The Sooty-capped Puffbird is a bird that I have wanted to see for quite a while. This Colombian endemic species has a limited global range, only finding habitat in the far northwest of the country near the Panama border. This is an area that, until recently, has been off-limits as far as travel is concerned. The war devastated this region, worse than in most other locations in Colombia. Nearly every resident has been affected in tangible ways and many have lost loved ones.
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| Andinobates victimatus |
Now that relative stability has returned to this land, tourism is possible once again. In addition to having a chance to search for the puffbird, I was keen on visiting the Urabá area for other reasons. Despite high levels of deforestation, good quality Chocó lowland and foothill forest can still be found in some areas, home to tantalizing bird species like the Blue-whiskered Tanager, Baudo Guan and Viridian Dacnis, among others. The diversity of reptiles and amphibians is especially high in these forests. The bizarre and super-endemic Baudo Oropendola can be discovered in Urabá. And, I love visiting areas that are far off the beaten tourist path and the sense of adventure that comes with it.
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| Southern Bentbill |
My friend Luis Urueña from Manakin Tours put me in touch with Carlos Bran. Carlos is a driven conservationist and ecologist living in Urabá who happens to be a top-notch nature guide as well. He is passionate about reptiles and amphibians and educating the people in his region about these oft-maligned species, and he is involved in conservation projects as well. Carlos was free for four days and was willing to guide Laura and I for our time in Urabá.
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| Black-capped Donacobius |
While Laura and I generally like traveling independently (mainly to save money!), in Urabá having someone like Carlos is essential. The area is a little difficult to navigate on your own, and many of the places we visited would not be possible without having a local contact to organize logistics. Additionally, we were happy to support someone like Carlos who does so much good work with education and conservation in Urabá. His prices were reasonable enough for budget travelers like us. Please, if anyone is planning a visit here, Carlos can take care of you. He is a top-notch guide, excellent at planning logistics, and is just a great guy to hang out with! Carlos can be found on Facebook at Urabá Nature Tours.
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| Gliding Leaf Frog (Agalychnis spurrelli) |
We arrived in the Urabá region during the late afternoon and took a taxi to our hotel in the bustling town of Carepa. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the Hotel Cedros Plaza. A beautiful room, fully equipped with everything we needed including AC and wifi. The staff here were wonderful. They were even willing to deliver a delicious hot breakfast to our room at 5 AM each morning!
That evening we met with Carlos and formulated a plan for the coming days. Carlos seemed pretty excited too, especially once he learned of our passion for reptiles and amphibians.
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| Pseudoboa neuwiedii |
Our plan for Day 1 was to search for the Sooty-capped Puffbird in the morning, then stop by a Dusky-backed Jacamar location around noon, then drive south to Mutatá that afternoon. Day 2 would see us hike deep into Reserva La Bonga and stay at a small finca in the reserve (searching for the Baudo Oropendola, Baudo Guan and other Chocó specialties) followed by a night-hike. On Day 3 we would explore the reserve some more and hike back out to Mutatá. And on Day 4, we would visit another area to target the Viridian Dacnis and Rufous-crowned Antpitta. It would be a busy few days, but we were excited!
January 19, 2022
Carlos had arranged 4x4 transportation for the day and we were off bright and early on our first full day. We drove north past the airport and disembarked at a small port, where we transferred into a small boat to reach the Sooty-capped Puffbird spot.
Dawn broke as we boated over to the location. Upon arrival, the scrubby fields and woodland edges were alive with bird song! We put our rubber boots to good use as the muddy conditions were exacerbated by the grazing cattle's probing footsteps into the sodden earth.
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| Amazon Sapphirewing - Apartadó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
For several hours we put in work for the puffbird at the edge of a cattle pasture and into the nearby forest. This area used to be more heavily treed but, unfortunately, some local guys were clearing the land while we walked along. While this site is protected (in theory), in actuality this is rarely enforced in this part of Colombia. Carlos was almost brought to tears as he bore witness to this scene. His extreme frustration at the situation was palpable.
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| Apartadó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
Despite the setback, we observed a number of species including this hummingbird which strikes a resemblance to the Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird, a bird of mangroves along a narrow stretch of the north Colombian coastline. Some authorities think that the Sapphire-bellied is a colour morph of the widespread Sapphire-throated Hummingbird, while others think it is a valid species. For now, it is still considered by the powers that be as a legitimate species, but time will tell. This individual looked like a Sapphire-throated, but it was not found in mangroves and was a little distance away from the known range of that "species". Who knows!
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| Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird? - Apartadó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
We found numerous Russet-throated Puffbirds but the Sooty-capped refused to play ball. No doubt, the active land clearing had something to do with that. At least there were other birds to feast our eyes on, including this Dwarf Cuckoo. I had heard this species on one occasion before but this was the first time seeing it, while it was a lifer for Laura.
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| Dwarf Cuckoo - Apartadó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
Other birds of interest included Striped Cuckoo, Pale-bellied Hermit, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Black Antshrike and a heard-only Northern Screamer.
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| White-winged Swallow - Apartadó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
But with the day warming quickly, we bailed on the area and took the boat to another of Carlos's sites for the Sooty-capped Puffbird. We were met on arrival by a Pied Water-Tyrant along the canal and five Northern Screamers perched in a distant tree.
Unfortunately, the puffbird refused to cooperate here as well. We heard an interesting song that may have been our main target, but playback did not entice it closer and we could not confirm its identity. This was not going as planned.
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| Black-capped Donacobius - Apartadó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
A pair of Black-capped Donacobius kept us entertained with their antics, allowing Carlos and I to obtain some great photos of the amorous couple.
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| Black-capped Donacobius pair - Apartadó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Black-capped Donacobius pair - Apartadó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Black-capped Donacobius pair - Apartadó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
Eventually, we had to concede defeat. We boated back out and returned to the docks, photographing this leggy Savanna Hawk along the way.
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| Savanna Hawk - Apartadó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
A cold drink was required upon arriving back at the docks. I’ve never had a 10 AM beer that was as delicious as this one! Feeling refreshed, we made good time driving to our next destination, the Dusky-capped Jacamar spot. The 4x4 was a good call as the entrance road was quite rough in areas.
Carlos had accidentally discovered this species a few years earlier while completing some biological surveys. Back in the autumn, Laura and I had successfully targeted this range-restricted species in Darién province, Panama, but we were keen to search for it here in Colombia, at one of the few known locations on this side of the border. We put our boots to good use one again as a creek crossing was necessary to reach the site.
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| Chigorodó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Chigorodó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
We stopped to photograph a confiding Capped Heron along the creek. This is one of my favourite herons, and this individual was looking sharp.
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| Capped Heron - Chigorodó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
Luckily, the jacamar was not too difficult to find, despite the time of day. We encountered a pair of them and enjoyed a solid half hour with this interesting species.
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| Dusky-backed Jacamar - Chigorodó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Dusky-backed Jacamar - Chigorodó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
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| Dusky-backed Jacamars - Chigorodó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
On the drive out, we paused at a roadside pool to watch this handsome male Yellow-hooded Blackbird.
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| Yellow-hooded Blackbird - Chigorodó area, Antioquia, Colombia |
We drove back out to the main road, happy to be on pavement once again. Continuing south to Mutatá, the last few hours of the day were spent birding some of the pastures and roadside forest patches in hopes of connecting with the Baudo Oropendola. Unfortunately, this was not to be but we added many more species including a photogenic Great Black Hawk consuming a crab. We finished the day with around 120 bird species – not a bad start.
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| Great Black Hawk - Mutatá area, Antioquia, Colombia |
That evening, we overnighted in a small roadside hotel located conveniently near the trail that leads into Reserva La Bonga. At 30,000 pesos a night (around 10 Canadian dollars), the price was right as well. For the first time since arriving in Colombia I set up my moth light, choosing a location in the back yard of the hotel. The numbers and diversity didn’t blow us away or anything, but there were more than enough interesting insects to keep us occupied. But all too soon, it was time for bed as we had an early start planned for the next day.
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