Chicaque Natural Park, Colombia

We are back in South America! Our flight from Toronto to Bogotá, Colombia was uneventful and we touched down late at night in the nation’s capital under clear skies. For the next two months Laura and I will be exploring this country, arguably the most speciose in South America. 

This morning we slept in until 8:00 AM due to the previous night’s late arrival. We took care of some errands in the city (finding money at an ATM, getting a SIM card, picking up the rental car, etc) but by 11 AM we were on the road. We were glad that we had chosen a weekend to fly into Bogotá. The traffic in this metropolis can be legendary but this was mitigated slightly by leaving the city on a Sunday. 

Colombia is an incredibly diverse country that is impossible to explore thoroughly in just two months so we are picking and choosing a few select areas to explore. Sandwiched in the middle of our time here is a two-week long tour for Quest Nature Tours that will visit a number of sites in the middle of the country as well as the Santa Marta mountains and Guajira Peninsula in the north. Laura and I have two weeks before the tour starts so we are renting a car and doing a big loop from Bogotá.

Chicaque Natural Park, Cundinamarca, Colombia

Our first (and only) birding stop of the day was a private reserve known as Chicaque, located about an hour southwest of the airport. We left the city, cursing the numerous (and expensive!) tolls along our chosen route, but soon we were navigating the car past an agricultural area towards the reserve. Chicaque protects approximately 244 hectares of forest and is home to a nice selection of bird species found in the mid elevations of Andean forests.

Chicaque Natural Park, Cundinamarca, Colombia

Chicaque Natural Park, Cundinamarca, Colombia

There was one species in particular that I was hoping to cross paths here. While the Golden-bellied Starfrontlet ranges from the Bogotá area northeast to the Venezuelan Andes, most birders who cross paths with it, first do so at this very reserve. This is of course due to the reserve’s proximity to Bogotá and because a few individuals are usually regularly found coming to hummingbird feeders in the area. 

Golden-bellied Starfrontlet - Chicaque Natural Park, Cundinamarca, Colombia

Golden-bellied Starfrontlet - Chicaque Natural Park, Cundinamarca, Colombia

Laura and I positioned ourselves just outside a restaurant (which is stationed beside the entrance to the reserve) and kept an eye on the hummingbird feeders set up here. About the third hummingbird that came in was our main quarry – a Golden-bellied Starfrontlet. It or other individuals returned on two or three additional occasions. I nearly blew my photos by forgetting to remove my teleconverter – it was tough not to clip off the tail or the bill. 

Golden-bellied Starfrontlet - Chicaque Natural Park, Cundinamarca, Colombia

The other target species I had at Chicaque was the Moustached Brushfinch. It is not a particularly uncommon species but has a rather limited range in the eastern Andes of Colombia and Venezuela. Once we hit the trails, our very first flock contained a pair of individuals. 

Moustached Brushfinch - Chicaque Natural Park, Cundinamarca, Colombia

With both main target species in the bag we were free to explore the forested hillsides without too much worrying about target species. I held out hope that a Brown Tinamou would vocalize (they are uncommonly heard from here) but that was mostly just wishful thinking. The time of day was not great to hear a singing tinamou, anyways. 

As I mentioned above, having to navigate Bogotá on a weekend has its perks. But of course it is a double-edged sword. While the roads were largely devoid of traffic jams, many people were at Chicaque and we were worried that the trails would be full of people. This was not really a problem though since with 17 km of trails on the property there is room for everyone. It was great to see so many families out enjoying the beautiful day. And when we did find a nice-sized mixed flock, it happened to be during a quiet stretch, enabling us to enjoy the birds, without having to deal with too many other hikers. 

Chicaque Natural Park, Cundinamarca, Colombia

This particular mixed flock contained a few gems – Southern Emerald-Toucanets, Grass-green Tanagers (Laura’s favourite), Green-and-black Fruiteaters and a nice selection of hemispinguses (hemispingi?). It felt great to be back in the Neotropics, birding a mixed flock again! Additionally, a nice selection of butterflies were fluttering by whenever the sun peeked out. 

This evening we drove to an AirBnB property located in the hills beyond Usme, a small town south of Bogotá. We enjoyed an amazing home-cooked meal here and picked up one more lifer. A Black-backed Grosbeak, feeding outside our bedroom window. I blew the photos, though! My excuse is that it was through the window and taken at dusk (and I could not get the focus to lock on). Hopefully we will see more of these. 

Black-backed Grosbeak - Usme, Bogotá, Colombia

Tomorrow we plan on birding the páramo habitat in Sumapaz National Park. We are eager to have a chance to search for the Green-bearded Helmetcrest, a spectacular hummingbird found in paramo in the eastern Andes of Colombia. I am also hoping to come across the endemic Apolinar’s Wren and near-endemic Bronzy-tailed Thornbill, two species that I have never crossed paths with before.