Birding in the Magdalena Medio Valley
The middle part of the Magdalena valley is very fertile and as a result of that few forests have survived.
But there are still some interesting places left esp. in the foothills.
The Magdalena valley lies in the centre of the country and is of course of interest
for those that want to see endemics.
These areas are the best for following endemics:
Blue-billed Curassow (Crax alberti),
Sooty Ant-tanager (Habia gutturalis),
White-mantled Barbet (Capito hypoleucus),
Antioquia Bristle-Tyrant (Phylloscartes lanyoni).
The following 5 reserves listed on this page are at the moment of writing (June 2006) safe.
But this can change quickly. Inform always before going.
For the first 2 you must write them in advance.
El Paujil
(Serrania de Las Quinchas - Boyaca; 200 m - 900 m asl)
This is a newly established reserve from the Fundacion ProAves
and one of my favorite ones in Colombia.
It is located at the base of the Serrania de Las Quinchas.
Birds are similar to the Rio Claro reserve, but has it has some extras and some birds are easier seen here.
If you like to see Blue-billed Curassow (Crax alberti)
(Hence it's name El Paujil, the local name for Curassow) or
Sooty Ant-tanager (Habia gutturalis), this is probably the best place for it.
Latter is very common here, with several sightings/day.
The endemic (sub-)species: Beautiul Woodpecker (Melanerpes (chrysauchen) pulcher) can be
seen daily, as well as the near-endemic Citron-throated Toucan (Ramphastos citreolaemus).
Saffron-headed Parrot (Pionopsitta pyrilia), is not that common, but it can be seen
flying around the visitor centre.
White-mantled Barbet (Capito hypoleucus) (*) has only been captured once.
Two similar motmot species are here: Broad-billed (Electron platyrhynchum) (*)
and Rufous Motmot (Baryphthengus martii).
Marbled Wood-quail (Odontophorus gujanensis) can be seen everywhere.
As with other wood-quails, they are easiest found if you walk quietly on the trails.
You can hear the Cinnamon Woodpecker (Celeus loricatus) all day. The call is loud, but most
will overlook it as the call is very strange for a woodpecker.
Russet-crowned (Anurolimnas viridis) and
White-throated Crake (Laterallus albigularis) are both relatively easy to see.
One day on one of our walks we had a Slate-throated Gnatcatcher (Polioptila schistaceigula)(*)
in a mixed flock. Apparently the only record here.
Of the hummingbirds, most common are the hermits, but there are as well others, among them the lovely
Ruby-topaz Hummingbird (Chrysolampis mosquitus)(picture).
An odd bird is the Bare-crowned Antbird (Gymnocichla nudiceps) (picture), locally known as "el Calvo" (the bold one).
If there is a good fruiting tree, watch out for Blue Cotinga (Cotinga nattererii) (*),
Purple-throated Fruitcrow (Querula purpurata) (common)(*),
Rufous (Rhytipterna holerythra)(*) and Speckled Mourner (Laniocera rufescens)(*).
In the forest you hear often Yellow-browed Shrike-vireo (Vireolanius eximius) (*),
Thrush-like Schiffornis (Schiffornis turdinus)(*),
White-tailed (Trogon viridis) and Violaceous Trogon (T. violaceus).
Flycatchers are well presented. Sepia-capped Flycatcher (Leptopogon amaurocephalus)
is perhaps the most common.
Royal Flycatcher (Onychorhynchus coronatus)(*) has been seen often.
We have seen Slate-headed (Todirostrum sylvia) and
Black-headed Tody-flycatcher (T. nigriceps).
Common Tody-flycatcher (Todirostrum cinereum)
Black-tailed Flycatcher (Myiobius atricaudus) and
Lesser Kiskadee (Philohydor lictor) are common around the visitor centre.
Plain-coloured (Tangara inornata) and Golden-hooded Tanager (T. larvata) are
nearly at the end of their range.
At night you hear just after sunset and just before sunrise the special sound of the
Grey Potoo (Nyctibius griseus). Also the froglike Crested Owl (Lophostrix cristata)
has been heard near the visitor centre.
Other bird of interest: Cinnamon (Pachyramphus cinnamomeus) and Cinereous Becard (P. rufus)(picture),
White-flanked Antwren (Myrmotherula axillaris) (*),
Chestnut-backed Antbird (Myrmeciza exsul),
Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner (Automolus ochrolaemus),
Southern Nightingale-wren (Microcerculus marginatus),
Southern Bentbill (Oncostoma olivaceum),
Eastern Slaty Antshrike (Thamnophilus punctatus),
Black-faced Antthrush (Formicarius analis),
Lesser Seed-finch (Oryzoborus angolensis) and
Orange-crowned Oriole (Icterus auricapillus).
While I was there, many students were making investigations in various fields.
There were always people that helped me identifying the frogs and plants.
The reserve is safe, but unfortunately you cannot just walk to the reserve.
You have to arrange your visit well in advance.
Contact Alonso Quevedo by email: aquevedo@proaves.org.
To get to the reserve, you have first to take a bus to Puerto Boyaca (4 hr from Bogota).
From here there is a bus that goes twice a day to the village of Pinzon (N 6°4'1" W 74°16'00").
The trip takes 2 long hours and makes a stop half-way.
From the village of Puerto Pinzon there are two ways to get to the reserve. One is with a "lancha" (motorboat)
(See background). This is only possible when the river is high.
In the dry season you can only get to the reserve by road. Ask around in the village (3 US) for a lift
to the reserve entrance. From here you have to walk 15 min to the visitor centre.
They are working on this last part of road. So it will be possible in the future to get all the way to the
visitor centre of the reserve by car.
You can also walk to the visitor centre (N 6°3'00" W 74°15'41") in an small hour.
Accommodation is possible in the visitor centre. Camping is possible as well.
They provide good meals. Cost for accommodation and food is not too much.
The bridge over the river was damaged during the last flooding. Soon it will be repaired again.
Once you get to the other side, a trail follows the river upwards and then goes up higher.
There are plenty of trails and they are still making new ones, but they can be very muddy.
It will esp. take some effort to get to the higher parts.
They can rent you a tent and it is interesting to stay overnight at some of the higher spots esp. for birds
that I have marked with an (*).
Apart from birds the reserve is also quite important for the Variegated Spider Monkey (Ateles hybridus),
an endangered species.
Further you will find funny Yellow-striped Poison-dart Frogs (Dendrobates truncatus)
(see foto upper left) and Palm Rocket Frogs (Colostethus palmatus) (foto lower left).
This last frog belongs as well to the family of Poison Arrow-frogs (Dendrobatidae).
The name comes from the enormous jumps he makes for such a tiny frog.
The third frog (upper right) is a Crested Forest Toad (Bufo typhonius).
Last picture is an anolis species.
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Los Achiles
(Rio La Miel - Dep.Caldas)
Los Achiles is a private cattle farm of about 300 ha. The most beautiful of the farm is
the river with its lovely name "Rio La Miel", which cuts through it.
It has a beautiful house at the river and the food is extreme good.
Apart from birding, it is lovely to have a swim or float in this beautiful river.
This is the place if you are travelling with non-birders.
There are the grasslands, a bamboo-bordered river and there is as well a deciduous forest.
This all makes it possible to get over 100 species in a day.
Large-headed Flatbill (Ramphotrigon megacephala) can be seen in front of the house.
While I was there I hadn't time to explore all the corners.
Just to name a few special:
Little Tinamou (Crypturellus soui),
Pied Puffbird (Notharchus tectus),
White-tailed Trogon (Trogon viridis),
Broad-billed Motmot (Electron platyrhynchum),
Pale-bellied Hermit (Phaethornis anthophilus),
Little Hermit (Phaethornis longuemareus),
Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris),
Pale-eyed Pygmy-tyrant (Lophotriccus pilaris),
Olivaceous Flatbill (Rhynchocyclus olivaceus),
Large-headed Flatbill (Ramphotrigon megacephala),
Yellow-olive Flycatcher (Tolmomyias sulphurescens),
Grey-capped Flycatcher (Myiozetetes granadensis),
Black-crowned Tityra (Tityra inquisitor),
White-bearded Manakin (Manacus manacus),
Striped Manakin (Machaeropterus regulus),
Dull-mantled Antbird (Myrmeciza laemosticta),
Scrub Greenlet (Hylophilus flavipes),
White-eared Conebill (Conirostrum leucogenys),
Plain-coloured Tanager (Tangara inornata).
If you like to visit the farm, contact Lino Jaramillo
(email: linojaramillo@hotmail.com).
He and his wife Ana-Maria are very friendly.
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Cañon del Rio Claro
(Dep. Antioquia)
This is a classical birding area, visited by many birding tours.
Unfortunately it was closed for 5 years and has recently (2003) opened up again.
Rio Claro is very easy to get to. It lies just along the main road between Bogota and Medellin!
At 3 hrs from Medellin, approx. 5 hrs from Bogota.
Get off at the bridge of Rio Claro (ask driver). If coming from Bogota, walk 100 meters further.
You have to take a dirt road, which starts behind the last house on the left.
There should be a sign welcoming you to "El Refugio".
This dirt road, which follows the river, is about 1000 meters long and is top birding.
On our last trip we saw - among many others - following good species:
Little Tinamou (Crypturellus soui)
Blue-chested Hummingbird (Amazilia amabilis),
White-mantled Barbet (Capito hypoleucus) (endemic),
Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)
King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa)
Black-headed Tody-flycatcher (Todirostrum nigriceps)
Antioquia Bristle-tyrant (Phylloscartes lanyoni) (endemic) and
Fasciated Antshrike (Cymbilaimus lineatus).
If you are lucky enough to run into army ants you can see the following three antbirds together:
Chestnut-backed (Myrmeciza exsul) (also very common alone),
Dull-mantled (Myrmeciza laemosticta) and
Bicoloured Antbird (Gymnopithys bicolor).
The place were the road crosses a creek is good for Orange-billed Sparrow (Arremon aurantiirostris),
Dusky-faced (Mitrospingus cassinii) and
Lemon-rumped Tanagers (Ramphocelus icteronotus).
Finally you arrive at the Refugio. Above Chestnut-headed Oropendolas (Psarocolius wagleri) are nesting.
In the beautiful marbled river watch out for Fasciated Tiger-Herons (Tigrisoma fasciatum).
In the Refugio (N 5° 54' 5", W 74° 51' 22") one can stay overnight in a open dormitory. Do not worry there are hardly any mosquitos at night.
The Refugio serves food during holidays and in weekends. In the week - when most likely you will have the place on your own - you have to eat at one of
the various restaurants at the entrance.
A trail continues along the river. 10 minutes further are the cabañas, which are overlooking the river.
Collared Aracaris (Pteroglossus torquatus) will be commonly seen in front of your open rooms.
Also Rufous Motmot (Baryphthengus martii) is common here.
In the evening walk to the Oilbird cave (bit further). At 6 pm they start leaving the caves.
First they are hanging a bit around the entrance but soon the air will be filled with
Oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis).
Before it is getting dark watch closely to the rocks in front of the entrance.
Very often we see here a Green-fronted Lancebill (Doryfera ludovicae), catching insects from the rock.
It is the second time that I see this species catching insects from a lower lying perch. In Ucumari , I saw him even catching insects from the ground!
Further we found a nest of White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) just 1 meter from the trail.
Watch the sky for Bat Falcons (Falco rufigularis), which are common.
The trail to the Condor cave is also very interesting to watch birds. From the main road, you have to go 6 km
towards Bogota. At a pink house (N 5°55'17" W 74°50'10") there is a trail that goes down.
Unfortunately nearly the whole forest till the cave has been chopped down. In a lonely dead palm that still
stands there a Beautiful Woodpecker (Melanerpes (chrysauchen) pulcher) was making its nest.
In the little forest that remains, we found following nice birds:
Cinnamon Woodpecker (Celeus loricatus),
the near-endemic Citron-throated Toucan (Ramphastos citreolaemus),
Grey-lined Hawk (Asturina nitida),
Antioquia Bristle-tyrant (Phylloscartes lanyoni) !!,
Brownish Flycatcher (Cnipodectes subbrunneus) !!,
Olivaceous Flatbill (Rhynchocyclus olivaceus),
Bright-rumped Attila (Attila spadiceus),
Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius),
One-coloured Becard (Pachyramphus homochrous) (common in mixed flocks),
White-bearded Manakin (Manacus manacus),
Long-tailed Woodcreeper (Deconychura longicauda) !!,
Black-faced Antthrush (Formicarius analis) and
Sooty Ant-tanager (Habia gutturalis). To name the most important.
At the end of the trail is the Condor cave (Cueva del Condor),
which has also Oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis) in this cave.
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Cañon del Rio Alicante
(Dep. Antioquia; 300 - 600 m asl)
A few years ago a friend of mine found this interesting and safe reserve.
The area is not of strategic importance for guerilla or
paramilitaries. They have never been seen here.
Unfortunately there has been a lot of deforestation lately.
Around the Rio Alicante the reserve is still very scenic. It is run by Corantioquia.
The river has many limestone canyons, where Blue-headed Parrot (Pionus menstruus)
are flying overhead. They even nest here in the steep rocks.
There are also plenty of caves.
Some have Oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis).
There are a number of good trails. The first one (Antbird trail on the map)
is the one that goes to the oilbird cave. From Finca Santa Barbara
(500 m asl) walk
back to the main road, turn left and walk till next curve (100 m).
From here a trail starts at the left hand side. Follow the trail to
the river, cross the river and continue 80 meter further. Here is
a small trail towards the cave (also 100 meter).
You might come back via the Guardasol creek. The part of Rio Alicante
a bit beyond this meander, is the most scenic. Here we had
Fasciated Tiger-heron (Tigrisoma fasciatum).
Beautiful rock formations, with Blue-headed Parrot
(Pionus menstruus) flying overhead. They nest on the rocks.
Another good trail is the one beyond Finca. Walk NW to the first crossing.
Left trail goes through forest and continues on to the Finca of Arcangel.
Beyond his finca the trail goes into the forest and here they have often seen
the endangered and endemic Blue-billed Curassow (Crax alberti)!
(We only heart it here)
The right trail goes to another finca. Just a bit beyond this finca we had
the endemic Sooty Ant-tanager (Habia gutturalis),
Golden-headed (Pipra erythrocephala) and
Striped Manakins (Machaeropterus regulus) and
Blue-&-yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna).
Then there is the main road to the Rio Alicante. Here we had
good sightings of Citron-throated (Ramphastos citreolaemus)
and Chestnut-mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos swainsonii).
Most special of all was
White-mantled Barbet (Capito hypoleucus), feeding in a fruiting tree.
Some of the other special birds we had here was an albino
White-flanked Antwren (Myrmotherula axillaris)
(Found here in nov 2002 and seen again in March 2003),
Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush (Catharus aurantiirostris),
Great Tinamou (Tinamous major),
Capped Heron (Syrigma sibilatrix),
Violet-bellied Hummingbird (Damophila julie),
Great (Taraba major) and
Black Antshrike (Thamnophilus nigriceps),
Dusky (Cercomacra tyrannina) and
Bicoloured Antbird (Gymnopithys bicolor),
Black-faced Antthrush (Formicarius analis),
Red-billed Scythebill (Campylorhamphus trochilirostris),
Black-faced Dacnis (Dacnis lineata) and
Slate-coloured Grosbeak (Saltator grossus).
Silvery-brown Bare-face Tamarins (Saguinus leucopus)
are also easily seen.
To get there, take first a bus to Maceo (from Medellin).
In Maceo you must register in the town hall at the office
of UMATA (ask for Ivan Dario Murera) if you like
staying in the Finca Santa Barbara.
Best is to phone before (8640265 or 8640217) for a reservation
in the finca Santa Barbara. Though they have lots of rooms,
only one party is allowed to stay here at the same time.
You can also stay in your tent at Arcangels mini-finca
(See parcela 6 on map).
His phone in Maceo is 8640294.
Trying to negotiate transport to the area is perhaps the
most difficult part. Sometimes you can get a lift with
the milkman. It is an hour drive to the finca.
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El Garcero
(Isla de Mompos - Bolivar; 20 m asl)
In 2006 I was visiting the grandmother of my wife on the Isla de Mompos.
I often went to the reserve closeby called El Garcero.
I was here in the rainy season. Mosquitos everywhere and lots of trails inaccessible or very muddy.
Nevertheless it was very interesting.
you actually didn't have to walk far to see the best birds.
At only 50 meters from the visitor centre was a small pool with an Agami Heron (Agamia agami). In Venezuela
we have to make special boat trips to see this bird.
In a tree also at 50 meters there was a nice Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis) resting.
The only endemic occurring here is the very common and noisy Chestnut-winged Chachalaca (Ortalis garrula).
The reserve borders some "playones". On these playones one should be able to see or at least hear some
Northern Screamers (Chauna chavaria).
If you are after Chestnut Piculet (Picumnus cinnamomeus), El Garcero is the place to be.
Never been on a place with so many. At least 4 observations/day.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo's (Coccyzus americanus) were very common. 30 observations/day!
Other specialities found here include:
Green-&-rufous Kingfisher (Chloroceryle inda),
American Pygmy Kingfisher (Chloroceryle aenea),
Dwarf Cuckoo (Coccyzus pumilus),
Blue-&-yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna),
Capped Heron (Pilherodius pileatus),
Blue-chested Hummingbird (Amazilia amabilis),
Grey-chested Dove (Leptotila cassini),
Grey-headed Kite (Leptodon cayanensis),
Hook-billed Kite (Chondrohierax uncinatus),
Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher (Poecilotriccus sylvia),
White-bellied Antbird (Myrmeciza longipes),
Jet Antbird (Cercomacra nigricans),
Pale-legged Hornero (Furnarius leucopus) (Their oven nests were all built in trees and never on the ground as in the Santa Marta area),
White-whiskered Spinetail (Synallaxis candei) and
White-eared Conebill (Conirostrum leucogenys).
The reserve belongs to the Fundacion Neotrópicos.
Probably one can stay in the reserve, but in the closeby village of Hatillo de Loba (20 min)
there is a small posada.
You can find more information on the websites of the Foundation:
wiki.neotropicos.org/index.php/Portada and
www.earthlink.de/neotropicos.
Other websites with information:
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