First, Colombia has more bird species than any other country in the world, topping out at just under 1900. Worldwide, it also ranks first in orchid species and second in plants, butterflies, freshwater fish and amphibians. Third, Colombia is considered a megadiverse country with over 300 ecosystems that includes wetlands, savannahs, deserts, Amazon rainforests, dry forests and cloud forests. The Santa Marta mountains rise from nearly sea level to over 19,000 feet.
Magical and amazing are the first two words that come to mind when I try to describe this experience. It was way more than the birds, it was the country, the birds, the animals, the people, the food--pretty much everything.
Going back to the beginning, six of us from Utah went on this trip. I have birded with most of them, which made it even more fun. From left to right: Jose our guide, Lynn, Laurie, Carolina, Barb, Bryant, Vivian. We are walking on one of the roads--barely a Land Rover wide.
The merry and very distinguished crew of birders included:
Bryant, one of, if not the best, birder in Utah. Teaches birding to citizen science volunteers for Tracy Aviary, conducts the breeding and non-breeding bird surveys in a partnership with the aviary and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and also surveys bird areas for HawkWatch. He is an all-around earth scientist with a huge store of knowledge about geology, botany and astronomy as well.
Lynn, a botany professor who is internationally renowned for her work with the Solanaceae family of plants. Her work centers around plant systematics and phylogeny, with an emphasis on the taxonomy and evolutionary relationships of the widely divergent Solanaceae family.
Vivian, outdoor woman extraordinaire. Skier, hiker, kayaker and river rafter. Former surgical nurse.
Barb, a climber, famous for being part of the first all-woman team to ascend the nose of El Capitan and later being part of the first all-female ascent of Mount Moran’s Direct South Buttress. She is a backcountry skier, river rafter and hiker.
Laurie, an internal medicine physician and runner. She has also birded in Brazil and Mexico.
Carolina, former Conservation Scientist at the aviary and now working as a consultant to the government of Colombia in Policy and Governance in Agriculture and Biotechnology having to do with the Farc peace treaty.
Jose, our intrepid guide and ardent Taoist. Jose planned our trip to the nth detail. Food, lodging, transportation (bus and 4x4s). He was a joy to be with, even though I'm sure we tried his patience with our not-to-be-herded cat behavior. He and Carolina worked very hard to make sure all of us got a look at each bird.
Our trip began in Cartagena. After leaving a snowy, cold Salt Lake, the 92 degree, sunny, blue-sky day was very welcome. We arrived at our first night's hotel mid-afternoon, but birding started immediately. Getting off the plane and going to the hotel we counted 14 species. At the hotel another 10 species. We dropped our luggage and went to the beach for some quick birding before dinner. The tide was high, the breeze was stiff, but we still saw 12 species of birds including magnificent frigatebirds, caracaras and laughing gulls before the sun set.
The next morning we hopped into the bus for a trip to Jardín Botánico Guillermo Piñeres. It was a small bus, but had window seats for everyone. The Botanic Garden was not the completely manicured kind you find here in the states, but was as wild as the surrounding landscape, with more paths.
It was our first up-close look at a virgin forest. I was able to spot this gorgeous bird, a Crested Orapendula, so it holds a special place in my heart. This bird is larger than a magpie. It has a black body, red under the wings, a bright yellow tail and beak plus brilliant blue eyes. Orapendulas weave long, hanging nests and they nest in colonies.
You could find 12 to 20 of these hanging nests in a single tree. They weave their nests from the inside. It is really hard to see, but the bird has a tiny little piece of vine in its beak.
It was a day of wonder for me. I knew I'd be seeing amazing birds, but there were so many other surprises in store. The best surprise for me on this day was hearing, then seeing Howler Monkeys. Howlers can be heard three miles away! Hard to imagine. Far away, they sound like wind through the trees. The closer you get, the weirder the sound. I found a clip of their sound for you. Listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vxlnZ8BihI It doesn't give you any idea how loud it is in real life, but you can use your imagination.
We also saw a baby riding its mother's back. So darned sweet.
A second surprise was being able to watch a sloth move very slowly and gracefully through the top of the canopy. It was like seeing part of a Cirque du Soleil performance.
The third Wow! moment was discovering leaf cutter ants wending their way across the forest floor. There was a lot of organization in this process. Ants would be two to three stories high in a tree cutting little pieces of leaf. They would bring their leaf down the trunk and drop it in a pile with many other little cuttings, then ascend the trunk again.
More ants would pick up the leaf pieces and carry them a long way before dropping them in yet another pile where the next set of ants would carry them to another drop off point along the way. These hard working ants are using a fallen tree as their highway. You have to watch for these ant trails as you don't want to stand in their way when you are looking up for birds.
In the forests you see large lumpy growths on trees. Turns out they are termite nests made out of mud. (left side)
Wasps also created hanging mud-ball nests. There was a lot to watch out for in our travels. (right side)
After several hours at the Botanic Garden we ran back to the hotel, had lunch, got in the van and moved to our second location on a lake and wetlands in Barranquilla. Once again we did a hit and run to get luggage into our rooms in order to head out to the wetlands as soon as possible. Can't tell you how much fun it is to travel with like-minded people.
A few favorite birds from the many we saw during the first two days. The names are as fun as the birds.
Crested Caracara
Whopping Motmot. Look at the tail. It looks like it ends, then there is a bare shaft and it continues with a racquet-shaped tip.
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
Red-crowned woodpecker Crimson-crested woodpecker
Band-backed wren Striped-back wren
Gray-lined hawk
Social flycatcher
Ringed kingfisher
The third day found us in Palermo. We spent most of the day walking dikes in a wetland area surrounded by farms and ranches. In the far distance we could see Barranquilla as we passed this beautiful little farm on our walk to the wetlands.
Straight-billed woodcreeper.
Pied water tyrant
Yellow-chinned spinetail
Saffron finch
Amazon kingfisher
Russet-throated puffbird
On our way to our next lodging we stopped at a roadside stand where a woman took a machete to chilled coconuts, whacking off the sides and top. Then she stuck a straw into the center and handed it to us. That is one cool and refreshing drink! The way she handled the machete was impressive--and she still has all her fingers.
Roadside stands are exactly that--butted up right against the road. We stopped at several for fruit snacks during our journey. In the next photo you can see the side mirror of our little bus. He is one person away from the stand, yet the other side of the bus is in the traffic lane. Lynn, Laurie and Viv are in a serious discussion about how many pesos are needed to buy guava candy. Yum!
That evening we arrived at our next destination, Hotel Hukumeizi, where we stayed for a couple nights. In the town of Palomino, this resort was right on the beach. The rooms were in separate buildings, like little duplexes. Each room had a wonderful woven hammock hanging in front. In addition, they were open air buildings so the bed had netting over it. My room had several little geckos. They chortled through the night. I thought it quite charming.
Here is my room, separated from the outdoor patio by curtains only.
And the front with the hammock. I actually spent a little bit of time in the hammock enjoying all the tropical sounds: ocean waves, birds, happy people. Nice! Again, the wall behind the lath is only a curtain. This was probably my favorite of all the places we stayed. No room numbers, just different mosaic birds by the door.
The pool was just steps away from the beach.
Dinner with coconut milk. I must say that the food in Colombia was incredibly good. Fresh juice with every meal. Guava, papaya, passion fruit, mango--whether juiced or sliced it was perfectly ripe and delicious. We had many kinds of soups as appetizers, although they were enough to be the dinner. I was in heaven. Soup is ambrosia in my world. Lots of fish, shrimp and chicken as well. All fabulous.
Since Colombia is in the southern hemisphere, Bryant took us out to the beach for a star walk and showed us the different constellations. Among other things we were able to see the Milky Way and the Andromeda Nebula.
Even the moon was in a different position than we see in Utah. Barb told us that this is called Empty Hands Moon. Her husband's grandmother always said "If, when you see the new moon for the first time in the month, you have empty hands, you have good luck for that month."
What a hoot! That Ferruginous Pygmy Owl is riveting to look at. It seems like a perfectly rounded group to travel with, Lauri. So glad you went!
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