This time, I have the opportunity to tell you about my last trip to Darien Lodge, from March 7th to March 20th, there, in the middle of the jungle wilderness of the Colombian Pacific Coast.
I worked with two groups, one from the USA and another from Canada, both of them were very kind and skilled birders, and we got to see 26 new birds for our list.
I met my first group at Medellín airport, where we talked about the logistics and targets, which basically were the Biogeographical Chocó endemics and some special birds, such as manakins and antbirds.
The first birding was just after the arrival, combining a fishing session with birding. We got to see Red-and-green Macaws, Cocos Boobies, and Oropendolas nesting area, among others.
The second adventure was in the forest, where we got to see some beautiful birds, such as the Bicolored Antbird, Velvety Manakin, Golden-collared Manakin, and Black-cheeked Woodpecker, among others. After the forest, we walked through a semi-open area, where we saw a group of Geoffroy's Tamarins, a plumbeous kite, a Gray-headed Kite, and a very local tyrant, Gray-capped Flycatcher.
The third session was a hike through the mangroves and Ardita River, looking for Humboldt's Sapphire, which dwells around Darien Lodge and the mangroves, where they are actively calling all day round.
In the river, we got to see the Black-tailed Trogon, Yellow-throated Toucan, Keel-billed Toucan, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Pacific Antwren, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, among others.
We had good moments in the sea and in the forest, shared good ideas about conservation and fauna ecosystems, and enjoyed the lodge.
I was walking and sailing with the second group for the last five days of the trip, during this time with two guys from Canada, with a good background in birding and taking photographs.
The first day, we were walking in the forest, looking for local birds, such as the pale-mandibled Aracari, but we got to see more interesting birds, such as the Scarlet-rumped Cacique and Variable Seedeater.
The second day we spent the time in the jungle, with a surprising encounter, a Great Curassow couple, running in the understory of the thick forest. Other surprises were appearing in the hike, such as Spot-crowned barbet, Velvety Manakin, Golden-headed Manakin and Pacific Antwren
The third day was a shocking day in the ocean, we got to see some amazing good birds such as Pink-footed Shearwater, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Sooty shearwater, Galapagos shearwater, Nazca booby and Blue-footed boobies in Cabo Marzo, where they had a nesting season, so we got to see some of them in the rocks with chicks.
The party wasn't over, we were walking in the forests again, looking at birds such as black-tailed trogon, Pied Puffbird, yellow-eared Toucanet, Great Antshrike, Northern Barred-woodcreeper, Brown-capped tyrannulet, among others.
In the afternoon, we saw two major targets for the trip, Rufous Motmot and Broad-billed Motmot, closing an amazing day.
The last day we were birding in the forests, near the lodge,
Sebastian Ortíz
Fish Colombia – Birding guide
