Author Archives: Tara

Brown-breasted Parakeet aka Flame-winged Parakeet (Pyrrhura calliptera)

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The Flame-winged Parakeet (Pyrrhura calliptera), also known as the Brown-breasted Parakeet, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae.I was unable to get a photo and all Wikipedia has is a drawing.  However there are some good photos on the “Learn More” links below.

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They are endemic to Colombia and found in forest edge and shrub at altitudes of 1700–3400 m.  The best places to see them are Chingaza & Bioandina areas near Bogota.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT BROWN-BREASTED PARAKEETS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Neotropical Birds

VIDEOS

All uploaded to YouTube by Oswaldo Cortes, proving that he is the birding guide of choice when looking for this elusive little bird!

 

Day Trip – Birding Chingaza & Bioandina Area

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Once again I was up for a very last minute off-the-cuff birding excursion-the last one in Colombia.  This time I was on my own as my husband wanted to take a day off and relax in the hotel and get over his altitude sickness.  I was targeting Brown-breasted Parakeet and had studied their locations on eBird.  Birds of Passage had a nice post about their birding in the area, looks like they had bad weather to contend with as well!  I contacted Oswaldo Cortes on Facebook but he was already booked that day but he suggested we go to Chingaza for the parakeets.  So I got the hotel to book a car & driver (SUV) who arrived promptly at 5am to take me to Chingaza.  The scenery was gorgeous along the way!

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Finally we arrived at Chingaza National Park.  I was already looking for parakeets!dscn3507 img_6706

This is the desired Brown-breasted Parakeet and the mascot of the park.img_6707 dscn3508 dscn3509

This is the office where you pay admission and enter the park.  However they didn’t want to let me in since I didn’t have a guide!  I was hoping a guide might show up or be waiting around the entrance like they do at some other parks but no dice.  The area where the parakeets frequent is further into the park so I couldn’t just hang around the car park area and hope to get lucky.  So not wanting to waste any more time, I decided to try the other place where the parakeets had been seen – Bioandina which is on the north side of Chingaza.

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bogota-surrounds

You can see how we traveled from the hotel to Chingaza (blue line) and then we backtracked to where the red line begins.  I knew Bioandina was in that general area (yellow) but it wasn’t very well signposted and we ended up going all the way to where the red line ends until we realized we missed it. dscn3511 dscn3512

This is the road we turned down which finally led to the right area.  I never saw the word “Bioandina” but we did head into prime bird habitat.dscn3513 dscn3516 dscn3517 dscn3519 dscn3520 dscn3522

I think this is some kind of school, anyways it is very near the trees where we finally saw and heard a good-sized flock of parakeets!  The trees are in the photo above.dscn3525

The area was fenced off so all we could do was sit on the side of the road and wait.  It was so frustrating, I could hear LOTS of parakeets and see them flitting back and forth.  I knocked off a few Hail Mary shots but just couldn’t get them.  After about 20 minutes, they took off like bats parakeets out of hell and disappeared down the valley. The fence kept us from getting closer and I was feeling minor effects of altitude sickness from the previous trip so I was sitting in the car hoping they would come closer.  They didn’t.

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We drove around the area some more hoping to find the parakeets again.  dscn3526 dscn3527

We found a crested guan hiding in a bush near the road.img_6708 img_6710 img_6736 img_6711 img_6717 img_6732 img_6735

A few shots of the road heading back into Bogota.  I wanted to go to some craft shops but we couldn’t find any along the route.dscn3529 dscn3530 dscn3537 dscn3538 dscn3539 dscn3541

The driver dropped me back at the hotel and I found Ina in much better spirits after having a day to rest.  I was one one hand happy to have found a flock of parakeets but disappointed I didn’t get any photos.  Maybe I should have bought some flowers!

Hotel Review: Hotel Cosmos 116, Bogota

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To finish off our travels in Colombia, we had a 2 night stay booked at Hotel Cosmos 116 in Bogota.  Since I had won some Orbucks in a photo contest the year before, I was able to use them to book both nights free using less than $100 Orbucks!

I was a bit intimidated by Bogota’s reputation for being dangerous so I did LOTS of homework before making my booking.  I looked on Trip Advisor and gave preference to a nice area with lots of restaurants within walking distance.

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The hotel is very modern in design and decor.dscn3549

The best part is the lounge & spa on the top floor.  It took a while for the jacuzzi to heat up but it was so worth it for the relaxation.  There is also a small gym.dscn3550 dscn3551 dscn3552 dscn3553 dscn3554

The room is attractive and modern looking and the wifi worked great.  There is a small fridge and you can buy drinks and snacks at the supermarket across the street.dscn3498

This small restaurant is right next to the hotel and has authentic Colombian fast food, half of which I didn’t understand but a friendly diner helped us make our choices.  dscn3548

All things considered, we really enjoyed our stay here and would be happy to come back if we ever visit Bogota again.

Birding At High Elevations & Altitude Sickness

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I’m sure most people have heard of altitude sickness and probably associate it with mountain climbers.  We’ve all seen tv shows about people getting sick when trying to climb Mt Everest.  But one thing you may not know is that some birding hotspots are located at high elevations and birders do need to take precautions for altitude sickness when traveling to these spots.

List of Highest Large Cities in the World

List of Highest Cities in the World

If you check out some of these cities, you will notice a few that you may visit or transit while headed to birding hotspots.

SYMPTOMS OF ALTITUDE SICKNESS

Everyone handles altitude differently so you need to know at what point you will start feeling symptoms of altitude sickness such as:

  • Loss of appetite, nausea, or vomiting, excessive flatulation.
  • Fatigue or weakness headache with or without dizziness or lightheadedness, insomnia
  • Peripheral edema (swelling of hands, feet, and face)
  • Nose bleeding, shortness of breath upon exertion
  • Persistent rapid pulse
  • Pins and needles, general malaise

You should consult with a doctor about potential effects of altitude sickness and inquire about appropriate precautions.

From previous travels, I know that I get a bit lightheaded, lose my appetite and sometimes experience nausea or vomiting when I was in Lhasa & Cuzco.  Both cities are over 11,151 feet (3,399 m).  During our most recent trip to Colombia, I noticed fatigue and shortness of breath when we were in the Paramo.  My husband got especially woozy-enough so I felt we had to go back down a bit lower.  We had previously been to Quito at 9,350 feet (2,850 m)with no ill-effects, maybe just a bit of fatigue.  So now we have an idea that around 2800 meters is where we have to be extra careful.  I would actually prefer to avoid going above this elevation altogether, or at least not having Ina go that high since I was able to tolerate 3400 meters in the Paramo.

SOME ACTIONS BIRDERS MAY NEED TO TAKE

Avoid the higher elevations.  We plan to visit Bolivia in 2018 and most people fly into La Paz which is at 3640 metres with the airport even higher at 4150 metres.  We will avoid La Paz and fly into Santa Cruz.  We won’t be going higher than Cochabamba at 2570 metres.

Take medications.  The drug acetazolamide (trade name Diamox) may help some people making a rapid ascent to sleeping altitude above 2,700 metres (9,000 ft).  It requires a doctor’s prescription.

Ascend more slowly/Get back down to lower altitudes.  One example I came across was traveling from Cuzco to the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge.  The actual lodge is fairly low, under 2000 metres but you have to go over a pass that’s over 4000 metres enroute!  We would be doing this in a minibus and hopefully they take the pass slowly but at least we can descend by nightfall.

Just one more thing birders need to be aware of!

Avianca Flight Pereira – Bogota

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I had originally planned to do this trip by bus for the scenery but when I stumbled onto a big sale on Avianca’s website, I couldn’t resist booking the two one-way tickets for under $100 AUD!  I had run out of Lifemiles but you can also book domestic Colombian flights for 3000 Lifemiles.   It turned out to be a good thing as my husband was feeling the altitude sickness and Bogota is lower than the Central Andes Paramo region.

We were dropped after the Fuertes Parrot Quest at Pereira Airport.

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I was surprised at how good the facilities were – lots of eateries, shops and seating space for a small domestic airport.dscn3485

Just the thing to cheer me up after the “Curse of the Cloud Forest” – Cinnabon!  It’s a more limited menu than you find in the USA but still yummy!dscn3486

Flights were going out on time.dscn3487

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Standard garden-variety all-economy Avianca plane.dscn3489

Andean Motmot or Highland Motmot (Momotus aequatorialis)

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The Andean Motmot or Highland Motmot (Momotus aequatorialis) is a colorful near-passerine bird found in the forests and woodlands from northern Colombia to western Bolivia. This species and the Blue-capped Motmot, Lesson’s Motmot, Whooping Motmot, Amazonian Motmot, and Trinidad Motmot were all considered conspecific.  There is something magical and majestic all at once with this beautiful racket-tailed bird.

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They have a large range throughout the Central Andes in Colombia, Ecuador & Peru, just barely touching Bolivia.  I saw one at great distance in Mindo, then better views at Rio Blanco and the Termales San Vincente near Pereira, Colombia.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT ANDEAN MOTMOTS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Neotropical Birds

VIDEOS

“Why do all these silly humans want to watch ME?”

 

And this one has some opinions to share.

 

Indigo-winged parrot aka Fuertes’s Parrot (Hapalopsittaca fuertesi)

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The Fuertes’s Parrot (Hapalopsittaca fuertesi), also known as the Indigo-winged Parrot, is a parrot which has a highly restricted range on the west slope of the Central Andes of Colombia.  You know a bird profile is going to be a challenge when Wikipedia doesn’t have a photo.  Birdlife does have a drawing I can hopefully use (link below).

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Fuertes’ Parrots are endemic to Colombia in an extremely challenging location to go birding with the bad weather and high altitude cloud forest.  See my description on how to find them on my post and the Birds of Passage blog.  Pereira or Santa Rosa de Cabal are the staging points, both can be easily reached by bus but you need a hired car-SUV to get to the habitat.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT FUERTES PARROTS

You can see some photos by professional photographers on some of these sites.

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

ProAves

World Land Trust

Birds of Passage

VIDEOS

On Youtube, I found a video taken by Peter Odekerken during his trip to Colombia.  He managed to get into the Giles Fuertes Reserve that I couldn’t get into.

You can see what a cute little bird this is!

You can see how well they blend into the trees but Oswaldo Cortes got a good clip.

One more clip by Alejandro Cartagena, very clear footage!

 

 

 

 

Quest For The Fuertes Parrot

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The rare and endangered Fuertes Parrot is highly sought after by birders in Colombia.  I knew that ProAves had a reserve south of Armenia, the Giles Fuertes Reserve.  I had contacted them to inquire about a visit but was told that the reserve was not open to visitors.  So I turned to eBird to see where other people had been seeing them and found a few sightings near the Termales San Vincente which was easily reached from Pereira or Santa Rosa de Cabal.  But what really turned this expedition around for me was finding a blog (Birds of Passage) by two American birders – Josh & Kathi who were traveling around South America in a camper van.

This is what it looks like from Pereira to Termales San Vincente, then the small road leading up the mountain to the Fuertes Parrot site.

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This post on their blog had detailed instructions on how to get to the Fuertes Parrot site!  Now all I needed was transport.  This was when I chose the Kolibri Hostel in Pereira as an overnight staging point.  I knew backpacker places would have drivers available at backpacker prices………….and they did!  Although I don’t remember the exact cost, it was around 130,000 COP for the morning and we would be dropped at the airport afterwards..

This is the junction of the Termales San Vincente and the road on the left is where you turn.

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This is the checkpoint at 3000m and it was manned.  We told them we were birding and there were no problems.  We signed in and back out again as we left.dscn3429

Rough road best done with an SUV at least.dscn3430 dscn3431 dscn3433 dscn3435

We kept driving past the farms as instructed.dscn3437 dscn3440

Drove over the little yellow bridge.dscn3442

Time we arrived after leaving Pereira at 5am.dscn3443 dscn3444

We drove slowly with windows and ears open.  I was dismayed with the weather, the clouds (yes it is a cloud forest) would make finding the parrots very difficult.dscn3447 dscn3452 dscn3463 dscn3466

We parked at a good vantage point and waited well over an hour with only this bird (whatever it is) being seen.img_6632

More waiting until FINALLY some Fuertes Parrots appeared out of the mist and flew into a tree.  I couldn’t get a focus on them.img_6638

They were flying from tree to tree but unfortunately came nowhere near us.img_6645 img_6650 img_6661 img_6670

Interesting group of people driving up the road.img_6676

Meanwhile the weather was getting worse and I was no longer hearing the parrots squawk and couldn’t see them flying anymore.  img_6683

We headed back down the mountain past the yellow bridge, weather getting worse by the minute.  I really HATE cloud forests, especially ones at high altitudes.  Why can’t these awesome birds pick more accessible places to live?img_6685

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We decided to visit the Termales San Vincente to see if there were any interesting birds.  As we got near, the heavens opened up so we weren’t able to walk around the grounds.dscn3457 dscn3458 dscn3459

This Andean Motmot felt sorry for us having such a lousy day so posed for a photo to cheer us up.dscn3460 dscn3461 dscn3463 dscn3466 dscn3467 dscn3469

Continuing back towards Santa Rosa, we found another Andean Motmot.img_6686 img_6689 img_6690

A pretty Fork-tailed Flycatcher on a wire.img_6692 img_6698

Random raptor in the mist.img_6702

It was still raining as we drove back through Santa Rosa.dscn3470 dscn3471 dscn3473 dscn3474 dscn3475 dscn3476 dscn3477 dscn3481

The end of the trip as we enter the Pereira airport.dscn3482 dscn3483 dscn3484

Lodge Review: Kolibri Hostel, Pereira

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For an independent birder who was basically “winging it” in Colombia, we had specific needs when we arrived in Pereira.  Our target bird was the Fuertes Parrot in a remote area near Santa Rosa de Cabal but we would need hired transport, preferably at backpacker prices.  So that is why I chose a backpacker lodge for this part of the trip.  The Kolibri Hostel was well recommended on Trip Advisor and it turned out to be a very cool hostel with friendly staff who speak English well and were very helpful.

The decor in the public areas is very cool, lots of unique artwork which I love!

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Friendly staff who understand the needs of budget travelers and booked our car & driver at a good price.  dscn3418

Upstairs there is a common use kitchen and a few bathrooms & toilets which are shared.  We had a double room with use of shared facilities.  dscn3417 dscn3411 dscn3410

I want these hummingbird decorations!dscn3409

Basic room which was fine for the night.dscn3408

Nice verandah with view over the city.  dscn3412 dscn3413 dscn3414 dscn3415 dscn3416

A few birds seen from the verandah below the hostel.

Blue-grey Tanager

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Blue-and-white Swallow img_6629

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More hummingbird decorations!dscn3425

Clean, modern bathroom.dscn3424

Seriously, for less than $20 you can’t beat it!  The car they booked for us was around 150,000 COP iirc so around $50 USD-ish which was an excellent value and they have some cool handicrafts for sale at the front desk, especially beaded bird earrings so I went a bit nuts.  Credit cards are accepted.