Colombia IV: Bogota, the Magdalena Valley and the Santa Marta Region Jun 13—28, 2009
Posted by Steve Hilty
Steve Hilty
Steve Hilty is the senior author of A Guide to the Birds of Colombia, and the recently published Birds of Venezuela, both by Princeton University Press. Other credits inclu...Related Trips
Our group dismounted from horseback and, in predawn darkness, moved slowly through wet, shoulder-high grass, making our way up a steep slope studded with slippery boulders hidden beneath the grass. By the time we assembled, close to the forest, we were breathing heavily and soaking wet from the waist down. We stood in silence for more than ten minutes as morning mist and fog swirled around us, at times almost completely enveloping the dark vine-draped forest in front of us. Not a sound issued from the woodland, although earlier, on horseback, we had heard the diagnostic song—three high, insistent, drawn-out notes, the last one shorter. It was the song of the fabled Recurve-billed Bushbird, one of the least-known of all antbirds and known only from a small area in northern Colombia and adjacent Venezuela.
The fog began to dissipate and the outline of forest vegetation became more visible. Still we waited. Suddenly, without warning, we heard the song again—this time immediately in front of us, at the edge of the forest. Eyes strained in the dim light. Then Luis, our Colombian guide, said, "I got it." People began to move and I admonished the group to remain still and quiet. Then slowly, one by one, each person inched downslope, closer to Luis and his green laser, which focused the search. Within a minute or two everyone had clear views of one of the most elusive of all antbirds. Someone suppressed a gasp, "Look at that enormous upturned bill." The huge, distinctive, upturned shape of the male's bill was indeed clearly visible as he sang, now in full view, from a horizontal perch about 12 feet up. Then the female appeared to his left, partly obscured, and began foraging, using telltale upward slicing movements of her bladelike bill to neatly split the soft stem of a Heliconia. Here, in the span of a few minutes, we had not only seen this remarkable bird, but witnessed its unusual foraging behavior, surely one of nature's more unusual avian feeding adaptations.
Later, in cloud forest far above, we located Colombia's other endemic or near-endemic birds, among them Black Inca, a species once believed extinct; a pair of rare Parker's Antbirds named in honor of former VENT colleague Ted Parker; and a shy Upper Magdalena Tapaculo. Further up the slippery rock path a White-bellied Antpitta scampered across the trail, and higher still a pair of rare Yellow-breasted Spadebills sat in full view. Luis' sharp ears caught the high notes of a Moustached Puffbird and we soon located it high in the forest; after lunch we discovered its nest burrow beside the trail. Despite the amazing birdlife of the day, many participants remarked that one of the true highlights was simply the horse ride encompassing beautiful mountains, cloud-filled valleys, and the excitement and anticipation of the forest and its birds.
This year marks VENT's return to Colombia after a 23-year absence and represents an almost complete reversal of fortunes for a country once mired in violence so widespread that travel within the interior of the country was not possible. But what a difference a decade or two can make. Colombia is now a country largely at peace with itself and yearning for normalcy. Did I see changes in our more than two-decade absence? Of course, but good habitat remains in several national parks, and private help has been forthcoming in the past decade, especially through ProAves, a Colombian conservation organization that has been, for ten years now, purchasing tiny parcels of forest that harbor remnant populations of endemics or rare species. We visited three of these sites—all with overnight lodging. In each case access is time consuming, but the sites provide a spectacular introduction to birds of the Bogotá region, middle Magdalena Valley, and Santa Marta area of Colombia, and our route is designed to highlight numerous endemic species of these regions.
Colombia, at present, is a trip for adventurous birders and naturalists who are willing to accept some rough spots (especially the roads) along their route. Colombia is more than a birding trip; it is a beautiful country full of green mountains, breathtaking valleys filled with clouds, a dynamic population, and a growing awareness of environmental issues and a determination to address them. Logistics are complicated—including buses, boats, horses, four-wheel drive vehicles, and occasionally even motorcycles to move our group and luggage. Some bus trips are long, in part because of poor roads. Colombia also has almost no history of ecotourism and lags behind its neighbors in its offering of sites and facilities. However, the future looks bright for ecotourism. In a few years we may say, "You should have seen it back in the good old days." Watch our web site and catalog for an additional new Colombia itinerary—featuring the Central Andean Cordillera—next year.