3 Mar 18 - Colombia: Early Morning At Rio Claro

We only had a few minutes of  driving to get to the entrance to the Rio Claro National Park which was a pleasant change. We were still up well before light as we had the opportunity to have a quick breakfast before leaving the hotel. The first few minutes of Birding was around the entrance gate, as it was locked up. However, somebody quickly appeared to let us into the park. There was a small open area once we got through the entrance gate which allowed a selection of species to be easily seen.

Boat-billed Flycatcher: Best told from the similar looking Great Kiskadee by the heavy bill with a curved upper mandible and the olive brown upperparts, compared to the rusty coloured wings & tail of a Great Kiskadee

 Straight-billed Woodcreeper: This is a widespread species which occurs from Panama to Venezuela, Brazil, Peru & Bolivia

There were a number of groups of Parrots & Parakeets flying passed, but none were close. But our attention quickly changed when somebody saw my first Barred Puffbird in the open area. Puffbirds often sit still for some time while looking for their next meal. So, they can be reasonably cooperative to see at times, but their sedentary habits mean they can also be easily overlooked.

Barred Puffbird: They occur from Panama to West Ecuador

Barred Puffbird: Just gorgeous

Just as we started to walk along the main track into the forest, Janos heard a Bare-crowned Antbird calling. It provided some reasonable views close to the forest edge. We had only been going about thirty minutes & this Bare-crowned Antbird was my third Tick.

Bare-crowned Antbird: This species occurs from Guatemala & Belize to Northern Colombia

As we continued along the main track, we ran into our second species of Puffbird for the morning: a White-whiskered Puffbird.

The main track with the river to the left

White-whiskered Puffbird: They occur from SE Mexico to Central Colombia

Varied White-faced Capuchin Monkey: Sadly, this party were very wary & quickly disappeared

This was the first time on the trip we had been in low elevation forest & the good Birds kept on coming.

Gartered Violaceous Trogon: This species used to be known as Violaceous Trogon, before it was split a few years ago into three species. Guianan Violaceous Trogon & Amazonian Violaceous Trogon were the other two species. I've chosen to retain the old name within its name

Gartered Violaceous Trogon: This species looks very similar to Amazonian Violaceous Trogon, but can be split on range and it also had a more extensive white line separating the yellow from the blue upper breast & throat

Black-headed Tody-flycatcher: This species occurs from Costa Rica to Colombia. NW Venezuela & West Ecuador. Despite having Birded in all these countries, albeit only Eastern Venezuela, it was another Tick for the morning

Yellow-margined Flycatcher: This is a widespread species which occurs from Colombia & Venezuela to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia & Brazil

Not surprisingly there were a few Butterflies along the track, as well as, some excellent large dainty Damselflies.

Butterfly sp.

Another Butterfly sp.

Large Damselfly sp.: This was closer in body length to a small Hawker Dragonfly

Large Damselfly sp.: They were amazing in flight. It's a pity this photo isn't sharp, but it gives an idea of how different they looked compared to UK Damselflies

We had been walking slowly along the main track for around an hour or so. We hadn't covered a great distance, but had seen a lot in that time. There was a small track heading uphill & away from the river, which we took. I will cover the Birds along that track in the next Post.

2 Mar 18 - Colombia: Parrots In The Mist

Obviously, the alarms went off well before dawn so we could get into some jeeps for a slow & bouncy ride up into the hills above Jardin. Our main target species for the day was the endangered Yellow-eared Parrot. This was a species that was thought to be extinct up until 1999 when around eighty individuals were discovered in the Colombia Andes. Thanks to good campaigns to raise its plight with local communities & also to protect its habitat, the population has grown. One of the problems is its main tree, the Quindio Wax Palm is also a threatened tree. The tree used to be used for Palm Sunday processions, but part of the work with local communities & the church, has greatly improved protection for the trees, with alternatives being used for the processions. The main Colombian Bird NGO, ProAves, has created a couple of reserves & put up nest boxes on the Palms to help provide additional nesting holes. This has been a successful campaign and the population is now around 1500 individuals.

A lone Quindio Wax Palm

It was a cold wait in the mist for the first sighting

It was very misty at first light, but slowly the mist started to clear. We saw a couple of Yellow-eared Parrots flying towards our viewing point on a small ridge. Fortunately, they landed, but not particularly close. Soon after a few more flew in & landed in a bit closer in some of the Palms. They were followed by others until we had seen around twenty of these lovely Parrots.

Yellow-eared Parrot: The light wasn't great as they were flying in

Yellow-eared Parrot: Most settled in these trees

Yellow-eared Parrot: A great looking Parrot

Yellow-eared Parrot: They are a near endemic as there is a small population in Northern Ecuador

We saw a reasonable selection of other species as we walked down the main track towards the town. However, it was a morning when few species were photogenic.

Walking back down the main track: It's clear why we used jeeps, rather than taking the bus

Black-billed Mountain Toucan: This species occurs from Colombia & W Venezuela to NE Ecuador

Streak-throated Bush-tyrant: This species occurs from Colombia & Venezuela to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia & NW Argentina

Golden-fronted Whitestart: This is the yellow-faced chrysops subspecies

Slaty Brush-finch

Montbretia: This looks similar to the Montbretias that grow in my garden. The family is native to East & Southern Africa & therefore these must have been introduced into South America

These flowers look like they will be popular with the local Hummingbirds

After a good morning's Birding despite the mist, we returned to the hotel in Jardin to collect our bags. The rest of the day was spent on a long & slow drive to the Rio Claro reserve.

Green Iguana: It was a largely uneventful drive, with this Green Iguana being the highlight

Medellin: There were a number of hillsides around the city that were as packed as this hillside

No surprise, that we were stuck in a few traffic jams in the Medellin area

We didn't arrive until after it was dark. As we stepped out of the bus, it was distinctly warm & humid. Having spent most of the trip at altitude, the next couple of days were going to be a big shock as we were only around 350 metres asl.

1 Mar 18 - Colombia: Punk Extroverts

The final stop of the day was at the edge of the small town of Jardin, where the river has cut a fairly deep path through the surrounding countryside. We walked down the road leading to a bridge across the river, before stopping at the gate to a small private reserve.

One of the roads in the old quarter of Jardin

The trees of the Cock-of-the-rock reserve

The gate was locked, but eventually somebody appeared to let us in. This was the Jardin Cock-of-the-rock reserve. There were already a few other tourists enjoying the spectacle of the Andean Cock-of-the-rocks in their communal lek. They are part of the Cotinga family and are one of the most ostentatious in the family & their leks remind me of seeing Bird-of-Paradise leks in Irian Jaya (or West Papua as it is now called). I've seen a few Cock-of-the-rock leks, but this was the most impressive.

Andean Cock-of-the-rock

Andean Cock-of-the-rock: I spent a lot of time trying to catch the light coming through the crest

Andean Cock-of-the-rock

Andean Cock-of-the-rock

Andean Cock-of-the-rock

Andean Cock-of-the-rock: They make Trump's comb over look like that of an amateur & unlike Trump, this is all natural

Andean Cock-of-the-rock

Andean Cock-of-the-rock

Andean Cock-of-the-rock

As the light levels were falling under the trees, I headed into the garden where they had stashed bananas in a number of places to attract some of the local Tanagers.

Blue-necked Tanager: Another psychedelic Tanager

Bay-headed Tanager: This must be an immature as it hasn't developed a full chestnut head

As a rare treat, we only had a five minute drive to the hotel in the old quarter of the town.

Sunset over the surrounding hills

There was time for a quick walk before we headed out for dinner. Close to the hotel was a small park in front of the main church, which has been upgraded to a basilica by a previous pope.

The basilica: I'm impressed how well this photo came out given how dark it was

The park in front of the church

Finally, a couple of photos from the following morning after we returned from the morning's Birding.

The basilica

The park

1 Mar 18 - Colombia: An Endemic Wren

After an early pre-dawn walk at Montezuma, we loaded the jeeps & headed back to the nearest town where our bus driver had been taking it easy for the last two days. He was probably glad of the break, given the early starts, long drives & after dark driving. We spent most of the day driving, although there was a nice lunch stop in a restaurant next to a deep gorge. This allowed a little bit of Birding.

American Black Vulture: There were around a hundred around

American Black Vulture: Many were constantly flying over the gorge, but few were particularly close

Red-crowned Woodpecker: This species occurs from Costa Rica to Colombia, Venezuela & the Guianas

 Tropical Kingbird: The occur from Arizona to central Argentina

Palm Tanager

We had a mid afternoon roadside stop near Bolombolo to look for the endemic & recently described Antioquia Wren. It was only found in 2010 and described in 2012. They have a restricted range in the dry forest of the Northern Cauca valley. Like many Wrens, it is loud & vocal and it just goes to show that stops away from the traditional Birding sites in a country like Colombia can occasionally be exceptional. As usual, Janos was precisely aware of previous sightings from Birdquest trips, but we drew a blank where they had been seen the previous year. Consequently, we walked down the road about a half mile to where Janos had seen then on a previous trip he had led. We tried a few suitable points in between the two sites. While they didn't produce the hoped for Antioquia Wren, we did see a few other species that were new for the trip.

Western Slaty Antshrike: Female

Grey-cheeked Thrush: They are winter visitors from the US & Canada

Black-striped Sparrow: They have an extensive range from Honduras to Colombia, Venezuela & Ecuador

Antioquia Wren: We were more successful at the second site where a pair were seen

Antioquia Wren

With the target Wren seen, we were quickly back in the bus as we still had an hour & a half of driving to get to the final stop of the day to allow a bit of Birding on the edge of the picturesque town of Jardin.