Colombia,

a superb tour to a country full of very special birds.

The central, west and eastern Andes and the Amazons

 For birdwatchers Colombia is perhaps one of the countries most striking to the imagination, with an enormous number of species. Not only the number of species attracts, but also the many endemic species. Colombia also has species with very restricted ranges in South America. It is impossible to see all these bird species during a 17 days’  tour, but the tour will give a very good impression of the species prevailing. In order to see as much as we can, we will visit areas at three different altitudes: the highest up to 4000 m, then the middle and the lower part of the Andes and the Amazones. We will travel in a relaxed way, enjoying the fact that Colombia is possibly the country with the world’s highest diversification.

Programma van dag tot dag Colombia

 Arrival in  Bogota and transfer to the hotel in Bogota

Day 1:  Local flight and transfer to Rio Blanco

In de ochtend vlucht naar Manizales. Daarna rijden we naar Rio Blanco (1 uur).Morning flight to Manizales. Transfer by car to Rio Blanco (1 hour). We will be overwhelmed by the number of hummingbirds near the feeders. Afternoon  excursion to Rio Blanco which is very interesting for the antpittas (6 species) and tapaculos (5 species). During the evening we will visit the feeder area of the antpittas.Bijzondere soorten:Rusty-faced Parrot, Brown-banded Antpitta, Bicoloured Antpitta, Masked Saltator, Ocellated Tapaculo, Bar-bellied Woodpecker, Barred Fruiteater

Notable species: rusty-faced parrot, brown-banded antpitta, bicoloured antpitta, masked saltator, ocellated tapaculo, bar-bellied woodpecker, barred fruiteater.

Day 2: Rio Blanco

One day is absolutely not enough to see all of this reservation. We will walk in the woods to look for the chestnut woodquail, rufous-banded owl, dusky piha, white-capped and red-hooded tanager. In the evening we return to Manizales and stay in a hotel in the centre of the town.

Day 3: Paramo del Ruiz- NP -Los Nevados (3200-4050 m)

We will drive up the mountain to look for treelines and paramo. This is our best chance to see the endemic rufous-fronted parakeets and the beautiful hummingbirds such as bearded helmetcrest, viridian metaltail, purple-backed thornbill, black-thighed & golden-breasted puffleg, rainbow-bearded thornbill, great sapphirewing. After this we return to our hotel in Manizales.

Day 4-5-6: Montezuma Road.

We leave early in the morning for our next bird area with a car drive of four hours. We will spend three whole days in this fantastic bird area in the western part of the Andes. Humidity is very high here; seldom does it stop raining! In the opinion of many birdwatchers, this is the best part of the tour. The birds we will see here are bansias, the black-&-gold and gold-ringed tanager, which occurs only in a very small area.

Day 7: Jardin Encantado

Today leave the Montezuma area and in the afternoon we have a local three-hour flight to Bogota. From Bogota we drive to San Francisco to the Jardin Encantado, where around 200 species of hummingbirds may be seen.

Notable species: indigo-capped hummingbird, green hermit, white-vented plumeleteer, white-bellied woodstar, gorgeted woodstar.

Day 8: Laguna Tabacal

For interested participants we will visit the Tabacal Lake. This is a small reserve, but a good location to spot birds. Afterwards we will go back to Bogota for our local flight to Inirida. After arrival and transfer we will check in to a very comfortable hotel. Notable species: rusty-breasted antpitta, black-headed brush-finch, stripe-breasted spinetail, grey-throated warbler.

Day 9: Inirida & Los Cocos

Inirida is situated in the northern part of the Amazon at the border of Llanos where the sandy bottom is one of the reasons that so many species of birds occur here. There are many different habitats, such as savannah, white-sand forest, varzea and gallery forest. So over the next few days we will relax, looking for birds and we will not need to travel too far. We have a good chance of seeing many very special birds such as manakins and macaws, which are rare here. In the afternoon we have our first excursion to the white sand forest.

Notable species: green-tailed goldenthroat, orinoco piculet, rufous-crowned elaenia, spot-backed antwren, brown-headed greenlet, plumbeous euphonia en white-naped Seedeater. further, there are capuchinbird, citron-bellied attila, plain-crested elaenia, dot-backed antbird.

Day 10: Matraca trail (varzea)

We will cross the river Rio Inirida. On the other side we will find the beautiful varzea forest. One of the best and nearest paths leads us to the tribe of Indians, who live in the neighbourhood of the Matraca Lake.  The special species  of birds occuring here are: slate-coloured hawk, scale-breasted & cream-coloured woodpecker, black-fronted nunbird, green-tailed jacamar, strong-billed & long-billed woodcreeper, black-spotted bare-eye, grey & dot-backed antbird, dot-winged and grey antwren, amazonian royal flycatcher, sulphur-rumped flycatcher, wire-tailed manakin, cocoa thrush and velvet-fronted grackle.

Day 11: Caño Vitina

In Cano Vitina you will find a combination of all habitats. We will explore the large savannah areas and the forests at the border. Probably we may even hear the capuchin bird. Remarkable species for this area are: orange-cheeked parrot, blackish nightjar, golden-spengled piculet, white-browed purpletuft, yellow-crowned manakin, cherrie’s antwren, red-shouldered, flame-crested & opal-rumped tanager, plumbeous and golden-bellied euphonia, white-naped seedeater and moriche oriole.

Day 12: Mavecure Hills

In the afternoon we will leave for a boat trip of 2 or 3 hours to the headwaters of the Rio Inirida. When the weather is fine, we could have an overstay night in a tent.

Day 13: Mavecure Hills

We will climb the Mavecure hills and at the top we will have a spectacular view of the surrounding area. During this trek we would hope to see birds such as: rufous-crowned elaenia and black-collared swallow. In the afternoon, we will return to Inirida with some stops for birdwatching.

Day 14: Sabanitas

In Sabanitas there are a few trails. The habitat is mainly the white sand forest, but the trees are huge here. This is one of the rare places, where we could possibly see the capuchinbird.

Day 15: Caño Bonito, Laguna Negra of Juanda trail

The itinerary for this day will vary, depending on the observations we have already made. If participants have any special bird requests, we could adapt the programme to look for the missing species on the list.

Day 16: Bogota

Return flight to Bogota, arriving in the afternoon. Check-in for our connecting flight back to Amsterdam.

 

Practical information
Tour price:	£ 2695 all inclusive on a full-board basis.
Guarantee:	Blue Elephant is a member of GGTO; (your payment is guaranteed)
Tour date:	7th –  22nd March 2015
Tour code:	15COL (Please mention this code when you  book.)
Single room supplement:	€ 450
Way to and way back:	Amsterdam/London – Bogota
Itinerary:	Four weeks before departure you will receive full  information.
Transport:	Bus, boat and flights
Walking effort:	Mostly easy, but some harder walks
Number of participants:	Minimum 8, max 12
Accommodations:	Good hotels, and lodges, maybe tents
Guidance:	Dutch tour leader with local guide
Climate:	Tropical, warm with a chance of some showers