the call of an Andean Pygmy Owl but it was in the valley below us. After a quite a bit of searching we eventually found the Andean Pygmy Owl high in a tree and had very good scope views. We made our way back to the vehicles and drove lower down to a different part of the forest for some roadside birding.

View at dawn

To prove it was cold, there was a frost on the ground

Heading out on the trails

The viewpoint overlooking the forest valley

Fuertes's Parrot

worthy of more pictures for a rare bird

Sword-billed Hummingbird

Buff-winged Starfrontlet

Shining Sunbeam

Chestnut-naped Antpitta

Plain-breasted Hawk

Andean Pygmy Owl

Masked Trogon

Crimson Mantled Woodpecker

We birded along the road until stopping for lunch next to the vehicles, we had a few good birds along the way which included Black-Collared Jay, a difficult to see Rufous Spinetail, and an equally tricky Rufous-headed Pygmy Tyrant. We did get very lucky with a Bicolored Antpitta which shot across the path a couple of times.

following our roadside lunch break we continued down the track for a couple of hours seeing a Montane Woodcreeper, Streaked Tuftedcheek more Crimson-mantled Woodpeckers a Smoke-coloured Pewee, and Cinnamon Flycatcher, We couldn't get a calling Dusky Piha to respond but we manged exceptional views of the rarer Masked Saltator and a more Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrants were a highlight of a small bird flock.

It was after 4pm when we drove down to the second main event of the day, to try and see the rare and vulnerable Yellow-eared Parrot. This is another Parrot which until 1999 was though to be extinct until a population was discovered. It needs the Wax Palms to breed and conservation efforts to save the habitat have helped this Parrot to increase the population. Diego, our local guide, has responsibility for the reserve and the conservation of these Parrots and he lead us to an area in the wax palms to wait. We saw a Black-billed Mountain Toucan on the walk down and plenty of Scaly-naped Amazons and White-capped Parrots flying over. We also added 2 new Parrot species, Bronze-winged Parrot and Golden-plumed Parrakeet before the main event at nearly 5pm, when several groups of Yellow-Eared Parrots flew noisily into the Palms to roost. It was spectacular and we had fantastic views. Another great moment to end a very successful day. We drove back into town for a dinner list and sleep.

Lunch was taken by the vehicles

Forest view, near where we saw the Masked Saltator

Montane Woodcreeper

Cinnamon Flycatcher

Masked Saltator

Crimson-mantled Woodpecker

Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant

The National Park sign - we did not see any Spectacled Bears

The area of natural Palms, the Parrots like so much.

Black-billed Mountain Toucan

Yellow-eared Parrot

Yellow-eared Parrots

Day 5 - Sunday 25th February

We left the hotel at 5am. It was quiet in Cajamarca, although had only been so for the last hour. Like many towns in rural Colombia, the weekend tends to be a long party where we were told that young men come into town from the rural surrounds, to drink, go to the brothels and go to church ! - presumably in that order. The noise through the night was fairly constant.

Outside our hotel at 5am.. all was quiet.

We were back in the bus this morning and headed half way up yesterdays road where we picked up Diego for some roadside birding just as it got light. our target here was the endemic Yellow-headed Brushfinch, which we found calling but had to walk further up the road before we had a responsive bird and we had good views of the Yellow-headed Brushfinch There was a small flock in the area and we also saw another endemic in a Colombian Chachalaca. The flock held Tropical Parula, Yellow-bellied Elania, Acadian Flycatcher, Slaty-capped Flycatcher, Black-billed Thrush, Blackburnian Warbler, Slate-throated Whitestart and Black-headed Tanager.

We then drove a short distance to Diego's house where his parents had prepared breakfast for us but the garden was alive with hummingbirds and other specialities at the feeding stations. A very active couple of hours were spent taking in the action. Highlights were more endemics with Tolima Blossomcrown and Tolima Dove the specialities but also Indigo-capped Hummingbird.

Green Hermit, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, White-vented Plumleteer were all new birds for the trip as were Thick-billed Euphonia, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Crimson-backed Tanager, Saffron Finch, Rusty Flowerpiercer and Pale-breasted Thrush.

Within the Coffee plantation we tried another area for a White-tipped Sicklebill, which didn't arrive at it's favoured flowers and then we had to say our goodbyes to Diego and his family who had been wonderful hosts.

Colombian Chachalaca

Yellow-headed Brushfinch

Yellow-headed Brushfinch

Tropical Parula

Acadian Flycatcher

Montane Foliage-gleaner

Indigo-capped Hummingbird

Saffron Finches

Streaked Flycatcher

Acorn Woodpecker

Crimson-backed Tanager

Inca Jay

Pale-breasted Thrush

Tolima Dove

Tolima Blossomcrown

Most of the driving in the area between here and Cajamarca in the last couple of days was in the dark, this morning though we were able to see the amazing murals on the houses as we drove through the small village of Anaime. It seems a big deal in many places in this part of Colombia to have these astonishing wall murals often reflecting the wildlife of the area, certainly creates an exciting spectacle.

We had a reasonably long journey to Otum Quimbaya and we stopped for a very good lunch at another themed restaurant where the local bean stew with Pork went down well.

We arrived in the village late afternoon, dumped our bags at the accommodation and then got into 3 more 4WD vehicles for the short jounrey into the Otum Quimbaya National Park, it had started to rain reasonably heavily on and off so we were slightly shower dodging. A stop at a bridge overlooking the river failed to yield either the Torrent Ducks or a Dipper only a Pied Water Tyrant was seen

The first part of the forest we walked through had a White-throated Daggerbill and a Plain Xenops, as we returned to the car we saw our first of the unusual Red-ruffed Fruitcrows, for which this reserve is probably the best place to watch them.

We moved a little further into the reserve in the vehicles then walked the trail in the late afternoon with some excellent views of a Collared Trogon, also adding Cauca Guan and a Variagated Bristle Tyrant and also seeing Venezualan Howler Monkeys, one of the few mammals we had seen on the trip.

We stayed until dark to try for Nightbirds and had success with a few flight views of Rufous-bellied Nighthawk although we blanked on Owls. We returned to the accommodation and had a late al-fresco meal with the list for the very full day.

At Diego's place for breakfast with hummingbird feeders and the garden

Coffee Beans

With Diego and his family

Murals as we drove through Anaime

Lunch

Fresh juice mixes were always on the menu

outside accommodation in Otun Quimbaya

Collared Trogon

Red-ruffed Fruitcrow

Day 6 - Monday 26th February

We left the accommodation, this morning at 4.30am and headed back up to the Otun Quimbaya NP, we went as far as the road goes to El Cedral, arriving at 5.30am and waiting for dawn to arrive. The main target here was a Hooded Antpitta, but a calling bird never revealed itself. A breakfast by the cars and we spent the rest of the morning birding along the road.

Several Sickle-Winged Guans were visible and to start with we saw flyover Wattled Guan, these birds are sometimes difficult to see but later in the morning we had an amazing view of a bird foraging next to the road. Hummers were added in Tawny-bellied Hermit and Bronzy Inca.

and in a couple of bird flocks we added Spotted Barbtail, Three-striped Warbler, Red-faced Spinetail, Lineated Foliage Gleaner, Marble-faced Bristle Tyrant, Rufous-breasted Flycatcher and Chestnut-capped Brushfinch. We also had views of Blue-winged Mountain Tanager and a Beryl-spangled Tanager

As the morning moved on we started to head back down the road in the cars stopping every now and again we managed to see a Slaty Antwren then had good views of a smart looking Crested Ant Tanager and a Black-banded Woodpecker.

After a field lunch, the only bird we added was a Streak-capped Treehunter before rain started, we had to head back to the accommodation and depart in the bus for Manizales, so on the way down we had one more try in the rain at the river crossing and luckily we had good views of both White-capped Dipper and a pair of Torrent Ducks.

We arrived back at the Kumunday Hotel to transfer to our bus and drive to Manizales to very nice hotel, the Estralar, with great restaurant.

Wattled Guan

Crested Ant Tanager

Cauca Guan

White-capped Dipper

Hotel Estralar

Day 7 - Tuesday 27th February

Another early start at 4.15am saw us drive towards the Rio Blanco reserve, which we couldn't enter until 6am, so we stopped a short distance from the park entrance and tried for nightbirds outside the gates, with astonishing success, with 2 White-throated Screech Owls and astonishing view of a male Lyre-tailed Nightjar, with a display in front of us shaking that tail, it was really quite incredible and made a few of the group quite emotional.

Once in the reserve we arrived at a lodge and observed more hummingbird feeders whilst waiting for breakfast, the feeders became very busy throughout the day and we had great views of Speckled Hummingbird, Long-tailed Sylph, Bronzy Inca, Tourmaline Sunangel, Collared Inca and Sword-billed Hummingbird,.

The main event was then to try for 4 Antpittas. The Bi-colored Antpitta didn't show, so it was a good job we saw this species the other day, but we did have exceptional viewing of Chestnut-Crowned Antpitta, Slaty Crowned Antpitta and Brown-banded Antpitta these were accompanied by Green and Black Fruiteaters and Grey-browed Brushfinches at the feeding stations.

In between the Antpitta showings we birded the forest areas in the reserve, where a Blackish Tapaculo showed well and we added White-tailed Tyrannulet, Flavescent Flycatcher, both Barred and White-winged Becards a bright rufous Flammulated Treehunter, Sepia-brown Wren and both Grey-hooded Bush Tanager and Blue-winged Mountain Tanager. A Common Potoo roosting on a high stump was seen just before we started quickly back to the bus after threatening thunder claps and a small drenching.

Later in the afternoon we stopped a few times along the road without yielding much, but it was at our last stop we added some surprise Red-headed Tanagers and a Yellow-vented Woodpecker to end a superbly productive day.

We returned to the hotel in Manazales for a very nice dinner.

Collared Inca

Log-tailed Sylph

Long-tailed Slyph

Long-tailed Sylph

Speckled Hummingbird

Chestnut-crowned Antpitta

Slaty-crowned Antpitta

Brown-banded Antpitta

Green and Black Fruiteater

West Mountain Coati

Montane Woodcreeper

Common Potoo

Red-headed Tanager

The lodge for breakfast and lunch and hummingbirds

Enticing Antpittas to the party

The rare Parrots in Colombia (they're not all blue)

View back to Manizales

Day 8 - Wednesday 28th February

This morning we were again up early and heading to the highest elevation we would reach in the Andes at the start of the Los Nevados National Park.

En-eoute to this we had a dawn appointment with another endemic Parrot, or so we hoped. It was below zero when we arrived at the stakeout and it was still dark so we had our breakfast and moved around trying to keep warm. A Band-tailed Nightjar entertained us and a couple of dark shapes in the road turned into Stout-billed Cinclodes when it was just light enough to see them. With pure clear skies we had great views of a smoking Volcano and before long we heard the chattering of the Parrots before they started to emerge from holes on the cliff face where they had roosted to protect from the high altitude freezing temperatures. We had great views of 8 Rufous-fronted Parakeets before in unison they departed the cliffs.

We moved towards the entrance to the national park, walking up a track to 4,200m with the sun now up. The climb was slow, partly due to the altitude but also as we were seeing some birds with great views of Buffy Helmetcrest, with several males sporting their purple beards. We also added Tawny Antpitta, Viridian Metaltail, White-chinned Thistletail, Andean Tit-Spinetail, Grass Wren, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrants, Plain coloured and Paramo Seedeaters and Blue and White Swallows. Further along the road we had great views of a Many-striped Canestero.

We descended further and managed and were trying very hard to find a Paramo Tapaculo, eventually we had a calling bird that responded and managed reasonable views of this skulker. As we walked back towards the bus Trevor called out that an Ocellated Tapaculo was calling, although a bit distantly. Notoriously difficult to see we were surprised when the call started to get closer. There was the thickest of thickets in front of us and the bird was obviously in there somewhere and after a bit of searching I managed to see at least some of the bird on a perch giving its call. It obligingly stayed put, to enable the scope to be lined up and everyone had a view, particularly to the delight of Nick who had this on his most-wanted list.

We went to lunch at a hotel which was on some thermal Springs, but it also had hummingbird feeders where we added Golden-breasted Puffleg and a brief vied of a very smart male Rainbow-bearded Thornbill. The feeders were quite active with Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager, Hooded Mountain Tanager and a Pale-naped Brushfinch.

After a longish lunch break, we headed downhill birding along the roadside until very late afternoon, we saw more Rainbow-bearded Thornbills, Lacrimose Mountain Tanager and a small flock held Golden-fronted Whitestarts, Masked and Black Flowerpiercers. A stop at a large lake held Andean Teal and Andean Duck but also Andean Lapwing.

Another incredible day and back to the hotel for another good dinner, with the only slight damper on proceedings when it was discovered that not everyone had worked out this was a leap year and tomorrow was not the 1st March !!!!, which meant that our leaders were busy in the evening trying to re-jig our itinerary as the planned and important visit to Haceinda del Bosque would not be possible tomorrow morning.

Volcano steam in the distance

Spectacular views as the sun was rising

It was still freezing

Rufous-fronted Parakeets

Scenery was amazing

As we slowly ascended

National Park entrance at 4,138m

Buffy Helmetcrest

Tawny Antpitta

White-chinned Thistletail

Many-striped Canestero

Paramo Habitat

High points

A hiding Ocellated Tapaculo

Thermal Springs map

Our lunch with thermal Springs - the sulphur smells didn't go well with the salad

Rainbow-bearded Thornbill (male)

Rainbow-bearded Thornbill (f)

Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager

Shining Sunbeam

Golden-breasted Puffleg

Hooded Mountain Tanager

Andean Lapwing

Stout-billed Cinclodes

Day 9 - Thursday 29th February

Today was a day we didn't really have. Anyway, between Trevor and Manuela a plan had been hatched which effectively replaced this mornings previous plans with a diversion to the Cauca Valley and we would return to Hacienda del Bosque in a few days instead of more birding in Jardin.

We arrived at breakfast time in a dry area of scattered scrub in an sugar cane agricultural area near to the Cauca River, with temperatures much higher than the high altitude we had experienced in the last few days. Also with the change in altitude and habitat we quickly added some new birds including a very vocal Dwarf Cuckoo and some commoner lowland species such as Striped Cuckoo, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Blue-headed Parrot and Yellow-crowned Amazons, Scarlet-fronted Parakeet, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Thick-billed Seedfinch, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Rufous-tiled Hummingbird, Yellow Oriole, Vermillion Flycatcher and Bar-crested Antshrikes. We were hoping to find the localised Apical Flycatcher but had no luck. A drive towards what looked like a promising wetland area next to the Cauca river and indeed had found some Cocoi Herons and Black-crowned Night Herons with a flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks but were promptly told the area was private and had to leave before we could investigate further. We tried another road with some suitable scrub but the only birds were a small flock of the introduced Tricolored Munias.

The decision was made to head slowly out of the Cauca valley. Demands for coffee eventually found a roadside cafe that was open with friendly locals who made good but strong coffee.

A couple of stops in the afternoon worked out well, looking into the trees and scrub from the road firstly added Greyish Piculet, Golden-crowned Warbler, Chivi Vireo, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Flame-rumped Tanager, Guira Tanager and Golden Tanager.

We stopped for some lunch at a very local al fresco roadside cafe on the apex of the road, with a very friendly pig . Before returning to a new lodge with success in adding a Parker's Antbird, Tatama Tapaculo and a Greenish Puffleg at some feeders, we tried a stakeout for the very elusive Multi-coloured Tanager, but nothing of note was coming to the fruiting trees.

Before we ended up in the town of Pueblo Rico, we stopped at an Orependola tree where there was a colony of Chestnut-headed Orependolas and finally arrived in Pueblo Rica after 6pm where we stayed stayed on the main square, and had a fish dinner in a restaurant next door which was called the 'Bangsia' and had bird paintings on the walls of a Golden-ringed Tanager - or the Bangsia, which we would be appropriately looking for tomorrow.

Dwarf Cuckoo

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Spot-breasted Woodpeckers

Yellow-crowned Amazons

Spectacled Parrotlet

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Yellow-faced Grassquit

Golden-crowned Warbler

Canada Warbler

Guira Tanager

Blackburnian Warbler

Green Honeycreeper

Beryl Spangled Tanager

Our welcomed morning Coffee Stop

Lunchtime Roadhouse !

Digger the Pig joined us for lunch ..... but was not lunch

The Orependola Tree

Hotel rom view over square in Pueblo Rica

A cold beer after a hard days birding is always welcome

.. and a fish dinner was pretty decent

Day 10 - Friday 1st March

We were are before 4.30 having loaded our bags into 4WD vehicles for the trip up to the Montezuma lodge in the Tatama National Park. After a couple of hours, the road ended at a high point near a military checkpoint, having dropped our bags at the Lodge on the way through. It was only just getting light but our biggest challenge was fog, which was persistent and never really cleared in the high elevations, but we had a field breakfast next to some hummingbird feeders where a Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer was the first endemic we found. We also had very close views of a pair of Tanager Finches. Also at the feeders were Violet-tailed Sylph, Velvet Purple Coronet, Rufous-gaped Hillstar and Dusky Cholorospingus.

We headed down the road on foot having to battle with the mist, but adding some important birds as we went including Munchique Wood Wrens, the Golden-ringed Tanager that had top billing. We had views of both Hooded Antpitta and Yellow-breasted Antpitta which were both well appreciated and Orange-breaasted Fruiteaters included on on a close . Star-chested Treerunner, Streaked Tuftedcheek, a Narino Tapaculo took a little bit of work before it gave itself up, Yellow-bellied Chat-Tyrant, Rufous-browed TyrannuletYellow-vented Woodpecker, Handsome Flycatcher, Black-chinned Mountain Tanager and Greenish Puffleg were some of the late morning additions. We had a field lunch around some feeders but also in the rain, where we relocated to below the lodge where we were staying and carried on walking down the road after lunch.

The afternoon was also productive, finding Olivaceous Piha, Black-throated Tody-Tyrant, Black Solitaire, Purplish-mantled Tanager, Glistening Green Tanager, the endemic Black-and Gold Tanager, Rufous-throated Tanager and Saffron Crowned Tanager and also the wonderfully vibrant Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonia.

Later in the afternoon, just as we thought it might get quiet we had a flurry of late additions having found a couple of feeding flocks where the new species came thick and fast which included, Broad-billed Motmot, Buff-fronted Foliage Gleaner, Russet Antshrike, Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, Fulvous-breasted Flatbill, Rufous-breasted Tanager and a great result when we saw the sought-after Multi-coloured Tanager.

We arrived back at the lodge when it was almost dark but just enough time to watch some hummers a the feeders with White-necked Jacobin, Green Thorntail and Purple-throated Woodstar being additions to the list ended the birding for the day.

At the early morning feeders

with a field breakfast

Rufous-gaped Hillstar

Tourmaline Sunangel

Tanager Finch

This Great Thrush wanted a look at what was going on.

Walking down the trails in the mist

Pristine forest despite the mist.

Purplish-mantled Tanager

Yellow-bellied Chat-Tyrant

Hooded Antpitta

Munchique Wood Wren

Orange-breasted Fruiteater

Violet-tailed Sylph

Purplish-mantled Tanager

Rooms at the lodge

The room was quite comfortable

Olivaceous Piha

Black-throated Tody Tyrant

Golden-ringed Tanager

Yellow-vented Woodpecker

Day 11 - Saturday 2nd March

With the lodge located in the middle of the habitat we had the benefit a a small lie in, not leaving until 5.30am. We started the the day at slightly lower elevations. We worked our way slowly down spending time looking for new species and adding Toucan Barbet, Spotted Woodcreeper, Rufous-rumped Antwren, Pacific Tuftedcheek, Brown Inca and a reasonably obliging Ochre-breasted Antpitta. We also found some Mannakins, which were the first of the trip, with Golden-winged, Striolated and Club-winged Mannakin being seen. We then had some heavy rain which we tried to sit out for a while.

As well as more views of species we saw yesterday we still added more new birds through the day including Beautiful Jay, Sooty-headed Wren, Ornate Flycatcher, Choco Brushfinch and in the afternoon Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Masked Tityra, Cinnamon Becard and Choco Warbler.

We returned to the lodge with still daylight left and soon saw a Blackish Rail next to one of the small fishponds around the lodge and added more hummers around the feeders and gardens including Black-throated Mango, Western Emerald, Green-crowned Brilliant, Empress Brilliant and Crowned Woodnymph.

The evening ended with another fine meal.

Early morning views

Golden-ringed Tanager

Choco Brushfinch

White-necked Jacobin

White-booted Racket-tail

Blackish Rail

Day 12 - Sunday 3rd March

This morning we were travelling to the most Western point of the tour down the Western side of the West Andes ridge and to the edge of the Choco. A famous area of humid forest that bounds the West of Colombia to the Pacific and is largely out of bounds to visitors.

A 4.30am start saw us arrive at dawn to a village called Santa Cecilia in the Choco where we picked up the local guide and drove just outside the village to a field with a view over the valley. Our main target bird was a Bauda Oropendola a species which is confined to this part of Western Colombia. The bird is known to be difficult to connect with and chances are increased with the proximity to a breeding colony, which didn't help today as we were told that the nearest colony had moved to a far away ridge. However, before long we had several Bauda Oropendolas fly over and then a few perched well enough to get good scope views. A large flock of c1000 White-collared Swifts swarmed overhead with just 5 Lesser Swallow-tailed Swifts with them. A White-tailed Trogon also perched up as did a pair of Choco Toucans. In the closer vegetation we also saw Spot-crowned Barbet, Pacific Antwren, Black-chested Jay, Bay-breasted Warbler, Plain coloured Tanager, Carib Grackle, Variiable Seedeater, Plain-coloured Tanager and Golden Hooded Tanager.

With a good early morning haul we went back into Santa Cecelia for a breakfast at a roadside cafe before moving to another site where we walked alongside a river for a couple of hours, to start the birds were few, a Spotted Sandpiper along the river, a Thick-billed Euphonia, Buff-rumped Warbler and Rusty-margined Flycatcher. As we went further along and the vegetation thickened a little, we found a bird flock and they came thick and fast with Cinnamon Woodpecker, Fulvous-vented Euphonia, White-vented Euphonia Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Tawny Crested Tanager, Rufous-winged Tanager, Blue-necked Tanager and the best bird of the morning a very smart Blue-whiskered Tanager. A Rufous-tailed Jacamar was our first of the trip as was Moustached Antwren, Purple Honeycreeper, Mourning Warbler and Northern Waterthrush. The track we were walking on was quite busy with locals going about their business, many were from the local Embera race, the woman often sporting colourful clothes and tattooed faces, a stark reminder that this area was quite cut-off from the parts of Columbia we had already been to.

After returning to Sanata Cecelia for lunch at the same (and only) cafe, we headed back to the Montezuma lodge and stopped on the entrance road a couple of times where we tracked down a Lanceolated Monklet, Black-headed Tody Flycatcher, Yellow-collared Chlorophonia, Wire-crested Thorntail and a Choco Tapaculo.

We had a last night dining in the lodge before another early start in the morning.

The Santa Cecilia 'field'

Our first couple of hours pre-breakfast were spent here

White-tailed Trogon

White-collared Swifts

Bauda Oropendola

Choco Toucan

Distant ... Choco Woodpeckers

Santa Cecelia - breakfast and lunch venue

... with a view ?

Breakfast......

Moustached Antwren

Blue-whiskered Tanager

Cinnamon Becard

Olivaceous Piculet

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

Leafcutter Ants

Our leaders with local guide

Back to Montezuma

Montezuma cloudforest lodge in daylight

The fishponds around the lodge attracted Crab-eating Foxes

Moustached Puffbird

Lanceolated Monklet

Day 13 - Monday 4th March

We left the lodge at 4.15am to drive back to Peublo Rica to transfer back to the bus and then to drive back towards Manizales.

Just as we left the lodge we found a Tropical Screech Owl on the track which we manged good views of. It seemed unusual so far on the trip that night birds were not a huge feature and our night-time birding excursion had been fairly limited.

Tropical Screech Owl

After reloading our bus, we returned to the small reserve called Apia Birding Ecolodge, that we had briefly visited the other day, arriving around 5.45am. We walked to a clearing with the hope of seeing some Wood Quail. An Andean Motmot was making a lot of fuss with obviously a nest site nearby and a Chestnut Capped Brushfinch was appearing regularly near the feeders. Just as we thought it might be a no show out popped 3 Chestnut Wood Quails, giving really good views before melting back into the undergrowth.

We had breakfast at the very simple building on site, then walked down the steep track to the bus admiring a Red-faced Spinetail attending a large domed nest, and then sat back for the fairly long drive through to Manizales. Being a Monday we found most prospective lunch options were shut, but eventually found a roadside stop as we started to exit Manizales.

Even though we weren't booked into Hacienda del Bosque until tomorrow morning we went there anyway and spent some time at a feeding station where we added Mountain Velvetbreast, White-throated Quail Dove, Eared Dove, Barred Fruiteater, Grey-browed Brushfinch and eventually after being frustrated by distant calls we saw a distant perched Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan.

We battled our way back through the City centre of Manizales in rush hour as we had a city centre hotel for the night (This was the last minute alteration as a result of the leap year issue). The food was actually pretty good in the hotel, although everyone was quite tired after a long day.

Early morning at Apia Birding Ecolodge

Waiting for Wood Quails

Andean Motmot

Chestnut Wood Quail

Broad-winged Hawk

Red-faced Spinetail nest

Red-faced Spinetail

Chestnut-capped Brushfinch

Grey-browed Brushfinch

Masked Flowerpiercer

Rufous-crowned Sparrow

White-eared Quail Dove

Mountain Velvetbreast

Barred Fruiteater

Distant ... Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan

Day 14 - Tuesday 5th March

We left the hotel with bags loaded at 4.45am and headed back to Hacienda del Bosque arriving just when the gates had opened.

We had a quick look at the end of one of the trails before breakfast picking up Tyrannine Woodcreeper, Bar-bellied Woodpecker, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant and Crested Caracara.

The breakfast was ready for us and it was in the very nicely laid out dining area of a new building on site. Having had an introduction about the the Hacienda and the work they are doing to effectively rewild the area it was time for the Antpittas.

Firstly we had very close views of 3 Equatorial Antpittas and then probably the bird of the trip, after some patient waiting the stunning Crescent-faced Antpitta gave us a spectacular show. Other birds seen as we were watching the Antpittas included Mountain Elaenia, Mountain Wren, Barred Fruiteater and Sickle-winged Guan and further brief views of Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan.

We had to tear ourselves away from Hacienda del Bosque as we had a fairly long journey of 4.5 hours to Jardin climbing back into the Western Andes. We arrived late afternoon and walked to the edge of town where there was a lek of male Andean Cock-of the Rocks, an impossible looking bird with crazy antics as they carried out their displays to each other with not a female in sight ! The fruit feeders on site also enticed in some endemic Red-bellied Grackles along with Colombian Chachalacas.

We only had a short distance to our hotel on the edge of town ,the Hotel Balandu, for the evening where we were only one night again.

A very decent breakfast feels well deserved when you have a couple of birds in the bag.

Some new wall murals on the outside of the building

One of the valleys at Hacienda del Bosque

Slaty Brushfinch

Equatorial Antpitta

Equatorial Antpittas

Grey-browed Brushfinch

Mountain Wren

Yellow-bellied Chat-Tyrant

Crescent-faced Antpitta

White-bellied Woodstar

Andean Cock-of-the-Rock

Andean cock-of-the-Rock

Red-bellied Grackle

Day 15 - Wednesday 6th March

It was going to be a long day today with a lot to fit in, we left our accommodation in Jardin in 4WD vehicles to climb above Jardin for some morning birding, en-route we stopped near a Trout Farm and managed some scope views of a Rufous-banded Owl, which was a good start. We carried on upwards eventually arriving at a remote Finca at Mirador el Roble. Where we we given a fairly substantial breakfast. There were a few birds around the Finca including our first Yellow-bellied Siskins, along with Azara's Spinetail, some flyover Yellow-Eared Parrots, Acorn Woodpecker, Lacrimose Mountain Tanager, Beryl-spangled Tanager and Speckled Hummingbirds.

We were then taken to a forest area for more Antpitta action where we had very close views of both Chestnut-naped Antpitta and Chami Antpitta. and one returning to the vehicles a Rufous-crowned Tody Flycatcher and Mountain Cacique.

We had a fair amount of driving to cover so quickly returned to our hotel in Jardin and swapped back to the bus, in the hotel grounds we added Tropical Mockingbird and Giant Cowbird whilst waiting to board and we had a little time to look at the very picturesque town square while supplies for the journey were sourced and then we headed for the Cauca Valley. We managed a service station-type stop to pick up more snacks that we probably didn't need and it was mid-afternoon when we arrived in the hot and steamy Cauca Valley. It looked a fairly unpromising and busy road that we had decided to bird along with just roadside trees and scrub, but we were missing a couple of the endemic birds. Firstly we had some decent views of Antioquia Wren then continued down the road where a Cocoa Woodcreeper and Black-crowned Antshrike were visible. We had virtually given up on finding our main target, the Apical Flycatcher, and were walking back to the bus in defeat when one suddenly appeared without any calls in the trees overhanging the road so we ended up with great views of the Apical Flycatcher. With some relief and need for hydration we re-boarded the bus for another long drive through Medellin rush hour and eventually into the Magdelena Valley to the Ecohotel Los Colores in Rio Claro for 2 nights.

The breakfast Finca at El Roble

Acorn Woodpecker

Breakfast setting

Tourmaline Sunangel

Chestnut-naped Antpitta

Chami Antpitta

Rufous-crowned Tody Flycatcher

Mountain Cacique

You wouldn't want to be drawn against El Roble away

Transferring back to the bus

Jardin, central square

The most picturesque town we had seen

More wall murals as we drove through

Antioquia Wren

Apical Flycatcher

Day 16 - Thursday 7th March

A different set of birds were on offer today and a 5am start was considered a lie in, but we didn't have to travel far to a road/track known as the Aquitania Road and we were promptly birding at dawn.

To start we had many birds already on our lists such as Pale-breasted Thrush, Thick-billed Euphonia, Bay-breasted Warbler, Bannaquit, Blue-necked Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager and Crimson Backed Tanager. Our first new bird was a very vocal Band-backed Wren. We had to move further along the track before we saw a main target for the morning in a White-mantled Barbet. A more open area held Boat-billed Flycatchers and a Long-tailed Tyrant.

Other key species added were a White-bearded Mannakin, Southern Bentbill, Sooty Ant Tanager, Slate-coloured Grosbeak, Red-billed Scythebill, Black-bellied Wren, White-breasted Wood Wren a couple of Citron-throated Toucan, Dusky-faced Tanager and Swallow Tanagers. We eventually located a couple of Beautiful Woodpeckers calling which gave us the run around before we managed to see them.

A side diversion up a forest track produced a Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Yellow-backed Tanager and Gartered Trogon.

After lunch we then headed for one of the main events of the tour, a visit to the Oilbird caves at Rio Clara. I'd had a great Oilbird cave experience in Venezuela, so it would be interesting to compare.

We went in the middle of the day, rather than opting for a break so it was very hot. It was unclear what footwear to choose as the route was along a streambed and there was much talk about wet feet. To be safe, I hedged my bets and put on my wellies enduring screaming feet in the heat, and rather than saving wet feet it turned out to be a dry riverbed due to drought conditions with only a couple of small puddles as we entered the caves !

On the hike down, which was probably a couple of km, we crossed some open fields before entering the streambed which was in covered vegetation so was a little cooler. White-thighed Swallows were hawking the fields and there was a tree with Yellow-rumped Caciques and Chestnut-headed Oropendolas. As we entered the streambed, we found a White-whiskered Puffbird and a Chestnut-backed Antbird and further along, before we got to the caves, a Wing-barred Paprites, Rufous Motmot and a Velvety Manakin.

We clambered into the caves, which usefully had a small 'beach' area we could stand and see into the high cavern where a number of Oilbirds were being very vocal with their Donald Duck-like calls. We spent quite a bit of time just taking in the moment before exiting the caves. Unlike in Venezuela, there was no overpowering stench created by masses of Bats, Swiftlets and Cockroaches, by comparison it was quite serene.

On our hike back out of the caves and through the streambed to the fields was very productive for birding, firstly the endemic Antioquia Bristle-Tyrant followed by a Blue-Black Grosbeak and a Grey-Cheeked Nunlet. As we exited the forest areas we found a Barred Puffbird followed by a Red-breasted Meadowlark, Bi-coloured Wren, Lesser Kiskadee, Great Kiskadee, Greater Ani and White-tipped Dove. Having reached the bus uphill in the heat, the stragglers had found a One-coloroured Becard down the hill, a whilst not a particularly exciting bird, a final effort was made to at least tick this bird as a the final bird of the day.

Some open scrub areas on the Aquitania Road

Our morning birding track

Long-tailed Tyrant

White-breasted Wren

Slate-Coloured Grosbeak

Southern Bentbill

Beautiful Woodpecker

Walking towards the Streambed for the Oilbirds

Along the dry Streambed

Clambering into the caves

Edge of the caves

Our beach to view into the caves

Chestnut-backed Antbird

White-Whiskered Puffbird

Rufous Motmot

Grey-cheeked Nunlet

Oilbird

Antioquia Bristle-Tyrant

Lesser Kiskadee

Chestnut-headed Oropendola

White-tipped Dove

Day 17 - Friday 8th March.. end of PART I

Mostly a travel day as we were relocating to the Caribbean Coast which involved an internal flight, but still enough time for a little birding to start. We left the hotel at 4.30am to go to the main reserve area in Rio Clara for some Owling on the main entrance track, it took a few attempts but we had good views of a couple of Spectacled Owls before finding the tiny Choco Screech Owl.

Our breakfast place was next to the river, where we found a Fasciated Tiger Heron, along with a Green Kingfisher and Black Phoebe. We returned to the hotel to pack for our trip and internal flight, but whilst waiting we managed to see 3 Chestnut-fronted Macaws which was a bonus.

We set off for the long journey back to Bogota airport, again skirting the outer area of Medellin, this time passing the infamous estate of Pablo Escobar, Hacienda Napoles. Which is now a theme park, but there are still a couple of hundred Hippos loose in the area apparently.

We had a short stop not too far from Escobar's old domain on the Puerto Triunfo Road by some roadside fields which held a few birds including Pied Puffbird, Russet-throated Puffbird, Yellow-hooded Blackbird, Bay Wren, Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Brown-crested Flycatcher and White-headed Marsh Tyrant.

The rest of the day was then spent travelling to the airport, we said goodbye to our excellent driver, Juira, and connected with our internal flight to Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast, arriving in this holiday destination late on a Friday probably slowed our journey to the hotel, slightly exacerbated by some protest blockades, but eventually we found our hotel on the seafront of an area called Rodadero, for a fairly short night.