Colombia in the area of Bogota -March 13-17

Golden-fronted Redstart (Yellow-fronted), Junin, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Just returned from another trip down south with the destination this time being the Bogota area of Colombia. My two main targets were Gray throated Warbler and Golden fronted Redstart (white faced subspecies) with a secondary target being the Cabanis’s subspecies of Golden crowned Warbler (considered a separate species by some authorities). The trip was thrown together when our original plan to go back to Costa Rica in March got derailed when Sherri somehow managed to not catch Covid when I had when we were down in Costa Rica in January. We didn’t want to take the chance of her getting down there and then get stuck like I did. We decided instead to go to Florida but before I met her there I wanted to take advantage of going out of the country and not having to test as I recently recovered from Covid. There are still lots of restrictions in a few other spots I wanted to go but Colombia only required a Covid vaccination and some paperwork. I then looked at the remaining warblers I have not seen yet and decided a few days around the Bogota area should produce the targets mentioned above. This was my second trip down to Colombia with my first being a trip to the Santa Marta Mountains in February of 2020. I hired a guide for each full day in the area through bogota birding with my guide being Oswaldo for the first day and Camilo for the two other days. After a long day of traveling I made it to my hotel late in the day on Sunday the 13th after hours spent in immigration and customs. 

Gray throated Warbler, Laguna El Tabacal, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

Gray throated Warbler habitat, Laguna El Tabacal, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

Blackburnian Warbler, Laguna El Tabacal, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

Canada Warbler, Laguna El Tabacal, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

Monday I met Oswaldo and the driver Sebastian at 5AM and we headed to Laguna El Tabacal with the main target there being Gray throated Warbler. After a long drive through terrible traffic in the city and a stop for breakfast we made it there around 7:30 and started walking the roadside and then the trails. 

Once we got on the trails we had a single Gray throated Warbler fairly quickly but it disappeared after showing briefly. We then spent hours trying to get better photos of the warbler but never really got any great shots. We came across at least five individuals throughout our time on the trails. Even though I only managed to get a marginal photo of the species I did get some great looks at it. The species does not respond well to anything and stays down fairly low in dense thickets and never stops moving…not an easy target for photos at all. Nonetheless even without great photos it was a great way to spend nearly six hours for sure. 

Golden fronted Redstart (Yellow fronted), Alto de Vino, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

Golden fronted Redstart (Yellow fronted), Alto de Vino, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

Black crested Warbler, Alto de Vino, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 14, 2022

After lunch we headed up to Alto de Vino on our way back to Bogota. We walked along various parts of the road and turned up some fantastic looks at Golden fronted Redstarts (yellow fronted subspecies) with some showing quite well down low. We continued walking along the road and eventually turned up some Black crested Warblers just as the rain moved in. I had seen the species before in Ecuador but it was nice to get some great looks at it as well as some photos. 

Blackburnian Warbler, Finca Las Hermanas, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Blackburnian Warbler, Finca Las Hermanas, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Golden-crowned Warbler (Cabanis's), Finca Las Hermanas, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Slate throated Redstart, Monterredondo, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 15, 2022

Tuesday was another early 5AM start out of Bogota heading off to the southeast with the final destination being Monterredondo. The guide for this day and the following day was Camilo Orjuela. Thankfully the traffic out of the city was a bit better than the previous day. We made it to the start of the road up the mountain a bit before 8AM after a quick breakfast stop.  The big target bird for the day was the Cabanis’s subspecies of Golden crowned Warbler, which is considered a full species by some authorities and is then known as Cabanis’s Warbler. We had a pair fairly early on but then spent nearly an hour and a half trying to get a photo. We got brief but good looks of the warbler but this is another skulking species that spends all its time down low in thick tangles and just would not cooperate for photos. I eventually got a few partial body shots and a few blurry photos but that would have to suffice. The rest of the morning into the afternoon was spent moving steadily higher up. The rest of the day when spent along the road going higher up in elevation.  We had a total of eight species of warbler for the day with the a few new ones for the trip including the above mentioned subspecies of Golden crowned Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Three striped Warbler and Slate throated Redstart.  A bit before three we headed back down the mountain and started the long drive back to Bogota with a few brief stops along the way back down. The traffic was bad but not as bad as Monday and we made it back to my hotel around 6:30. Another long but productive day. 

Golden-fronted Redstart (Yellow-fronted), Junin, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Golden-fronted Redstart (Yellow-fronted), Junin, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Wednesday we went northeast of the city and headed up in elevation once again. Most of our day was spent along the roads at Reserva Bosque Guajira.  We started off the morning with more Golden fronted Redstarts with a couple showing quite well. Blackburnian Warblers were around in good numbers once again at multiple stops.  The only other warbler we had for the day was a Black crested Warbler.  I flew out on on 17th to meet Sherri in Florida to continue the vacation (more on that part of the trip later).

Overall for the trip I had 15 species of warblers with two new species (Gray throated Warbler and Golden fronted Redstart) plus a few new subspecies that could get split at some point. The most numerous species overall was Blackburnian Warbler (the default warbler in most areas) followed by Canada Warblers.  

Southern Ecuador warblers (Nov 7-14)

Gray and Gold Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Masked Yellowthroat (Black lored Yellowthroat), Uzhcurrumi, Azuay, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

Citrine Warbler, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Three banded Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Masked Yellowthroat (Maranon Yellowthroat subspecies), Road north of Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 11, 2021

Olive crowned Yellowthroat (southern), Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Just back from a trip down to southern Ecuador with the focus being on warblers. The target species for the trip included Gray and Gold Warbler, Citrine Warbler, Three banded Warbler, Masked Yellowthroat (two subspecies-Black lored Yellowthroat and Maranon Yellowthroat) plus the local subspecies of Olive crowned Yellowthroat (I had previously seen two other subspecies-Belding’s Yellowthroat and Chiriqui Yellowthroat in Costa Rica). These various yellowthroat subspecies likely represent unique species and some taxonomic classification organizations already recognize them as such. I also wanted to see the gray bellied version of the Russet crowned Warbler. In addition I hoped to get some photos of other warbler species I have seen in the tropics before before but did not get photographs of including Three striped Warbler, Black crested Warbler and Spectacled Redstart. 

Gray and Gold Warbler, Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve, Guayas, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

Gray and Gold Warbler, Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve, Guayas, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

Masked Yellowthroat (Black lored Yellowthroat), Uzhcurrumi, Azuay, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

Masked Yellowthroat (Black lored Yellowthroat), Uzhcurrumi, Azuay, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

I arrived into Guayaquil in the afternoon of Sunday November 7 and met up with my guide for the trip. We stayed the night in Guayaquil and then set out early the next morning to make the long drive to Saraguro. Our first day of birding produced two target species with Gray and Gold Warbler and the Black lored subspecies of the Masked Yellowthroat. We found the Gray and Gold Warbler in a dry forest in the Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve. The warbler was tough to keep track of as it stayed hidden from view most of the time in the dense brushy understory. The behavior reminded me a lot of a Fan tailed Warbler or any of a number of redstarts that fan their tails often as they feed. The call note of the warbler sounded a lot like a Common Yellowthroat (information used later to recognize when the species was nearby). As we continued our long drive we made a stop along the road which quickly produced the Black lored subspecies of the Masked Yellowthroat in a weedy field. It showed fairly well but was not too close and would not stay in view for any length of time (a common theme with most warblers).

Black crested Warbler, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Black crested Warbler, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Spectacled Redstart, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Citrine Warbler, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Citrine Warbler, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

After a night in Saraguro we headed up into some nearby mountains in the Reserva Huashapamba on the morning of Tuesday the 9th. We arrived into the area a bit after six and then birded along the road for a few hours. During our time there we turned up multiple singing Black crested Warblers, Citrine Warblers and Spectacled Redstarts. The Citrine Warblers were not only a new warbler species for me the sighting of them also became my 1600th life bird. Unfortunately the foggy conditions made getting photos a bit difficult and the Citrine Warblers were the least cooperative of any of the warblers present. Nonetheless I got some marginal photos of them as well as slightly better photos of the other warblers present.  I also managed to get recordings of a number of the warblers.  The most productive lists for the morning can be found at the following links:1 and 2.  We ended the day in far southern Ecuador in the small town of Zumba where we spent the next two nights.

Blackburnian Warbler, Road west of Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

On Wednesday we traveled south from Zumba all the way down to the Peruvian border in the morning and then off to the west of Zumba in the afternoon. Although the day did not produce any new warbler species for me it did produce my first Tropical Parula, Blackburnian Warbler, Canada Warbler and Slate throated Redstart for the trip.  We tried in vain to find the Maranon subspecies of Masked Warbler in the area.

Masked Yellowthroat (Maranon Yellowthroat subspecies), Road north of Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 11, 2021

Masked Yellowthroat (Maranon Yellowthroat subspecies), Road north of Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 11, 2021

On Thursday we headed west of Zumba before dawn to get to the paramo and then back into town a bit before lunch.  After an early lunch we started our trip north of Zumba on our way to Buenaventura.  The main focus as we moved north out of Zumba was to locate the Maranon subspecies of the Masked Yellowthroat and after quite a bit of effort in on again/off again light rain we finally found our target.  The subspecies only occurs in the Maranon Valley of northwest Peru and nearby parts of Ecuador.

Russet crowned Warbler, Reserva Tapichalaca, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 12, 2021

Three banded Warbler, Chinchas-Portavelo Road, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 12, 2021

Tropical Parula, Chinchas-Portavelo Road, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 12, 2021

As we drove from Tapichlaca to Buenaventura we birded along a twisting dirt road known as the Chinchas-Portovelo Road. Almost every stop we made along this route had decent activity with the first stop producing yet another target species for the trip with a couple of very vocal Three banded Warblers. Other stops along the road produced more Three banded Warblers as well as Tropical Parula, Gray and Gold Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Russet crowned Warbler and Slate throated Redstart. 

Olive crowned Yellowthroat, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Gray and Gold Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Gray and Gold Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Our full day at Buenaventura began with loads of activity around the lodge (primarily centered on the feeders) but also drawing in birds to feed in the tangles and forest nearby including more Gray and Gold Warblers and a couple of Buff breasted Warblers singing loudly as they worked their way down the steps to the lodge. After breakfast we headed up the road in the reserve and through the fog found a fairly cooperative Olive crowned Yellowthroat singing in a small clearing. This was my final big target warbler for the trip. As mentioned before this particular yellowthroat complex has been split into multiple unique species by other authorities and I had seen two of those other splits in Costa Rica (Chiriqui Yellowthroat and Baird's Yellowthroat).

Gray and Gold Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 14, 2021

Buff rumped Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 14, 2021

Buff rumped Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 14, 2021

On the last day we got some better looks of the Buff rumped Warblers present in the reserve. The individuals in Ecuador appeared more orange in appearance than those I see in Costa Rica (which show more of a yellowish coloration). 

Total warblers for the trip totaled 13 species with Warblers included Masked Yellowthroat (both Black lored and Maranon subspecies), Olive crowned Warblers (southern subspecies), Tropical Parula (South America subspecies), Blackburnian Warbler, Three banded Warbler, Citrine Warbler, Black crested Warbler, Buff rumped Warbler, Gray and Gold Warbler, Russet crowned Warbler, Canada Warbler, Slate throated Redstart and Spectacled Redstart.