Mitú - Pueblo Nuevo

March 3, 2022

The alarm went off at 3:30 in the morning and by 4:15 we were on our way. Laura and I were unable to catch any shut-eye during the long drive to Pueblo Nuevo, likely due to the combination of bumpy road and no doors in the tuk-tuk, meaning that one had to take care to not fall out!

Our first stop of the day was a bridge known as Puente Lata. For the last number of years, this bridge has been one of the more reliable locations to find an incredible hummingbird called the Fiery Topaz. These hummingbirds prefer the riparian vegetation at black-water streams, mainly in western Amazonia, and they can be a tricky bird to come across. Despite a sprinkling of light rain, the four of us waited at the edge of the bridge while eating our breakfast. 

Puente Lata, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

And we were in luck! During our nearly hour-long stakeout we watched at least three separate male Fiery Topaz hummingbirds. While they were never close enough for fantastic photos, at least the bridge's elevation meant that we were looking at them at eye-level as opposed to backlit against the steely sky. The colours really popped!

Fiery Topaz - Puente Lata, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

Fiery Topaz - Puente Lata, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

I kept an eye out for other hummingbirds here since the rare Fiery-tailed Awlbill has also been recorded from this site. Though the awlbill eluded us, I enjoyed brief views of a Black-bellied Thorntail.

Satisfied with our visit, and feeling the urgency to get into the forest before the morning progressed too much, we jumped back in the tuk-tuk and retraced our path along the main road towards the Pueblo Nuevo area. Several patches of high-quality terra firme forest can be accessed along the roadside here, though one must have permission from the indigenous community to visit them. 

As we drove, I kept an eye out for birdlife from the tuk-tuk. A couple of medium-sized birds with a familiar flight pattern caught my attention - jays! We stopped and jumped out to investigate them, and confirmed that they were indeed Azure-naped Jays. After dipping on this species in Inírida, I was pretty thrilled to encounter them here in Mitú. 

Azure-naped Jay - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

This range-restricted species has two separate populations: one found in the Porto Velho area of western Brazil (known as the Campina Jay) and this subspecies, found in forests with sandy soil in southwestern Venezuela and eastern Colombia. 

Azure-naped Jay - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

Azure-naped Jay - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

Spurred on by this success, we continued along in the tuk-tuk until Miguel signalled that we were at the spot. Laura, Miguel and I headed off on a narrow path to the forest edge, while Felix stayed back at the vehicle to have a well-deserved rest. 

Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

This was our first time birding decent-quality terra firme forest in the Colombian Amazon and so Laura and I were eager for the possibilities. But there was one species in particular that I was keyed in on: the Chestnut-crested Antbird. This little-known species has had relatively few natural history observations until recent years. It is thought to live entirely in evergreen forests on sandy soils, in a small area from eastern Colombia to adjacent northwestern Brazil. For being such a localized, poorly known species, it also happens to be quite attractive. 

Our luck continued. We had been hiking only fifteen minutes or so when I stopped abruptly, having heard an unusual call. The bird vocalized again - it sure sounded like a Chestnut-crested Antbird! Miguel, Laura and I left the trail and slowly approached the area, taking care to not scare off the bird. When we were within range we tried a brief snippet of playback. It worked and a gorgeous Chestnut-crested Antbird popped up onto a horizontal branch to check us out, then quickly vanished. 

While trying to relocate the antbird, we quickly realized that several other species of ant-things were present in the general vicinity. Miguel noticed the army ants. We had found a proper ant swarm. 

White-cheeked Antbird - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

Though we had found our first White-cheeked Antbirds on our first day in Mitú, Laura and I enjoyed much better views today in this mixed flock.

Eventually, the Chestnut-crested Antbird reappeared along with a second individual. This time, it perched in view for several minutes, giving me time to adjust my camera settings in the difficult lighting conditions of the dark understory. They are not award-winning photos for sure, but I was quite pleased to document this rare species reasonably well. 

Chestnut-crested Antbird - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

The black face offset with bright white eyerings gave the bird a surprised expression that was quite striking.

Chestnut-crested Antbird - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

Chestnut-crested Antbird - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

We spotted additional bird species in the ant swarm every couple of minutes. The next highlight was a couple of White-plumed Antbirds. This has to be one of the most spectacular antbirds with its spiky white facial plumes (if only I hadn't botched my photos!).  Unfortunately, the views were brief and Laura was not able to see them well. Fortunately, we would find a second group of White-plumed Antbirds later in the morning. 

White-plumed Antbird - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

A Common Scale-backed Antbird was next in play. This was a lifer for Laura, and a visual lifer for me (I had heard this species before in Guyana). It, too is quite a distinctive species.

Common Scale-backed Antbird - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

A Musician Wren was the next species to join the party, yet another lifer for both of us. These skulkers can be quite difficult to see, though to be honest this is a species that needs to be heard to be fully appreciated. We listened to its beautiful song for a while before eventually spotting it, perched near the ground in a low bush. 

Musician Wren - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

One final new species appeared in the mixed flock: a White-crested Spadebill. We would end up seeing several more throughout the morning. 

White-crested Spadebill - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

It had been a thoroughly productive first few hours of the morning, with one rare, range-restricted species after another. And it was still only 8:30 AM. Our only concern was that the swirling gray clouds seemed to have darkened. While we were absolutely thrilled with our morning so far, there was a chance that we would get rained out sooner rather than later. With a greater sense of urgency, we pressed on. 

 Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

We crossed a small stream (pictured above) when the song of a Black Bushbird rang out. This was another big target for us, a species that we had as "heard-only" from Inírida. This unique antbird has a distinctive, upturned bill which it uses to chisel away at branches and vines in search of insects and their larvae. With some patience, we were rewarded with excellent views of the pair. The female even allowed me to take a few photos of her. 

Black Bushbird - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

We pressed on. The forest was pretty quiet, though at one point we heard the ascending, hooting song of a Striated Antthrush. Not surprisingly, it remained out of sight. Most Colombian records of this uncommon species are from Mitú. 

Championica pilata - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

The quiet ambience of the forest was broken with the telltale chips and zeets of a mixed flock. While we had heard a few rumblings of mixed flocks in the preceding hour, each time the birds seemed to go quiet when we left the trail to seek them out. This time, the flock was large and came right over the path. Two highlights stuck out for me: my first Chesnut-winged Hookbill and Pink-throated Becard. 

Pink-throated Becard - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

I've mentioned before how that birding mixed flocks and bird photography do not pair well together in tall forest. The birds are way up in the backlit canopy, plus I am mainly just manning the binoculars. There are too many birds that go by unidentified that I do not want to add to that tally by fumbling around with a camera. Most of my photos end up being record shots, and I usually only focus on species that are lifers or new photographed species. That is how you end up with terrible photos such as the following, my best Rufous-tailed Xenops attempt. 

Rufous-tailed Xenops - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

A cool breeze entered the forest under the heavily overcast sky, a subtle signal that the rain was imminent. Luckily, it held off long enough for us to quickly bird two more mixed flocks. The first contained a little group of White-plumed Antbirds as well as singles of the similar-looking Plain-brown and White-chinned Woodcreepers. Laura and I have seen Plain-brown Woodcreepers on countless occasions but this was our first crack at a White-chinned Woodcreeper. The comparison views were so good that I considered White-chinned Woodcreeper as my Bird Of The Day. But in the end, in good conscience I could not put it ahead of species like Chestnut-crested Antbird, Fiery Topaz, White-plumed Antbird or Azure-naped Jay.

White-chinned Woodcreeper - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

The final mixed flock produced a few new additions to our daily tally including this handsome Yellow-throated Woodpecker. Our rarest bird of the day also appeared, a White-rumped Sirystes. This distinctive, bushy-crested flycatcher has only been recorded from Mitú on a couple of occasions. 

Yellow-throated Woodpecker - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

This last mixed flock also gave us another opportunity to see and photograph the Chestnut-winged Hookbill.

Chestnut-winged Hookbill - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

Our luck with the weather had held up to this point but we were working with borrowed time. We hustled back to the tuk-tuk, waking up Felix, and the skies opened minutes later. We drove over to the community to settle up our day-use fee with the chief and the timing could not have been better. For the next hour or so, we sat under a roof while the rain pelted down!

Our ride - Pueblo Nuevo, Mitú area, Vaupés, Colombia

The rest of the day was literally a wash. Laura and I took this opportunity for a well-deserved nap back at the hotel, followed by some journaling and photo editing. This ended up being the only day that was significantly impacted by heavy rain, and it all came down after a productive, lifer-filled morning so we had no justification to complain. That's birding in the Amazon for you!