Sugar

The hummingbird sugar water feeder on our balcony in Bucaramanga has been a success over the last year with regular visits from endemic Indigo-capped Hummingbirds, White-necked Jacobin, Black-throated Mango and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds. I think I also glimpsed a White-vented Plumeleteer but that has yet to return.

The Indigo-capped have often become very territorial and chased off all-comers. Recently we've been getting far more visits from up to 7 or 8 birds at a time. Standing in the middle of them is like being near a bee-hive. The arrival of more birds might have been because I increased the sugar content of the feeder (now a 1 to 4 ratio of white sugar to water), or maybe a seasonal effect.

The indigo cap changes colour depending on the angle of the light

I was happy to see that a neighbour one floor below is now also hanging a feeder! I'm pleased that I've managed to encourage at least one other person here to do that. Hopefully the second feeder will reduce the fighting from the territorial birds and we might get a few more species coming.

Here are few shots I took today on the balcony with a macro lens and a distance of about 50 cm! They really don't mind me being so close, but they don't like the shutter click.

 Female White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora). I didn't see one for nearly a year, but now she's a regular.

Indigo-capped Hummingbirds (Amazilia cyanifrons) showing their aggression. The fights sound pretty dramatic with clattering of wings. It looks like the bird above is using its tiny feet to protect itself.

 A juvenile White-necked Jacobin

 A male White-necked Jacobin. If you zoom in on his eye, you can see my reflection!

Another male White-necked Jacobin

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

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.