Endemics Bonanza Tour: 50+ endemics in 20 days

This is one of the world's hottest birding itineraries. Over 50 of Colombia's most amazing endemics in 20 days - a birding blitz that offers the best birding experience of a lifetime. We expect to see over 40 endemics, plus a clutch of near endemics that are confined to Colombia and a small part of neighbouring Venezuela . Group size is strictly limited to 7 people in order to maximise the chance of everyone seeing the key birds. This is a tour for serious birders, if you would like a more relaxing birding trip then we recommend other tours, such as the Magdalena and Santa Marta tour

Dates of next tour:

3 March 2011 - Trevor Ellery	$4,400	Spaces available: 7	Book now
5 April 2011 - Trevor Ellery	$4,400	Spaces available: 7	Book now

Birding sites to be visited:

Chingaza National Park

La Florida

La Victoria

Golden Poison-dart Frog Reserve

Cerulean Warbler Reserve

Dusky Starfrontlet Bird Reserve

Chestnut-capped Piha Bird Reserve

Yellow-eared Parrot Bird Reserve

El Dorado Bird Reserve

Guajira Desert

Itinerary:

This tour will visit some of the best ProAves bird reserves in the Eastern, Central and Western Cordilleras and Magdalena Valley, before finishing off in their spectacular endemic-rich El Dorado reserve on Santa Marta Mountains. Most of the tour is physically fairly easy, with two slightly more demanding days where horses can be provided if required. There will plenty of early starts, with many days starting at 5AM and a few even earlier. Food and accommodation is generally good, with the Dusky Starfrontlet reserve somewhat more basic.

Leader: Trevor Ellery or Juan Carlos Luna.
Limit: 7 people plus guide.
Duration: 20 nights.
Flights: Flights: Arrive in Bogotá and departure 20 days later from Bogotá

Day 1
Arrive in Bogotá . Your international flights will likely arrive in the late afternoon/evening; you will be met at the airport and taken to your hotel in the fashionable and secure Parque 93 district in the North of Bogotá .Due to differing arrival times we will not provide dinner this evening, but choices around the hotel area. Bogotá is located at 2640 meters elevation, nestled in a large plateau in the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes. [Note: many clients choose to arrive a day early and spend a day sightseeing in Bogotá in order to be fresh for the tour. We can arrange extra accommodation and a city guide if required].

Day 2
Today we will visit Chingaza National Park and some adjacent areas. In this high elevation temperate forest and paramo close to Bogotá the key species include the endemic Brown-breasted Parakeet (nestbox scheme in operation), Mattoral Tapaculo, Rufous-browed Conebill, White-capped Tanager, Bronze Tailed Thornbill, Blue-throated Starfrontlet and Coppery-bellied Puffleg. Stunning scenery and a great back up selection of high Andean species. Fantastic flocks and almost tame Andean Guans and White-tailed Deer.

Day 3
We will depart around 5.15 to a small wetland area called La Florida beside the international airport that holds two highly threatened endemics to the Bogotá area, Apolinar's Wren and Bogotá Rail, as well as other specialties such as the endemic Silvery-throated Spinetail and the near-endemic Rufous-browed Conebill and Subtropical Doradito.
We will then drive to the endemic hotspot of Tolima, where later in the day we shall visit a patch of dry forest where Velvet-fronted Euphonia is regular and Apical Flycatcher is possible, before heading for our hotel at the nearby town of Mariquita.

Day 4
There is a new ProAves reserve beside Mariquita named after the endangered Golden Poison-dart Frog, located in the foothills of the central Andes. Most likely we will concentrate on small patches of forest and shade coffee plantations nearby to search for very range-restricted endemic species including the Tolima Dove, Yellow-headed Brush-finch, Crested Ant-tanager and other specialties. In the evening we head for the town of La Victoria, just over the boundary between Tolima and the neighbouring department of Caldas.

Day 5
In semi-dry forest near the hotel we shall spend the morning looking for such birds as Sooty Ant-tanager, Antioquia Bristle-Tyrant, Beautiful Woodpecker, and White-mantled Barbet (a different endemic subspecies to that in the Cerulean Warbler Reserve). In the afternoon we shall drive straight for the Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve. The endemic Indigo-capped Hummingbird is invariably found on the feeders at the lodge, whilst the endemic Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird sometimes visits flowering roadside trees, and has recently been coming to a feeder in the coffee plantations below the lodge. Night in the Cerulean Warbler reserve.

Day 6
We will spend all day birding in the Cerulean Warbler reserve, looking for many endemics such as the fine Gorgeted Wood-Quail (which comes regularly to a new feeding station in the forest), Black Inca, White-mantled Barbet, Parker's Antbird, Upper Magdalena Tapaculo and Colombian Mountain-Grackle. On the first day we will undertake a fairly demanding walk to the far side of the reserve. The trail passes through excellent subtropical forest that harbors a wide variety of excellent birds including the endemics listed above. Night in the Cerulean Warbler reserve.

Day 7
On our second day we will probably concentrate on the areas closer to the lodge zones of the reserve, which hold the endemic Turquoise Dacnis and in the winter many Neotropical migrants including a large wintering population of the reserve's namesake, the Cerulean Warbler. A small population of the near-endemic Recurve-billed Bushbird lives in an impenetrable tangle of scrub and boulders near the lodge, and one can sometimes be coaxed into view. The White-mantled Barbets are often found here more easily than in the forest. Night in the Cerulean Warbler reserve.
Day 8
We will have a few more hours in the reserve before driving to Bucarmanga for an internal flight to Medellin, then onto the Chestnut-capped Piha reserve. As we will not arrive until after 8PM, we will do may decide to stop for dinner on route. Night Piha reserve.
Days 9-10
The excellent Chestnut-capped Piha Reserve was created by Fundacion ProAves to protect the recently described Chestnut-capped Piha (local name Arrierito Antioqueno). There is an interesting mix of lowland and subtropical forest species occur here plus many endemics, including the Colombian Chachalaca, Chestnut Wood-Quail, White-mantled Barbet, Parker's Antbird, Stiles Tapaculo, Chestnut-capped Piha, Multicolored Tanager, Black-and-gold Tanager, and Red-bellied Grackle. Night Piha reserve.

Day 11
After a few more hours birding we set off on the longest drive of the tour, to the new ProAves Bangsias reserve at El Carmen, on the West slope of the Western Cordillera. Recent security improvements have allowed this new site to open, up for visitors. A new lodge is under construction and due to open early in 2011. Night Las Tangaras reserve.

Day 12
At dawn we may glimpse Choco Poorwills flying over the forest, and in the reserve specialties such as Toucan Barbet and Black-and-gold Tanager will be ticked off thick and fast. As we climb a short but steep trail we will search for Choco Vireos ( a big range extension form previously known sites) and Gold-ringed Tanagers should be plentiful. Night Las Tangaras reserve.

Day 13
After a few more hours birding in the reserve, we will stop off for the critically endangered Munchique Wood-Wren, which is surprisingly easy to find in its very attitudinally restricted range, and the enigmatic Tanager Finch. The Dusky Starfrontlet reserve is located high above the town of Urrao, but we will be able to take horses up to the basic (but very hospitable) reserve cabins. Night Dusky Starfrontlet Reserve.

Day 14
Today we will hike to the high paramo, home to the recently rediscovered Dusky Starfrontlet, as well as the endemic Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer. This beautiful landscape harbours many other interesting species such as Ocellated Tapaculo. Today will be the most physically demanding part of the tour. We will return to the cabins for a second night.

Day 15
This morning we will not need to rise particularly early, as the recently discovered and as yet undescribed new species of Antpitta takes its breakfast of worms near the cabins at 7.30AM, accompanied by Chesnut-naped Antpittas. Then we will walk or ride down to Urrao, where we will embark on a 4 hour drive to Jardin, a pleasant colonial town adjacent to the Yellow-eared Parrot reserve that is also home to some of the finest coffee in Colombia (most of the best goes for export and in many places the local coffee is nothing to write home about). In the evening we may visit a lek of Andean Cock-of-the-Rocks, amazingly just 10 minutes walk from our hotel in the town centre, though in the unlikely event that we missed the Red-bellied Grackles at the Piha reserve, we may prefer to look for them at a site also quite near the town.

Day 16
In the morning we will head for the Yellow-eared Parrot reserve, where we should have good luck tracking down the fabulous and Critically Endangered Yellow-eared Parrot. This stunning parrot is currently extinct in Ecuador and now endemic just to Colombia. Munchique Woodwren and Tanager Finch can sometimes be found on the roadside, and the Dusky Starfrontlet has very occasionally been recorded here too (though is highly unlikely).

Day 17
We�ll leave Jardin by 6AM to catch the 10.40 flight to Santa Marta. After lunch well make roadside stops above Minca to look for Coppery Emerald, Golden-fronted Greenlet, the newly described Santa Marta Foliage Gleaner, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Santa Marta Tapaculo and Golden-winged Sparrow. Hopefully we�ll arrive just after dusk at the lodge, allowing time for a first try at the newly discovered Santa Marta Screech-Owl on the road below the lodge. Night in El Dorado.

Days 18-19
Birding for two days in El Dorado. We will be able to take things fairly gently and still have plenty of time to rack up the endemics at this gorgeous site which features views of both the city of Santa Marta below and the mountain peaks (the tallest in Colombia) above. Among the many endemics we will find the endangered Santa Marta Parakeet, the newly discovered Santa Marta Screech Owl, Blossomcrown, White-tailed Starfrontlet, Santa Marta Toucanet, Rusty-headed Spinetail, Santa Marta Antpitta, Santa Marta Tapaculo, Santa Marta Bush-Tyrant, Santa Marta Mountain Tanager, Santa Marta Warbler, White-lored Warbler, Yellow-crowned Whitestart, Brown-rumped Tapaculo, and Santa Marta Brush-finch. And this list doesn't include the many others we will see including Scarlet-fronted Parakeet, White-tipped Quetzal, and Golden-breasted Fruiteater. Nights in El Dorado.

Day 20
This morning we will have a last try for any Santa Marta endemics we might have missed. Then we head straight for the city of Riohacha, stopping off on the way at Los Flamencos National Park to start our attack on the Guajira near endemics including Bare-eyed Pigeon, Buffy Hummingbird, Russet-throated Puffbird, Chestnut Piculet, White-whiskered Spinetail, Slender-billed Inezia, Black-crested Antshrike, Pileated Finch, the rare Tocuyo Sparrow, the incomparable Vermillion Cardinal and the Orinocan Saltator. Night Riohacha.

Days 21
We shall resume battle at dawn, and hope to clear up most of the species we want to see before the midday sun gets too strong. We will also stop to check out the flocks of gulls, terns, waders and herons, including spectacular species such as American Flamingo, Scarlet and White Ibises, and Roseate Spoonbills. We should have time for a quick shower at the hotel before heading or the nearby Riohacha airport, where we�ll catch the 13.00 flight to Bogotá, in time to connect with evening flights to Europe and the US. Those with morning flights from Bogotá will need to stay an extra night in Bogotá, which we can arrange (cost not included). Tour Extensions
We have several 3-5 day extensions available. Please ask for details. For the 3 March 2011 we have a request for a pre-tour extension to Paujil.

LIST OF ENDEMIC TARGETS (58)
Colombian Chachalaca (1)
Chestnut Wood-Quail
Gorgeted Wood-Quail
Bogotá Rail
Tolima Dove
Yellow-eared Parrot
Santa Marta Parakeet
Brown-breasted Parakeet
Santa Marta Screech-Owl (3)
Blossomcrown
Black-backed Thornbill (2)
White-tailed Starfrontlet
Dusky Starfrontlet
Santa Marta Woodstar
Santa Marta Sabrewing (2)
Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird
Black Inca
Indigo-capped Hummingbird
White-mantled Barbet
Santa Marta Toucanet (1)
Grayish Piculet (2)
Beautiful Woodpecker
Silvery-throated Spinetail
Rusty-headed Spinetail
Streak-capped Spinetail (4)
Santa Marta Foliage-gleaner
Parker's Antbird
Santa Marta Antpitta
Fenwick's Antpitta
Santa Marta Tapaculo
Upper Magdalena Tapaculo
Stiles's Tapaculo
Brown-rumped Tapaculo
Paramillo Tapaculo
Antioquia Bristle-Tyrant
Santa Marta Bush-Tyrant
Apical Flycatcher
Chestnut-capped Piha
Apolinar's Wren
Munchique Wood-Wren
Flame-rumped Tanager (1)
Black-and-gold Tanager
Gold-ringed Tanager
Santa Marta Mountain-Tanager
Multicolored Tanager
Turquoise Dacnis
Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer
Santa Marta Brush-Finch
Yellow-headed Brush-Finch
Santa Marta Stripe-headed Brush-finch (1)
Sooty Ant-Tanager
Crested Ant-Tanager
Yellow-crowned Whitestart
White-lored Warbler
Santa Marta Warbler
Red-bellied Grackle
Mountain Grackle
Velvet-fronted Euphonia

Notes:
(1) Species that are not regarded as full species by some authorities yet
(2) Species that are occasionally recorded in sites on our itinerary but that we have not recorded on our tours at these sites
(3) Valid new species under process of description
(4) Species that are believed endemic but that have old debatable records in other countries

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