Tarantulas etc

 There are so many colourful and interesting animals in Colombia but many of them are small. Here are a few, mostly from a patch of mountain forest just east of Bucaramanga on the road to the quiet town of Tona. If anyone can help with identifications of these, I'd be very pleased.

 This taranatula was about 12-15 cm across and was walking calmly across the road. It's only the second one I've seen, the first being much larger!

These velvet ants (Mutillidae) are very common in some places. They look like very large colourful ants but are wingless wasps. Apparently some species at least have very painful stings. I know they have very tough bodies.

Very large millipedes are also common. This was perhaps 15 cm long.

I have no doubt Colombia has a huge variety of dragonflies. This one posed long enough to get some reasonable shots.

Some of the grasshoppers here have fantastic patterns. These ones seem abundant in this area.

This very large bumble bee caught my eye.

Corinna Daggerwing (Marpesia corinna)

Butterflies are much more common and varied than I'm used to in Britain. With few guides to help, it's hard to know what species are present.

This fat beetle? grub, about 12cm long was crawling across a path in the upper parts of Chicamocha canyon. I'm sure it'll grow into something impressive!

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?

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.

Senderos de Lengerke

Geo von Lengerke was a German who emigrated to Santander in 1852 which was then an independent state. From a wealthy family he bought large amounts of land and settled in Zapatoca which is a small colonial town about 30km southwest of Bucaramanga. The town is well worth a visit despite the long journey - the road is good in places but a very bumpy in others. The estates around his haciendas of Montebello and La Florita grew quinine, cocoa and tobacco. Quinine was supposed to make Santander and Lengerke rich, but the price collapsed and his fortune evaporated. 

View of the hills around Zapatoca

He had red, curly hair, which was very unusual in this region, and it still is. It was said that he lived somewhat like a feudal lord. He is rumored to have had many illegitimate children, and anyone with red hair, or blue eyes in Santander, and especially Zapatoca might still be suspected of being one of his descendants. Elena says she knows at least two such red-heads from Zapatoca, so perhaps there is some truth in it. No doubt there were other German colonists in the area at the time so perhaps the legend is due to his more recent fame. Although he died from alcoholism, he wasn't just a colonial playboy. He also met with the local indigenous tribes and produced a small book translating their languages. His life has been dramatized in a book & TV drama called “La otra raya del tigre” or “the tiger's other stripe”.  

Tomb of Geo von Lengerke in Zapatoca, Santander

Von Lengerke left a more solid legacy as a result of his attempts to develop the economy of the region by expanding a network of 700 km of stone pathways and bridges including from Zapatoca to Barrancabermeja on the Magdalena river. The wide paths were built very solidly and some parts of the network have survived. They were well engineered with stone channels to allow the water to run-off in the winter (wet-season). The trails are still sometimes used by locals to move produce by mule and are popular with walkers. The local tourist board are trying to use them as a means to attract more visitors.  

Colonial style courtyard in Zapatoca now a restaurant & museum.

The “Caminos Reales” (paths) which are supposed to be better preserved include:

Los Santos to Jordán Sube. About 5km each way. Descends steeply 850m from the Mesa de Los Santos to the tiny & nearly deserted town of Jordan on the Rio Chicamocha.

Barichara to Guane. About 7.5 km. Descends about 300m from the beautiful town of Barichara to the small pueblo of Guane. This one was declared a national monument.

Zapatoca to San Vincente de Chucurí. About 28 km climbing over the Serranía de los Yariguíes mountains through part of the national park with that name. The route has been restored (at least in part) as a 2 day trip.

Curití to Aratoca.

Around Galán.

We did the first walk on Monday and I'll post pictures of that shortly. We hope to try a few others with a local walking group soon.

These sites have more info in Spanish on some of the trails.

 http://unturporgaln.blogspot.com/2011/05/sus-senderos-y-caminos-reales.html

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=88648462992

There are some GPS tracks on wikiloc for example:

http://es.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1654879

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.

Birding in Bucaramanga

You might not know that Colombia has more bird species than any other country - more than 1800. Many are very colourful, but it's quite a challenge to identify them when you've never seen them before. I'm trying to take a few pictures to help. I've not really had a chance to get out of the city yet, but there's plenty to see from our apartment and in the city's parks such as Parque La Flora.

Forgive the poor image quality. I'm not much of a photographer and they were all taken with a cheap compact camera through the telescope.

These are a pair of Spectacled Parrotlets (Forpus conspicillatus). They're noisy but seem to be a very close couple.

This is a Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) a large flycatcher. There are also similar Great Kiskadees nesting nearby and making a racket - their distinctive call is "Bien-te-veo" which means "I see you well".

This is a Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus). Very bright and approachable.

And this one is one of our pair of Yellow-headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima). They are also nesting in one of the palm trees near our apartment.

All the birds have names in Spanish of course, but there are many names used in different parts of Colombia for the same species, so it can be useful to know the latin versions!

I've seen plenty more birds, some of which like the Black & Turkey Vultures are very common, easy to see and simple to identify. Others like the flycatchers & swifts are harder because there are several similar ones. It seems even a small trip to somewhere new brings something different.

Will blog about the other animals I've seen later.