Colombia: Diverse Western Bogota

Bogota Rail © David Ascanio

Populous and vibrant, Bogotá is a city of contrasts. Located on a montane plateau of the East Andes in central Colombia, this capital city of 7+ million people hosts amazing birding areas, easily accessible by road, that will complement the birds likely to be seen in the Inirida and Llanos of the Orinoco tours. Expect superb quality birding away from the crowds, with no exhausting drives.

The Bogotá Plateau sits in the East Andes, the largest and widest of the three cordilleras in Colombia. From here, we will explore ecosystems at both slopes including páramo, high montane wet forest, cloud forest, wetlands, and even tropical dry forest. In addition, the continuous variation of habitats will offer mind-blowing landscapes.

Our tour begins with a short drive to a wetland contiguous to the airport, where the unique and threatened Bogota Rail occurs. We can also expect Andean Duck, Spot-flanked Gallinule, and the endemic Silvery-throated Spinetail, plus many bird subspecies that are restricted to the plateau area.

Later, we will explore the western slope of the Eastern Andes, the one facing the Magdalena River Valley, where a new assortment of endemic birds and wonderful tanagers awaits us. The main species here are Velvet-fronted Euphonia and Indigo-capped Hummingbird. An interesting geological feature is that the west side of the Andes is characterized by steep cliffs, allowing forested protected treasures. Due to a steep geological fault, the cloud forests of the western edge are very well preserved and have been protected by several conservation initiatives. One of these is Chicaque, a private reserve with an incredible private road that can be walked down through the forest to see how everything changes through the altitude gradient. The views of the forest canopy and the dramatic cliffs are amazing. Of course, special bird species like the spectacular Golden-bellied Starfrontlet and Black Inca, hummingbird species that are both endemic to the Eastern Andes, can be seen. Chicaque holds several colorful cloud forest birds like the Flame-faced, Beryl-spangled, Metallic-green, and Golden tanagers. This is a great introduction to birding the Tropical Andes and their cloud forests.

The tour will continue in an area of tropical dry forest with a contrasting array of birds including Colombian Chachalaca (endemic), Red-billed Emerald, Shining-green Hummingbird, Whooping Motmot, Barred Puffbird (near-endemic), Olivaceous Piculet, Black-crowned Antshrike, Fulvous-crowned Scrub-Tyrant, Apical Flycatcher (endemic), Black-chested Jay (near-endemic), Pileated Finch (endemic subspecies), and White-eared Conebill.

Our tour will conclude with a full day in the stunted forest and the páramo, a unique habitat occurring above treeline. A visit to the Guasca Mountains will offer the opportunity to see Pale-bellied Tapaculo and Muisca Antpitta. The beautiful Black-billed Mountain-Toucan frequently calls around the area, and astonishing hummingbirds will be observed at the feeders, including the spectacular Blue-throated Starfrontlet, while the elusive Brown-breasted Parakeet (endemic) can be heard and, with luck, seen visiting fruiting trees at the forest edge. To finish this productive and fun trip, we will visit the famous Hummingbird Observatory. Some of the species we expect to see are the near-endemic Coppery-bellied Puffleg and Sword-billed Hummingbird—birds that will take your breath away! We might also see Great Sapphirewing, Green and Sparkling violetears, and Glowing Puffleg.

Many easy-to-see birds make this tour a great complement to the other two tours in our “Trilogy of Colombian Tours.”

Good accommodation (Gyrola lodge offers astonishing landscapes) and easy to walk trails (a steep road with stairs is present in Chicaque and return vehicle will be offered); great food; comfortable transportation, with mostly short drives (longest expected to be about 2.5 hours) mainly on paved roads; some midday rest periods; warm and humid in lowlands, cool and pleasant in mountains.

Flame-faced Tanager © Steve Hilty