9 Mar 18 - Colombia: The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Foothills (Part2)

We had started the morning by Birding along the track we had visited at the end of the previous day. One of the highlights had been a few Military Macaws that flew over us in the early morning. We returned to the main road leading up to the El Dorado Lodge & drove up it for a mile or two, to a site we had stopped at on the previous afternoon. There was a Black-and-white Owl roost site near the road, but for the second time, we drew a blank at the site. The Black-and-white Owl clearly had other roost trees that the drivers didn't know. However, an hour of road side Birding was more productive.

Broad-winged Hawk: A widespread species, but uncommon, species on the trip

 Whooping Blue-crowned Motmot

Rusty-margined Flycatcher: This species occurs from Panama, Colombia & Venezuela to as far South as Bolivia & Brazil

Southern Rough-winged Swallow

Bicoloured Wren: This species occurs from Colombia to Venezuela, Guyana & neighbouring North Brazil

Rufous-capped Warbler

Buff-throated Saltator: This is a widespread Neotropical species that occurs from Mexico to Bolivia, Brazil & Paraguay

Buff-throated Saltator: To confirm how it got its name

As we walked up the road to where the 4WDs were waiting, we ran into another Tick: a couple of Golden-winged Sparrows. I've seen the similar-looking Pectoral Sparrow & San Francisco Sparrow in Brazil. Despite their bright colours, these Golden-winged Sparrows & their close cousins are surprisingly easy to overlook if they sit still.

Golden-winged Sparrow: They quickly disappear into background, once they sit still in the shade

Golden-winged Sparrow: Grovelling on the ground

Golden-winged Sparrow: They are restricted to Colombia & Northern Venezuela

By late morning, the Birding activity was dropping off & we headed back to the hotel in Minca. However, there was still plenty of activity at the Hummingbird feeders.

23 Feb 18 - Colombia: An Afternoon At Rio Blanco

After an hour & a half of driving from Santa Rosa, we arrived at the gates to the Rio Blanco reserve. This is an excellent area of woodland which has been protected as is a water catchment area by the local water company.

The entrance sign: I wouldn't recommend shorts in the tropics, as they result in a much higher chance of insect bites

There is a small accommodation building inside the reserve that would have been great to stay in, but we stayed in the nearby city of Manizales: it was about a thirty minute drive to the entrance. It was a real pity that we couldn't stay in the reserve, as it would have been great place to stay. I don't remember hearing whether there wasn't enough accommodation for the group or there was another reason. While we had a decent hotel in Manizales for a couple of nights, we found we weren't able to get into the reserve on the following morning until after it had got light. We had a few hours of Birding in this excellent reserve before it got dark.

Broad-winged Hawk

Broad-winged Hawk

Black-billed Mountain Toucan: This was our second Mountain Toucan of the day & even better this was a Tick

Powerful Woodpecker: Female. A record shot of my first Powerful Woodpecker. Females have a predominantly black head, while the males have a bright crimson crest

Golden-fronted Whitestart: This is the chrysops subspecies of Golden-fronted Whitestart. We saw the white-faced ornatus subspecies at Cerro Guadalupe on 19 Feb 18

Grass-green Tanager: This distinctive Tanager occurs from Colombia to Ecuador, Peru & Bolivia. It's a pity it is in the shade as the chestnut-red face isn't as clear as it was in the forest

Beryl-spangled Tanager: This is a relatively widespread Tanager which occurs from Colombia & Venezuela to Ecuador, Peru & Bolivia

Slaty Brush-finch: This species occurs from Colombia & W Venezuela to Ecuador & Peru

I think we were all looking forward to returning the following morning, especially as we knew there were some treats on the menu: breakfast was to include some worms. More in the next Post.

22 Feb 18 - Colombia: Walking Out Of The Otun-Quinbaya Reserve

After lunch at the Otun-Quinbaya Reserve, we loaded up the minibus & started walking out along the entrance track. At one point, we got back in the minibus & drove further along the track, before disembarking again. There was a good selection of species along the entrance track, but overall not the same quality as during the morning. This was especially true as the further we went from the reserve accommodation, the more the habitat was broken up with small farms, between the wooded areas.

Initially, the track went through reasonable habitat: Janos, Brian & Pirjo (left to right)

Collared Trogon

Acorn Woodpeckers

Strong-billed Woodcreeper

Acadian Flycatcher: The last one I saw was the Dungeness individual (the first UK record)

Acadian Flycatcher

Red-ruffed Fruitcrow: This species has an interesting distribution and occurs in parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela & Guyana. There is a separate population in SE Brazil, Paraguay & NE Argentina

Red-ruffed Fruitcrow: This is the granadensis subspecies which occurs in the Eastern & Central Andes of Colombia and Western Venezuela

Bright-rumped Tanager: Male. The taxonomy of this species is debated & it is sometimes split into Flame-rumped Tanager and Lemon-rumped Tanager by some authorities including IOC

Golden Tanager: A widespread Tanager which occurs from Colombia & Venezuela, to Ecuador, Peru & Bolivia

Slowly, the habitat opened up as we reached a number of small farms & open fields.

Rich trying to blend in with the locals

Cattle Egret

Southern Lapwing

Shiny Cowbird

A few butterflies put in an appearance.

Butterfly sp.

Butterfly sp.

Butterfly sp.

Finally, we reached a bridge over a fast-flying river which added a few new species for the trip.

The river

Torrent Duck: Male. It's always worth checking these fast-flowing rivers in South America

Broad-winged Hawk

White-capped Dipper

Finally, it was time to get into the minibus as we an hour & a half drive to our next hotel in Santa Rosa. This proved to be a surprisingly pleasant new hotel set in pretty grounds. They weren't serving food, but just after dark, we walked for about ten minutes to a fast food restaurant where they were cooking a pre-booked meal for us.

The Hotel Matisses: Photo taken the following lunchtime

The first Owl of the trip: but not tickable