Simply Birding Catalog

Amazonia - Colombia

The Colombian Amazon offers an unimaginable experience for the birder, with the possibility of seeing almost half of the more than 700 Amazonian species in just a week or less of birding, while at the same time enjoying the magnificent jungle and river landscape.

The city of Leticia itself is very good for birding; after just a quick one hour flight from Bogotá, you can be watching thousands of noisy Canary-winged, Orange-cheeked, and Maroon-tailed Parakeets, Short-tailed Parrots, plus the hard to see in Colombia Orange-headed Tanager, and Band-tailed and Casqued Oropendolas. Near Leticia, there are several indigenous Makuna and Huitoto communities where you can choose to lodge, if you want to live closely with these fascinating people while learning from their rich traditions and folklore. Plus, of course, you will have great birding in the area we use to call after their huge communal houses: Malocas. In this area, army ant swarms attract many species, including the very sought-after White-plumed Antbird. The birding here is very active, and some Amazon specialties as Fiery Topaz, Pearly Antshrike, Yellow-browed Antbird, White-eyed Tody-Tyrant, Plum-throated Cotinga, and Rufous-bellied Euphonia will be great additions to the list. Once night falls, it is worth taking a short walk around the malocas to find Tropical Screech-Owl, Crested and Black-banded Owls, and Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, as well as Short-tailed Nighthawk and Common Pauraque.

When leaving terra firma to visit the river islands, Isla Ronda is a great choice and just a one-hour boat trip from Leticia. Here, it is possible to camp and bird for 2+ days or, alternatively, we can stay in a nice snug hotel in Leticia and visit the island during the day. On Isla Ronda, we can find such river-restricted specialties as Zimmer's Woodcreeper and Castelnau's Antshrike. Horned Screamers, Spangled Cotingas, Bare-necked Fruitcrows, Amazonian Umbrellabirds, Hauxwell's Thrushes, and Solitary Black Caciques also inhabit this island.

Following against the flow of the river further to the north-west, the Amacayacu & Puerto Nariño area offers more exceptional birding. Gray-winged Trumpeter, Chestnut-capped Puffbird, Scarlet-crowned, Gilded, and Lemon-throated Barbets, Orange-fronted Plushcrown, Rusty-belted Tapaculo, Lawrence's Thrush, and Yellow-bellied Dacnis are among more than 150 species to look for in the vicinity. As a general rule, as with all the birding localities near the Amazon and other Amazonian rivers, herons, egrets, sandpipers, kingfishers, etc. abound, along with plenty of raptors and toucans.

Pictures Courtesy Diego Calderon and Colombia Birding

Memory

For more information, please visit the webpage.

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