Is Colombia the best country for birding in the world? I just think it might be!
Certainly, it has been the best country of this trip so far and any country I have ever birded in for that matter.
It has more species than any other country in the world (over 1,900). It has some incredible lodges and feeder setups where you can see loads of quality birds from the comfort of an armchair (seriously!). It has super skilled and hardworking guides (see below for a recommendation). The climate in this area along with the presence of feeders means that you can literally bird productively from dawn to dusk if you want to and have the energy to do so.
My wife and I have just finished five incredible days of birding with Luz and Pablo of Adventures Colombia and they have been fantastic so super happy to recommend them to anyone coming here to bird this wonderful country. Super bird guides, great logistics and planning, lovely people to spend time with, professional up and coming company here in Colombia.
Day 1 – El Cedral and Otun Quimbaya (Cloud Forest)
Since we are on a long trip we do not get to choose the best time of year to visit a country and we came to Colombia in the rainy season. And today it rained all day but fortunately this was the only day this was the case. For this reason I have less photos for day 1.
On the drive into the reserve we saw a movement on the road which turned out to be a Moustached Ant-pitta – not bad start to the day! Despite the rain birding at first light in the cloud forest El Cedral was productive seeing several new birds such as Sickle Wing Guan, Red-Ruffed Fruit Crow, Andean Motmot, Southern Emerald Toucanet, Montane Woodcreeper and Montane Foliage Gleaner, Andean Solitaire, and many more.
Moving to the river I had a moment reminiscent of Scotland. Swap Black Phoebe for Grey Wagtail and White-Capped Dipper for our Dipper and I could have been stood by a river at home. The Torrent Duck was a lovely new bird too living up to its name.
Moving on to Otun Quimbaya which offered some shelter from the rain the new birds kept coming – Cauca Guan, Bare-Faced Ibis, Marble-Faced Bristle Tyrant. The tanagers offered a welcome boost of colour amid the grey skies with Blue-Necked, Flame-Rumped and Fawn-Breasted all being new for me.
Day 2 – Rio Blanco (Cloud Forest)
We actually arrived at Rio Blanco late on day 1 (we slept here) but in time to see the incredible feeder set ups and get the camera out! The hummingbirds took centre stage but hoping for better light I held back shooting these with the needed fast shutter speed. But lifers in Tourmaline Sunangel, the spectacular Long-Tailed Sylph, Bronzy and Collared Incas and Buff-Tailed Coronet were all added in first few minutes. Also offering fine views were White-Sided and Masked Flowerpiercers, Chestnut-Bellied Chat-Tyrant and Andean Guan. All of this from an undercover lodge viewing platforms to keep the rain out and I was in birding heaven.
Certain bird families deserve special mention here – first up Antpittas. Rio Blanco has some of the best Antpitta hides in Colombia (and therefore the world). The dedication needed to develop this setup – feeding the birds every day at the same time with the same routine – was significant. But for us it meant close views, amazing encounters and some pretty fine photos. The Antpittas were supported by other birds too including Fruiteaters and some outrageously named Hemisphingus’s which challenges my spelling skills to the limit. Checkout slide show below – I am even in one of the photos!
Another family that deserves special mention are the Toucans – only two species Southern Emerald Toucanet and Black-Billed Mountain Toucan but they offered some wonderful photo opportunities along with other colourful Trogans and Motmots. Just wonderful birds.
Of course the Hummingbirds deserve a special mention too not least because they provided me with an astonishing 12 lifters in this one location along with some beautiful photos. Photographing Hummingbirds in flight is about as hard as underwater photography as the most challenging photography I attempt – but the rewards are delightful, I hope you agree.
Finally many other birds and other creatures that do not fit into any of these natural groupings were also seen. Altogether loved Rio Blanco as a wonderful mix of traditional birding with fantastic feeder setups.
Part 2 of this series follows here.
Wild Scot 
So many stunningly beautiful birds, you must be in heaven. Your photos are such a pleasure to view!
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