Colombia 2022: High Times in the Cordillera Central
24 Jul–2 Aug 2022
Guided by George Armistead
A week away from the heat in the heart of coffee country did us just right. Many were the birds, but chief among our targets was the Indigo-winged (Fuertes's) Parrot. With only about 250 individual remaining it is among the world’s rarest birds. Thought extinct for 90 years, it was rediscovered only just in 2002 & its known range comprises less than 145 sq miles. It took us some waiting around at one particular vista, but after a Dusky Piha and a Crimson-mantled Woodpecker entertained us, finally a flock of no less than 15 parrots settled into a tree nearby. Over the course of the next 30 minutes we watched them forage, obtaining super views and getting to hear them call a fair bit too.
Next we headed up high to the paramo and cloud forest around Los Nevados National Natural Park, and more specifically up Nevado de Ruiz, a volcano that has been eruptive for the last 150,000 years. Based at a resort amid the thermal hot springs there, we watched the towering ridges and peaks, admiring the constantly changing weather. Our first morning we encountered Black-backed Bush Tanager right away, enjoyed our first of many encounters with the flocks of Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanagers ("Clarineros"), saw Black-chested Mountain-Tanager, and heard Ocellated Tapaculo calling extremely close. From our lodge we headed up higher into the clouds and the paramo, reaching elevations above 13,000 feet, where we experienced a beautiful encounter with a Buffy Helmetcrest, another highly range-restricted endemic. Later we crossed paths with Many-striped Canastero and Viridian Metaltail.
We spent the whole of the following day at one of Colombia's most famous birding sites, Rio Blanco Ecological Reserve. Here the hummingbird show was almost as impressive as the day prior, but the Antpitta show was far far better. Right away we had a Bicolored come in, and then the famous "Compra-pan", the Chestnut-crowned Antpitta skipped in close, along with a Green-and-Black Fruiteater. Then we topped off the morning with good views of the endemic Brown-banded Antpitta as well.
Leaving Manizales, we headed down into the lower foothills for the Tinamu Birding Reserve. A hotspot almost as prolific as Rio Blanco in terms of species diversity, it offered us an array of different birds including Parker's and Blue-lored Antbird, several Hermits, and many other more widespread lowland species with highlights that included a day-roosting Common Potoo, a nesting Common Tody-Flycatcher right at the entrance of the hotel, a nesting pair of Plain-brown Woodcreepers, and best of all a stunning Scaled Antpitta who obliged us with superb views, after a bit of a wait.
To cap off our trip we headed back up into the highlands for a stay on the other side of Nevado del Ruiz. While it was chilly indeed, the birds warmed our souls. Black-billed Mountain-Toucans were hopping about all around us, and Hooded Mountain-Tanagers posed absurdly well for us too. Here again, antpittas showed nicely for us and both Bicolored and Slate-crowned came in for stunning views and photo opps. Perhaps most cherished for some of us was the pair of Ocellated Tapaculos we finally connected with us, which ended up hopping around almost right at our feet!
Join us next year!
