Colombia part 3. The cloud forest


We move further north. Our first goal is the Parque Nacional de Nevado del Ruiz in the central Andes, between 3000 and 4000 metres high. The views are breathtaking again and so is the icy wind. I try and tell our tour leader that I am thoroughly enjoying the views from the inside of the bus, but he does not fall for it. “We would all like to see the stout-billed cinclodes, wouldn’t we?”, he asks with a stern look. I point out that my life would still be worth living without having seen that particular bird (at least that’s what I think he was referring to)  but the whole group has already left the bus. And I must say with a winter jacket, scarf and gloves I manage to survive a short stay outside. And we do tick off the cinclodes.



Stout-billed Cinclodes


For lunch we make a stopover at the Hotel Termales del Ruiz, where the steaming thermal pools are a popular place for Dutch cyclists to recover from their high altitude training. To our surprise they have also created a beautiful garden on the mountain slope with again numerous hummingbird feeders. Species we have not seen before. It is quite remarkable how each area produces completely new hummingbirds. Our guide explains that this is due to the difference in habitats, but I suspect the government has set up a distribution system to evenly spread all 160 hummingbird species across the country. Birding tourists are a major source of income and one wants to hold on to them for as long as possible.


Shining Sunbeam


We bypass the large city of Manizales with its extensive slum areas and arrive at our next destination: the Rio Blanco reserve. It is situated at an altitude of about 1500 metres in the so-called cloud forest. One of the best birding spots of the country, hosting over 350 species. The term ‘cloud forest’ does not seem to hold much hope for sunshine and that is entirely correct.


Rio Blanco

Long-tailed Sylph


The main attraction for birders here are the antpittas. They are small, skulking birds, feeding on worms and insects they find on the forest floor. Normally you would never get to see one, but people have set up feeding places in a number of spots. Every morning, tourists or no tourists, little worms are put out to lure them out into the open. There are even public stands at some of the spots, as ant pittas are big business. Wooden stands and not covered, but I’m sure that will soon change.


Chestnut-crowned Antpitta


The next morning our guide takes us to one of these stations. A group of Chinese birders arrived just before us and have occupied the best row of benches. Nearly all of them are equipped with enormous telephoto lenses and heavy tripods and this Chinese wall makes it rather difficult to take a decent photo. Our patience is rewarded, however, because after having waited silently for some time (no shouting or singing on the stands seems to be the norm here, strangely enough) we do indeed get to see a few antpittas. Half an hour later we make our way to the next feeding station. Our Asian friends have beaten us to it again. But I feel it’s still too early for a boycot.


Collared Inca



Blue-winged Mountain Tanager

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