Colombia Day 11; La Drymophila & El Encanto Lodge

  From El Encanto Lodge, we had arrange a visit to their private La Drymophila reserve, which has grown famous in recent years due to its feeding of Hooded Antpitta. It had long been a site I had wanted to visit, and although far from most adjacent sites, this itinerary offered a chance to include it, so we made the detour and arranged access. Sadly it can only be reached by 4x4, which the lodge was able to provide as well as all the service once we had entered the site itself.

  We arrived just after first light, to the forest alive with birds. There were many new birds for me here, and I knew it would be a push to see them all, but we started work quickly with the species after which the reserve is named, the East Andean Antbird showing as we walked down the path to the main feeding area. We were then led to a small hide, where a moth trap sheet had been fixed up, alongside some grain. This feeder was very lively, with White-throated and Lined Quail Dove both gobbling up the seed, and warblers and Green Jay taking the moths. We tried to tape in the Schwartz Antthrush, since it had not been visiting of its own accord recently and we could here it singing, but it did not come. Fortunately the Long-tailed Tapaculo which was also singing did indeed come, and although very quick, it sat out right in the open for a few seconds before diving back into cover.

  Now it was time for ‘Rob’ the site's so-called White-bellied Antpitta. He made us wait in the end, but it was not a problem as we were entertained by a troop of Tolima Dove, a rare species that comes to seed here. Rob did eventually come out and showed fantastically well, as did another individual who was not Rob. A successful visit here, we moved on to our next feeder where we hoped to round out a brilliant day.

  Sadly it was not to be as ‘Mike’ the Hooded Antpitta did not want to come out and play. We waited for two hours but here did not come, leaving us bitterly disappointed. It did not help that two more White-bellied Antpitta snuck in to steal all of Mikes food, but there was no sight or sound in the entire time we waited. A Tolima Blossomcrown hummingbird was a nice distraction, feeding on the flowers in front of the hide, but otherwise disappointing.

  And sadly the time we waited meant many other targets had gone quiet or shut up shop. The Dusky-headed Brushfinch would not come out to play at all, and there was no activity from mixed-species flocks. The hummingbird feeder was nice, and the Gorgetted Woodstar that was feeding on the Verbenas was a new species for me. Sadly, it seemed we had spent the best part of the morning waiting for Mike. Fortunately, we were able to set the record right on one species, as when we descended we checked another spot for Dusky-headed Brushfinch and here an individual did indeed respond in the vegetation, despite the heat of the late morning.

  As we assembled our things at El Encanto before setting off, we checked out the hummingbird feeders here and I managed to get two new species with Indigo-capped Hummingbird and Glistening-green Hummingbird. Despite missing out on a few key species, the site here had still really delivered and it is certainly somewhere I plan to come back to in the future. We then drove the six hours north to the town of La Plata where we would spend the night. 

Species List:
La Drymophila: Ruddy Pigeon, Tolima Dove, White-throated Quail-Dove, Lined Quail-Dove, Squirrel Cuckoo, Sparkling Violetear, Lesser Violetear, Long-tailed Sylph, Bronzy Inca, White-booted Racket-tail, Violet-fronted Brilliant, Gorgeted Woodstar, Tolima Blossomcrown, Crowned Woodnymph, Andean Emerald, Black Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Acorn Woodpecker, Uniform Antshrike, East Andean Antbird, Western Fire-eye, White-bellied Antpitta, Long-tailed Tapaculo, Azara's Spinetail, White-throated Spadebill, Inca Jay, Grey-breasted Wood Wren, Chestnut-capped Brushfinch, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Russet-backed Oropendola, Red-bellied Grackle, Three-striped Warbler, Slate-throated Whitestart,
El Encanto: Brown Violetear, White-vented Plumeleteer, Indigo-capped Hummingbird, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Shining-green Hummingbird, Blue-grey Tanager, Bananaquit,