Birding in Colombia February 10 20, 2013 Updated as of May, 2012

Transcription

1 Birding in Colombia February 10 20, 2013 Blue-billed Currasow With Elissa Landre A paradise for birders, Colombia has the highest bird species count of any country in the world, with well over 1800 species. The diverse topography includes three Andean Cordilleras, two inter-andean valleys, the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers, the Pacific and Caribbean Coasts, and the rich Chocó biogeographical region, which all add up to one of the most complicated topographies in South America. Our exciting route includes: Aburra Valley (Valle de Aburra), a lush pre-montane/montane ecosystem, the cloud forests of Alto de Ventana and Rio Blano areas, volcanic peaks, and the Otun River area. Now a very popular destination for birders, Colombia is a beautiful country with friendly people.

2 DAY-TO-DAY ITINERARY Birding in Colombia: Feb.10-20, 2013 with Elissa Landre Day 1: Feb 10 - Medellin Arrive in Medellin International Airport and meet your guides. We will travel by microbus to Medellin and get settled in at Hotel Casa Asturias. Relax and save your appetite for some Colombian cuisine at our reception and orientation dinner at a nearby restaurant at 7pm. Dinner and Overnight at Hotel Casa Asturias. Day 2-3: Feb Refugio Rio Claro We depart early this morning and head towards the Rio Claro reserve. Rio Claro ("Clear River") is a beautiful private nature reserve on the road between Medellin and Bogota (3 hours from Medellin, 5 hours from Bogota). The crystal clear river and surrounding rainforest are home to some fantastic birdlife. We will drive about 2 hours northeast where we ll arrive to at La Pinuela and look for some Endemics (E), including: Beautiful Woodpecker, White-mantled Barbet, Colombian Chachalaca, Bar-crested Antshike. We might also find Spectacled Parrotlet, Pacific Antwren, and Scrub Tanager. Our breakfast will be at Palacio de los Frijoles restaurant. After which we will continue on to Rio Claro. Refugio Rio Claro is a stunning river-carved marble canyon in Magdalena Valley. For the next day and a half, we will explore the many trails of this reserve. Target birds include: Antioquia Bristle-tyrant (E), Sooty Ant-Tanager (E), White-mantled Barbet (E), Grey- Magdalena Antbird (split from Dull-mantled), Beautiful Woodpecker, Grey-cheeked Nunlet, Brownish Twistwing, Olivaceous Flatbill, Yellow-browed Shrike-Vireo, Scarlet-browed Tanager, Saffron-headed Parrot (NE), Southern Bentbill, Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Long-tailed Woodcreeper, Striped Manakin, Rufous Mourner and Black-faced Antthrush. We ll finish the evening watching the phenomenal Oilbirds. We will return to Medellin late afternoon on Feb. 12 th. Stay at Refugio Rio Claro/Hotel Casa Asturias. Day 4: Feb 13 Reserva Sabaneta (La Romera) & Alto de Ventanas An early wake-up, delicious breakfast at Hotel Casa Asturias, and we will then have a short drive to Reserva Sabaneta (La Romera). Located within Medellin, this large forest reserve is situated in Aburra Valley (Valle de Aburra), a lush pre-montane/montane ecosystem. The reserve contains over 3000 meters of trails, 150 species of birds, 228 species of vascular plants, 28 species of mammals, 8 species of amphibians and reptiles. Reserva Sabaneta is an excellent location to see a great variety of birds like the Great-tailed Grackle, Redbellied Grackle(E), Chestnut Wood-Quail (E), Colombian Chachalaca (E), Rufous-tailed Tyrant, Rufousnaped Greenlet, Pale-naped Brush-Finch Scrub, Metallic-green & Saffron-crowned Tanagers, Blue-crowned Motmot, or Blue-diademed Motmot, all of which are threatened. Other birds include; Mountain Velvetbreast, Black-billed Peppershrike, Grass-green Tanager, and many others. We ll also get a chance to see the rare and almost endemic Yellow-headed Manakin. After lunch we ll take a 3 hour drive to Alto de Ventanas in Jardin ( m), considered one of the most beautiful parts of Colombia, better known as Jardin, will be a perfect home-base for the next couple of days. Night at Hacienda Balandu (D). Day 5: Feb 14 Alto de Ventanas After breakfast, we ll transfer to 4x4 vehicles and ascend to 2850 meters up these mountains to the Yelloweared Parrot Reserve where we can observe restricted-range species like the Yellow-eared Parrot (E), Tanager Finch, Munchique Wood Wren (E), Golden-fronted Whitestart, Barred Fruiteater, Citrine Warbler, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Mountain Cacique, etc. We break for lunch (packed) at noon and then continue exploring this mountainous region, before we return to Hacienda Balandu for a delicious dinner. Night at Hacienda Balandu (D).

3 Day 6-7: Feb Alto de Ventanas/Rio Blanco After a hearty breakfast we ll explore this unique rural cloud forest birding area. We ll explore nearby areas around Jardin and see a splendid array of euphonias, tanagers, chlorophonias, humming-birds and the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. We ll have lunch at noon (packed) and continue our search for endemics and other species. Later in the afternoon, we ll travel 4 hours south to the town of Manizales. The next day we ll begin our exploration of Rio Blanco, an undeveloped cloud forest nature reserve, where 362 bird species have been counted, including 3 of Colombia s 73 endemics. Some examples are the Bicolored and Brown-banded Antpitta, tapaculos, Rusty-faced Parrot, Rufous-fronted and Golden-plumed Parakeets, Gray-breasted and Black-billed Mountain-Toucans, Masked Saltator and Black-chested Mountain Tanager, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Smoky Bush-Tyrant, Flammulated Treehunter, Golden-rumped Euphonia and Scaly-naped Parrots. The reserve also features some amazing antpitta feeders, which often attract Brown-banded (E), Bicoloured, Chestnut-crowned, Chestnut-naped and Slate-crowned Antpittas!!!! Lunch at Rio Blanco reserve. Stay at Hotel Casa Galvez. Day 8: Feb 17 Alcazares City Park/Los Nevados After breakfast, we will travel 2.5 hours to Los Nevados National Park. Following a spine of snow-covered volcanic peaks, this national park provides some of the most stunning stretches of the Colombian Andes in this region. Making stops along the road, we ll look out for the Purple-backed Thornbill, Bearded Helmetcrest, Black-backed Bush-Tanager, Stout-billed Cinclodes, Red-crested Cotinga, Tawny Antpitta and the Andean Condor. Other birds are Grass-green, Buff-brested Tanagers, Stout-billed Cinclodes, Red-crested Cotinga, Tawny Antpitta, Andean Tit-Spinetail, White-chinned Thistletail, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, Black-eared Hemispingus and Plushcap, Colombian Screech Owl. Lunch will be at nearby restaurant in Paramo. Stay at Santuario Otun Quimbaya Eco-Lodge. Day 9: Feb 18 Santuario Otun Quimbaya We will start our day exploring the many trails of Otun river, where we ll encounter more than 200 species of birds. Otun features a charming lodge, surrounded by subtropical forest, and many of its special birds can be found just a short walk from our rooms. Some of the birds we ll encounter are Gauca Guans (E), Multicolored Tanager (E), Chestnut Wood-Quail (E), Crested-Ant Tanager (E), Grayish Piculet (E), Stiles s Tapaculo (E) plus many rare birds like the Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Moustached Antpitta, Chestnut-breasted Wren, Wattled Guan, Black-winged Saltator, Torrent Duck, Metallic-green Tanager,Variegated Bristle-Tyrant, Plumbeouscrowned Tyrannulet, Green-fronted Lancebill, Rusty-winged Barbtail, Streak-capped Treehunter and Cerulean Warbler. We ll break for lunch at the Santuario Otun Quimbaya Lodge, and spend the afternoon looking for missing species. Stay Santuario Otun Quimbaya Eco-Lodge. Day 10: Feb 19 Santuario Otun Quimbaya After an early morning exploration of Santuario Otun Quimbaya, we ll return to Medellin via microbus for our farewell dinner at Hotel Casa Astuarias.

4 Day 11: Feb 20 Return to Home Pick-up at Hotel Casa Astuarias in microbus and travel to Medellin International Airport arriving 2-3 hours before departure back home. Those continuing on the 3 day extension will travel to Las Tangaras Lodge to start their extension. Optional Post-trip 3 Day Extensión: Las Tangaras Reserve - Feb 20 24, 2013 Las Tangaras is a 3000 ha reserve owned by Fundacion ProAves (Bird conservation NGO). This site can produce some really impressive birding, with 12 endemics and more than 35 semi-endemics, it is, in our opinion one of the very best sites in all of Colombia. It s a paradise for tanagers and hummingbirds!! Possibilities include two difficult Bangsia species, Gold-ringed (E) and Black & gold Tanagers (E), plus Crested Ant Tanager (E), Purplish-mantled, Glistening-green, Lemon-spectacled, Rufous-throated, Metallicgreen, Silver-throated, Flame-faced, Yellow-throated Bush and Flame-rumped Tanagers. Other superb birds seen at the site include Black Solitaire, Buffy Tuftedcheek, Fulvous-dotted Treerunner, Toucan Barbet, Bicoloured Antvireo, Yellow-breasted Antpitta, Black Hawk-Eagle, Rufous-breasted Antthrush, Bronze-olive Pygmy-Tyrant, Yellow-breasted Antwren, White-headed Wren, Yellow-vented Woodpecker, Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, Olivaceous Piha, Olive Finch, Uniform Treehunter, Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, Yellowcollared and Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonias. Hummingbirds include Empress Brilliant, White-tailed Hillstar, Brown Inca, Velvet-purple Coronet, Violet-tailed Sylph, Purple-bibbed Whitetip and Purple-throated Woodstar. Las Tangaras is also home to Nariño, Choco and the newly discovered Alto Pisones Tapaculo!! Stay at Las Tangaras Lodge Overnight for 3 nights Feb 23: Las Tangaras Reserve to Medellín Search for missing species and return to Medellín. Stay at Hotel Casa Astuarias. Feb 24: Return to Home. Pick-up at Hotel Casa Astuarias in microbus and travel to Medellin International Airport arriving 2-3 hours before departure back home. About Your Guides: Mass Audubon leader: Elissa Landre is the Director of Mass Audubon s Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary. She has led tours in Belize, Hawaii, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Mexico, and traveled extensively in Central and South America, as well as Asia. She has consulted on interpretation, guide training, and marketing for ecotourism at national parks in Bolivia and Poland, holds a master s degree in biology, runs a bird banding station at Broadmoor, and is a past president of the Association of Field Ornithologists. On tours she likes to explore how protected conservation land is managed for birds and native plants. Local Colombian guide: Pablo Florez, a native of Medellín, has been birding and traveling since the age of 15. He has been deeply involved with bird conservation and has led many birding expeditions. He is one of the co-founders of ProAves (bird conservation NGO in Colombia) and has contributed to the creation of several private reserves throughout the Central Andes region. He has also worked independently for different national and international bird research projects. Pablo has spent an impressive 18 years birding throughout the country and has recorded 1, 670 bird species in Colombia alone. He has also traveled countries such as Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and Brazil. His passion for birds has taken him to start his own birding company in Colombia, where he can share his wealth of knowledge about birds. He is currently working on his first book, called Where to watch birds in Colombia with his friend Jurgen Beckers.

5 Tour Price and Terms PRICE: $3,800 per person, double occupancy; single supplement is $400 and singles are limited All applications must be accompanied by a completed reservation form and a $500 deposit. Extension: $1,700 per person. Single supplement is $500 for the extension. Price Includes: Does Not Include: All accommodations Items of a personal nature, such as drinks from the bar. All meals as noted in itinerary Porterage, laundry, phone calls, or gift items. Group airport transfers International flights to Colombia and departure Park and preserve entrance fees taxes. Services of local naturalist guide and driver All tips and gratuities

6 TERMS & CONDITIONS OF TRAVEL APPLICATIONS, RESERVATIONS, DEPOSITS: Early applications are strongly encouraged. Trip rosters usually must be finalized 4 months before departure! All applications must be accompanied by a completed reservation form and a $500 deposit. Deposits can be by check or credit card (Visa or MasterCard). We reserve the right to decline your application. In the case of questionable health, we reserve the right to require a physician s certification to affirm you are capable of the activities. Final payment is due 95 days before the departure date. Final payment must be by check. RATES: All tour prices are based on double occupancy. If you would like us to find you a roommate, we will do our best, but cannot guarantee a share. If we cannot find a share, you will need to pay the single supplement. All forms and fares are accurate at the time of publication November 2011 but are subject to change at any time prior to departure. It is our policy to only pass on the actual amount of any increases in airfares or land costs such as those increases due to the devaluation of the dollar. Rarely, a price increase may be called for if the group falls below the minimum of 8. The maximum number of participants is approximately 14. FLIGHTS: You, the traveler, are responsible for booking and paying for your own international flights. Once you reserve your space, we will provide you with suggested flights and tell you which flights our leaders will be on. You may book flights directly with the airline, online, or with a travel agent. Once your deposit and reservation form have been sent to us, we will send you flight and contact information. Please be aware that most tickets are non-refundable, therefore you should not book your flight arrangements until you have checked with us to be sure the tour has the minimum number of participants for the trip to go. PHOTOS: Mass Audubon reserves the right to make use of any photograph taken on the tour. We guarantee that no photos of a compromising nature will be used. CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS: If you need to change your booking, you must inform us immediately. All cancellations must be done in writing and are effective upon receipt in the Massachusetts Audubon Travel Office. Cancellations received up to 121 days prior to departure will be refunded deposits less a $300-per-person fee. For cancellations between 120 and 90 days prior to departure, all deposits will not be refunded. There are no refunds for cancellations 90 days or less from departure. We strongly urge all travelers to purchase trip cancellation insurance. You will be sent information from the Massachusetts Audubon Society upon receipt of your deposit. Your Responsibility: Although every precaution is taken to safeguard you and your belongings, group travel trips by their nature involve a certain amount of risk. Trip participants should understand that the domestic and international trips sponsored/operated by Massachusetts Audubon Society (Mass Audubon Tours) - hereafter collectively M.A.S. - involve known and unknown risks. M.A.S. assumes no responsibility for injuries, death, financial losses or damage to clients property caused by or occurring during participation in any of the travel trips sponsored/operated by M.A.S. Trip participants must assume responsibility for having sufficient skill and fitness to participate in the trips and activities offered or sponsored by M.A.S. Trip participants must also certify that they have no medical, mental or physical conditions which could interfere with their abilities to participate in the activities and/or trips they are participating in and they must assume and bear the cost of all risks that may be created, directly or indirectly, by any such condition. It is the responsibility of trip participants to have in place adequate insurance to cover any injury, damage or emergency transportation costs related to their travel and/or participation in trip activities and/or to bear the costs of such injury, damage or emergency transportation costs. Because of the risks associated with the travel trips sponsored by M.A.S. we urge all trip participants to supplement their own insurance with travel or vacation or emergency response types of insurance. M.A.S. requires that all trip participants acknowledge and assume these risks by reading and signing an M.A.S. Release and Waiver and Assumption of Risk contract prior to departure. CONDITIONS OF TRAVEL: Travelers will be provided with an itinerary and trip preparation information. It is expected that travelers will read this information prior to trip departure. Travelers will be responsible for completing an application reservation form, a personal information form, and a release of liability form. Travelers will be expected to abide by the terms set for in the invoice. During the tour, travelers are asked to respect and follow the directions of their guide and leader.

7 Reservation Form: Mr./Mrs./Ms. Passenger Name (1) as shown in passport Mr./Mrs./Ms. Passenger Name (2) as shown in passport Address City State Zip Phone: Day Evening Cell address Passport # (1) Expiration date date of birth. Passport # (2) Expiration date date of birth Accommodations: I/We are non-smoker(s) smoker(s) (smoking is limited to outdoors in non-group spaces) I request single accommodations where available and will pay the single supplement. I would like to be assigned a roommate. If one is not available, I will pay the single supplement. Deposit: Please find my enclosed deposit of ($500 per person) check or please charge my credit card: VISA MC Card # Exp. Checks should be made payable to Massachusetts Audubon Society Signature