Simply Birding Catalog

Eastern Andes - Colombia
[eastandescol]

In this mountain range you can find a wide variety of forested areas where, at around 2500 m elevation, the endemics overflow!

We can start the birding fun without even leaving the city limits of Bogotá! Located high in the Eastern Andes, the largest city in Colombia harbors several endemics in wetlands (humedales) which have been designated as IBA’s within the city itself. Endemic Bogota Rail, Silvery-throated Spinetail and Apolinar’s Wren reside in these humedales; near-endemic Rufous-browed Conebill, Andean Duck, an isolated population of Spot-flanked Gallinule, Subtropical Doradito, and Rufous-tailed Tyrant are nearly sure things to watch. Since these humedales are inside the city, they are perfect for watching some cool birds while you are in Bogotá for business or on short stopover visits. Additionally, a brief day-trip to the mountains east of Bogotá can add several interesting hummers to your list, such as Black-tailed Trainbearer, Shining Sunbeam and Sword-billed Hummingbird. Lodging and dining options in Bogotá are virtually unlimited, and can be tailored to any budget, so don’t worry, let us take care of it for you! Just think about all of the marvelous “city endemics”!

Moving ~250Km to the NW in the same mountain range, we arrive to another explosive endemism place: Soatá. From this charming town we drive about one hour up into the hills in search of very vocal groups of endemic Mountain Grackles, along with several near-endemics as Bronze-tailed Thornbill, Rufous-browed Conebill, Rusty-faced Parrot, Moustached Brush-Finch, and Golden-fronted Redstart in the vast unbroken carpet of high Andean Neotropical oaks. After a beer or coffee in a local tienda (grocery store) in town, we can stroll just a few blocks away through the rural paths of Soatá to find some endemic surprises like Chestnut-bellied and Indigo-capped Hummingbirds, Apical Flycatcher, and Niceforo’s Wren. Amazingly, all these birds are easy-to-spot “backyard endemics” in the area.

Between Bogotá and Soatá there is a private reserve, Rogitama, where the charismatic owner will show you all secrets around this tranquil place; endemic Black Inca and near-endemics Lazuline Sabrewing and Short-tailed Emerald hover all day around the many flowers, making for easy species to check off in a brief stop en route. A quick walk on the ridges near the house will also add the endemic Matorral Tapaculo to the list.

Pictures Courtesy Diego Calderon and Colombia Birding

Memory

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This item was added to our catalog on Thursday 02 September, 2010.