Colombia Day 2; El Zaino & Minca

  Since the Tayrona National Park was closed, we knew that our full morning at Moon Wind Hostel would mostly be spent relaxing and looking for birds in the woodlands that surrounded it. That said, because the nearby forests were still quite intact there area was generally very lively with birds and although everything we recorded was common, we still reached nearly 50 species by the time we left at midday.

  That total included two new species for me, with Ruddy-breasted Seedeater and Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet both being uninspiring but ticks. More interesting birds included a nice group of Collared Aracari, a showy Russet-throated Puffbird and a flyover King Vulture. Overall, it was a very pleasant and steady morning as we overcame our remaining jetlag.

  Perhaps the highlight of the morning was a group of Colombia Red Howler Monkeys that were feeding in the trees across the valley from our hostal. Although distant, we could see the animals, a group of at least five individuals, jumping between the trees and using their tails to hang down and foraging on fruiting trees. Since Colombia is not a particularly famous destination for large mammals, it was good to see these so early in the trip.

  At lunchtime we took a taxi from Tayrona to the more familiar settings of the small touristy town of Minca, which I had visited back in 2019. Sadly, our arrival in Minca coincided with the start of a full afternoon of torrential downpours that did not stop until early evening. This problem was compounded by the fact that we did not know exactly where our hotel, Hostal Vista Verde was exactly, and in the end we had to take a Mototaxi from Minca up to the hostal since we could not actually reach it by car.

  Although the hostal was beautiful and situated deep into the forest, the weather meant birding was not possible. Everything we saw was a common species, with the highlight being a pair of confiding Chestnut-capped Warblers that we saw during lunch, which even came into the restaurant where we were eating lunch. It was a disappointing consequence of the weather that our first afternoon in Minca was a complete write-off. Fortunately the day did not end on this sour note, as the weather cleared at the end of the afternoon and we were able to watch a flock of some 70 Military Macaws flying around preparing for roost on the other side of the valley.

Species List:
Moon Wind Hostal Tyrona: Ruddy Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, Squirrel Cuckoo, White-necked Jacobin, White-vented Plumeleteer, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Southern Lapwing, King Vulture, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Russet-throated Puffbird, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Collared Aracari, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Crested Caracara, Yellow-headed Caracara, Orange-chinned Parakeet, Blue-headed Parrot, Barred Antshrike, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Great Kiskadee, Social Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Piratic Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Grey-breasted Martin, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, House Wren, Bicolored Wren, Buff-breasted Wren, Pale-breasted Thrush, Yellow-backed Oriole, Yellow Oriole, Shiny Cowbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Carib Grackle, Crimson-backed Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, Palm Tanager, Blue-black Grassquit, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater, Grey Seedeater, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Bananaquit, Buff-throated Saltator, Olive-grey Saltator,
Minca: Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, White-vented Plumeleteer, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Military Macaw, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, House Wren, Bicolored Wren, Pale-breasted Thrush, Lesser Goldfinch, Chestnut-capped Warbler, Blue-grey Tanager, Palm Tanager, Swallow Tanager,