Colombia Day 17; Refugio del Tororoi

 For my final day in Colombia I was on my own. The previous night I had driven from Bogota to a small town called Guayabetal, where I met the staff from Refugio del Tororoi where I had chosen to spend my final day birding. Since I had slept on site, I had the chance to get up early and look for owls, but since I had arrived at midnight, I decided not to bother and it was just as well, as it was a rainy morning and it would have been a complete waste of time.

With the reserve guide, I walked one of the trails in search of early morning species, but the weather made it a challenge and generally the trail was quiet. We had a few nice birds, such as Sepia-brown Wren, but the absolute highlight was a beautiful Black-collared Jay which came and showed very nicely in front of us, my first target of the morning. The other highlight on the trail was a nice Long-tailed Tapaculo which allowed me to grab a few photos as it sang. The final bird we saw before breakfast was the Ochre-breasted Brushfinch, which showed distantly an open area above the house, a key target for this site.

Of course the key species for this site is the Cundinamarca Antpitta, a rare and local species which visits feeders at this site. After we breakfast we went down to the hide, and there in front of it was a pair of Cundinamarca Antpitta waiting for their worms. Over the next half an hour I was able to watch the birds show phenomenally well, running around in front of us eating worms and gigantic beetle larva. In the end we had walk away views of the bird, as they continued to linger in front of the hide, preening themselves. Well worth coming to see.

For the rest of the morning we explored the trails around the reserve but generally we saw little, with activity quite low in dull conditions. At the end of the trail, we waited at a flowering bush for Emerald-bellied Puffleg which did come occasionally but was always quick and distant, so not an option to really appreciate its stunning breast plumage. It was a fun walk around though, with a few common species to appreciate as well. During lunch a Collared Inca and a few Long-tailed Sylph were visiting the hummingbird feeders, both nice hummingbirds I have not seen for a while.

After lunch, I descended the mountain again and returned to my car. From here I drove the three hours back to Bogota, thanks to the very slow trucks driving uphill. The only highlight was a nice White-tailed Kite hovering over the highway in Bogota. I spent the evening in my travel hotel, preparing for my flight the following day. 

Species List:
Refugio del Tororoi: Sickle-winged Guan, Lined Quail-Dove, Chestnut-collared Swift, Lesser Violetear, Longuemare's Sunangel, Speckled Hummingbird, Long-tailed Sylph, Tyrian Metaltail, Emerald-bellied Puffleg, Bronzy Inca, Collared Inca, Buff-tailed Coronet, Masked Trogon, Flame-winged Parakeet, Cundinamarca Antpitta, Long-tailed Tapaculo, Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Streaked Tuftedcheek, Pearled Treerunner, Azara's Spinetail, Green-and-black Fruiteater, Rufous-headed Pygmy Tyrant, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Black-collared Jay, Brown-bellied Swallow, Sepia-brown Wren, Grey-breasted Wood Wren, Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush, Common Chlorospingus, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Ochre-breasted Brushfinch, Eastern Meadowlark, Russet-crowned Warbler, Grass-green Tanager, Golden-crowned Tanager, Blue-and-black Tanager, White-sided Flowerpiercer, Masked Flowerpiercer,