Colombia
Santa Marta area - Cuchillo San Lorenzo
The “Knife of San Lorenzo” is a small mountain ridge separated from the Santa Marta Mountains by a valley. It is a place where one can see nearly all the Santa Marta endemics, though probably not the Santa Marta Woodstar, Santa Marta Wren, or the Santa Marta Sabrewing, perhaps because the ridge is not sufficiently high. However, unlike the Santa Martas, this is a secure area.
Among the more common birds you may see are
Santa Marta Brush-finch,
White-lored Warbler,
Yellow-crowned Whitestart,
Rusty-headed Spinetail,
Santa Marta Mountain-tanager, and
Streak-capped Spinetail. and the Santa Marta Tapaculo.
The Tyrian Metaltail which is found here has a blue tail here and is sometimes considered as a separate species, the Santa Marta Metaltail. The same is true of the Paramo Seedeater which some call the Santa Marta Seedeater.
Somwhat less common is the
White-tailed Starfrontlet which occurs around the around the park headquarters. You will probably hear the
Santa Marta Antpitta though it is by no means easy to see. The
Santa Marta Parakeet is uncommon and erratic, the Santa Marta Warbler is present at some seasons of the year, the
Black-backed Thornbill is uncommon and occurs only in the wet season, and the
Santa Marta Bush-Tyrant is rare, indeed reports of this bird are quite possibly misidentifications of the much more common Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant.
The Blossomcrown, another endemic, should be looked for during the wet season about halfway between Minca and the Cuchillo headquarters.
Other birds include the White-tipped Quetzal , White-rumped Hawk, Black-fronted Wood-Quail, Golden-breasted Fruiteater, Grey-throated Warbler and Lined Quail-Dove.
You can find accommodation in the village of Minca, partway up the ridge. Here you might see
Rufous-capped Warblers, Swallow Tanagers, Coppery Emerald, Black-&-white Owl, Royal Flycatcher, Golden-winged Sparrow and, if you are very lucky, Rosy Thrush-Tanager.
You can also stay at the park headquarters at 2200 m but you must arrange this well in advance at the office of the "Ministerio de Medio Ambiente" in Santa Marta.
Salamanca National Park, eighty-five km west of Santa Marta, includes mangroves, tidal pools and desert scrub. Two endemics occur: Chestnut-winged Chachalaca and Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird. Other birds include Black-collard Hawk, Yellow-throated Caracara, Brown-throated Parakeet, Pied Puffbird, Red-rumped Woodpecker, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, and Bicolored Conebill.
The road leading toward the park, which passes through marshes and woodland, is also a prime birding area.
Tayrona National Park, in the dry forest and scrub of northern Colombia, has some very good birding for residents, and is also excellent for migrants. (If possible, avoid the holiday peak in December and early January.)
From Santa Marta, drive or take a bus to Riohacha, get off at the park entrance (2,5 US$ entrance fee). There is very good birding along the main road between the entrance and the park
headquarters at Cañaveral. If you arrive by bus and do not want to walk the road, there is a shuttle service from the entrance to Cañaveral. From Cañaveral it is a 40 minute walk on a white sand trail to Arecifes with good birding en route.
. There is another trail, good for birds, that goes to the last beach (a nudist beach). From this point there is also a good birding trail, primarily a horse trail, which goes to Pueblito. Blue-billed Curassows are a possibility along this trail.
During the dry season, wait in the evening near the tiny creeks, where the birds will come to drink. The best creeks are on the trail towards Pueblito and the creek halfway between Arecifes and Cañaveral..
It is possible to stay in the park,
at the campgrounds (N 11°18,38'; W 73°58,7') close to the beach you can hang a hammock (or rent one) between the palms or put up your tent. There are 4 campgro Pasto Area – La Planada and Rio Nambi National Reserves
La Planada cloud-forest reserve, at 1,800 meters altitude, has accommodation and trails. About 250 species have been seen here including White-faced Nunbird, Toucan Barbet, Orange-breasted Fruiteater, Beautiful Jay, and Scarlet-and-white Tanager. Arrangements for visiting should be made in advance with Reserva Natural la Planada, AA 1562, Pasto, Narino.
At 1,400 meters, Rio Nambi protects even more restricted-range species than La Planada. The bird list of about 150 includes the endemic Choco Vireo, discovered only in 1991. In addition the list includes Plumbeous Hawk, Plumbeous Forest-Falcon, Baudo Guan, Lanceolated Monklet, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Dark-backed Wood-quail, Rufous-brown Solitaire, Moss-backed, Gray-and-gold, Blue-whiskered, and Rufous-throated Tanagers, Toucan-Barbet, Beautiful Jay, and many more specialties.
Arrangements should be made in advance with FELCA (Foundation for the Ecology of Hummingbirds in Altaquer), The Secretary, FELCA, AA 3894, Pasto, Nariño, Colombia.
For more details see Wheatley, Where to Watch Birds in South America. Bogotá area – Choachi and Humedal La Florida
Near the village of Choachi the remnant forest and shrubs support some excellent hummingbirds. If you find a flowering agave watch for Great Sapphirewing (Pterophanes cyanopterus), Bronze-tailed Thornbill (Chalcostigma heteropogon), Black-tailed Trainbearer (Lesbia victoriae) and Tyrian Metaltail (Metallura tyrianthina). Other hummers in the area are Glowing Puffleg (Eriocnemis vestitus), Bearded Helmetcrest, Coppery-bellied Puffleg (Eriocnemis cupreoventris) and Golden-breasted Puffleg (Eriocnemis mosquera). In addition to hummingbirds Black-chested Mountain-tanager (Buthraupis eximia) can also be found here. as can Tawny-breasted Tinamou, White-throated Tyrannulet, Brown-backed Chat-tyrant, Great Thrush, seedeaters, and several more good birds.
From central Bogota one can take a minibus or a taxi to Choachi and get off at the paramo in Santa Ana.
Humedal La Florida, a tiny patch of wetland near the airport, is a convenient place to see birds such as Andean Duck (Oxyura (jamaicensis) ferruginea) and Masked Duck (O. dominica). In recent years the vegetation has covered the open water, making sighting ducks more difficult than in the past, but easier to see birds like Bogota Rail (Rallus semiplumbeus). Spot-flanked Gallinule (Gallinula melanops), Subtropical Doradito (Pseudocolopteryx acutipennis) (once) and Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrcygna bicolor) are also found here.
Cali area - Anchicaya Valley
This valley, 400+ km southwest of Medallin, ranges in altitude from 300 to 1000 meters. It is one of the world’s fine birding areas. The list of good birds found in the valley is too long to list in its entirety. It includes more than a dozen species of tanagers. A few of the other birds: Stripe-billed Aracari, White-whiskered Hermit, Tooth-billed Hummingbird, Barred and Black-breasted Puffbirds, Black-tipped Cotinga, Golden-collared Manakin, Great Antshrike, Scarlet-rumped Cacique, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Black-winged Saltator, Tawny-faced Gnatwren, Spotted Woodcreeper, Bay Wren. Jet Antbird and many others.
The nearest sizeable town is Buenaventura, which is 400+km southwest of Medellin but close to Cali. From Buenaventura the area can be reached by going to the small village of Aguaclara. The only guesthouse.in Aguaclara is located at the bus stop in the village.
San Agustin Archeological Park
The Park, in the Department of Huila, is rich in birds and a pleasant place to visit. Unfortunately, the archeological park does not open until 8.00 am. A Birders should purchase a 2-day pass the day before and enter through the side entrance in the early morning.
The bird list includes
Colombian Chachalaca, Olivaceous Piculet, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Squirrel Cuckoo, Smooth-billed Ani, Spectacled Parrotlet, White-collared Swift, Blue-tailed Emerald, Blue-crowned Woodnymph, Shining-green Hummingbird, White-vented Plumeleteer, Booted Racket-tail, Yellow-headed Caracara, Common Tody-flycatcher, Peruvian Tyrannulet, White-winged Becard, Olivaceous Piha, Yellow-headed Manakin, Bar-crested Antshrike , Plain Antvireo, Yellow-breasted Antwren, Slaty Spinetail, Orange-billed Nightingalethrush, Black-billed Thrush, Whiskered Wren, Dusky-headed Brush-finch (Endemic), Chestnut-capped Brush-finch ,
White-lined Tanager, Crimson-backed Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager, Blue-browed Tanager, Blue-&-black Tanager, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Rusty Flowerpiercer, Streaked Saltator and Yellow-backed Oriole, plus a number of warbler migrants in winter.
The nearest sizeable towns, both about 140km by road, are Florencia and Neiva, both of which have airports. Cali is almost directly north of San Augustin but there is no straitforward road linkage
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