Colombia 2022 Part 2

rain, rain, rain with a few lulls

Another morning and another day trip: Rio Blanco Reserve, a protected watershed. Definitely one of the best birding spots in the area owing to that in recent years, difficult to see antpittas are being coaxed into the open.

Unfortunately, on again off again rains plus fog hampered our efforts.  Rain and optics are not a good combination, however, we still managed to slog through and pickup some good birds.

Chestnut-crowned Antpitta

Violet-crowned Sylph

One antpitta was quite cooperative: Chestnut-crowned. An adult repeatedly appeared to snatch up a beak full of worms then disappear back into the jungle, no doubt to feed an out of sight youngster or two.
Other antpittas were no longer cooperative due to a stakeout area having been damaged by a mud slide.  Of the remaining antpittas we might have had a shot at seeing, Bicolored was a heard only and we had to settle on fleeting glimpses of Slate-crowned and Brown-backed. Again, the rains were probably a factor.

our local guide Manuel on right

rain didn't dampen our spirits - Bridget and Tim 

Feeding flocks always present a mixed bag. Trying to ID so many birds in a compressed period of chaos can be frustrating. But we always consider the chaos of a feeding flock a plus since the birds come to us rather than us having to track them down. In short order we added Capped Conebill, Gray-hooded Bush-Tanager, Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager, Black-capped Hemispingus, Pearled Treerunner, Streaked Tuftedcheek, and Yellow-vented Woodpecker.
Three tapaculo species (by now you should realize how hard it is to see them even under the best of conditions) were heard-only: Ash-colored, Blackish and Spillman’s. However, stunning looks at a Plushcap and several hummingbird species balanced out our efforts.
When the rain picked up again it made for an opportune time to break for lunch.

rain or shine you keep birding

With another lull in the rain, we reentered a forested area adding Barred Fruiteater, Black-eared and Oleaginous Hemispingus, Mountain Wren, and Slaty-backed Chat-Tyrant before heading back to the hotel for our evening meal and our daily checklist tally.
Day 6 of our tour we loaded our luggage and ourselves into our van and headed up into the mountains to what turned out to be a fantastic reserve: Hacienda El Bosque, an active dairy and beef cattle ranch.

Bosco interior

Hermes turned off the highway onto a nondescript narrow track that wound through several out buildings and cattle pens. Driving further up through agricultural fields we stopped at the Bosco Restaurant where we met our guide, Juan. Juan wasn’t just a guide. Juan has been involved in his father’s business from an early age and now at age 24, he is the principle driving force behind continuing his father’s desire to protect and preserve the environment through not only sustainable farming but setting aside hundreds of hectares for wildlife.

alas they only had one hat in stock to sell

The restaurant addition was only four months old and just getting started. Small but very comfortable, we were served a light breakfast comprised of locally produced food plus our first experience of “mixta”: Half coffee and half hot chocolate. On a chilly day a most welcomed beverage.

waiting for the show to begin

lots of action downslope

female Barred Fruiteater

male Barred Fruiteater

Our first attempt for birds lead down a steep slope into a wooded area, hopefully see Equatorial Antpitta, yet another split from the Rufous Antpitta complex. It took a few moments but eventually one appeared to feed on, yes, more mealworms. We had hoped to also see a Tawny Antpitta but it wound up as a heard only.

Rufous Antpitta

Sword-billed Hummingbird

Tourmaline Sunangel

Trekking back up the slope we loaded into our van for a short ride to another location where several feeding stations attracted a variety of hummingbirds. Our first really good looks at Sword-billed Hummingbirds and cooperative Purple-backed Thornbills. More hummers included Tyrian Metaltail, Tourmaline Sunangel, Black-thighed Puffleg, Buff-winged Starfrontlet and Mountain Velvetbreast. Here we also had excellent looks at one more antpitta species: Crescent-faced Antpitta. Arguably one of the cutest we’ve ever seen. Then a few steps away we were treated to fantastic looks at male and female Barred Fruiteaters.

Crescent-faced Antpitta

Gray-breasted Mountain-Tanager

Black-hooded Mountain-Tanager

One final short ride to the last feeding station where Gray-breasted Mountain-Tanagers were lured into view by of all things, the promise of grapes. Black-hooded Mountain-Tanagers, it seemed, were also fond of grapes.

a sculpted condor to taunt us

trekking back down to grab lunch and cocoa tea

one of those unexpectedly good lunch stops

Departing Hacienda el Bosque (with a souvenir mug in hand) we  made a few stops that included a surprise sighting of an Andean Condor when we happened upon a small roadside cafe that offered excellent food (more great soups!). The condor soared behind a steep hill the top of which was apparently a "work in progress" Andean Condor viewing area. Nick inquired as to the fee to climb the hill - half the group made the climb to view a vast valley. Alas, no more condor sightings but the small lake across the road gave up views of Andean Teal and Andean Duck. Plain-colored Seedeater, Stout-billed Cincloides, Many-striped Canastero, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, Plain-colored Seedeater and Grass Wren were also seen during the restaurant stop.

flowers of the paramo

group shrouded by fog

Following lunch we made another birding stop that lead us down a dirt road to a spot where a Rufous-fronted Parakeet had been seen. Initially, the walk started with relatively clear skies but soon a swirling mist began to envelope the landscape. Finally locating one in the scope, dense fog suddenly obliterated any and all views. Only a few people got to see it before losing it in the fog.

relaxing

room with a view

Back to the van we continued onward to our next overnight stop, Termales de Ruiz, a remote mountain lodge (reached via a surprisingly rough road) famous for its hot springs. An astonishingly beautiful lodge nestled in a volcanic caldera. We had been warned to bring swim suits and glad we did. The springs were very soothing. Having to divide our time soaking in the hot springs or birding, we wished we’d had more time to enjoy them both. Now, if the feeders were just closer to the springs...

Shining Sunbeam

Glossy Flowerpeircer

Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager

Feeders at Termales del Ruiz, in spite of chilly overcast weather, were very active. Holding small button shaped feeders lured many hummingbirds in to be fed by hand: Great Sapphirewing, Viridian Metaltail, and Shining Sunbeam. A Glossy Flowerpiercer boldly landed on our hands begging for nectar from a small bottle. Other species around the feeders included Pale-naped Brushfinch, Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Lacrimose Tanager, Paramo Seedeater, and Blue-black Conebill.

Lacrimose Tanager

Connie makes a friend

Viridian Metaltail

light breakfast - fruits were always fresh

Staving off cold temps and chilly winds, we did another brief check of the feeders at in early morning before retreating indoors to a hearty breakfast. Leaving the hot springs behind we were off to Los Nevados National Park for our prime target bird of the day: Buffy Helmetcrest.

plumes of smoke from Nevado del Ruíz

Climbing higher and higher, we rounded a bend in the road to find a clear unobstructed view of Nevado del Ruíz volcano producing plumes of smoke. According to the Geological Service’s most recent media briefing, Nevado del Ruíz’s “seismic activity continues to be intense, mainly related to the movement of fluids inside the volcanic conduits. This seismicity has been characterized by the occurrence of continuous volcanic tremors of low to moderate energy levels, tremor pulses, and very long-period earthquakes near the Arenas crater.”
Nevado del Ruíz last erupted on November 13, 1985, killing 25,000 people after lava melted the volcano’s ice caps and snow-covered summit unleashing a mud flow that buried the agricultural city of Armero, Tolima, under debris. The Armero tragedy remains as Colombia’s worst natural disaster.
Arriving at the park entrance early was paramount before the area became shrouded by clouds (nothing to do with the volcano). No sooner had we stopped when a helmetcrest was immediately seen. Fortunate for us because the bird isn’t always seen so quickly, if at all.

Buffy Helmetcrest

Since this was our main target bird there was no need to enter the park. We had learned during our 2016 tour that anyone entering a national park is required to sit through a lengthy introduction (usually only in Spanish) extolling visitors to be mindful of protecting the park’s environment. A lecture we did not need.

Instead, we began walking back down the road to find other birds including Brown-back Chat-Tyrant, Andean Tit-Spinetail and White-chinned Thistletail.
Re-boarding our van we spent the rest of the day continuing toward our next overnight stop in the town of Santa Clara. On our way we made a few birding stops including one at Malecón Cameguadua, a small park with large ponds to flesh out our bird list with waterfowl and wading bird species. Ringed and Green Kingfishers, Striated Heron, Cocoi Heron, Purple Gallinule, and Black-necked Stilt. Also Carib Grackle, Ruddy-breasted seedeater, Olivaceous and Streaked Saltators, and Thick-billed Seed-Finch.

Santa Clara Hotel

Carol, no - we cannot keep him

Our accommodations in Santa Clara de Cabal? The Hotel Santa Clara, a colorful and charming establishment. Having arrived late in the afternoon and informed that our next day was going to be a very early start, we quickly ate dinner, finished our daily checklist and turned in for the night.

waiting

Up well before daylight we boarded 4WD vehicles for another long bumpy ride to higher elevation forest patches where the critically endangered Indigo-winged (Fuertes’s) Parrots are found. The parrot was initially described in 1911 but then disappeared from historic records for over 90 years. Finally, in 2002, biologists, funded by an American Birding Conservation grant, discovered about a dozen individuals in a fragmented and unprotected high-Andean cloud forest.
This exciting rediscovery led to the purchase of property in 2007 to create the Fuertes's Parrot Reserve, which protects key nesting areas for the species. The formation of a Threatened Parrot Corridor followed in 2009. This series of reserves covers roughly 19,000 acres of key Colombian habitat and protects approximately 70 percent of the Indigo-winged Parrot's population. Currently there are approximately 250 individuals left in the world.

Indigo-winged Parrot

The parrot's species name, fuertesi, honors one of the greatest American bird artists, Louis Agassiz Fuertes. Educated at Cornell University and later becoming an ornithology professor there, Fuertes was a prolific and well-respected artist and ornithologist who worked during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And in our humble opinion, Audubon’s works pale in comparison to Fuertes’s.

obligatory 'we were there' photos

We arrived at the spot known for best views as other parrot species flew far overhead (Barred Parakeet, Scaly-naped Parrot, and Golden-plumed Parrot). We consumed our boxed breakfasts and hot beverages as the sun slowly rose higher in the eastern sky. Bundled from the cold we huddled along the road’s edge listening intently. Suddenly, Arnulfo our guide, heard a pair approach. He then spotted them in a distant tree giving us all scope looks. Pleased with seeing the birds, we then anxiously tracked the pair’s flight to another location where they were joined by a few more parrots before disappearing around a small rise. Quickly retracing their flight path along the road, we suddenly came upon them feeding in mistletoe directly above our heads! Far better looks than we could ever have imagined. “Giddy” is just one adjective used to describe the group’s reaction. I would add humbled as well. Reading subsequent trip reports by other groups, not many include having seen these critically endangered parrots as well as we had.

Andean Lapwing

driving back in daylight

our driver, left and guide Arnulfo on right

On our way back down the mountain road we picked up Slate-crowned Antpitta, White-banded Tyrannulet, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant and a pair of Andean Lapwing  Returning to Hotel Santa Clara we had time for a more leisurely lunch while watching hotel feeder action that included several tanager species: Black-capped, Scrub, Bay-headed, Golden, Blue-gray, and Palm.

Saffron Finch

After lunch we collected our luggage, boarded our van and headed to the Otún Quimbaya Reserve. Unfortunately the lodge inside the reserve had been closed since the pandemic so we stayed in the nearby town of La Florida at a recently purchased lodging in the process of being renovated, Casa Kumanday. In spite of more on again, off again, rain we still fit in some afternoon birding along the Otún River adding White-capped Dipper, Torrent Tyrannulet and Torrent Duck.

felt more like a safari ride

At daybreak the next morning we loaded into yet another set of 4WD vehicles. This time we headed into the Otún Quimbaya Sanctuary. It became clear that one of vehicles was a bit more…rustic. A 1957 Jeep with a cargo area outfitted with a pair of opposing narrow bench seats (thankfully padded). The cargo area sported a metal frame used to hold up a canvas covering. The driver was in the process of removing the canvas covering but we requested that it remain in place since the sky threatened rain. As it turned out, a wise choice.
Given the close seating in the jeep and what would no doubt be a rougher ride than in the other three more modern SUV’s, the “guys”, Tim, John, Russ and Tom elected to be in the jeep. Nick was in the passenger seat up front. There were moments when temporarily removing the covering gave us a splendid view of the narrow forested road we traveled but rain, for the better part of the drive, necessitated the covering remain in place. Rain accumulated on the canvas roof causing it to sag, occasionally requiring someone to push upward to force water off. Unfortunately, the water spilled back into the back of the jeep. A shame since had the weather remained clear, the jeep cargo area, albeit the bumpy ride, would have made for a grand touring experience. But it was still memorable.

Red-ruffed Fruitcrow

Two main target endemics on the day: Cauca Guan and Red-ruffed Fruitcrow. Arriving at the spot where the Guan might more reliably be seen, our driver excitedly pointed to a Guan in a tree. Well, to be fair it was a guan - just not the one we wanted. It was a Sickle-winged Guan. However, a handful of fruitcrows were easily seen, calling to one another flying from perch to perch. They are indeed colorful.

birding the narrow road with more rain...

...plus sharing the narrow road with vehicles

thankfully our rides were never far away

Further exploring the area a few in the group had all too brief glimpses of a Hooded Antpitta. A heard-only for most of the group: a vocal but secretive Chestnut-breasted Wren which only a few in the group managed to see. By that time the rains had become relentless so we agreed to throw in the towel. “Never say never” Nick and our jeep driver kept peering out and around jeep’s fogged windshield, scanning for our one missing endemic. Fortunately, a couple of soaking wet Cauca Guan were spotted. Everyone piled out of the SUVs for quick soggy scope views. Huzzah!

back at Casa Kumanday

By the time we got back to our hotel, the rain had abated. Of course it had. Knowing we needed to be moving on we dried off as best we could, gathered our luggage, sipped some hot coffee, checked out, and off we went.