I have recently returned from an excellent tour of northern Colombia for Quest Nature Tours. This was my fourth time guiding for Quest here, in the birdiest country in the world. Birdiest may be a bold claim, but eBird shows 1,956 species recorded for Colombia, while the Colombian Committee of Ornithological Records lists 1,969 species. Second and third place fall to Peru and Brazil, respectively, though neither country has reached 1,900 species yet. I've spent more time in Colombia than any other Latin American country, and I love coming back for more!
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| Glaucous Tanager |
This tour was a short and sweet ten days visiting the Santa Marta mountains and the Caribbean coast in the far northern reaches of Colombia. One advantage of this tour is that it focused on a relatively small geographic area, meaning that we had no internal flights and minimal long drives. If you are going to pick just one area of Colombia to visit, this would be a pretty good one due to the high number of endemic species; that is, species found found just here and nowhere else in the world. The Santa Marta mountains present an interesting study in biogeography as they have been isolated from the main Andean chain for 10-15 million years. Many of the bird species found here (at least 28 species) are endemic to these mountains. A high ratio of endemism is found with its many plants, lizards, frogs, insects, and more.
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| Vermilion Cardinal (male) |
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| Orange-chinned Parakeets |
In total we found nearly 340 bird species during our tour including a high percentage of the Santa Marta endemics. We also spent some time in the varied habitats along the north coast of Colombia, from the desert scrub of La Guajira to dry tropical forest of Tayrona National Park, from mangrove-lined estuaries filled with flamingos and shorebirds to productive freshwater marshes full of life. And of course there was so much to see besides the birds - we enjoyed endemic primates, a nice array of lizards and frogs, countless butterflies and beetles and abundant plant life. I set up my moth lights in a few montane locations which attracted quite a bounty. All in all it was a fantastic trip.
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| Scaled Dove |
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| Cope's Ameiva (Ameiva bifrontata) |
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| Blue Ground-Dove |
We met up as a group at our hotel during the evening of March 13 for our welcome dinner, and discussed the possibilities of what the next week and a half would bring. It was good to reconnect with Cristian Daza who was to be our local guide for the duration of the trip. I have worked with Cris on numerous occasions in the past and it was wonderful to catch up with him.
Before dawn the next morning we were on our way. Our first stop was a famous birding road called the Kilometre Four Road, just outside of a small village called Palermo.
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| Russet-throated Puffbird |
Kilometre Four was a great way to kick off the trip. The habitats here consist of open farmland, stands of woodland, agricultural plots and wetland, and bird diversity is very high. In just a couple of hours we tallied around 90 bird species with our local guide, Omar. Many of them are localized to this region, including Colombian endemics like Turquoise-winged Parrotlet, Chestnut-winged Chachalaca and Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird, as well as other localized species such as Caribbean Hornero, Stripe-backed Wren and Northern Screamer. We also found a Belted Kingfisher here at the southern part of its wintering range.
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| Black-crested Antshrike |
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| Chestnut-winged Chachalaca |
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| Northern Screamer |
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| Cattle Tyrants on a domestic buffalo |
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| Caribbean Hornero |
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| Stripe-backed Wren |
Our next stop was a boardwalk traversing through mangroves at Isla de Salamanca National Park. We improved our views of the localized Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird, and found some other interesting species like Bicolored Conebill, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Golden-green Woodpecker and Red-rumped Woodpecker. Several Prothonotary Warblers were flitting around the mangroves. In just a matter of days they will likely be winging their way north, perhaps as far north as where I live in southern Ontario.
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| Birding at Isla de Salamanca |
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| Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird |
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| Golden-green Woodpecker |
We found a Spectacled Caiman and a Colombian Slider at Isla de Salamanca as well. The latter was a new species for me, so I was pretty happy with that! Butterfly and dragonfly diversity was also relatively high at this site.
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| Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus) |
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| Colombian Slider (Trachemys callirostris callirostris) |
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| Caribbean Yellowface (Neoerythromma cultellatum) |
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| Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera) |
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| Pin-tailed Pondhawk (Erythemis plebeja) |
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| Spot-tailed Dasher (Micrathyria aequalis) |
By midday we had exhausted our birding options here (it had been a successful morning) and so we drove east to Riohacha, our base for three nights. As we traveled along the coast past the imposing Santa Marta mountains to our south, the forests became noticeably drier and sparser, eventually turning to desert scrub before we reached Riohacha. This is the most arid part of Colombia and it shares many unique species with northern Venezuela. We had two full days to take in the sights and sounds here.
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| Desert scrub in Camarones |
During both days we drove west for half an hour to the village of Camarones, home of the Wayuu people, an indigenous group found in the Guajira peninsula of Colombia and Venezuela. With our local guide Alvaro we got to work finding the special birds of this region. During both days we spent the early morning hours birding the scrub, finding specialties like Tocuyo Sparrow, Chestnut Piculet, Buffy Hummingbird, Orinocan Saltator and a selection of flycatchers.
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| Orinocan Saltators |
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| Calephelis laverna, a type of metalmark butterfly |
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| Tocuyo Sparrow |
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| Melocactus curvispinus, a type of turk's-cap cactus |
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| Double-striped Thick-knee |
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| Opuntia caracassana, a type of prickly pear cactus |
One morning, we visited the property of local birding guide Jose Luis who I first met in 2015 during my inaugural Colombia trip (Jose had guided myself and a few friends in the Camarones area). Now, Jose has established a bird feeding station where the incredible Vermilion Cardinal appears regularly. This is a flagship species of the region and we couldn't have asked for better view of El Rey de la Guajira. Sipping cold drinks in the shade while watching the cardinals and other birds was not a bad way to spend a couple of hours!
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| Vermilion Cardinal (male) |
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| Vermilion Cardinal (female) |
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| Black-faced Grassquit (male) |
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| Black-crested Antshrike (male) |
Camarones is positioned at the edge of a large wetland that drains into the Caribbean. As you can imagine from the town's name, shrimping is a productive industry here and we made sure to get our fill of camarones al ajillo (garlic shrimp) at local restaurants here. We also went for a boat trip into the mangrove-lined wetland one day. Seeing many hundreds of American Flamingos was a highlight, but I was more excited to see my first Mangrove Rail for Colombia. Of course the heron and shorebird diversity was quite high here as well.
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| Sailing near Camarones |
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| American Flamingos |
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| American Flamingos |
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| Mangrove Rail |
We ventured back west towards the Santa Marta mountains, breaking up the drive with a morning spent in the beautiful forests of Tayrona National Park. Tayrona is very close to the mountains and receives more rain than the Camarones area, leading to a much higher forest canopy. Our main target was the critically endangered Blue-billed Curassow. Our local guide Wilson found one for us, but it remained heard-only, unfortunately.
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| Gray-headed Tanager |
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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) |
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| Colombian Red Howler Monkey (Alouatta seniculus) |
Our morning at Tayrona was quite productive. Many of the birds here are shared with Central America and this would be our only chance for them during this trip. We teased out many interesting species including Pale-bellied Hermit, White-necked Puffbird, Military Macaw, Plain-brown Woodcreeper and Lance-tailed Manakin, to name a few. We also had wonderful experiences with Colombian Red Howler Monkeys and the recently-split Santa Marta White-fronted Capuchin, while I had fun chasing down and identifying various lizards and frogs.
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| Santa Marta White-fronted Capuchin (Cebus malitiosus) |
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| Gaige's Rainbow Lizard (Cnemidophorus gaigei) |
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| Milk Frog (Trachycephalus macrotis) |
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| Gaige's Anole (Anolis gaigei) |
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| Argiope submaronica, a type of orbweaver spider |
Having done quite well in the coastal areas, it was time to trade in our Mercedes Sprinter van for 4x4 Toyota Land Cruisers for four days in the Santa Marta mountains. During our first morning we found ourselves at the Gairama reserve, listening to the last Rufous Nightjar of the night while waiting for dawn to break. The scenery along this road is outstanding and we tallied a number of dry-forest birds here including Black-backed Antshrike, Long-billed Gnatwren, Whooping Motmot and White-bearded Manakin, while we also enjoyed a pair of Military Macaws.
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| Sunrise birding at Gairama Reserve |
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| Astraptes sp., a type of skipper |
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| Black-backed Antshrike |
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| Ochre-bellied Flycatcher |
Next on the agenda was breakfast at a little finca further up in the hills beyond Minca. We enjoyed our scrambled eggs, arepas, cheese, fresh fruit and coffee, all while watching an active feeder setup that was attended by Golden-winged Sparrow, Blue-black Grosbeak, Blue Ground-Dove and a plethora of hummingbirds and tanagers. We even had some flyover raptors including Great Black Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, King Vulture and a distant Black-and-chestnut Eagle.
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| Brown Violetear |
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| Cocoa Woodcreeper |
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| Blue-black Grosbeak (pair) |
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| Golden-winged Sparrow |
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| King Vulture |
Our first night in the Santa Marta mountains was spent at a little ecolodge called Colores de la Sierra. The birding was quite good here and in a relaxed afternoon we found around 60 species which included Black-headed Tanager, Scaled Piculet, Bran-colored Flycatcher and Pale-breasted Spinetail. The scenic viewpoint with panoramic views was a nice setting for us to go over our bird list, enjoy a few cold beverages, and watch the sunset before listening to a Collared Forest-Falcon and a Tropical Screech-Owl. Life is good.
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| Doing our species checklist at Colores de la Sierra |
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| Bicolored Wren |
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| Swallow Tanager (male) |
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| Pale-breasted Spinetail |
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| Scaled Piculet |
One of the participants, Reiner and I also set up our insect-attracting lights at Colores de la Sierra and had a decent haul of moths and other insects to photograph.
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| Copaxa multifenestrata, a type of silkworm moth |
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| Central American Paper Wasp (Apoica pallens) |
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| Dithecodes sp., a type of geometer moth |
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| Walker's Moth (Sosxetra grata), a type of cutworm moth |
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| Hylesia sp., a type of silkworm moth |
The next morning we ventured higher into the mountains, into the range of our first Santa Marta endemics. With local guide Jeider, we visited a local coffee farm called Finca Vista Nieves where a feeding station has been established for Black-fronted Wood-Quails. In recent days, a surprise Rufous-necked Wood-Rail has also been attending! This is a rare species that is typically found in coastal mangroves, not secondary forest high up in the mountains, and it was also a new species for both Cris and I. Though the Black-fronted Wood-Quails vocalized quite close to the feeding station, they just wouldn't come in. However, we did have excellent views of the Rufous-necked Wood-Rail and other endemics like Sierra Nevada Brushfinch, Santa Marta Brushfinch and White-lored Warbler, as well as a pair of Rusty-breasted Antpittas.
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| White-lored Warbler |
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| Rusty-breasted Antpitta |
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| Sierra Nevada Brushfinch |
A walk along the edge of the coffee farm produced more endemics - Santa Marta Foliage-gleaner and Antbird - as well as a pair of Groove-billed Toucanets, a Black-and-chestnut Eagle seen well in flight, and a stunning male Rosy Thrush-Tanager. The latter is the only member of its family (Rhodinocichlidae), where its closest living relatives are the longspurs/buntings of Calcariidae.
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| Santa Marta Foliage-gleaner |
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| Groove-billed Toucanet |
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| Highland Rubyspot (Hataerina cruentata) |
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| Rosy Thrush-Tanager |
We continued higher into the mountains, making birding stops along the way, until our arrival at the El Dorado Lodge situated at around 2000 m elevation. Upon arrival we were greeted by a pair of White-tipped Quetzals. Stunning birds, and a strong contender for bird of the trip.
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| Santa Marta Blossomcrown |
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| El Dorado Lodge |
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| White-tipped Quetzal (male) |
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| White-tipped Quetzal (male) |
Anticipation was high the next morning. This would be the day that we explored the San Lorenzo ridge where many of the Santa Marta endemic species can be found. An early wake-up was in order, as the eight-kilometre drive takes just under two hours by 4x4. But the rough ride was worth it when we experienced an epic sunrise on the San Lorenzo ridge. Colombia's tallest peak, the snow-covered Pico Cristóbal Colón, loomed off in the distance.
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| Sunrise on the San Lorenzo Ridge |
Though the winds were high, we managed to connect with most of the endemic birds over the course of the morning. We managed exceptional views of both endemic antpittas (Sierra Nevada and Santa Marta Antpittas), Santa Marta Warbler, Yellow-crowned Redstart, and White-tailed Starfrontlet, to name a few. Black-cheeked Mountain-Tanagers showed well, though the other endemic tanager, the Carriker's Mountain-Tanager, remained heard only. A couple of cheeky Crab-eating Foxes were lurking around, hoping to share our breakfast. The plant life and butterfly diversity was quite enjoyable up on the ridge.
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| Southern Emerald-Toucanet (Santa Marta subspecies) |
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| Hermit Wood-Wren |
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| Sierra Nevada Antpitta |
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| Crab-eating Fox (Cerdocyon thous) |
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| Pedaliodes phazania |
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| Birding at the San Lorenzo Ridge |
We really enjoyed our two-night stay at the El Dorado Lodge and we lucked out with an amazing sunset one evening and sunrise one morning, despite being fogged out for some of our stay here. The birding opportunities were great around the lodge; highlights included Rusty-headed Spinetail, Brown-rumped Tapaculo, Lazuline Sabrewing and heard-only Barred Forest-Falcon. Some of the group had a lucky encounter with a Gray Tinamou, while an afternoon walk from the lodge back to the main road produced Gray-throated Leaftosser, Golden-breasted Fruiteater and Golden Grosbeak.
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| Sunset at the El Dorado Lodge |
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| Masked Trogon |
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| Central American Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) |
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| Lazuline Sabrewing |
At night, some of the group was successful with hearing a Santa Marta Screech-Owl, while we also experienced several endemic frog and lizard species as well as an endemic tarantula. Reiner and I each set up our insect-attracting lights. The bounty was incredible and we photographed around 200 species of moths in just one evening. Sphinx moths in particular were well-represented, with over 100 individuals of at least twelve species.
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| Eulepidotis rectimargo, a type of erebid moth |
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| Sarosa helotes, a type of tiger moth |
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| Rhodochlora endognoma, a type of geometer moth |
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| Xylophanes titana, a type of sphinx moth |
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| Paromenia sp., a type of leafhopper |
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| Symphlebia citrarius, a type of tiger moth |
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| Wittinia zebra, a type of flannel moth |
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| Xylophanes ceratomioides, a type of sphinx moth |
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| Pityeja histrionaria, a type of geometer moth |
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| Idalus herois, a type of tiger moth |
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| Bertholdia albipuncta, a type of tiger moth |
Our final morning in the mountains was spent cleaning up some targets, including the endemic Black-backed Thornbill and the endemic subspecies of Cinnamon Flycatcher, before heading back down to the coast.
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| Golden Grosbeak |
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| Black-backed Thornbill (immature male) |
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| City of Santa Marta, as seen through a hole in the clouds from the Santa Marta mountains |
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| Mimardaris aerata, a type of firetip skipper |
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| Cinnamon Flycatcher (Santa Marta race) |
Our last day of the tour was spent visiting Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta. This is the largest wetland in Colombia (over 4,200 km2). Highlights during our day here included a Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, several "trip birds" in American Coot, Cocoi Heron, Fulvous Whistling-Duck and Black-collared Hawk, and a visit to the floating village of Buena Vista where we enjoyed a lunch of fresh caught snapper with lentils, smashed plantain (patacones) rice and blackberry juice. That evening we returned to Barranquilla where we enjoyed our farewell dinner. It was a wonderful trip and I can't wait to return in the future!
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| Floating village of Buena Vista |
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| Cocoi Heron |
