Photo: Birding in Colombia, Aubrey Nolan
By Lisa Mackem
In January, thirteen ASNV participants traveled to Colombia for a birdwatching tour. Gerry Abbott, chairman of the ASNV adult education committee, worked with Holbrook Travel for travel and tour arrangements. The successful trip oversold immediately.
Local resident Bill Burton described the first lodge where the group stayed as rustic and charming, “like a bungalow.” On their first morning the group got up before sunrise and saw a “breathtaking” diversity of birds – “just one after another,” said Bill. As the group stood in the yard, Bill estimated that they saw about 50 different species of birds.
The group’s next location was Tinamou Lodge, which is owned and operated by a couple in Arlington, VA and located outside of the industrial city of Manizales. From there, they made two excursions per day toward the Indian foothills and saw about 30 different hummingbird species – “one species per minute,” said Bill, adding that they also saw 20 different varieties of brightly-colored tanagers. Other key sightings for Bill included the Torrent duck, which sits in rapids, and Antpitta, which is heard often, but rarely seen.
The sight of the Andean Condor – the world’s largest bird and Colombia’s national bird – was the highlight for both Bill and Gerry. This bird lives at high elevations in the Andes, and usually flies solo.
Colombia has about 1900 bird species – the most of any country. It also reports 170 species of hummingbirds. In comparison, the American east coast has only one native hummingbird species. Consequently, Colombia is an excellent place for citizen science documentation, and is in high demand for birding trips. The ASNV group made daily entries in eBird and everyone who wanted to include the sightings in their individual eBird accounts did so. Collectively they saw 260 bird species and some interesting mammals, such as howler monkeys, sloths and a river otter swimming upstream.
Birding in Colombia, Aubrey Nolan
Both Bill and Gerry commented on the friendliness of locals, who Bill noted were also enjoying the outdoors. The tour group asked their guides about sustainable development and were happy to see the Colombians’ conservation efforts.
Gerry plans to coordinate another ASNV international birding trip next year. He especially enjoys travel to warm destinations during the winter and is considering Ecuador or another Andean location. In the meantime, he recommends the ASNV adult education programs, where people have many opportunities to learn about birds and contribute to citizen science.