Go Slow in Colombia

Colombia has fast established itself as one of the world’s great birding and wildlife destinations. Since 2016 Naturetrek has developed a range of exciting bird watching tours that visit the country’s top birding destinations. However, until now there hasn’t been a Colombian birding tour that offers a more relaxed approach to birding in this mega-diverse country, staying in just one lodge for the duration of the tour…that is, until now! 

We are excited to offer a dedicated ‘Go Slow in Colombia’ birding tour, for those birders who wish to enjoy Colombia’s incredible avian diversity, without having to move base every other night or two. On this unique tour we stay in a delightful coffee hacienda, nestled in the verdant slopes of Colombia’s central Andes, just outside the city of Manizales. Perched at 1,350 metres above sea level, the climate is ideal, with warm (but not too hot) days which cool off in the evening. The hacienda boasts luxuriant bird-filled gardens (the house list is approaching 300 species!), well appointed rooms, an inviting swimming pool and an excellent kitchen offering delicious, freshly cooked meals…not to mention as much world-class coffee as you can drink. We will be on the lookout for our first Colombian endemics of the tour here, in the form of Greyish Piculet, Colombian Chachalaca, both Parker’s and Stile’s antbirds and Chestnut Wood-quail, as well as several regional specials such as Scrub Tanager, Bar-crested Antshrike, Spectacled Parrotlet and Moustached Puffbird. From our base we will enjoy daily morning excursions to various reserves in the area, returning for a relaxed afternoon around the hacienda. We’ll visit Rio Blanco, a beautiful cloud forest reserve famed for its antpittas (including the endemic Brown-banded and striking Chestnut-capped varieties) and mixed species flocks comprising a dazzling selection of tanagers, woodpeckers, woodcreepers, and more! Other special targets here include Golden-headed Quetzal, White-capped Tanager, Masked Saltator, Plushcap, Rusty-faced Parrot, and many more besides! A nearby wetland site will offer an excellent selection of waders, waterbirds and kingfishers, while fringing forest and open areas should produce a fine selection of warblers (many of them boreal migrants), flycatchers, seedeaters, orioles, siskins, swallows and raptors. Another morning will be spent in a spot just minutes from our lodge, where a rushing white water river should offer a great chance for the incomparable Torrent Duck, as well as White-capped Dipper, the endemic Turquoise Dacnis and a wealth of other mouth-watering species. 

Our days will follow a similar pattern, with an early breakfast, birding during the most productive hours of the morning, before returning to our hacienda for a relaxed afternoon (with the option to enjoy several tours and experiences laid on by the lodge, including a coffee tour, a rum tasting experience and chocolate tasting). However, on one of the days we shall enjoy a full day excursion to the high reaches of Colombia’s central Andes. Here we shall target the charismatic and endemic Buffy Helmetcrest, as well as a host of other high altitude specials such as Many-striped Canastero, Andean Tit-spinetail, Golden-crowned Tanager, Black-thighed Puffleg, Tawny Antpitta, Black-chested Buzzard-eagle, and, if we’re in luck, Andean Condor! Lunch will be enjoyed in a nearby lodge with thermal hot springs which we can bathe in, while nearby hummingbird gardens will delight with close-up views of a multitude of dazzling species such as Golden-breasted Puffleg, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Great Sapphirewing, and Rainbow-bearded Thornbill. Suffices to say that our efforts should we well rewarded with a unique selection of birds in addition to some of the most spectacular scenery in all of Colombia. 

Our final morning’s excursion will be in an exciting new reserve called Hacienda el Bosque. Here we’ll again be trying for a couple of special antpittas in the form of Equatorial Antpitta and the striking and rare Crescent-faced Antpitta. In the cloud forest we’ll be on the lookout for Yellow-bellied Chat-tyrant, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Redstart, Pearled Treerunner, Plushcap and Purple-backed Thornbill, to name only a few. The reserve offers a wonderful selection of hummingbirds; indeed hummingbirds will be a daily fixture on this tour and we should see as many as forty species in total. Here the highlights include the jaw-dropping Sword-billed Hummingbird, Mountain Velvetbreast, both Bronzy and Collared Incas and Fawn-breasted Brilliant. We’ll also keep our fingers crossed for close-up encounters with arguably the star birds of the reserve - Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan and Barred Fruiteater! 

Having been dazzled by incredible birds, spectacular scenery, delicious food and wonderfully inviting hosts over the past days, the final full day will be spent in our hacienda. Here we can again soak up the avian diversity and perhaps cool off on the inviting swimming pool with a cold glass of wine or a beer!