SANTA MARTA FOOTHILLS & THE GUAJIRA PENINSULA SPECIALTIES 05 DAYS BIRD TOUR
At only 01 hour and 30 minutes flight from main Bogota airport you land at Santa Marta City and Bird the very best from Northern Colombia in 05 days, this short bird tour give you what many birders want from Colombia, to bird the hotspots with the highest endemism in the world like Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta & The Guajira Peninsula. The 02 mentioned bird places give you a great number of Endemic birds and some others with very limited range distribution, so by birding San lorenzo ridge road at Santa Marta Mountain give you the specialties such as Santa Marta Parakeet, Santa Marta Tapaculo, Santa Marta Mountain Tanager, Santa Marta Bush Tyrant, Santa Marta Warbler, Brown Rumped Tapaculo, White Tipped Quetzal and many others along this interesting and bumpy road. Other birds that will increase your Colombia bird list are Rufous-vented chachalaca, Crested bobwhite, Green-rumped parrotlet, blue-crowned and brown-throated parakeets, Orinocan saltator, Vermilion cardinal, Slender-billed tyrannulet, Northern scrub-flycatcher, Black-crested antshrike, Buffy hummingbird, White Wiskered Spinetail, White Fringed Antwren, Chesnut Piculet and many special birds with unique geographic distribution.
| Length | 5 Days / 4 Nights |
|---|
DAY 01.- SANTA MARTA CITY – MINCA TOWN – BIRDING MINCA AREA
In a bit more than an Hour drive from Santa Marta City you arrive to Minca town, our first bird place located over 600m. birding around bring many good birds that includes some endemic from Sierra nevada Santa Marta. The whole day birding around searching for our target birds where lunch will be taken along the road in order to take advantage of the day and time, then back to the local hotel for Dinner. The idea is to spend the whole day birding this nice forested road with good bird hábitat.
Birds we can see around Minca are, Golden Winged Sparrow, Santa Marta Sabrewing, Santa Marta Foliage Gleaner, Venezuelan Tyrannulet, Sooty Capped Hermit, Santa Marta Antbird, Lance tailed Manakin, Military Macaw, Golden Fronted Greenlet, Rufous and White Wren, Black Chested Jay, Band Tailed Guan, Black Hooded Thrush, Santa Marta Tapaculo and many more birds.
Night at Minca
DAY 02.- MINCA TOWN – EL DORADO LODGE – BIRDING LOWER PART OF SAN LORENZO RIDGE
Being right at the main bird road, all we have to do, it is to spend the day birding the whole lower part and moving slowly loooking for our target birds as we move up to El Dorado Lodge where we spend the following nights. This lower part will bring more new birds and good time birding around the lodge where you will find Hummingbird feeders and good hábitat for many birds that visit the lodge.
Birds we can see along this road are, Santa Marta Blossomcrown, Santa Marta Antpitta, Groove Billed Toucannet, White Lored Warbler, Coppery Emerald, Moustached Puffbird, Sierra Nevada Brushfinch, Long Billed Hermit, Crowned Woodnymph, White sided Flowerpiercer, White Tipped Quetzal, Black Capped Tanager, Brown Violetear, Rusty Breasted Antpitta and many more.
Night at el Dorado Lodge
DAY 03.- EL DORADO LODGE – SAN LORENZO RIDGE
Full day birding the upper part of San Lorenzo ridge, here We go for more Santa Marta specialties and endemic birds found along this bumpy road with good forest along. Breakfast and lunch will be taken on the way in order to have more time birding this birdy road.
Birds we can see are, Santa Marta Screech Owl, Santa Marta Parakeet,Santa Marta Warbler, Santa Marta Bush Tyrant, Brown Rumped Tapaculo, Hermit Woodwren, Yellow Crowned Redstart, Santa Marta Mountain Tanager, White Tailed Starfrontlet, Santa Marta Woodstar, local race of Paramo Seedeater, Scaly Naped Parrot and many more.
Night at el Dorado Lodge
DAY 04.- EL DORADO LODGE – CAMARONES TOWN – FLAMENCOS SANCTUARY – BIRDING LA GUAJIRA
Early departure to keep birding the best from Colombia and this time we have another long driving to reach la Guajira Peninsula with some good bird stops on the way to catch more birds along this well paved road. La guajira Peninsula and the habitat around will give you another great bird list.
Birds we can see along are, Vermilion Cardinal, Orincoco Saltator, White Wiskered Spinetail, Northern Scrub Flycatcher, Slender Billed Inezia, Russet Throated Puffbird, Yellow tailed Oriole, Rufous Tailed Jacamar, Rufous Vented Chachalaca and many more¡
Night at Camarones Town
DAY 05.- FLAMENCOS SANCTUARY – LA GUAJIRA PENINSULA – BACK TO SANTA MARTA CITY
Last day birding around the dessert habitat of Colombia and Venezuela, here we will search for the dry scrub forest and some salt wáter lakes to get birds like Venezuelan Saltator, Yellow Oriole, Chesnut Piculet, Bare Eyed Pigeon, Ruby Topaz Hummingbird, Crested Bobwhite, Green Rumped Parrotlet, Buffy Hummingbird, Tocuyo Sparrow, Gray Bellied Hawk, Dwarf Cuckoo, Double Striped Thicknee, Flamingos, Scarlet Ibis, Red Billed Emerald, Shining-Green Hummingbird and many others.
END OF OUR SERVICES
THE TWO BIRD PLACES MENTIONED HAVE MODERATE TO DIFFICULT BIRD WALKS WHEN SEARCHING FOR SOME HARD SPOTTING BIRDS LIKE ANTBIRDS, ANTPITTAS AND TAPACULOS. THE BIRDING PACE IS SLOW ALONG THE ROAD WITH SOME WELL DONE TRAIL SYSTEM AROUND SOME BIRD PROPERTIES LIKE EL DORADO LODGE. TEMPERATURE VARIES FROM COOL TO SUNNY DAYS SO A DAY BACK PACK IS MANDATORY WITH THE ESSENCIAL GEAR. OUR BIRDING CAR WILL BE MOST OF THE TIME NEXT TO YOU FOR EMERGENCY. BIRDING ALTITUD WILL BE FROM SEA LEVEL TO OVER 2000M. AT SANTA MARTA FOOTHILLS.
