10 Mar 18 - Colombia: Early Morning On The Guajira Peninsula

It was a long drive to our first stopping point on the Guajira Peninsula & for once, we arrived just after first light, rather than before dawn. However, it had only been light for a short period of time before we stopped. We started to see new Birds as soon as we were out of the minibus.

Bare-eyed Pigeon: This is restricted to the arid coast of Northern Colombia, Venezuela & a few offshore islands

Bare-eyed Pigeon: Later in the morning, we had better views of this local speciality

The first Bare-eyed Pigeon, was quickly followed by a Vermilion Cardinal.

Vermilion Cardinal: This sign on a house gives you an idea of how bright they are

A habitat shot showing how dry & arid the site is

Soon after, a patch of flowering bushes which were hosting my first Buffy Hummingbirds & Red-billed Emeralds. However, the light was poor, everything was flighty & Janos was quickly moving us on. Given it was going to get hot very quickly, it was good to keep looking, before the activity dropped off. We were soon at a fairly large waterhole among the arid bushes. Obviously, this was a magnet for Birds.

Crested Bobwhite: The whiter faced male has just put its head up. This is the only Bobwhite species & it occurs from Guatemala to Colombia, Venezuela & the Guianas

Crested Bobwhite: I am assuming that the left hand individual is the female with the other back two being the youngsters

Pale-legged Hornero: This species occurs from Colombia & Venezuela to Ecuador & Brazil

Pied Water-tyrant: They are always a delight to see

Pied Water-tyrant: They look quite different as they turn

Pileated Finch: This had also appeared close to the Pied Water-tyrant for a drink

White-whiskered Spinetail: This must be one of the best-looking Spinetails. A pity it was skulking in the vegetation

White-whiskered Spinetail: Fortunately, we had better views of this cracking species later in the morning

Black-crested Antshrike: Female

Greyish Saltator

At the far end of the waterhole, was a mixed group of feeding White Ibis, Scarlet Ibis and Snowy Egrets.

White Ibis, a paler Scarlet Ibis & a Snowy Egret

White Ibis

Scarlet Ibis: A well marked individual

Snowy Egret

Yellow-headed Caracara

It was time to move on to another local track. More in the next Blog Post.

9 Mar 18 - Colombia: Old Cotton-top

Around mid afternoon, we arrived at the entrance to the Tayrona National Park. It took a few minutes to locate a guide, which we apparently needed, despite most visitors not needing one. However, most of the visitors were heading to the beach or the campsite just behind the beach & we had other reasons to visit. Actually, the local ranger was knowledgeable & although we lost a few minutes, waiting for him, he was a benefit. We hadn't driven far into the Park, before we were stopping for one of the first goodies: a Lance-tailed Manakin lek. Not a Tick, but I'm always happy to see Manakins, especially at a lek.

Lance-tailed Manakin: They occur from Costa Rica to North Colombia & Venezuela

Lance-tailed Manakin

Lance-tailed Manakin: As part of the display, they flicked one or both wings out & quickly in again. They also spread their red crest

We carried on towards the camp ground as this was one of the potential sites for the other main species we were looking for. Unfortunately, no luck, but there were a few other open country species in the area.

Yellow-headed Caracara: This is a widespread Latin American species. We had seen a few, but generally whilst travelling, so it was the first one I photographed

Carib Grackle: As its name suggests, this is one of the standard Caribbean Grackles, but it also occurs along the coast of Colombia, Venezuela & NE Brazil

As we were close to the sea, a few of us walked the extra hundred metres to the beach. The water was rough & didn't look like it was particularly safe for swimming. However, we did get to see the first Magnificent Frigatebirds of the trip.

Magnificent Frigatebird: A record shot of one of the individuals

Just after we rejoined the main group, I found this White-necked Puffbird in the campsite trees.

White-necked Puffbird: This species occurs from Mexico to Northern South America

White-necked Puffbird

It was time to keep looking for the main target species for the Park. They were clearly mobile & we needed to find some fruiting trees. After a bit more looking, we got lucky & saw the main target species for the afternoon: Cotton-headed Tamarins. This is the third species of Tamarin that I've seen in South America. I've also seen a few species in the better of the UK zoos. All the Tamarins have all been full of character.

Cotton-headed Tamarin: when we first found them, they were quite skittish

Cotton-headed Tamarin: They settled down a bit & then started to watch us

Cotton-headed Tamarin: Perhaps some of the locals are not as quiet & well behaved as we were

 Cotton-headed Tamarin: This one even started to forage for some food

Cotton-headed Tamarin: Unfortunately, they are critically endangered & are only found in this small corner of Colombia. This look went out of fashion after Tina Turner appeared in Mad Max 3

We were running out of time, but the guide had one more treat for us. The next photo is a clue.

Owl: Not an Owl, but it was a Nightbird

Great Potoo: Usually, there is a location on a Latin American trip where a there is a showy roosting Potoo, as Potoos sit still trying to pretend they are dead branches. The strategy must work well & it helps many a local guide

Great Potoo: They occur from Southern Mexico to Bolivia, Paraguay & Brazil

It was time to leave, but the park guide had one final surprise: a nesting Pale-bellied Hermit. Hummingbirds must build the most delicate of all nests.

Pale-bellied Hermit: Another Hummingbird for the trip list

One of the apparent downsides of the Tayrona National Park was it shut well before dark. Perhaps a good thing for the wildlife, given the numbers of non-wildlife visitors: but we would have happily carried on for a bit longer. We then had a slow journey along the coast road to our hotel for the last two nights of the trip: the Hotel La Jorara, which was a nice eco-lodge with very friendly staff. Well worth a visit.