After giving the area the once-over the day before, we were ready for a days birding in the Cerro Acacana forests and paramo. As should have been expected however, the weather was not on our side once again, and although the rain held off for most of the morning, the fog present a constant problem, especially when birding at the higher altitudes. We had hoped to start the morning at the site where it is possible to find the rare and range restricted Red-faced Parrot. However, the thick fog put and end to that and as such we decided to climb the mountain first and find our other targets, coming back to the parrots in the afternoon, when we hoped that the weather would be clearer.
In the end this worked out nicely for us though. We enjoyed
a very pleasant mornings birding, and we were at the highest point of the ridge
for the hour in which the clouds cleared, before they returned. The lower areas
of forest provided us with nice birds such as Black-headed Hemispingus, Agile
Tit-Tyrant and a brilliant Plushcap. We also got views of a nice pair of Blackish
Tapaculo as we started the walk, although the other Tapaculos on the site gave
us the slip. At the higher altitudes we found a nice Black-billed
Shrike-Tyrant, as well as mixed flocks of other species.
The main species people visit this site for is the
Crescent-faced Antpitta. Although I have seen this bird before at a feeder in
Colombia, it is still the most beautiful of all the Antpittas in my opinion,
and it would be nice to have to work for an individual, rather than have it
show up at a feeder on the appointed hour. Frustratingly then, during the whole
walk we never heard an individual sing, leaving us to doubt if we would be able
to find one in the end. Throughout the walk we had noticed small trails heading
into the bamboo, indicators of birders past who had found the birds, and in the
end, out of desperation, we headed down one of these trails to try our luck.
And our luck was in! In response to our playback, an individual eventually came
out of the undergrowth, before showing nicely. The only downside was that the
bird showed just as the rain started, leaving the undergrowth in even more
darkness than usual.
Having wrapped up the stunning antpitta, and with the rain
falling heavily, we decided to try and find the parrots. Fortunately at these lower
altitudes the rain was not falling, and we were able to spend a good two hours in
the area with only short showers to deal with. Sadly there was nothing from the
parrots in that time, although a few mixed species flocks kept things lively,
with a small group of Hooded Mountain Tanagers being the highlight, showing nicely.
Having wrapped up at 14:00, we decided to ascend the
mountain once more and try our luck with a few species we had missed, but at
this point the rain really began to fall. And it did not stop! After probably
an hour waiting in the car, we decided to call it a day and headed back down
into town. The entire way the road was like a torrential river, bringing an
abrupt end to our time birding this site. That said, we still gained one
species from this ill-fated afternoon venture, a rather soggy Many-streaked
Canastero, so it wasn’t a complete loss.
Cerro Acacana: Tyrian Metaltail, Glowing Puffleg, Rainbow Starfrontlet, Roadside Hawk, Variable Hawk, Andean Pygmy Owl, Bar-bellied Woodpecker, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Equatorial Antpitta, Crescent-faced Antpitta, Blackish Tapaculo, Chusquea Tapaculo, Pearled Treerunner, Many-striped Canastero, Mouse-colored Thistletail, Cinnamon Flycatcher, White-throated Tyrannulet, Agile Tit-Tyrant, White-crested Elaenia, Smoke-colored Pewee, Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, Turquoise Jay, Great Thrush, Yellow-breasted Brushfinch, Northern Mountain Cacique, Citrine Warbler, Black-crested Warbler, Spectacled Whitestart, Hooded Mountain Tanager, Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager, Golden-crowned Tanager, Blue-and-black Tanager, Blue-backed Conebill, Glossy Flowerpiercer, Black Flowerpiercer, Masked Flowerpiercer, Plushcap, Black-headed Hemispingus,
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