Dates: April 7 - 15, 2026

Leaders: Brian Gibbons with Alejandro Nagy

E-bird

Total Species: 285 birds

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Overall Summary

We eased into Colombia at the Hacienda El Diamante. The building reminded us of familiar surroundings of the desert Southwest, but the verdant surroundings and birdlife were from another realm. Our first afternoon netted us over fifty species of birds including such gems as the Crimson-backed and Blue-necked tanagers. The charming Golden-faced Tyrannulet was incubating her eggs throughout our visit in an inconspicuous hanging cup tucked into moss over the front yard. The Limpkins around the fish ponds had three fuzzy young, an interesting find for El Diamante. We got our first hummers at the flowers and feeders with Steely-vented Hummingbird, Western Emerald, Brown Violetear, White-necked Jacobin, and Rufous-tailed Hummingbird. The highlight was in the morning when Michael led us to a field, he whistled and called a Crested Bobwhite for breakfast, sure enough the bird was waiting for him with its intricate plumage and spiky crest. Our first of many experiences with Barranquero – the tunnel-making Andean Motmot.

At Laguna del Sonso the Cauca River and oxbow lakes hosted many new birds for us. After Alejandro warned us that the star of the reserve, Horned Screamer, might not show up - we walked right to a confiding pair, that even screamed for us! Reviewing my photos during travel home I noticed spurs on the wrist of these birds, another bizarre trait that we didn’t discuss in the field. After we enjoyed the screamers we continued scanning over a weedy field where we found the cool-looking Oriole-Blackbird, and Red-breasted Meadowlark. Our constant companions for the morning were Yellow-headed Caracaras and Snail Kites. The Spectacled Parrotlets were cute and conspicuous, they were everywhere. The bamboo construction of the park facilities lends itself to cavities everywhere, which means many amorous parrotlets. Easing along the oxbow trail Natalie knew a roost for Tropical Screech-Owl, sure enough, one somnolent owl barely cracked its eye for us in the bamboo. A couple other nocturnal avians slept in front of us too, a Lesser Nighthawk and a Common Potoo. Scanning the expansive marsh from the observation deck we spied the largest rodent in the world, Capybara. Common and Purple gallinules, Yellow-hooded Blackbirds, Wattled Jacanas, and finally…Pinnated Bittern appeared for us in the marsh.

In the afternoon we made our way to La Huerta Hotel where we enjoyed their farm to table meals for the next couple of days and another familiar face, the Vermilion Flycatcher is common in the gardens! We made an afternoon visit to Lago Calima, the marshes of the upper end of the lake held a few treasures for us. Some ducks like Blue-winged Teal and Black-bellied Whistling-Duck loafed at the edge. A responsive pair of Blackish Rails lingered out in the open for us as dozens of Bare-faced Ibis made their way to their evening roosts. A Grayish Piculet and a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird on her nest filled in the tiny-bird niche. Rio Bravo was productive in the morning despite our inability to find mixed-species flocks. We tracked down some of Colombia’s many great tanagers. Silver-throated, Golden, Bay-headed, and Scrub were among nine species seen. Too sunny conditions kept the flock activity down but allowed us to study Variable Hawks, Double-toothed Kites and Barred Hawks soaring overhead. We returned in the afternoon and found some flock action. One fun aspect of birding well south of the border is seeing familiar breeders and migrants in very different environments. We encountered many Blackburnian Warblers; Scarlet and Summer tanagers; Rose-breasted Grosbeaks; Canada, Mourning, Bay-breasted, and Golden-winged warblers; and a couple flycatchers alongside many Colombian birds. The North Americans were already migrating or will be heading north with us.

The next morning found us in a totally new environment, the dry intermontane valley at Atuncela. We felt right at home among the parched landscape with cactus and thorny trees and some wilting temps, despite Angelo’s insistence that it was a “cool” morning. Ultramarine Grosbeak, Bar-crested Antshrike, Apical Flycatcher and the phenomenal Ruby-topaz Hummingbird made it worthwhile. The heat drove us off from the Blue-headed Sapphire hunt, before it came to feed. We retreated to the cloud forest at 5000 feet at Aqui me Quedo. Where we had an excellent lunch with White-booted Racket-tails. The fruit feeders were our first hint at what we were in for in the forest. Green Honeycreepers, Flame-rumped, Blue-winged Mountain-, Black-capped, Blue-necked, and Saffron-crowned tanagers were all coming and going making our heads spin with color.

Five nights at Araucana, the finest birding lodge in Colombia would give us ample time to master these species and more cloud forest denizens. Every meal was excellent and the staff took care of all our needs effortlessly. Our first morning we ascended to La Minga in nice moss-encrusted cloud forest. The feeders were slow to start and only picked up a little steam but we had a good variety through the morning. Seems the fruit of the forest was coming on and birds were less obligated to the feeders. Mid-morning we headed out to the entrance road. We only found a few birds before lunch but they were memorable ones! A Green-and-black Fruiteater pair called back and moved around overhead for a few minutes before we were distracted by another great bird, the calling Golden-headed Quetzal. Which was pre-empted by a Streak-capped Treehunter building a nest in a roadside bank. Cue the Quetzal, it finally appeared on a powerline over the road, at least for a couple seconds, we all eventually got good looks at this stunning creature. After lunch we finally caught up with the White-throated Daggerbill, a hummer that never goes to the feeder, so we had to find it the old-fashioned way.

La Florida had a variety of feeder setups too. Our best looks at the wild-looking endemic Multicolored Tanager were enjoyed. Hand-feeding an Andean Motmot that was chowing down on meal worms was entertaining. The hummingbirds were busy too, fifteen species were seen at the feeders and gardens, new ones included Greenish Puffleg and Bronzy Inca. In the afternoon, the White-throated Quail-Dove interrupted our wait on the Little Tinamou, which eventually appeared and gave us great looks at this normally shy forest-dweller. Fog was bathing the forest for the afternoon, keeping the birds active. This encouraged the Chestnut Wood-Quail to come out to feed, they were then lured out into the open for an amazing observation. We enjoyed a lunch out at Bosque de Niebla where their feeders were hosting a Velvet-purple Coronet, a vagrant to this side of the Western Andes.

Our journey to Doña Dora took us along the Rio Anchicaya to the west slope of the Western Andes. Rain the entire drive over had me worrying about the productivity of the day. Our first stop, with a view of the turbulent muddy waters, saw the sprinkles stop and the birds begin. Torrent Tyrannulet was the first, the white-capped Dippers were seen braving the turbid waters, and finally a pair of Torrent Ducks worked their way up stream against an impossible current. The male was strikingly pied and the female was rufous-breasted with a slaty back. As we continued down the road we encountered a few new birds like Glistening-green and Rufous-throated Tanagers. Alejandro spotted the Rufous-gaped Hillstar, a striking large hummer that allowed excellent scope views. Overhead Swallow-tailed Kites swooped and White-collared Swifts effortlessly gobbled up bugs for breakfast. Indigo Flowerpiercers were seen too, they were always on the move but eventually we got some good looks at this striking little tanager. Doña Dora was excellent, three species of barbets, The stunning Empress Brilliant, miniscule Green Thorntail, and an amazing procession of tanagers through the feeders led by the verdant Glistening-green Tanager. In the afternoon we retraced our steps along the Rio Anchicaya. At a roadside cliff Daniela pointed out a nesting Lyre-tailed Nightjar. We enjoyed stunning scope views of this amazing bird.

San Felipe is a small private birding property where Christian ushered in a parade of birds with seeds, fruit, and meal worms! Little Tinamou, Chestnut Wood-Quail, tanagers, hummers, and an amazing little Northern Chestnut-breasted Wren with an Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush too! An Excellent lunch refueled us for our afternoon birding. Blue-naped Chlorophonia, Azara’s Spinetail, Great Thrush, and Rusty Flowerpiercer were all noted. San Felipe finalized the major birding for our trip, an excellent finale.

Thank you for traveling with VENT and TBA, we look forward to our next birding adventure.

Brian, Luke, and Alejandro.

Day-by-Day Summary

April 7 - Afternoon birding at Hacienda el Diamante

April 8 - Early monring birding at Hacienda el Diamante, Laguna de Sonso, and travel to Hotel La Huerta, birding at the marshy upper end of Lago Calima in the evening

April 9 - Rio Bravo birding all day, return to La Huerta for lunch

April 10 - Atuncela dry interior valley birding, lunch back in the cloud forest at Aqui me Quedo, transfer to Araucana Lodge and birding the lodge feeders in the afternoon

April 11 - La Minga birding all day

April 12 - La Florida Birding all day, lunch out at Bosque de Niebla

April 13 - Rio Anchicaya area down to Dona Dora for birding and lunch, return via same road

April 14 - San Felipe birding all day with an excellent lunch on site

April 15 - Birding the Araucana Lodge grounds before departure transfers to Cali Airport

Wildlife Seen: 

MAMMALS:

Red-tailed Squirrel

Sciurus granatensis

Western Dwarf Squirrel

Microsciurus mimulus

Capybara

Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris

Central Ameriacn Agouti

Dasyprocta punctata

Tiger Rat Snake

Spilotes pullatus

Green Iguana

Iguana iguana

Gallery