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How to get between Las Tangaras and Colibri del Sol (1 Viewer)

Antpitta'd

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United Kingdom
Hi all, back for more advice after how helpful everyone has been. We're just planning the portion of the trip round Medellin and are treating ourselves to a stay at the Las Tangaras and Colibri del Sol. I don't think we're going to rent a car for this bit so will be reliant on public transport, but looking at the journey we're thinking of just hiring a private car for the day. ProAves themselves aren't being too helpful - if anyone has any good contacts for someone who could do the trip between the 2, that'd be fantastic.

Any other tips of must see places vaguely near Medellin would also be great, we've really only looked at Rio Claro and the ProAves places.

Thanks all
 
I had a name and a number of a guy named Hector, but I fear I lost it somewhere and I contracted him 12 years ago. His phone should be 317-5223708 . He is well-known to drive birders around the Medellin area (up to the Nevados, and in my case to Urrao and also familiar with Las Tangaras)
If you don't receive direct contact info, you could e.g. contact multicolor birding (Pablo Florez) and ask for a car + driver. You'll pay more for overhead, yes, but you will probably have a dedicated driver that knows how to deal with birders and maybe even knows some sites where to stop on the way.
A 'must' stop is the west side of the Cauca river near Bolombolo for e.g. Greyish piculet, Apical Flycatcher and Antioquia wren all possible in 1 targeted stop.

The Concordia / Betulia area is pretty landslide-prone so be careful with your timing and schedule if it has been raining for some time.
 
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@Pash44 do you have the contact details for the driver we used out that way on our trips or did Seb have that?
Noting I don't think he had much English from memory? But he was the best driver we had!
 
I had a name and a number of a guy named Hector, but I fear I lost it somewhere and I contracted him 12 years ago. His phone should be 317-5223708 . He is well-known to drive birders around the Medellin area (up to the Nevados, and in my case to Urrao and also familiar with Las Tangaras)
If you don't receive direct contact info, you could e.g. contact multicolor birding (Pablo Florez) and ask for a car + driver. You'll pay more for overhead, yes, but you will probably have a dedicated driver that knows how to deal with birders and maybe even knows some sites where to stop on the way.
A 'must' stop is the west side of the Cauca river near Bolombolo for e.g. Greyish piculet, Apical Flycatcher and Antioquia wren all possible in 1 targeted stop.

The Concordia / Betulia area is pretty landslide-prone so be careful with your timing and schedule if it has been raining for some time.
Don Hector was the go-to guy for transport in the Medellin area back then but I was told, sadly, that he passed away, probably a good 8+ years ago now
 
Back in 2012 I travelled with two other birders from Las Tangaras to Colibrì del Sol using private transport arranged by ProAves. We used the so-called 'back road' to Urrao, which runs through an area of temperate forest that has, among other things, Munchique Wood-Wren (easy) and Tanager Finch (we missed it). I think that bit of forest may be protected now (it might even be a ProAves reserve), but I know that safety is an ongoing issue there and you would definitely want to be extra sure that it is OK at the moment before venturing there. In 2012 ProAves were very helpful and responsive to independent birders, but on subsequent trips it became more difficult to communicate with them. Local staff at the lodges were always superb though.
 
Any other tips of must see places vaguely near Medellin would also be great, we've really only looked at Rio Claro and the ProAves places.

Thanks all
In Medellin itself (or rather in Itaguì, which is still part of the same metro area) is Reserva Natural La Romera, which must be the best place in the world to see Yellow-headed Manakin (now considered a Colombian endemic as a couple of old records from Ecuador seem to be erroneous) and also has a few other endemics such as Red-bellied Grackle and Stiles's Tapaculo. It is easily reached with a combination of subway and a short taxi ride, and is well worth a couple of hours.
 
I had a name and a number of a guy named Hector, but I fear I lost it somewhere and I contracted him 12 years ago. His phone should be 317-5223708 . He is well-known to drive birders around the Medellin area (up to the Nevados, and in my case to Urrao and also familiar with Las Tangaras)
If you don't receive direct contact info, you could e.g. contact multicolor birding (Pablo Florez) and ask for a car + driver. You'll pay more for overhead, yes, but you will probably have a dedicated driver that knows how to deal with birders and maybe even knows some sites where to stop on the way.
A 'must' stop is the west side of the Cauca river near Bolombolo for e.g. Greyish piculet, Apical Flycatcher and Antioquia wren all possible in 1 targeted stop.

The Concordia / Betulia area is pretty landslide-prone so be careful with your timing and schedule if it has been raining for some time.
Thanks very much Temmie thats great, I'll drop Hector a message
 
Back in 2012 I travelled with two other birders from Las Tangaras to Colibrì del Sol using private transport arranged by ProAves. We used the so-called 'back road' to Urrao, which runs through an area of temperate forest that has, among other things, Munchique Wood-Wren (easy) and Tanager Finch (we missed it). I think that bit of forest may be protected now (it might even be a ProAves reserve), but I know that safety is an ongoing issue there and you would definitely want to be extra sure that it is OK at the moment before venturing there. In 2012 ProAves were very helpful and responsive to independent birders, but on subsequent trips it became more difficult to communicate with them. Local staff at the lodges were always superb though.
Cheers @cajanuma I'll be sure to spend a day in La Romera as I think I have a good few spare days in Medellin.

Yeah the difference is pretty apparent to even a few years ago. I planned a trip (which didn't go ahead in the end) to a few ProAves places a few years ago and they were incredibly responsive and helpful with planning. This year I've had to send 4/5 emails/whatsapp to get a response at all. Stark difference to Fundacion Jocotoco in Ecuador, who are fantastic
 
Maybe it's a matter of policy / avoiding competition, i.e. they concentrate on their reserves / accomodations and expect visitors to organize their transport through the (in the last 2 decades) much better developed ecotourism industry...?

Thanks very much Temmie thats great, I'll drop Hector a message
As pointed out by the half-Italian / half Colombian caballero above, Hector sadly passed away. You'll have to contact the guy with the 4WD, comb trip reports or contact a (local) travel / transport agency.
 
Maybe it's a matter of policy / avoiding competition, i.e. they concentrate on their reserves / accomodations and expect visitors to organize their transport through the (in the last 2 decades) much better developed ecotourism industry...?


As pointed out by the half-Italian / half Colombian caballero above, Hector sadly passed away. You'll have to contact the guy with the 4WD, comb trip reports or contact a (local) travel / transport agency.
Apologies I completely missed that, how awful.

Yes I shouldn't moan, I'd much rather have a reserve which is a mild pain to reach but with excellent birding than one easier to reach with poor birding.
 

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