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button to navigate to a more detailed description and maps of the locality. Click Below for Past Tour Reports:
December 2010
January 2011
July 2011
Day 1 (February 27, 2012): Arrival in Cali
Arrive in Cali’s International Airport, where I will be waiting for you. We will drive through a picturesque section of Cali, and soon head up the Western Cordillera of the Andes Mountains. We will go directly to the hotel in Km 18, Hotel el Faro.
Day 2 (February 28, 2012)
Will have the morning to relax and bird along trails at the hotel and then head out to lunch on the way to Finca La Araucana. We will spend the afternoon birding from the balcony at finca La Araucana and return to Hotel Faro for dinner and rest.
Day 3 and 4 (February 29 and March 1, 2012): El 18 and Bosque de San Antonio
Next morning we will bird nearby, along a jeep track that passes through fragments of cloud forest with good mixed flock activity. Birding here can be very productive and we will search out two endemics, Grayish Piculet and Multicolored Tanager. A paradise for Tanagers, we will also observe Purplish-mantled, Summer, Golden, Scrub, Metallic-green, Saffron-crowned, and Golden-naped Tanagers, as well as Ashthroated Bush-Tanagers and Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager. Other birds we might see in this area include Bronzy Inca, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Scarlet-fronted parakeet, Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Fulvous-dotted Treerunner, Streak-capped Treehunter, Scaled Fruiteater, Green and Black Fruiteater, Yellow-headed Manakin, Chestnut-breasted Wren, Black-billed Peppershrike, Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonia, Greenish Puffleg, Montane woodcreeper, Scale-crested Pygmy-tyrant, Redfaced Spinetail, Spotted and Rusty-winged Barbtails, Streaked Xenops and Narino Tapaculo. It will be easy to see the hyperactive Cinnamon Flycatcher, and a delight to listen to the Andean Solitaire. An impressive show of hummingbirds can be observed at a private house along the track, including the following species: Purple-throated Woodstar, Blue-headed Saphire, Brown Violetear, Green Violetear, Fawn-Breasated Brilliant, Speckled Hummingbird, Wedge-billed Hummingbird, Long-tailed Sylph, White-necked Jacobin, and Long-billed Starthroat.
The night will be spent at Hotel El Faro and the next morning we will bird at the higher elevations of the Bosque de San Antonio. We will then return to El Faro for the night.
Day 5 (March 2, 2012): San Cipriano
We will embark early in the morning on a 10 minute drive to Cordoba. From the main road, we we will load up on brujitas and have a pleasant 20 minute rail ride to the town of San Cirpiano. The area is a protected reserve and is the source of drinking water for the nearby port city of Buenaventura. Located in the Choco Bioregion, it is known for being one of the wettest places on the planet. Here we will hike several trails trails were we will come across Chestnut-mandibled Toucans, Strip-billed Aracaris, White-tipped and Blue Cotinga, Rose-faced and Blue-headed Parrots, Blue-whiskered, Emerald, Palm, Dusky-faced and Rufous-winged Tanager, Scarlet-rumped Cacique, Ruffous-tailed Jacamar, Ocellated and Bicolored Antbird, and Long-tailed Tyrant amongst many others. We will then have a chance to swim and/or float the Rio Escalerete, a refreshing, prisitne river. We will return to San Cipriano and head to Buga for the night. Buga is a lovely town with a lot of character, and we will be staying in a colonial style Hotel Guadalajara. Those who wish can tour the town or relax at the hotel pool.
Day 6 (March 3, 2012): Sonso y Madres Viejas
We will rise early and be at the Sonso Lagoon in ten minutes. The lagoon is one of the only remaining wetlands in the Cauca Valley and one of Colombia’s best wetland birding localities. The wetland is teeming with aquatic birds, so we will search the waters for Wattled Jacana, Anhinga, Little Blue, Cocoi and Striated Herons, Snowy Egret, Bare-faced and Glossy Ibises, Fulvous and Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, Cinnamon Teal, Osprey, Snail Kite, Black-necked Stilt, Neotropic Cormorant, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, and Spotted and Least Sandpipers. Rare species we might come across include Pinnated Bittern, Apical Flycatcher, Roseate Spoonbill, Ruby Topaz and Horned Screamer. Along riparian areas it is possible we see Southern Lapwing, Greater Ani, Ringed Kingfisher, Northern-Crested and Yellow-headed Caracara, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Southern Beardless and Mouse-coloured Tyrannulets, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Grey and Ruddy-breasted Seedeaters, Blue-black Grassquit, and Cinereous Becard. In nearby oxbows (called madres viejas in Colombia) we will also be able to observe the attractive Jet Antbird, Orange-crowned Euphonia, and Slate-headed Tody-Flycatchers. After a long morning of birding (in hot weather) we will have lunch at a nearby restaurant that has some of the best “sancocho” (typical Colombian soup) I have ever had. We will have the afternoon to enjoy the pool and dine in Buga and in the afternoon we will head out on a 3 hour drive to the Otun –Quimbaya Reserve, where we will spend the night.
Day 7 and 8 (March 4 and 5, 2012) Otun Quimbaya
We will rise early in the morning and start birding at the Otun-Quimbaya Reserve, at the doorsteps of our hotel. We will be received by the sounds of howling monkeys and the endangered, endemic Cauca Guan. They are relatively easy to see here, and were believed to be extinct until a population of the species was rediscovered in 1990. Birding along a dirt road will be productive in finding forest skulkers such as Chestnut Wood Quail (endemic), Chestnut-breasted Wren, Stile’s Tapaculo (recently described endemic), Moustached Antpitta, and Russet-crowned Warbler.
Day 9 and 10 (March 6 and 7, 2012): Rio Blanco
Manizales is in the center of the famed Coffee Triangle, and is a great city from which we can visit several reserves that hold the some of Colombia’s rarest and most threatened species. We will be staying at Rio Blanco 2 nights, were the accomodations are rustic but very clean and comfortable and the hospitality is beyond comparison. The reserve is managed by Aguas de Manizales, the municipal water company. Three endemics are found here: Brown-banded Antpitta, Bicolored Antpitta and Rufous-fronted Parakeet. Along with three endemics, this area boasts many sought after species that include: Tyrannine Woodcreeper, Golden-faced Redstart, Dusky Piha, Black-billed and Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanagers, Grass-green and White-capped Tanager, Chestnut-naped Antpitta, Rusty-faced Parrot, Powerful Woodpecker, the hard to see Ocellated, Blakish and Spillman’sTapaculos, Black-billed Peppershrike, Plushcap, Mountain Cacique, and Golden- plumed Parakeet.
The reserve boasts several well-mainatined trails and well-maintained hummingbird feeders that attract various species of humminbirds that include Tourmaline Sunangel, Buff-tailed Coronet, Speckled Hummingbird, Tourmaline Sunangels, Bronzy and Collared Inca, Mountain Velvetbreast, the tiny White-bellied Woodstar and Long-tailed Sylph, the aggressive Buff-tailed Coronet, Green and Sparkling Violetear, and Fawn-breasted Brilliant. Another bonus is the ingeniously installed Antpitta feeder that attracts the two endemic species of Antpitta’s and another two rare, hard-to-see species. We will devote 2 days to Rio Blanco and then head to Manizales for 2 nights at Hotel Termales del Otono , with ridiculously relaxing Hot Springs.
Day 11 (March 8, 2012) : Nevado del Ruiz
Today we will head to the Nevado del Ruiz, following a road through patches of forest that give way to Paramo (tropical grassland above treeline). The scenery is magical, with velvety frailejon plants adding a touch of surrealism. 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 2km stretch of the road that passes through elfin forest. Also fun to watch is the Tawny Antpitta, who are very tame in this area. We will also be able to bird near a glacial laguna called Laguna Negra, were 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 seedeaters in the Paramo, including Plumbeous Sierra-Finch and Paramo and Plain-colored Seedeaters. After a day of birding we will head to Termales del otono for another night. At thi point we will treat ourselves to some empanadas, which in Colombia are made of corn and potatoes, and revered as some of the tastiest empanadas in the world. We will have the early evening to explore Manizales and we will return to Termales del Otono for the night.
Day 12 (March 9, 2012): Manizales
We will spend the morning birding at Alcazares City Park, which offers amazing birding opportunities within Manizales city limits. Targets here include Red-headed barbet, Flame-rumped Tanager, and the endemic Bar-crested Antshrike. Other birds we migh encounter include Bay-breasted Tanager, Emerald Toucanet, Golden-olive woodpecker, Golden-faced Tyrannulet, Yellow-bellied Siskin and Streaked Saltator. For lunch we will have Ajiaco, a typical Colombian soup made with potatoes and chicken and garnished with capers and cream…..deeeelicious. We will the head on a 4 hour drive back to Cali, where we will spend the night in Hotel Casa Alferez, located in the trendiest and exclusive sector of Cali. We will have dinner and drinks at a nearby restaurant to recap on the good times we had during the trip.
Day 13 (March 10, 2012): Day in Cali and suburbs
We will have lunch at the Dolmetsch Arboretum, and a morning tour with director Alvaro Calonje. The arboretum is one of the largest in Colombia and boasts a collection of 2200 species of plants from around the world. It also offers great birding opportunities. We will have the afternoon to bird at Finca La Araucana. Night at Hotel Casa Alferez.
Day 14 (March 11, 2012): Depart Cali
Guests will be taken to the airport from Hotel Casa Alferez to catch flights.