Colombia

Antioquia Circuit: Yellow-eared Parrots,

Chestnut-capped Pihas and more!

November 19-27, 2011

 

Reservations and prepayment are required on all Ventures. Your place on this Venture will be reserved when your deposit of $300 has been received. Please make your check payable to VENTURES, Inc. and send it to this address or call the office with your VISA or MasterCard #. 

Limited to 10 participants.

Venture Description

With almost 1,900 bird species, Colombia hosts more bird species than any other country! It is also extraordinary for birds and biodiversity because of its strategic location –at the gateway to Central and South America and a remarkable topography with three huge mountain ranges that straddle the equator and harbor an unrivalled complex of ecosystems. Our trip starts in Medéllin, Colombia’s second largest city, where we will start our circuit of Antioquia Province.  Our tour will take us to several of Colombia’s new ProAves reserves where we should see an excellent selection of endemics and near-endemics, such as Chestnut-capped Piha, Yellow-eared Parrot and the very distinctive Red-bellied Grackle.  

With one of the best bird books covering any Neotropical country, The Birds of Colombia, Colombia is slowly reappearing to the birding community and this is now an excellent time to visit the richest bird country on our planet. Our accommodation throughout our short tour will be comfortable and convenient to the best birding spots. The food is excellent and the people very friendly. If you have never been to South America before, this trip to Colombia will open your eyes to the beauty and diversity that is South America. Leader: Simon Thompson

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What We Hope To See:

Chestnut Wood-Quail, Colombian Chachalaca, Choco Poorwill, Brown-billed Scythebill, White-mantled Barbet, Red-headed Barbet, Toucan Barbet, Chestnut-capped Piha, Gold-winged Manakin, Parker’s Antbird, Choco Vireo, Munchique Wood-Wren, Black-and-gold Tanager, Gold-ringed Tanager, Multicolored Tanager, Tanager-Finch, Red-bellied Grackle, and many, many more 

  Cost of Venture

$TBA per person, from Medéllin based on double occupancy (Single supplement $TBA- not guaranteed outside Medéllin)

Price includes: All accommodations, van, all meals, service charges, entrance fees, information packet & bird check-list, leader/guide service.

Not included: Air travel to Medéllin, airport departure tax, gratuities, alcoholic beverages, laundry, and any other items of a personal nature 

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Itinerary

 

Day 1 (Saturday, November 19)                  Fly to Medéllin

Arrive in Medéllin. We will be met at the airport and transferred to our hotel. D

 

Day 2 (Sunday, November 20)                     Piha Reserve

After some local birding in the Medéllin area we will drive for 4 hours to the Piha Reserve. We plan to get there by about 3 PM, having lunch en route, before doing some afternoon birding at the reserve. BLD

 Days 3 & 4 (Monday, November 21 & Tuesday, November 22)  Piha Reserve

The excellent Chestnut-capped Piha Reserve was created by Fundacion ProAves to protect the recently described Chestnut-capped Piha (local name Arrierito Antioqueno). There is an interesting mix of lowland and subtropical forest species occur here plus many endemics, including the Colombian Chachalaca, Chestnut Wood-Quail, White-mantled Barbet, Parker's Antbird, Stiles Tapaculo, Chestnut-capped Piha, Multicolored Tanager, Black-and-gold Tanager, and Red-bellied Grackle.  Nights at the Piha Preserve BLD

 

Day 5 (Wednesday, November 23)              Piha to Bolivar         

After breakfast we’ll take another walk into the Piha reserve looking for anything we may have missed over the past couple of days. Then we will drive to Ciudad Bolivar this morning stopping for lunch on the way. BLD

 

Day 6 (Thursday, November 24)                 El Carmen

We will spend all day at the new ProAves Bangsias reserve at El Carmen, on the West slope of the Western Cordillera. Recent security improvements have allowed this new site to open, up for visitors. At dawn we may glimpse Choco Poorwills flying over the forest, and in the reserve specialties such as Toucan Barbet and Black-and-gold Tanager will be ticked off thick and fast. As we climb a short but steep trail we will search for Choco Vireo (a big range extension form previously known sites) and Gold-ringed Tanagers should be plentiful. On route we will stop off for the critically endangered Munchique Wood-Wren, which is surprisingly easy to find in its very attitudinally restricted range, and the enigmatic Tanager Finch.  Night in El Carmen BLD

 

Day 7 (Friday, November 25)                       El Carmen to Jardin

We will spend the morning birding at El Carmen before driving to Jardin for afternoon birding.

Jardin is a pleasant colonial town adjacent to the Yellow-eared Parrot reserve that is also home to some of Colombia’s finest coffee. In the evening we may visit a lek of Andean Cock-of-the-Rocks, just 10 minutes walk from our hotel in the town centre. In the unlikely event that we missed the Red-bellied Grackles at the Piha reserve, we may prefer to look for them at a site also quite near the town.  Night in Jardin BLD

 Day 8 (Saturday, November 26)                  Yellow-eared Parrot Preserve        

In the morning we will head for the Yellow-eared Parrot reserve, where we should have good luck tracking down the fabulous and Critically Endangered Yellow-eared Parrot. This stunning parrot is

currently extinct in Ecuador and now endemic just to Colombia. Munchique Woodwren and Tanager Finch can sometimes be found on the roadside, and the Dusky Starfrontlet has very occasionally been recorded here too (though is highly unlikely). Night in Jardin BLD

 

Day 9 (Sunday, November 27)                     Medéllin

This morning we will drive the 4 hours back to Medéllin where we will get our flights back home. B

 

Due to weather and other conditions, this itinerary is subject to change.

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