In February of this year, I took a month-long trip to Colombia, visiting numerous cities, attending the Colombia Birdfair, and focusing on seeing as many birds as I could. Hopefully, I will eventually write a bit more about that trip and the unique birding I did around the country, but for now, I will focus on my Top 10 Birds that I saw in Colombia.
The Santa Marta Antpitta was by far the hardest bird on this list to see. Not necessarily in terms of finding the bird, but the trek to get there. Outside of visiting Reserva Natural El Dorado, which I’ll cover in the future, necessitated a roughly 6-mile and change round-trip hike, starting before sunrise, with the final mile being a 2,000-foot hike straight up a hill to Cerro Kennedy in the Santa Marta Mountains. This hike is popular with visitors to Reserva Natural El Dorado for the opportunity to see the Santa Marta Antpitta, along with the Santa Marta Parakeet, which I was unable to see on this trip.
Upon finally summiting the Cerro, and having to lie down for a few minutes, a group of birders (the same folks I was also sharing the reserve with) arrived at the Cerro. This is when I realized that there was a road that was accessible by car to get to the top, which was disappointing and very funny. After that ~2 and change hours that it took to get to the top, I completely forgot about the Antpitta being my goal at the top of the hike. Within 20 minutes, the local Antpitta whisperers with El Dorado had coaxed the Antpitta out of hiding.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a beautiful bird, and Antpittas of all kinds are extremely cool and skulky birds. But the trip is what got the Santa Marta Antpitta a spot on my Top 10 of Colombia. Throughout the adventure, this type of birding reawakened the desire to have a quest on these birding trips. Going to an area and seeing a bird within 5 minutes is great, and I would love that to happen every time, but there is something special when you spend hours, miles, and blood/sweat/tears looking for something to be rewarded. Even the flipside, when you do the trip and miss out on the bird, you cannot say that you didn’t try.
The Blue-naped Chlorophonia was another bird that I ran into at Reserva Natural El Dorado, and immediately I was smitten by its color and beauty. For hours, I sat on the deck at the lodge and watched the hummingbirds and Blue-naped Chlorophonias hop from tree to feeder.
While I don’t necessarily have a stand-out story about the Blue-naped Chlorophonia and my experiences with it, it does encapsulate what my visions were of South American birds, extremely active and colorful. The beauty of the Blue-naped Chlorophonia wet my appetite for when I would see the #4 on this list 2 weeks later.
21 Mar 2019
eBird Checklist
I am a sucker for woodpeckers. Tied with Ducks/Geese, woodpeckers are such interesting birds, and one that has piqued my fancy for a while. While the Brown Pelican was my spark bird, the first time I saw a Pileated Woodpecker was a jaw-dropping experience. Since the Lineated Woodpecker is South and Central America’s Pileated cousin, it was an easy spot on my must-see list.
During my stay in Cali, I hiked up Ecoparque Bataclán almost 3 weeks into my trip, and still without the Lineated. After fits and starts of rain, a massive woodpecker, our very own Lineated Woodpecker, scared the absolute shit out of me flying across the trail in front of me. This woodpecker is by no means small, so it popping out of a bush to fly directly in front of me was startling. I spent the next few hours of the hike up and down the hill trying to reconnect with the Lineated. Near the tail end of the hike, we did reconnect again, and I had the pleasure of watching him do his thing up and down the trees for 20 minutes.
While the Lineated Woodpecker is not terribly different from the Pileated in terms of looks or behavior, it won a spot on this list based on my love of woodpeckers and the time spent looking for it.
The Andean Motmot is one of those birds that you immediately put on the top of the target list the moment you see it in a bird guide. The long blue tail with rackets is unlike anything in the Northeast of the US, and its color just encapsulates birding in the neotropics.
I ran into the Andean Motmot 3 times during my trip, and each time it stuck around, allowing me the chance to grab some pictures and spend some time with it. Slightly less luckily, each time it was at or near sunrise, so the photos are close to what I would love, but still really great experiences.
There is an interesting energy around the Andean Motmot when it’s around you. I am not sure if I am projecting onto this bird, but I felt as if it was less skittish around humans than other birds in the area. Each time that I came face to face with this motmot, there was a staring contest for it to essentially dare me to do something. I don’t believe that I won any of those stare-offs.
The Rufous-collared Sparrow, aka the Copetón, was a real surprise during this trip. As a bird that I hadn’t seen before, it was on my list to make sure that I got to see it. During my time in Bogota, I was able to book a couple of short half-day trips around the greater Bogota area to see some birds. My guide during those two days was a local of Bogota, and she explained to me the cultural significance of the Copetón to Bogota. The Rufous-collared Sparrow is a local icon and is ingrained in the identity of Bogota. Since the Copetón is a local neighborhood bird, its call is part of the city’s soundtrack. Similar to someone from the East Coast of the US, the Northern Cardinal would be akin to the Copetón in many ways. Bogotanos grew up knowing the Copetón and often learned to recognize it as the first bird.
At the Cerro de Monserrate in Bogota, I was treated to seeing these little guys hopping around and picking up scraps of pastries and food like a House Sparrow. There is something special about an everyday city bird that I really enjoy. Even the days in which I stayed close to where I was staying in Bogota, I was able to see birds that were either new to me or really brightened up my day, like the Rufous-collared Sparrow.
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