Colombia 2015 - Pt 8 Minca - Tyrona NP

A bit of a lie in for breakfast as we wanted some light to try and find the Santa Marta Woodstar in a garden only 20 mins down the road. While eating breakfast it was good to see the incredible amount of weird and wonderful moths of all sizes both inside and outside the lodge.



We said goodbye to the wonderful Hummer feeders but manage to get this wonderful Blue-Naped Chlorophonia just before we leave.

 





Down at the garden we had a little good news as we picked up the Blossomcrown again, the bad news no Santa Marta Woodstar, again.



 

We stayed for a couple of hours so were still able to pick up some new trip species including two Groove Billed Toucanets, Scarlet Tanager, Venezuelan Tyranulet, Olive Striped Flycatcher and a Long Billed Starfrontlet.

Venezuelan Tyranulet (a species that I didnt see in Venezuela!)

 

Olive-Sided Flycatcher (Olive Striped Fruit-Tyrant)



Groove Billed Toucanet

 (this species still looks completely different to the Venezuelan sp of Groove Billed Toucanet)

 

Groove Billed Toucanet. Aulacorhynchus sulcatus. Santa Marta area of Colombia. (Above)
Vs
Groove Billed Toucanet. Aulacorhynchus sulcatus sulcatus. Carabobo area of Venezuela. (Below)
Same species? Supposedly so, they looked different to me when I saw them in the field and they still do now. Its got to be a split hasn't it ........ or one for someone to explain it to me.

anyway back to Colombia
 



Some brilliant birds continued to show in this garden as Bay Headed Tanager, Black Capped Tanager, White Lined Tanager, Rose Breasted Grosbeak, Rusty Flowerpiecer, Tennessee Warbler, Blackburnian Warblers, Red Billed Parrots overhead, Golden Olive Woodpecker, Black Chested Jay, Swallow Tanager and Tropical Peewee...... its fair to say this garden was a bit of a hotspot and well worth the longer stay to look for the Santa Marta Woodstar.

Golden Olive Woodpecker

 

 

Black-Chested Jay

 



We eventually left and continued towards Minca. We birded some roadside spots along the way to Tyrona picking up loads of really good species. Orange-Billed Nightingale Thrush, Laughing Falcon, Lance Tailed Manakins, Red Billed Parrots, Thick Billed Euphonias and Keel billed Toucans being my favourites

Red Billed Parrot

 

 

Laughing Falcon

 

 

Keel-Billed Toucan

 



I love this sign.
We are here, this high and its going to be this warm......

 



A little further down the road towards Minca we picked up an Empidonux sp flycatcher (possibly Arcadian Flycatcher), Rufous Capped Warblers, a pair of Crimson Crowned Woodpeckers, Montane Foliage-gleaner, a Dozen Scarlet Fronted Parakeets and we eventually tracked down a Gartered Trogon that had started to cast doubts that we would actually see one and even better, a Moustached Puffbird that just wouldn't quite turn round for a full frontal view and a particularly good looking Scaled Pigeon.

Montane Foliage-gleaner

 



 

Gartered Trogon

 



 

Moustached Puffbird

 

 

Crimson Crowned Woodpecker

 

 

We left the altitude of the Sierra Nevada Mountains  and were now heading for the Guajira area of northern Colombia. First we stopped for lunch at Hotel Minca. What a brilliant place to have lunch. At the back of the restaurant was a balcony that was laden with Hummingbird feeders. It was a hive of activity with dozens of birds taking advantage. Steely-Vented Hummingbirds, Rufous Tailed Hummingbirds, White Vented Plumeleteers, White Necked Jacobins and a single Pale Bellied Hermit. While in the car park out front were a stunning pair of Bicolored Wrens.

Hummingbird madness ...... just a snap shot

 

 Bicoloured Wren

 

 

 

 

White Vented Plumeleteer

 

 

White Necked Jacobin

 

 

White Necked Jacobin in moult

 

 

Rufous Tailed Hummingbird

 

 

Steely-Vented Hummingbird

 

 

a short video of the Hummingbird action at Hotel Minca

 

 

We continued towards our overnight stop at the brilliant Ecohotel Rio Piedras near Tyrona National Park. We still picked up more species with White Fringed Antwren, Long billed Gnatwren, White Bearded Manakins, Scrub Greenlet, Red Eyed Vireo, Pale Eyed Pygmy-tyrant. 

 

White Bearded Manakin

 



 

After booking in at Ecohotel Rio Piedras we had just enough time to make a flying visit to Que Brada Valencia, here we saw Blue Headed Parrots, Orange Chinned Parakeets, Red Crowned Woodpecker, Rufous Tailed Jacamar, Buff Breasted Wren, Keel Billed Toucan, Grey Lined Falcon, Chestnut Sided Warbler, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Crimson Backed Tanager, Magnificant Frigatbird, White Chinned Sapphire, Grey Headed Kite, Osprey.

 

Rufous Tailed Jacamar

 

 

Grey Lined Hawk

 



 its bloody hard work when your birding, yours truly chills out at the impressive ecohotel Del Peidro