Saturday, 23 November 2019

Colombia; Cundinimarca, Sumapaz & Ibague

Day 8 21.11.2019
Our rotten luck from the previous day seemed to follow us. First we ended stuck for an hour in stationary traffic at around 05.00 in the morning whilst travelling to the Monterredondo. Once we arrived at the village we then got lost, as the road required was not on Google maps, and once we finally found the road there were roadworks taking place less than half way up and it was not passable. Consequently, we missed out on almost all out targets for the site, the only one we managed was the rather none descript Green-bellied Hummingbird. That said, we had a fantastic mornings birding with lots of nice birds and quite a few lifers. Magpie Tanager is not new but is always a fantastic bird to see. Flame-faced Tanager was a stunning new bird, With brief views of White Booted Raquet-tail, Golden Tanager and Scaled Piculette also nice new birds.
-Inca Jay
-Black-capped Tanager
-Blue-necked Tanager
-Magpie Tanager
-Yellow-bellied Elaenia
-Mountain Elaenia
-Scaled Piculette
-Flame-faced Tanager
-Golden-faced Tyrannulet
-Russet-backed Oropendola
We finished birding the area we could bird around lunchtime and moved back towards Bogota. Our plan was to visit a small national park called Chicaque where we hoped for some nice hummingbirds. Luck finally turned with us as our key target at the site Golden-bellied Starfrontlet performed incredibly with both Collared and Black Inca as support species. It was an excellent end to the day.
-Collared Inca
-Tourmaline Sunangel
-Golden-bellied Starfrontlet

Species List:
Monterredondo: Crested Bobwhite, Feral Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Ruddy Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Black-throated Mango, White-booted Racket-tail, Green-bellied Hummingbird, Southern Lapwing, Western Cattle Egret, Black Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, White-throated Toucanet, Scaled Piculet, Yellow-headed Caracara, American Kestrel, White-winged Becard, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Mountain Elaenia, Golden-faced Tyrannulet, Eastern Wood Pewee, Black Phoebe, Pale-edged Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Eastern Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Inca Jay, Blue-and-white Swallow, Barn Swallow, House Wren, Tropical Mockingbird, Swainson's Thrush, Pale-breasted Thrush, Spectacled Thrush, Black-billed Thrush, Great Thrush, Thick-billed Euphonia, Lesser Goldfinch, Eastern Meadowlark, Russet-backed Oropendola, Crested Oropendola, Giant Cowbird, Tennessee Warbler, American Redstart, Tropical Parula, Blackburnian Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Golden-crowned Warbler, Canada Warbler, Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, Magpie Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, Palm Tanager, Black-capped Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Blue-necked Tanager, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Flame-faced Tanager, Golden Tanager, Swallow Tanager, Masked Flowerpiercer, Saffron Finch, Blue-black Grassquit, Grey Seedeater, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Bananaquit,
Parque Natural Chicaque: Lesser Violetear, Sparkling Violetear, Tourmaline Sunangel, Collared Inca, Golden-bellied Starfrontlet, White-sided Flowerpiercer, Masked Flowerpiercer,

Day 9 22.11.2019
Todays location was one I had been most looking forward to on the trip; the upland site of Sumapaz. At 3800 meters it was without doubt the highest I had ever been without the help of an airplane. The air was noticeably thin and a few of the guys suffered with the altitude. The number of birds was low but the habitat was fantastic, with low scrub covering the mountainside. There was a small lake at the site and this added some variety to the habitats.
The birds were brilliant. Our main target was Green-bearded Helmetcrest and we had fantastic views of numerous individuals at various points on the mountain. On a number of occasions, we walked right up to them and they did not seem so fussed. Tawny Antpitta was also common, with maybe six individuals seen and some incredibly well. There were some nice furnarids as well; Many-streaked Canastero was a species I really wanted, and Chestnut-winged Cinclodes also showed briefly. On the none avian front there were awesome encounters with a number of wild Guinea Pigs at various points, as they fed at the side of the lake.
-Andean Duck
-Andean Teal
-Brazilian Guinea Pig
-Tawny Antpitta
-Andean Tit Spinetail
-Chestnut-winged Cincloides
-Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant
-Black-chested Buzzard Eagle
-Many-striped Canastero
-Plumbeous Sierra Finch
 
-Green-bearded Helmetcrest
-Apolinars Wren
-Glossy Flowerpiercer
During the afternoon we drove to our next site, Ibague, a journey of some six hours, and so our birding for the day ceased.

Species List:

Sumapaz: Andean Teal, Andean Duck, Green-bearded Helmetcrest, American Coot, Noble Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Merlin, Tawny Antpitta, Chestnut-winged Cinclodes, Andean Tit-Spinetail, Many-striped Canastero, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, House Wren, Apolinar's Wren, Great Thrush, Andean Siskin, Glossy Flowerpiercer, Plumbeous Sierra Finch, Brazilian Guinea Pig, Forest Rabbit,

Day 10 23.11.2019
We only had one morning birding the hillside above the village of Juntas, near Ibague. We started early in the hope of seeing Tolima Dove and a few other endemic species, and birded the hillside area until midday. At the top of the hill was a garden and here is where we had most of our top birds. That said, I was the only person of the team to see Tolima Dove and, an even more desirable species, Masked Saltator which showed briefly in the canopy. Yellow-headed Brushfinch was another endemic of this region but this showed much better. Long-tailed Sylph Hummingbird was another of the mornings highlights, as well as a fantastic Yellow-faced Grassquit.
-Chestnut-naped Brushfinch
-Yellow-headed Brushfinch
-Masked Saltator
-Cinamon Flycatcher
-Olivaceous Piculette
-Andean Siskin
-Saffron-headed Tanager
-Yellow-faced Grassquit
-Black-capped Tanager
-Tolima Dove
-Blue-headed Tanager
-Golden Tanager
-Streaked Xenops
For about a two hours after midday we sent just outside the village of Juntas itself, staking out a flowering bush were Tolima Blossomcrown hummingbird was known to visit. In the first hour there was only a Lesser Violetear, but fortunately the Blossomcrown did make an appearance for about five minutes. Sadly Gray had wandered off for this visit but it did return for him after another hours wait. By this point it was already 14.30 so we began making tracks to our next stop; Otun Quimbaya. The journey was long and stressful filled with traffic but we did trip tick Pauraque along the way, so it was not a complete loss.
-Torrent Tyrannulet
-Tolima Blossomcrown
-White-tipped Swift


Species List:
Juntas: Sickle-winged Guan, White-tipped Swift, Feral Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Tolima Dove, Lesser Violetear, Tolima Blossomcrown, Tourmaline Sunangel, Speckled Hummingbird, Long-tailed Sylph, Tyrian Metaltail, Bronzy Inca, Sword-billed Hummingbird, White-booted Racket-tail, Bare-faced Ibis, Black Vulture, White-rumped Hawk, Andean Motmot, Olivaceous Piculet, Montane Woodcreeper, Streaked Xenops, Azara's Spinetail, Torrent Tyrannulet, Black Phoebe, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Mountain Elaenia, Pale-edged Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Inca Jay, House Wren, Whiskered Wren, Swainson's Thrush, Great Thrush, Andean Siskin, Common Bush Tanager, Chestnut-capped Brushfinch, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Yellow-headed Brushfinch, Tropical Parula, Blackburnian Warbler, Russet-crowned Warbler, Canada Warbler, Slate-throated Whitestart, Oleaginous Hemispingus, Blue-winged Mountain Tanager, Blue-capped Tanager, Black-capped Tanager, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Scrub Tanager, Golden Tanager, White-sided Flowerpiercer, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Masked Saltator,
Otun Quimbaya: Pauraque, Black and White Owl,

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