The road to Los Nevados National Park begins in the bustling college town of Manizales, where on a clear day the magical Nevado del Ruiz is visible. Birding is done along the lightly traveled road that winds up the mountain through patches of forest that give way to Paramo (tropical grassland above tree line). The scenery is delightful, with velvety frailejon plants adding a touch of surrealism to the experience.

    Temperatures will be cold, and we will reach elevations upwards of 13,000 feet. We will seek out high elevation specialists that include: Bearded Helmetcrest, Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, Viridian Metaltail, Stout-billed Cinclodes, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, Golden-crowned Tanager, Black-backed Bush-Tanager, Glossy Flowerpiercer, and the endemic and very hard to find Rufous-fronted Parakeet. We will search for this endemic along a 2 km. stretch of the road that passes through elfin forest. Also fun to watch are the Tawny Antpitta, who are very tame in this area. We will also be able to bird near a glacial lagoon called Laguna Negra, where it is possible to see Many-striped Canastero, White-tailed Hawk, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Andean Tit-Spinetail, White-chinned Thistletail, Andean Duck, Andean Teal, Grass Wren, and Pale-naped Brush-Finch. A bonus is the variety of seed eaters in the Paramo, including Plumbeous Sierra-Finch and Paramo and Plain-colored Seedeaters. After an exhausting high elevation day we will treat ourselves to some "empanadas", which in Colombia are made of corn and potatoes, and revered as some of the tastiest in the world.
    Also, available as a lodging option is Hotel Termales del Otono , a top-notch resort that boasts multiple natural, medicinal and ridiculously relaxing hot springs.

BIRDS FOUND IN THIS LOCALITY
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Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Geranoaëtus melanoleucus
Broad winged Hawk, Buteo platypterus
Red-backed Hawk, Buteo polyosoma
Black-and-chestnut Eagle, Oroaetus isidori
Andean Duck, Oxyura ferruginea
Speckled Teal, Anas flavirostris
White-collared Swift, Streptoprocne zonaris
Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis
Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus
Andean Condor, Vultur gryphus
Southern Lapwing, Vanellus chilensis
Andean Lapwing, Vanellus resplendens
Blue-backed Conebill, Conirostrum sitticolor
White-sided Flower-piercer, Diglossa albilatera
Black Flower-piercer, Diglossa humeralis
Masked Flower-piercer, Diglossopis (Diglossa) cyanea
Band-tailed Pigeon, Patagioenas (Columba) fasciata
Red-crested Cotinga, Ampelion rubrocristata
Southern Crested Caracara, Caracara cheriway (Polyborus plancus)
Tawny Antpitta, Grallaria quitensis
Andean Siskin, Carduelis spinescens
Hooded Siskin, Carduelis magellanica
Rufous-collared Sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis
Yellow-throated Brush-Finch, Atlapetes gutturalis
Pale-naped Brush-Finch, Atlapetes pallidinucha
Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, Phrygilus unicolor
Slaty Finch, Haplospiza rustica
Grassland Yellow-Finch, Sicalis luteola
Plain-colored Seedeater, Catamenia inornata
Paramo Seedeater, Catamenia homochroa
Stout-billed Cinclodes, Cinclodes excelsior
Andean Tit-Spinetail, Leptasthenura andicola
White-chinned Thistletail, Schizoeaca fuliginosa
Many-striped Canastero, Asthenes flammulata
Pearled Treerunner, Margarornis squamiger
Brown-chested Martin, Phaeoprogne tapera
Brown-bellied Swallow, Notiochelidon murina
Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica
Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna
Osprey, Pandion haliaetus
Golden-fronted Whitestart, Myioborus ornatus
Black-crested Warbler, Basileuterus nigrocristatus
Neotropic Cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasilianus (olivaceus)
Rufous-fronted Parakeet, Bolborhynchus ferrugineifrons
Andean Tapaculo, Scytalopus magellanicus
Noble Snipe, Gallinago nobilis
Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus
Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Anisognathus igniventris
Golden-crowned Tanager, Iridosornis rufivertex
Shining Sunbeam, Aglaeactis cupripennis
Mountain Velvetbreast, Lafresnaya lafresnayi
Great Sapphirewing, Pterophanes cyanopterus
Glowing Puffleg, Eriocnemis vestitus
Golden-breasted, Puffleg Eriocnemis mosquera
Black-thighed Puffle, Eriocnemis derbyi
Purple-backed Thornbill, Ramphomicron michrorhynchum
Viridian Metaltail, Metallura williami
Tyrian Metaltail, Metallura tyrianthina
Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, Chalcostigma herrani
Bearded Helmetcrest, Oxypogon guerinii
Sedge Wren, Cistothorus platensis
Great Thrush, Turdus fuscater
White-throated Tyrannulet, Mecocerculus leucophrys
Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, Ochthoeca fumicolor
Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant, Myiotheretes striaticollis
Plain-capped Ground-Tyrant, Muscisaxicola alpina