Colombia

Beryl-spangled Tanager by Luis Uruena

Central and Western Andes

December 2-11, 2022

Chestnut-crowned Antpitta by Luis Uruena

Your place on this Venture is reserved when your completed registration form and deposit of $400/person has been received. Deposit may be made through our website or by contacting the Ventures office. We accept credit cards for an additional fee (2.9% for MC, Visa, Discover; 3.9% for AmEx), but you may also pay by bank transfer, cash, check, or money order (payable to ‘VENTURES BIRDING’) sent to PO Box 1095, Skyland, NC 28776. This Venture is limited to 10 participants.
Cost of the Colombia Venture: $3,795 per person, based on double occupancy, from Medellin; Single supplement $230 Price includes: All ground transportation in Colombia, all meals, taxes, entrance fees, trip information packet, bird list, and services of 2 guides (one local, one Ventures) Not included: Round trip airfare to Medellin, alcoholic beverages, gratuities, laundry, and items of a personal nature

Explore the Colombian Andes on this 10-day trip for an assortment of endemics and other range-restricted birds.

Colombia hosts the highest diversity of bird species of any country in the world with just under 2,000, which is about 20% of the total bird diversity of the world! The nation’s complex geography offers a wide variety of ecosystems, leading to a high level of speciation, especially in the mountainous regions. Here, the Colombian Andes are made up of 3 distinct, isolated branches interspersed by deep valleys carved by the Magdalena and Cauca Rivers. Our tour takes us through the Central and Western areas of this endemic-rich region, where we explore the moorlands, lush cloud forests, dry forests of inter-Andean valleys, and rain forests for a dazzling assortment of tanagers, hummingbirds, antpittas, toucans, jays, and more.

Starting in Medellin we explore the small but excellent La Romera Reserve, where we should see such endemics as Red-bellied Grackle, Stile's Tapaculo, Colombian Chachalaca, and Yellow-headed Manakin. In Jardin, we visit the Yellow-eared Parrot reserve, yet another endemic, and where we also hope to find Black-billed Mountain-Toucan, Yellow-vented Woodpecker, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Sword-billed Hummingbird, and the fabulously named Lachrymose Mountain-Tanager. On route to Manizales, we visit a Cock-of-the-Rock lek on small farm, and will enjoy birding our way through Colombia's coffee region. No trip to the area is complete without a visit to Rio Blanco's famed Antpitta feeders, where we hope to see Brown-banded, Bicolored, Chestnut-crowned, and Slate-crowned Antpittas. In the sub-paramo and moorlands of Nevado del Ruiz National Park, we look for things like Buffy Helmetcrest, Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, and Black-thighed Puffleg. Our tour wraps up with 2 days spent in the incredible Montezuma Reserve, located on the Western Andes, where we hope to add more tanagers, Velvet-purple Coronet, Golden-headed Quetzal, and Black Solitaire, among many others to our list.