ideas for Colombia trip in Feb (1 Viewer)

[Larry Sweetland]

Thinking of visiting Colombia for around 3 weeks in Feb. It will be with partner and very young toddler, so not a hardcore trip, but I'd like to spend some time birding!

Any advice very welcome.

I figured it might be best for me to concentrate on just 2 or 3 sites, as moving between them is harder with a baby, and I figured we'd get most out of the holiday if we get settled at a couple of species rich sites that would take days to bird thoroughly anyway. I've birded pretty heavily in Ecuador (3 months) and Costa Rica (2 months), so sites with least species overlap (plenty of new ones!) would be preferred.

We also don't tend to use guides, so sites that can be birded independently are prefered, but maybe we'd consider a day or two's guided birding (cheating ) if we have to, or if it's too good to resist!

I was thinking a site in Santa Marta, so maybe one or two sites fairly easy to reach from there would be good, where the range of species is likely to be most different from (standard sites in) Ecuador and Costa Rica. What do you reckon? So far I've noticed the El Dorado Reserve looks good, but can't find any info on how much it costs or how to contact them. Is this the best/only place in Santa Marta, or are there alternatives? These are just a couple of questions. Is it even a good time to visit that area?

All thoughts and musings much appreciated,

Cheers,

Larry

 

[temmie]

The good thing about the north is the weather and the fact that it is generally not as humid as in the Andes.

For the El Dorado lodge, check Ecoturs.org (they manage the pro aves lodges)

You could spend some days (maybe 2) around Minca, and around 3-4 at the lodge. There are some other options around the lodge to spend the night, but none that comfortable (don't know about the age of the baby?). Keep in mind that the road up to the lodge is a bit bumpy and you will have to charter some transport in Minca (but it is available there all the time).

Further on, you can move to parque Tayrona (but probably some overlap there with C-american species, 3 days), and around Riohacha (but I would consider this a bit of playa while birding not-that-attractive scrub, 2 days). To finish off, around Santa Marta are some sites for the Chachalaca and if you are lucky, Sapphire-bellied hummer at Isla Salamanca.

If you are having your international flight through Bogota, I would finish with some birding in Chingaza + La Florida.
Best of all, buy the site guide by Florez and Beckers.

 

[cajanuma]

Hi Larry,

my first piece of advice would be to encourage you to go, because Colombia is awesome!

I also second temmie's advice about Santa Marta. Keep in mind that El Dorado is rather expensive at around USD80/night, plus the expense of getting there from Minca. Also, a few of the key endemics are only on the San Lorenzo ridge which is a rather long walk from the lodge; when temmie and I were there in 2012 one morning with a jeep to geto to the ridge was included in the price but as we missed a few things we had to go back, which isn' too bad of a walk, but if you intend to get there by dawn (the only way to be sure of seeing the parakeets) then this requires a very early start.

Three weeks is plenty of time to do the north, and even two weeks would allow you to cover it very leisurely. Internal flights are often relatively cheap in Colombia, especially the Bogotà-Medellin route. There are lots of great birding sites that are easily accessible from Medellin using public transport where you could spend a few days (Jardin, Rio Claro, several ProAves reserves) so I would definitely consider including that in your itinerary.

Lastly, there's a reasonably good chance I'll be in Colombia in Feb (would be my fourth year in a row there) so if you're interested in joining up for a few days, get in touch!

 

[lewis20126]

Larry

I agree that the North is probably best with a young familiy - the issue of trasnport to / from / up from El Dorado Lodge is well covered above. I'm not sure what the solution is.

Don't eliminate self-drive as an option - I did a self drive for a week with friends this year (Bushbird, Blue-billed Currasow, Mountain Grackle) and had no major problems. We did have a 4WD and it was not cheap but I think saloon cars were muich more reasonable. I'll certainly self-drive on my next trip to Colombia.

cheers, alan

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Thanks very much for your advice so far. I've just ordered the new Birdwatching in Colombia book too. I must admit that when I had no responses here, and heard through a PM how expensive El Dorado was, I was beginning to be put off, but maybe it's still a goer.

Cajanuma, it would be great to meet up if we're there at the same time :t:. Forgive me for not remembering from your BF name, but was it you who worked out we had birded briefly together at Tinalandia in Ecuador in the early 90s?

Keep the ideas coming if you have more, especially if anyone has experience of staying at a cheaper place in Santa Marta

 

[cajanuma]

Cajanuma, it would be great to meet up if we're there at the same time :t:. Forgive me for not remembering from your BF name, but was it you who worked out we had birded briefly together at Tinalandia in Ecuador in the early 90s?

Yes, that would be me! The Beckers & Florez birdfinding guide has info on the cheaper option in Santa Marta (the research station).

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Yes, that would be me! The Beckers & Florez birdfinding guide has info on the cheaper option in Santa Marta (the research station).

Great. I'll keep you posted when we've booked our flights :t:

 

[Larry Sweetland]

I see there's a new field guide to the birds of Colombia. Is it an improvement enough to be recommended instead of just taking my battered copy of the classic old one?

 

[Xenospiza]

I see there's a new field guide to the birds of Colombia. Is it an improvement enough to be recommended instead of just taking my battered copy of the classic old one?

You mean the one by McMullan? That is mostly useful for its distribution maps, but its depictions are sub-standard. It's small so taking it will not add too much weight, but leaving it at home will not make much of a difference...

The must-take book is the Field Guide to the Birds of South America: Passerines by Ridgeley and Tudor. The non-passerines are more of a struggle, but Hilty may suffice.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Xenospiza, would you say that the old Hilty is actually better than the McMullan?

 

[cajanuma]

Xenospiza, would you say that the old Hilty is actually better than the McMullan?

Sorry for butting in, but hell yeah! The McMullan is useful as a handy, light-weight distributional checklist to have in your backback, the taxonomy of course is up to date and it includes the many species that have been recorded in Colombia after the publication of Hitly & Brown. Past that, though, it really only offers illustrations that are adequate at best and poor/misleading at worst. Try identifying Santa Marta Bush-Tyrant, or Black-billed Flycatcher, or any of a number of species using the McMullan...

On the other hand, Hitly & Brown is - to me at least - the greatest bird book ever written. It's showing its age and no longer sufficient on its own, but the quality of the illustrations and amount of info it provides far surpass the McMullan guide. They actually work quite well as a combo, the McMullan to have in your daypack and provide the newer distributional/taxonomic info that's not in H&B, and the H&B to do the heavy lifting.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

thanks Cajanuma. Think I'll take the Hilty. Just dug it out and can barely see the mountain tanagers on the front for age-old Ecuadorean trail mud! Doubtless from frantically flicking through it whilst crouched on the forest floor.

 

[cajanuma]

Just dug it out and can barely see the mountain tanagers on the front for age-old Ecuadorean trail mud!

Looks a lot like mine then!

Just today I became aware of the publication of the 2nd edition of the McMullan et al field guide: http://www.proaves.org/field-guide-to-the-birds-of-colombia-2nd-edition/?lang=en

It looks like the illustrations are larger and (maybe) a little better - there are a few more preview pages on amazon.co.uk - and the text has been expanded, making for a bigger book. Whether this is enough for it to be a stand-alone reference, however, I don't know. If you're going to be needing H&B anyway, then bringing the first edition of McMullan et al makes more sense, as its portability is its biggest asset

 

[trogon52]

Hi -- we (husband and I) have booked a tour with Ecoturs (they run the proaves reserves) from January 18-February 8 (22 days) and 1-day extension to Chingaza NP. We liked the fact that all profits go to conservation and we also wanted to support local organizations. Has anyone gone on a tour with them and has advice, tips on what to expect? The tour guide is Juan Carlo Luna -- again, anyone birded with him, know anything about him? The itinerary looks perfect for what we'd like but they haven't been very prompt about answering logistical questions (for example, internal flights, type of accommodations, start and end times of the tour, so on). This gets me worried as the pre-trip stuff often provides a clue as to how well the actual trip will be. Thanks!

 

[temmie]

Hi Trogon,

contact rgiles at ecoturs dot org .
He should be able to answer your questions.

The accommodations in the proaves reserves are generally very good.
I don't know Juan Carlo Luna, but maybe one of the Colombians can answer this (Diego?)

 

[trogon52]

Thanks, Temmie! I see on their website that R. Giles has and continues to be a major friend/donor of Proaves and I'll email him to see if he can help with my questions. Hope to hear from Diego about the guide. Also about the new McMullan field guide -- reviews are generally positive but for now, it cannot be shipped to Canada were we are (!), only to the U.S. in North America. So we'll bring Hilty and Brown and hope to buy the McMullan when we get to Colombia.

 

[COLOMBIA Birding]

I never been birding in the field with Juan, but a couple of times I have been corresponding with him about some rarities and for sure he knows his birds and sites...


on the other hand:

to support local organizations. Thanks!

this is the VERY BEST funny thing I have read recently!!
anyways... that's how it works, and you are already booked
;-)

 

[trogon52]

Hi Diego -- Do you mean Ecoturs is not a local organization? Sorry if I misunderstand. Thanks.

 

[COLOMBIA Birding]

Hi Diego -- Do you mean Ecoturs is not a local organization? Sorry if I misunderstand. Thanks.

٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶

 

[temmie]

There is some friction between Proaves (ecoturs is either part of Proaves, or at least has some kind of exclusivity leading tours in their reserves) and the local commercial tour operators (like Diego).

I say this as a total outsider, and just to avoid too much confusion. I really feel that, while birding in Colombia as a foreigner, you would be very fine with either ecoturs or guys like Diego.

That's all I am going to say ;-)