Migrants

I'm not the only one who has come to enjoy Colombia recently. As well as the many species of resident birds, their are quite a few migrants who come here in the Autumn (or should I say fall!) after breeding in North America. 

There are many warblers in the trees and bushes around the city. From our balcony I now see Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia) nearly every day.

Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)

I've seen Black and White Warbler (Mniotilta varia) a few times. They feed by running up and down the tree trunks very like a Treecreeper in Britain. Like all the warblers, they're hard to digiscope at a distance because they move all the time.

Black and White Warbler (Mniotilta varia)

Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina) are also frequent at the moment, but they are a little less distinctive.

Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina)

I've also seen Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea) from the balcony, and there are lots of Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca) around the city too. Many warblers present something of a challenge to ID here as many are not in their bright summer plumage. In addition, they are not singing at all, so I'll have to improve my ID skills.

Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) seem to be plentiful. Whilst looking at one, I noticed these malar stripes, which means it is in fact a Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus). I don't think they're often seen here on migration, but it was around for a week or more and I was lucky to get this shot.

Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus)

There are a few other larger migrant birds. Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) are common, both bright red (male) and dull yellow (females/juveniles).

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) female

I've also seen one Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) and Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) on a few occasions.

Last, but not least, on 29th October, late in the afternoon, I saw about 2000 Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) spread across the sky, circling and all moving south, high over the city. These vultures are a common sight in and around Bucaramanga, but as you usually see only a handful in one place, I had no doubt these were migrant birds and not residents.

migrating Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura)

I found this website Turkey Vulture Migration Project which gives details of some GPS tagged North American Turkey Vultures. It seems some migrate from western Canada migrate to winter in the llanos of Venezuela, and, based on those tracks, I suspect the birds I saw may have been coming from there. If they want to go east of here to Venezuela, I'm not sure how they are crossing the high Eastern Cordillera of the Andes. Apparently over 100,000 Turkey Vultures cross the Darien Gap into Colombia in the Autumn, http://avesmigratoriascolombia.wordpress.com/. I'd love to see that, as well of some of the other migrating raptors. Perhaps there is still time for a few more sightings of migrants here this year?

Reinita Cielo Azul

 We took a trip to the excellent Proaves Reserva Reinita Cielo Azul near San Vincente de Chucuri in Santander. The drive from Bucaramanga to San Vincente (3 hours) is long and tiring but the scenery is very interesting. On the way we saw some kind of stoat or weasel (probably a Long-tailed Weasel) and what I think was a Grey Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) also crossing the road.

Proaves is a Colombian NGO dedicated to the study and conservation of birds. They set up this reserve to help protect the migrant Cerulean Warbler (Reinita Cielo Azul, Setophaga cerulea) a bird of the Andes which breeds in Eastern North America. The reserves visitor's centre is a 5km drive up a very rough, and in parts very steep, track from San Vincente, but it was worth the drive.

The vistor's centre is surrounded by coffee, cocao and banana plantations and has many feeders, including numerous hummingbird and fruit feeders. They attract orioles & lots of tanagers including this Lemon-rumped Tanager (Ramphocelus icteronotus).

Although I didn't see any of the real rarities of the reserve, I did see two new species here including Yellow-backed Oriole (Icterus chrysater) and Green Hermit (Phaethornis guy). The hummingbird feeders attract many Indigo-capped, Rufous-tailed, Black-throated Mango and White-necked Jacobins all of which are frequent on our balcony feeder at home. They also get Brown Violetear (Colibri delphinae) like this one below.

There are many Andean Emerald (Amazilia franciae) which seem to be very common in parts of Santander, but I've never seen one at our home feeder.

There was also this superb little lizard posing on the Proaves sign.

The walk up from the visitors centre to the forest reserve follows the old Lenguerke trail which leads to Zapatoca. It takes about 45 minutes to reach the reserve with not so much to see as it is mostly open grazing. I did notice these Cattle Tyrants (Machetornis rixosa). They're common but I've not seen them doing this before!

The reserve is thickly forested and, except for the birds, it is very quiet. There reserve is inside the Yariguíes National Park.  It seems to be alive with the buzzing of hummingbirds. Elena and I were both delighted to see a Black Inca (Coeligena prunellei) at very close quarters. This vulnerable but distinctive hummer is endemic to Colombia and restricted to the Eastern  Andes (and Yariguíes). We were told that a few years ago they were not often seen, but now, with feeders placed at lower part of the reserve, they are seen quite frequently here.

I'm not used to neotropical birding in such a place and without knowing many of the bird calls, it is tough to identify species I've not seen before. I did manage to add distinctive Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas) and Ornate Flycatcher (Myiotriccus ornatus) to my list. There were many other probables / possibles too, but I don't like to add things to my list until I can be sure I can ID them correctly myself.

In the forest are many butterflies, grasshoppers and this dragonfly/large damselfly.

Sadly we had all to little time in the reserve and we had to go before dusk at 5.30 pm. On our way out, Carlos, one of the guides from San Vincente, kindly showed us a nearby location for the endangered endemic Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia castaneiventris). Apparently there are only 3 or so around this area, and  as they are much easier to see in the morning, we'll have to return another day for this one.

Monkeys at last

Our trip to Tayrona and Minca near Santa Marta in the north of Colombia was excellent for seeing spectacular wildlife. Best of all for me was finally getting to see monkeys in the wild. There are some species (I don't know what) on the in-laws farm, but I've not seen them there yet. We saw Red Howler Monkeys, the loudest land animal on Earth, in Tayrona National Park, near to the main trail. They were fairly calm and obliging and I had enough time to get the tripod sorted and get some digiscoped shots. I also took a short video of one individual which you can see on this link. Red Howler on Youtube. We also saw Red Howlers in the Proaves El Dorado bird reserve.

In Tayrona we got great views of the critically endangered Cotton-top Tamarin monkey (called Mono Tití in Colombia), a species endemic to Colombia. They were very curious and came quite close but sadly without the 'scope, the pictures were useless.

Near the hammocks where we stayed the night in the park were a family of Collared Aracari. My first ever toucan. I also saw my first Jacamar, the Rufous-tailed Jacamar, and my first Manakin, a hard to identify Lance-tailed Manakin (hard because it was a juvenile bird).

There were several herons on the beach, including this Little Blue Heron. I also had a few other new species in the woods near the beaches such as the spectacular Crimson-crested Woodpecker and the less spectacular Plain-brown Woodcreeper!

There were many colorful, but very quick lizards near the beach, some very large toads, and some giant grasshoppers as well as this huge millipede on the trail.

Minca was great for hummingbirds, some of which like this White-vented Plumeleteer were new to me. I was also well pleased with good views of the fantastic Keel-billed Toucans, Crested Oropendola and Black-chested Jays which were all new to me. The only problem was the horrible biting sandflies, which drew plenty of blood on our legs as we'd forgotten to put on repellent.

Also a great new bird to see was the Whooping Motmot, on the fruit feeders at Hotel Minca, where they also have many hummers on their feeders (when they've filled them!). Sadly I didn't get better shots of these birds.  

El Dorado reserve was fantastic. It was empty of people because we were "out of season" but it is packed with endemic species all year round. There is no doubt it is one of the best sites in Colombia if not the world for endemic birding - 19 species that only occur in this area. Sadly, the weather didn't help the birding or taking pictures but I did see amongst other birds the endemic Santa Marta Brush-finch (easy to see there), Colombian Brush-finch (on the compost heap), White-tailed Starfrontlet & Santa Marta Woodstar hummers and White-lored Warblers as well as other colorful "megas" like Emerald Toucanet, Masked Trogon and Strong-billed Woodcreeper. I felt very happy despite just a few hours on the reserve in poor weather. No doubt you could add dozens more great birds with a longer visit. The road is terrible though, it takes nearly 2 bone-shaking hours to get there from Minca. Probably best to stay at the lodge which looked excellent, and the food was great. 

Overall it was a fantastic trip with the monkeys and over 50 new species of birds for me. The only really problem was lack of time! 

Hummers 2

The hummingbird feeder on our balcony in Bucaramanga is now a success and we get regular visits from 4 different species.

The Indigo-capped Hummingbird (Amazilia cyanifrons) is the most frequent, the most aggressive with the other hummers, and they sometimes buzz near our faces as if they're also trying to intimidate us! They are not in the least bothered by my presence and I can gently touch them with my finger. They are also very impatient; when I changed the sugar-water, one of them could not wait for me to hang it outside, and came into the apartment and sat on the top to wait (it was upside-down) while I walked outside! Very cheeky birds....

The Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) is very common around the city.

White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) are slightly larger. They tend to hover when feeding rather than perch. One of them at least decided to stand up to the bullying of the Indigo-capped and the dog-fights lasted several minutes.

Black-throated Mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis) are also common here but took some time to arrive. Now they are now regulars. This is a male.

And this is a female. She's got a very distinctive white throat and belly with a vertical black stripe which makes them unmistakable. The tail is also very colorful when fanned.

I've noticed a great variation in numbers of visiting males & females of the different species. There seem to be more female Mangoes than male.  However, despite seeing many different male White-necked Jacobin, I've yet to see a female. I can only put this down to nesting activities at the moment - the females do all the work of rearing the young, who are fed insects. Perhaps we'll soon see more females, but I've much to learn about the seasonality, or lack of it, in Colombia.

There are 162 species of Hummers in Colombia. Several of these live in and around the city, but we've not seen them on the feeder yet. I'm hoping they'll find it soon.

Los Santos to Jordán

On Sunday morning we got up early, but not early enough, as it turned out, to walk one of the Lengerke paths. It takes about an hour & a half to drive from Bucaramanga to Los Santos on the Mesa de los Santos and though the road is good, it has many curves. The mesa is a lush green plateau at about 1500m which gives it a fresh and pleasant feel. It's a favourite place for weekend trips from Bucaramanga and there are many holiday homes and cabins. Los Santos is a small town perched on the edge of the mesa overlooking the Chicamocha river way below.

We parked in the town square, which was very noisy & busy. Several shops were playing really loud music onto the street. A short walk through the town took us to the start of the Camino Real track which we'd planned to walk. Light clouds were covering parts of the town when we started out, but they quickly cleared allowing us to see our destination of the tiny town of Jordán Sube only 5km away but 850m below.

We started walking about 9.30 on what turned out to be a hot and, for much of it, still day. We had the worst of the heat and the sun especially on the way back. We passed a few walkers, and an old man with a mule carrying tobacco coming up who probably thought we were crazy to walk in the middle of the day and I was thinking at the time it might not be sensible, but didn't want to miss the walk. The first section was a little messy with lots of litter, and some mess from the mules that do use the track. It snakes down the steep canyon side all the way, with plenty of hairpins. There are no flat sections and some stretches are fairly steep, but not too bad. Most of the track is paved with small flat rocks & in good condition so the footing is good. At this time everything was very dry with no flowing water except for a small stone channel about half way down which was great to get water to cool off. There is some shade in places all along the route, but mostly it is fairly open scrub with lots of cactus. On the way we passed a couple of small fields of tobacco, a few cows and several mamoncillo trees which are a speciality of Jordán. After peeling the skin from the small green fruit you suck off the juicy flesh from the large stone.

 

We took our time, which allowed me to do some birding and we reached Jordán just before mid-day. The sun was fierce, we were drenched with sweat and the heat sapped our strength. It was probably well over 30C in Jordán with no breeze. You enter the town by crossing a small suspension bridge (with a few holes) over the sediment packed Chicamocha river below. Sadly, the flow is pretty strong and a swim in the river might well be your last. Supposedly the bridge was built by some Irish engineers in 1870, but I've no idea what they were doing there in those days.

 

Jordán has the honour of being the smallest municipality in Santander and the town was almost deserted. Perhaps a baking-hot Sunday lunchtime is not the best time to visit but it is, no doubt, one of the quietest towns around because of its isolated location in the canyon. Many of the houses are abandoned, almost with the feel of a ghost-town and I heard it now has only around 70 inhabitants. However, the main square is picturesque and not unpleasant. The posada de caminantes (walker's hostel) was locked and there was no sign of life. So was the small church but the police station was open and manned. The local authorities are trying to revive the town and hoping for some developments from the Chicamocha National Park to bring in more tourists, but let's hope they can preserve the peaceful atmosphere.

Fortunately, we managed to find a couple of basic shops to stock up on water & drinks for the climb back up, as well as buy a few snacks for lunch. There wasn't much choice, but it was good enough. We used about 3 litres of water each, and the walk took us about 7 hours in total but we stopped frequently because of the heat. You do need to be reasonably fit, bring plenty of water, sun-cream, a hat and insect repellent for this walk. No need for a map though as there is only one trail! You can find the profile on the wikiloc link in my last post.

As well as the great views, there was plenty of wildlife to see; colourful butterflies galore, lots of lizards both large and small and many species of birds. Quite a number of these were new to me, but I'm struggling to identify them on first sight even when I've taken good field notes. There are just so many similar species you need to know the subtle differences to look for. Still, I'm learning more every day. Fairly easy to see and to identify was a magnificent Highland Motmot (Momotus aequatorialis), a megatick for me, looking something like a giant kingfisher with a fantastic tail. Sadly I didn't get a picture of it (google it!)..... maybe next time.

Overall a very enjoyable and interesting day despite the heat.

Hummers

As hummingbirds are fairly common around the city, it was no surprise to see them feeding on the pink flowering tree opposite our balcony. I thought it might be worthwhile trying to get them to come and visit a feeder. After a failed attempt at making a feeder we decided to splash-out and buy one. We filled it with sugary-water and surrounded it with some fake flowers, as well as a real heliconia.

We took a bet on how long it'd take before they came to the feeder. I guessed 1 week and Elena 2 weeks. It took 10 days so we both won.

The first to visit a few days ago was a pair of White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora). They seem a little flighty and I wasn't quick enough to get a photo.

Then yesterday an Indigo-capped Hummingbird (Amazilia cyanifrons) male started putting in regular appearances. I'm pleased with this photo taken with the DSLR & tripod, but the bird is less than 2m away! He's virtually in our living room, which is not bad for a bird endemic to Colombia - it doesn't live anywhere else.

I'm really pleased with the feeder and hoping for a few more species of hummers. I've seen Black-throated Mango in the trees opposite, and Rufous-tailed in nearby parks, so hopefully they won't take long to visit as well.

I'm also really pleased with this Straight-billed Woodcreeper (Dendroplex picus) last week. He posed perfectly on the tree for the digiscope whilst calling loudly. Garden birdwatching Colombia style!

Common birds in Bucaramanga

As we've still not got our own car, most of my birding has been in Bucaramanga. I've seen plenty of species just from the balcony, but with access to only a small fieldguide from ProAves, it's not always easy to identify what I see. When you first start out in a new country, it can be useful to know what birds are common. Here's what I see often.

A Black Vulture or "Chulo" (Coragyps atratus). Look up in the sky at almost anytime and you'll see a few chulos circling in the thermals. They're fairly large and they also like to hang around the local market. Sometimes you nearly get close enough to trip over them.

A Ruddy Ground Dove or "Abuelita", which means little grand-mother! (Columbina talpacoti). These small doves are everywhere in Bucaramanga and something of a pest in some-places.

This is a Black-faced Grassquit or "Semillero Pechinegro" (Tiaris bicolor). They are very common like house sparrows around houses, though not in big flocks. It appears like a sparrow, but now they classify it more closely to the Tanagers and Darwin's Finches. The Proaves fieldguide comes up a little short with this bird, I couldn't recognise it at all for a while.

This one's a Thick-billed Euphonia (Euphonia laniirostris). Plenty around, very colorful with a distinctive call. They seem happy to land on the balcony.

Lastly the Orange-chinned Parakeet (Brotogeris jugularis). There are small flocks of them around the city, and they're very noisy. Other birds that I see very often: Turkey Vulture, Great Kiskadee (or Bien-te-veo). A large noisy yellow flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Blue-Grey Tanager - light blue with a call like a squeeky children's toy. Palm Tanager, Bananaquit, Bi-coloured Wren - large brown & white wren often in family groups with loud "cúchica" call. Black-billed Thrush, Shiny Cowbird, Blue & White Swallow, Southern Rough-winged Swallow. Of course, out of the city there's plenty of other species, but now I've got my eye (and my ear) in to some of the commoner ones, I hope I'll recognize more.