VENT leader Steve Hilty is featured in an article about birding in Colombia which appeared in the June 25, 2009 edition of the Wall Street Journal, and also in an article in the Spring 2011 issue of Living Bird, the quarterly magazine of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Exciting new trip focusing on Colombia's Chocó-Pacific and Western Andes, two areas of high endemism. Includes both lowland and highland sites and several stunning areas seldom visited previously by birders; spectacular cloud forest; great trip for tanagers and hummingbirds, including some of the most sought-after endemics.

In a continuing effort to expand our tour program in Colombia, we now offer the third itinerary in our series. The proportion of endemics in the Chocó-Pacific is among the highest anywhere in the world. While the distributions of a number of these species extend north to the Panama border or southward into northwestern Ecuador, now visitors and birders can see most of them in Colombia, and some occur only here, including Sooty-capped Puffbird, Black-and-gold Tanager, Gold-ringed Tanager, Crested Ant-Tanager, and Baudó Oropendola. Others such as Stub-tailed Antbird, Black Solitaire, Chocó Vireo, Blue-whiskered Tanager, and Scarlet-and-white Tanager are easier to see here than elsewhere, as is the endemic and much-prized Multicolored Tanager.

Searching for these endemics, as is true almost anywhere, involves a little luck. Some are relatively easy to find, others difficult, but the search is always interesting. This trip brings back some areas popular with birders in the 1970s and early 1980s, albeit now with tanager and hummingbird feeders which considerably enhance our experience. This trip also features three important new areas—Bahía Solano on the Pacific coast, Cerro Tatamá in the Western Andes, and the Central Andes of Tolima. All three areas offer exceptional birding and are key localities for endemics, although they have been visited by relatively few birders. With a tremendous range of habitats and elevations, this could be our most exciting route to date.

Our tour will be led by veteran Steve Hilty, who pioneered several of these areas in the 1970s and early 1980s, wrote the landmark Guide to the Birds of Colombia, and has led more trips to this storied country than anyone. This trip will be co-led by Luis Eduardo Uruena, a talented young Colombian guide. This tour may be taken in combination with our Santa Marta Getaway tour.

Generally good accommodations; one area with clean but basic accommodations; food good, including some typical Colombian dishes; roadside and trail birding; some trails may be steep and wet; two-hour horseback ride to reach one birding area (more enjoyable than you would imagine); moderate pace, but some long walks; midday breaks when possible; multiple-day stays at several areas; weather variable, but some areas rainy year-round.