Mitú - Sendero Bocatoma

March 2, 2022

Mitú is well-known as a place to search for a number of white-sand Amazonian species. These birds have a restricted range in the northern Amazon, only occurring in the stunted forest types that grow on this nutrient poor substrate. Luckily, white-sand forest is relatively easy to access near Mitú and several large patches of it can be found near the community of Mitú Cachivera, only a few minutes south of Mitú. Two parallel trails head south: one from the community proper leading towards a hill called Cerro Guacamaya, and another that is a little further east of here called Sendero Bocatoma (or Linea Bocatoma, according to to Miguel). 

Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

We arrived at the trailhead for Sendero Bocatoma at dawn and sipped our hot chocolate while watching the first birds of the morning. A flock of parrots alighted in a nearby tree, containing a mixture of Cobalt-winged Parakeets and Orange-cheeked Parrots. The latter species is an attractive medium-sized parrot that occurs in the western Amazon basin. I had never photographed it before so I took a few distant snaps as record shots. 

Orange-cheeked Parrots - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

As we started down the trail, two of the first birds that we laid eyes on were Yellow-billed Jacamars, an adult and a youngster. The one in the foreground is the baby. It shows a darker breast, a paler spot in front of the eye and a slightly shorter bill. And, well, it just looks all cute and derpy like a baby bird.

Yellow-billed Jacamars - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Yellow-billed Jacamars - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

A distant bird call caught my ears and so we stopped to listen. A Chestnut-capped Puffbird, calling from somewhere unseen behind some tall trees. We listened to it for a few minutes, tried some playback in vain, and continued on. This was another new puffbird species for us and it continued the trend of starting the day with a lifer heard-only puffbird. Not how I like to encounter puffbirds as they are some of my favourite birds, but we’ll take what we can get. 

Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

We were glad that we had purchased rubber boots in January near the start of our travels in Colombia. While they sat in our big backpacks for several weeks taking up space (and valuable weight) without being used, here they were indispensable. The trail acted as a waterway for large stretches, with a steady torrent flowing down it.

Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

One of the main target species in Mitú is the Gray-bellied Antbird, one of maybe 50 “ant-things” that reside in this area. The Gray-bellied has a very restricted range in northwestern Amazonia, finding habitat in stunted white-sand forests. Luckily, we did not have to wait too long to find this species. A bit of speculative playback in an area suggested by Miguel paid off big time as a male and female responded. The light was very low at this early hour and my Nikon D7500 is not suited to high-ISO, low-light photography, but the views of the pair were quite good. We watched them walk around on the ground, only a few meters from us, for a little while. 

Gray-bellied Antbird - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Gray-bellied Antbird - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Spurred on from that success we had a little more spring in our step. Several other specialties of the area soon appeared: a Saffron-crested Tyrant-Manakin (another white-sand specialist), followed by the duidae subspecies of Fuscous Flycatcher. This form was only first discovered in Colombia a decade earlier by some intrepid birders visiting this very area. 

Saffron-crested Tyrant-Manakin - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Fuscous Flycatcher (duidae ssp.) - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Hummingbirds were relatively scarce but hermits were a regular sight. Most were Reddish Hermits, seen briefly as they blasted through the forest. Hermits always seem like they are late for something since they don’t stick around very long. Luckily, one of the Reddish Hermits perched on a trailside twig to have a preening session following a bath in the creek that flowed over the trail. 

Reddish Hermit - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Birding white-sand forest can be a little challenging at times. It really is a matter of quality over quantity. Bird-life can be scant, and sometimes you will go fifteen minutes without sighting a single bird. But the few species that are around are worth waiting for! Having knowledge of vocalizations is vital for a birder anywhere, but in white-sand forest, especially so. Miguel picked up on the distinctive calls of a Ringed Antpipit (which is actually a type of flycatcher), followed by an Ocellated Woodcreeper. We tried to gain a visual of the antpipit since it was a new species for us, but we had to settle for just audio recordings. At least the Ocellated Woodcreeper showed itself briefly. 

A clearing along Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

But there are always things to observe in a forest like this even when the birds are playing hard to get. Anoles rest quietly on leaves, squirrels scamper up trunks and a variety of insects of every shape and colour populate the landscape, if one knows where to look (or gets lucky). 

Anolis sp. - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Guianan Squirrel - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Erotylina scita - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

A little while later we encountered a pair of vocal Spot-backed Antbirds in the understory. Since my Amazonian birding experience was rather limited and mainly confined to seasonally-flooded varzea forest types, some of the common terra firme birds were new for me in Mitú. The Spot-backed Antbird was one of them. 

Spot-backed Antbird - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

What a bird! We enjoyed spending several minutes with this attractive couple. 

Spot-backed Antbird - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Spot-backed Antbird - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Finding a mixed flock is always cause for excitement in the tropical lowlands. The forest may be silent for twenty or thirty minutes, with nary a bird to be seen or heard. But as you round a bend, you heard the telltale chips and buzzes signaling that a flurry of activity is nearby. And before long you are surrounded, trying your best to get on as many birds as possible before the birds pass through.  

Cinereous Antshrike - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

We only came across one reasonably sized mixed flock all morning but it contained a number of interesting species. These included two species of woodcreepers that were new for us – Elegant and Spot-throated – and I was able to obtain photos of both, luckily. 

Elegant Woodcreeper - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Spot-throated Woodcreeper - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Long-winged and Gray Antwrens, Rufous-tailed and Olive-backed Foliage-gleaners, and Cinereous and Plain-winged Antshrikes were some of the other notable species in the flock. 

Olive-backed Foliage-gleaner - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

A little while later we noticed the distinctive call of a Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock. A flash of orange blasted across the path and alighted in a nearby tree. What a ridiculous bird!

Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

My last life bird for the day was a Rusty-breasted Nunbird – heard-only, frustratingly – as we turned around and made our way back to the trailhead. It had been a productive morning with many of our target birds, as well as a nice selection of other wildlife. 

Hercules Skimmer (Libellula herculea) - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Linnaeus's Joker (Cyllopoda jatropharia) - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Common Melwhite (Melete lycimnia)

The walk back was less busy with birds than the walk out had been but we kept our eyes low for other curiosities. Here are a few of the herps and insects we were able to find. 

Calycopis sp. - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Manaus Spiny-backed Frog (Osteocephalus taurinus) - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Melipotis fasciolaris - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Telchin licus - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Anolis sp. - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Molchina hopei - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

We finished the walk with around 85 species of birds; a solid total for a morning in white-sand forest! While waiting a couple of minutes for Felix to appear with the tuk-tuk, I photographed a couple of dragonflies near a wet area at the start of the trail. 

Red-faced Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax fusca) - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Scarlet Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax castanea) - Sendero Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Laura and I had a siesta for several hours in the afternoon and then headed back out again with Miguel and Felix at 3 PM. We chose to return to the Cruce Bocatoma area since Miguel thought it would be a worthwhile site to search for the Orinoco Piculet. Laura and I had seen one in Inírida but it had escaped before we could properly appreciate it (or photograph it). 

Our walk was relatively birdless but we still had a few interesting sightings. A pair of Bronzy Jacamars provided us with incredible views. This species is much less common here in Mitú than in Inírida, where Laura and I saw handfuls of them. 

Bronzy Jacamar - Cruce Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Interestingly, this Bronzy Jacamar exhibited a pale bill tip. Normally, the whole bill is black. 

Bronzy Jacamar - Cruce Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Laura often scans for herps on the ground and in the undergrowth, especially when the birding is a little slow. It paid off once again as she spotted a snake on the road which we quickly apprehended. I believe that this is a Short-nosed Groundsnake (Taeniophallus brevirostris), a species that seems to prefer terra firme forests in the northern part of Amazonia. 

Short-nosed Groundsnake (Taeniophallus brevirostris) - Cruce Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Short-nosed Groundsnake (Taeniophallus brevirostris) - Cruce Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

But that was not all that we would get from the snake gods. I spotted a serpentine shape near the edge of a creek – a Sipo (Chironius) of some kind! With a bit of stealth I was able to catch the nearly four-foot long snake, and managed to complete the task without getting bit, either! 

Brown Sipo (Chironius fuscus) - Cruce Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

This gorgeous snake is a Brown Sipo (Chironius fuscus), a diurnal species that preys mainly on lizards and small rodents. It never seemed to settle down throughout our fifteen minute encounter, keeping a wary eye on me, and so I used a stick to facilitate easy handling of the animal without allowing the possibility of getting bit. This species is completely harmless, but a large individual like this can cause quite a nip, which I like to avoid if possible. 

Brown Sipo (Chironius fuscus) - Cruce Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Brown Sipo (Chironius fuscus) - Cruce Bocatoma, Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia

Felix arrived a few minutes later to pick us up. It turns out that he was quite the snake enthusiast and was thrilled about our two snake finds. He knew the latin names for many of the snakes in the area and so we spent the rest of the ride back to town discussing snakes of Mitú, at least as best as I could in my broken Spanish! The snakes were just a great finish to an excellent day.