Colombia: Páramo and high Andean lakes

We enjoyed our time at El Trampolin but it was time to move on to the next great destination - Páramo de Bordoncillo, way up in the Andes. Páramo is a type of high-Andean grassland that is located between the tree-line and the snow-line. This unique environment provides habitat for a number of species that specialize in these harsh climes, and two enigmatic birds in particular eke out a living at Bordoncillo. They are the Masked Mountain-Tanager and the Chestnut-bellied Cotinga. These species are only known from a handful of locations in the northern Andes though they are no doubt a bit more widespread than is currently understood. This is mainly due to the inaccessibility of their preferred habitats. The Chestnut-bellied Cotinga is even more of an enigma than the Masked Mountain-Tanager. It was only described as a species in 1989 and much of its natural history remains unknown.

Páramo de Bordoncillo,  Putumayo Province, Colombia

We were situated right at the edge of the tree-line at Páramo de Bordoncillo and as a result stunted elfin forest interspersed with more open patches that resembled true páramo. The landscape was hauntingly beautiful.

 Páramo de Bordoncillo,  Putumayo Province, Colombia

 Páramo de Bordoncillo,  Putumayo Province, Colombia

Unfortunately the weather gods were not on our side during our morning here, but at least we were graced with an hour or so of (relatively) clear weather before the heavens opened and the fog rolled in. We kept our eyes and ears at the ready for our two main target birds, knowing full well that we could be socked in with fog at any moment.

 Páramo de Bordoncillo,  Putumayo Province, Colombia

The birding was initially a little slow but we eventually added some new species. A Sierran Elaenia calling over here, an Andean Guan perched over there, and some interesting hybrid Golden-fronted x Spectacled Redstarts in the bushes up ahead.

Suddenly a medium-sized bird flew in and landed in some trailside bushes when we had traveled scarcely 300 m up the trail. We moved our position slightly, and the striking grey plumage and red belly came into view. There it was, only a few meters away - a stunning Chestnut-bellied Cotinga!!

Chestnut-bellied Cotinga - Páramo de Bordoncillo,  Putumayo Province, Colombia

We enjoyed every second with this rare denizen of the elfin forest, taking in all of the details of its plumage. I was fully expecting that if we were to be so lucky as to see one, that it would be teed up on a distant tree. I was not expecting one to land almost beside us!

Chestnut-bellied Cotinga - Páramo de Bordoncillo,  Putumayo Province, Colombia

We continued our hike as a light mist fell which slowly turned to light rain, and eventually showers. Later we heard two more Chestnut-bellied Cotingas, though they remained out of sight. We slowly picked up new species in the rain including Glowing and Golden-breasted Pufflegs, Rainbow-bearded Thornbills, and heard-only Barred Fruiteater and White-chinned Thistletail. Near the end of our walk we finally stumbled across a nice mixed flock that contained Golden-crowned Tanagers, two species of brush-finches, and four species of mountain-tanagers, though not the "right" one. I guess you cannot get them all or you will have no reason to return...

We warmed up and dried off a bit before heading to nearby Laguna de la Cocha. This is a great location to encounter various high-elevation waterbirds, and luck was on our side. Ecuadorian Rail and Subtropical Doradito were vocalizing in the reeds near our lunch restaurant, while several Andean Gulls were flying overhead.

The actual town here is quite picturesque and has a bit of a Venetian feel to it due to all of the canals. The bright colours lended it well to photography.

Laguna de la Cocha, Nariño Province, Colombia

We took boats out into the open lake after lunch to search for waterbirds, though I kept my camera packed away this time due to the ever-present threat of rain. Hundreds of coots (both species!) were present along with Yellow-billed Pintails and Andean Ducks. Even better was a scarce Cinereous Harrier, kiting low over the reeds.

Laguna de la Cocha, Nariño Province, Colombia

Laura and I even had a nice photo taken of us from the floating observation tower here.

Laura and I at Laguna de la Cocha, Nariño Province, Colombia

From here we traveled west, down out of the high elevations towards the biodiverse Chocó region. We broke up the drive by overnighting in the city of Pasto, and the next morning we explored some farmland and scrub at the edge of town, overlooking the mountains and the city. This would give us a good shot at a number of species limited to the dry inter-Andean valleys.

Birding Lomas de Tescual, Pasto, Nariño Province, Colombia

The sun was shining and a beautiful morning was ahead of us. These inter-Andean valleys are not especially diverse, but Western Wood-Pewees were positively abundant this day. Migrants actually made up a good percentage of our species total and they included Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, Swainson's Thrush and Olive-sided and Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers.

Western Wood-Pewee - Lomas de Tescual, Pasto, Nariño Province, Colombia

Since Laura and I had spent four weeks before this trip in similar habitats in Ecuador (Quito and Otavalo) there were not many potential new species for us, except for one - Agile Tit-Tyrant (great name, too!). We unfortunately struck out with them, and one of our other targets - Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant - remained heard only. However, a single dapper Rufous-chested Tanager teed up on a bare branch for us all while we also observed Cinereous Conebills and Hooded Siskins. It was a great stop before we hit the mega-diverse Chocó.

Rufous-chested Tanager - Lomas de Tescual, Pasto, Nariño Province, Colombia