January 20, 2022
One of my main reasons for visiting the Urabá region was to have a chance to explore high quality, lowland or foothill Chocó forest. I had my eye set on two locations, both of which were represented by eBird hotspots listing well over 350 species: the Titi Cabeciblanco ProAves Reserve, and Reserva La Bonga. Both of these areas are not easily visited. They have no websites, and you can’t just show up and book accommodations or hike trails. Carlos informed us that the Titi reserve was not taking foreign visitors at the moment due to the security situation in the area. Carlos has had the opportunity to visit this reserve, as recently as in 2019, but it would not be in the cards for Laura and I. That left Reserva La Bonga.
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| Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
Reserva La Bonga is a tract of lowland and foothill forest east of Mutatá, accessed by a muddy and rocky footpath. There are no reserve buildings, but there is a woman, Leanor, who lives in a finca at the edge of the reserve. Carlos affectionately referred to her as Abuela (grandmother in Spanish) and called her up to see if she would be ok with Laura and I, along with himself, visiting for a night. She was happy to accommodate us and so early on January 20 we headed out on foot, eager for a day of exploration.
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| Andinobates victimatus - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
My main target birds were the two Baudos: the Baudo Guan, and the Baudo Oropendola. Both are restricted to the Chocó bioregion. The guan ranges to northwestern Ecuador, while the oropendola is only found in a small area of western Colombia. Luckily, we did not have to wait too long to find both species. A Baudo Oropendola flew past us just after we began our hike, while Carlos spotted a Baudo Oropendola in a roadside cecropia just as we turned off the main road onto the footpath leading to Reserva La Bonga. The Baudo Guan looks very similar to the Crested Guan, but it is a little smaller and browner and lacks a big crest.
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| Baudo Guan - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
For the first few hours of the morning we passed through pasture and interspersed with woodlots. These disturbed habitats are always quite birdy with common species and we had soon reached 80 birds for our eBird checklist. Early highlights included a Common Pauraque nest, a Spot-crowned Barbet, a Great Antshrike, several Pacific Antwrens and another flyover Baudo Oropendola.
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| Great Antshrike - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Common Pauraque nest - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Eastern Meadowlark - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
Several eye-catching grasshoppers perched on vegetation beside the trail.
I believe that it was Laura who came through with this discovery (it usually is her!) – a neat anole called Boulenger's Green Anole (Anolis chloris).
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| Anolis chloris - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
We entered the forest and the bird list continued to grow, with additions such as Striolated Manakin, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis and Scarlet-browed Tanager. We heard Little Tinamous and Thicket Antpittas, found our first Pale-vented Thrush for Colombia, and observed a Southern Bentbill at arm’s reach. Species #100 was added to the list before 10 AM.
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| Southern Bentbill - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
One of the special species at La Bonga is a type of poison frog called Andinobates victimatus. It is a recently described species found only in this part of Colombia, and it was named in honour of the many victims from the war. This species proved to be relatively common during daylight hours, especially once you learned their distinctive call.
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| Andinobates victimatus - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
We rounded a bend and heard the telltale call of several Baudo Oropendolas. They were close! With a bit of stealth we approached, taking care not to crunch too many leaves on the path. Luckily, they tolerated our presence and we enjoyed a spectacular show as several individuals foraged and vocalized. Oropendolas are fascinating birds, and getting to spend quality time with them is always enjoyable. Especially when the species in question is only found in one small corner of the world!
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| Baudo Oropendola - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Baudo Oropendola - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
Lucky for us, the overcast conditions continued and the birding remained steady. Double-toothed Kite, Purple-crowned Fairy, Black-striped Woodcreeper, Slate-colored Grosbeak and Golden-headed Manakin made their way onto the list.
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| Crimson-crested Woodpecker - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
We kept our eyes peeled for smaller critters and came through with various insects and spiders. We even caught an anole so that we could inspect its dewlap, which is a key way to differentiate the various species.
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| Anolis tropidogaster? - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
Laura's sharp eyes noticed an irregular pattern in the leaf litter. It was our first snake at La Bonga, a beautiful little Fer-de-lance coiled up under some overhanging plants. As you will read in my next blog post this would not be our only snake encounter at Reserva La Bonga.
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| Fer-de-lance (Bothrops asper) - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Fer-de-lance (Bothrops asper) - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
We were approaching mid-day and still had a good distance to hike. With growling stomachs and the threat of rain looming, we made decent time the rest of the way. Arriving at the finca, two soaring Ornate Hawk-Eagles welcomed us.
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| Ornate Hawk-Eagle - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
Leanor invited us into her home to join her for lunch. We scarfed down the delicious lentil soup, rice and ripe fried plantains. It hit the spot after over seven hours of hiking.
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| Leonor's finca |
We moved to the second floor of the house, an open area with hammocks covered by an aluminum roof. It acted as a canopy tower of sorts, overlooking the farm and the forested hillsides beyond. A large fruiting tree grew beside the house, giving us eye level views of the various tanagers, warblers and much more that came in waves to feed on the fruit.
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| Rufous-winged Tanager - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Yellow-olive Flycatcher - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
And for the rest of the afternoon we parked ourselves up there and watched the bird action.
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| Birding from the "canopy tower" - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
I considered exploring the nearby forest on foot but the birding was just too good to leave the fruiting tree! An early highlight was a pair of Double-banded Graytails which inspected every leaf tangle, clump of moss and bromeliad for insects to eat. We had seen this range-restricted species just once before (in Darién province in Panama) and it was a treat to improve on these views.
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| Double-banded Graytail - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Double-banded Graytail - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
The Double-banded Graytail is a strange little bird, appearing almost tanager or warbler-like. It is actually in the family Furnariidae alongside spinetails, woodcreepers and other ovenbirds.
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| Double-banded Graytail - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Double-banded Graytail - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
The other major highlight was a Blue-whiskered Tanager that dropped in for a few minutes. Laura and I had seen this Chocó endemic briefly in San Cipriano a week earlier, but these views were much better. Laura was napping in the hammock when the Blue-whiskered came around and I did not have the heart to wake her (she agreed that I made the right decision, luckily).
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| Blue-whiskered Tanager - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Blue-whiskered Tanager - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
The Blue-whiskered is not only quite beautiful, but it is another scarce species that has a limited global range. As with all Chocó endemic species, habitat loss is by far the most critical threat facing it.
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| Blue-whiskered Tanager - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
Our day had been quite productive from a birding perspective with nearly 140 species. As afternoon blended into evening we readied our gear for a night hike in the nearby forest. I also set up my moth light from the "canopy tower" where we had spent the afternoon.
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| Gliding Leaf Frog (Agalychnis spurrelli) - Reserva La Bonga, Antioquia, Colombia |
But these tales will have to wait for the next blog post since we found so much during a highly successful evening. Stay tuned.
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