Colombia: Chocó foothills

We were nearing the end of our scouting trip to southern Colombia but some exciting destinations still lay ahead. As I have mentioned in this blog before, the Chocó bioregion contains some of the most diverse forests in the world. Unfortunately this is also one of the most imperilled ecosystems, mainly because most of these forests are found in lowland areas, and lowland areas in the tropics do not receive the same protection from the axe and saw that inaccessible mountainous areas are afforded. We began our Chocó adventure in a protected area known as Reserva Natural La Planada.

RN La Planada, Nariño Province, Colombia

RN La Planada is a great example of the conservation work being done by some of the local indigenous groups. A total of 3,300 ha of cloud-forest are protected, home to an incredible diversity of flora and fauna. We explored an area around 1850 m in elevation and true to its name, we were socked in with fog and rain here in the cloud-forest.

The birding was unfortunately quite slow, in part due to the weather but also likely because of the time of year. Many bird species were sitting on nests and refraining from announcing their presence by singing. I was really hoping to catch up with one of my nemesis birds here - White-faced Nunbird - but I remain convinced that this bird species is one that is entirely made up. Hoary Puffleg is a scarce Chocó species that I had seen once before in Ecuador but they are very frequently observed at La Planada. We saw a couple of them deep in the forest.

Hoary Puffleg - RN La Planada, Nariño Province, Colombia

When the birding is slow (and even when it is not!) Laura and I go on the lookout for interesting beetles and other insects. Below is a small section of our bounty on this day.

Golofa sp. - RN La Planada, Nariño Province, Colombia

Unidentified (Scutelleridae?) - RN La Planada, Nariño Province, Colombia

Tegosa sp. - RN La Planada, Nariño Province, Colombia

Leaving the rainy environs of La Planada behind, we continued by 4x4 truck to a small farm located about 30 minutes away known as Finca El Bosque. The 13 brothers and sisters who own this land have been instrumental in its conservation. It was great to have a fantastic lunch served by some of the siblings; the best meal we had had in days. The plates just kept coming!

 Finca El Bosque, Nariño Province, Colombia

Finca El Bosque, Nariño Province, Colombia

They also stocked several fruit feeders around the property and we watched a nice variety of tanagers take advantage. The highlight for many however was a pair of crisp Plate-billed Mountain-Toucans that took part as well - a scarce species in Colombia.

Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan - Finca El Bosque, Nariño Province, Colombia

But the day's highlight was not avian in nature this time. The heavy rains from the morning must have instigated some caecilians to come to the surface and we spotted our very first live one! I believe the species is Caecilia tentaculata.

Caecilia tentaculata - Finca El Bosque, Nariño Province, Colombia

 Caecilians are the only living members of the amphibian order Gymnophiona; the other amphiban orders being Anura (frogs and toads) and Caudata (salamanders). It has been a while since I had added a whole new vertebrate order to my life list! Caecilians are unique in that they are the only amphibians to use internal fertilization and they also practice maternal care.

Caecilia tentaculata - Finca El Bosque, Nariño Province, Colombia

We made sure that our hands were free of any chemicals and we kept our hands wet for the short period of time that we handled the caecilian to minimize the risk of harming it.

Caecilia tentaculata - Finca El Bosque, Nariño Province, Colombia

Caecilia tentaculata - Finca El Bosque, Nariño Province, Colombia

The following morning we visited an area a little closer to where we were staying, and significantly lower in elevation, known as the Bangsias Bird Lodge. This area consists of a dirt track that heads through some secondary forest for about 1 km before terminating. The last few hundred meters of the trail are alongside a ridge, overlooking a beautiful vista.

Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

 The birding here was pretty spectacular though, in part because the weather was clear for our whole visit!

Tricolored Brushfinch - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

Long-tailed Tyrant - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

Toucan Barbet - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

Tanagers were particularly well-represented and included some gorgeous species, including range-restricted Chocó species. The Glistening-green Tanagers were pretty spectacular (though I never managed a good photo of one), but the Moss-backed Tanagers were a little easier to photograph.

Glistening-green Tanager - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

Moss-backed Tanager - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

Moss-backed Tanager - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

Indigo Flowerpiercers were surprisingly common here; a half dozen made their way onto my eBird checklist.

Indigo Flowerpiercer - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

The hummingbird action was pretty great as well with about eight species feeding on the variety of flowers along the trail. The Green-fronted Lancebill is one of my favourites. Check out that bill!

Green-fronted Lancebill - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

We was very happy to encounter a pair of Brown-billed Scythebills, a new species for Laura. Scythebills hold a certain allure for me, probably since it took me so many years before finally seeing my first.

Brown-billed Scythebill - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

Laura and I rooted through a pile of old wooden slats, turning up a few frogs along the way. This is a type of rain frog (genus Pristimantis) which I have not been able to identify to species level yet.

Pristimantis sp. - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

A couple of Barred Hawks were taking advantage of the clear weather to perform a sort of courtship flight high in the skies above us. For most of our visit their loud calls resonated from the skies. 

Barred Hawk - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

Near the end of our visit we located a pair of Scarlet-and-white Tanagers in a trailside bush. This was another nemesis bird that I had long yearned to see, and this Chocó endemic provided fantastic views for about 10 minutes. A very satisfying way to end our visit at Bangsias!

Scarlet-and-white Tanager - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

Scarlet-and-white Tanager - Bangsias Bird Lodge, Nariño Province, Colombia

By late morning we arrived at our next destination - Reserva Natural Río Ñambi. This 2,500 ha reserve protects a nice swath of primary forest and was one of the locations I was most looking forward to exploring on our visit. Back in the 1990s, the name Río Ñambi was quite famous among ornithologists, herpetologists, botanists or anyone else with an interest in natural history due to the incredible biodiversity found here. Unfortunately, the FARC arrived into the area at the turn of the century and many of the people living in this area were displaced as violence took over the area. In recent years, Río Ñambi is back open for business as peace is now found throughout the area. We unfortunately only had one afternoon to visit here due to the whirlwind pace of our scouting visit, but it left me itching to return. What a beautiful place with great potential! I would love to spend a week or more here at some point. I can just imagine how epic the night-hikes would be...

Entrance trail - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

The entrance trail to the main building where we had lunch took several hours, partly due to the distance but mostly because there were too many critters to see.

Playing with a big millipede - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

The birding was relatively slow due to the time of day. That being said I lucked out with a few great sightings. First was a pair of Chocó Vireos in the very first mixed flock that we came across. This relatively drab species may not be much to look at, but it is a very scarce bird found in foothill forests in the Chocó, and it was only first described as a species in 1996. Later on, we found a few Yellow-green Chlorospingus in a mixed flock - another enigmatic, range-restricted species.

Bird photography is usually difficult in primary forest since most species are up in the canopy (and therefore backlit), while very light penetrates to the lower levels, further complicating things. Hummingbirds at feeders are practically the only easy targets! Fortunately there are many hummingbird feeders along the entrance trail at Rio Ñambi, as well as a few fruit feeders and a Plain-backed Antpitta feeding station. The Purple-billed White-tip is another favourite of mine; a Chocó species that is quite beautiful in the right light.

Purple-bibbed Whitetip - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

Purple-bibbed Whitetip - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

We were in for a nice surprise at one of the stations. This Western Lowland Olingo, feeding on bananas, was a lifer for both Laura and I. Olingos are in the family Procyonidae which includes raccoons.

Western Lowland Olingo - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

The feeders were good locations to find butterflies as well. Below are a few that I photographed throughout the afternoon.

Pierella sp. - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

Red-washed Satyr (Pierella helvina) - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

Cithaerias sp. - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

Memphis offa? - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

Common Morpho (Morpho helenor macrophthalmus) - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

Common Morpho (Morpho helenor macrophthalmus) - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

We arrived at the main building in time for a late lunch. Río Ñambi has four rooms available here; basic but certainly adequate. It would make a great base for exploring the surrounding forests!

Main building/lodge - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

The clearing surrounding the building proved to be quite productive for lizards and Laura and I turned up several species of anoles.

Anolis aequatorialis? - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

Anolis aequatorialis? - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

Anolis gemmosus - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

Anolis gemmosus - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

Anolis poei? - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

In addition to the herps, the birding was also pretty good around the clearing. A singing Cloud-forest Pygmy-Owl remained out of sight, though it teased us for over ten minutes from a nearby tree. We also watched an Olive Finch at the edge of the clearing which is a bird I have only sighted a handful of times. And an Olivaceous Piha provided excellent views as well.

But as we were getting ready to leave, the heavens opened and a powerful thunderstorm passed through. It was an impressive sight to see and hear, even though it meant that the walk back was considerably less birdy and a bit more slippery.

Entrance trail - RN Río Ñambi, Nariño Province, Colombia

 We loved our brief time in this part of Colombia and I cannot wait to return at a future date!