Central Colombia: The Cloud Forests and Paramo of the Western and Central Andes - the Las Tangaras and Yellow-eared Parrot Reserves, Rio Blanco, Los Nevados National Park, and Termales del Ruiz

June 9 - 20, 2025

Colombia is famous for being the most bird-rich county on Earth.  While that's impressive, so, too, is its overall biodiversity which is eclipsed only by that of Brazil.........which has the advantage of being seven times larger.  The unique topography of the country - Pacific and Caribbean coasts, three Andean ranges, Amazonian rainforest, and llanos - supports a great number of bird species, including almost 90 endemics and 100 near endemics.  On this route, we’ll visit some of Central Colombia’s most diverse locations. Some are sites established by the conservation organization Proaves, which has a network of special reserves designed to protect not only rare species but also sites of unusually high biodiversity.  Others include Rio Blanco, an area protected for its watershed function, and the impressive Los Nevados National Park.   

We begin in Medellin where we visit La Romera Park.  At this mid-elevation Central Andean spot, we’ll have chances to see many species - such as Andean motmot, southern emerald toucanet, green jay, golden and many other tanagers, and others – but our main targets will be several endemics, Colombian chachalaca, Stiles' tapaculo, and the beautiful red-bellied grackle.  We then head west towards the Choco bioregion and the Las Tangaras Reserve.  On the way we’ll stop for lunch and to look for two Colombian endemics – Antioquia wren and grayish piculet - as well as a suite of lowland species that we won't see elsewhere - cocoa and streak-headed woodcreepers, black-striped sparrow, golden-crowned warbler, southern bentbill, slate-headed tody-flycatcher, and black-crowned and bar-crested antshrikes. 

Las Tangaras Reserve is a rich spot where the lodge hummingbird feeders attract 6 - 7 hummer species while the banana feeders attract russet-backed oropendula, several tanagers, andean motmot, black-winged saltator, and others.  The main attraction, however, is the cloud forest a few miles up the hill.  Along the nearly traffic-free road and on a nice trail that climbs through the forest, we’ll look for many species, including several Choco endemics - orange-breasted fruiteater, toucan barbet, olivaceous piha, beautiful jay, black solitaire, purplish-mantled and black-and-gold tanagers, indigo flowerpiercer, and yellow-collared chlorophonia.  The higher elevation hummingbird feeders host empress brilliant, rufous-gaped hillstar, purple-bibbed whitetip, greenish puffleg, velvet-purple coronet, fawn-breasted brilliant, and more.

From Tangaras, we head south to the picturesque town of Jardin and the charming Hotel Kantarrana Casa de Campo.  This area is one of the only locations in the world where a breeding population of the rare and endangered yellow-eared parrot can be found.  Amidst the area’s spectacular cloud forest, we’ll also have chances to see streak-throated bush-tyrant, red-crested cotinga, black-collared jay, oleaginous hemispingus, golden-fronted whitestart, Andean cock-of-the-rock, sword-billed hummingbird, mountain velvetbreast, streaked tuftedcheek, Sharpe’s wren, hooded and lacrimose mountain-tanagers, black-billed mountain-toucan, barred and green-and-black fruiteaters, plushcap, rufous-crowned tody-flycatcher, grass-green tanager, streaked tuftedcheek, and lots more......including the rare tanager finch which we've had very good luck with here.

From Jardin, we continue south to Manizales.  On the way, we'll return again to the Yellow-eared parrot Reserve, going a little higher to visit the remarkable Casa de Lucia, a lovely spot with great feeders (hummingbirds, brushfinches, flowerpiercers, anttpittas, and, in 2023, an Oncilla !!).  We continue to the lovely Hotel Estelar Recinto de Pensamiento from where we’ll visit the Rio Blanco Reserve.  This site has become famous for its four habituated antpitta species – slate-crowned, bicolored, brown-banded, and chestnut-crowned.  We’ll spend a full day here in excellent cloud forest that hosts many Andean species including masked trogon, four mountain tanagers (blue-winged, lacrimose, hooded, and buff-breasted), rusty-faced parrot, golden-plumed parakeet, ash-colored tapaculo, rufous-crowned tody-flycatcher, Andean guan, black-billed mountain-toucan, powerful woodpecker, white-capped dipper, green-and-black fruiteater, and much more.

A rather new and amazing birding site above Manizales is the Hacienda El Bosque.  Though this is a working dairy farm, they have some patches of cloud forest and have developed an ecotourism operation with multiple feeding stations for hummers, antpittas and toucans. We’ll have breakfast at the reserve and enjoy the hummer feeders (mountain velvetbreast, buff-winged starfrontlet, sword-billed hummingbird) before visiting some worm-feeding stations (crescent-faced and equatorial antpittas, barred fruiteater), fruit feeders (hooded mountain-tanager, Andean guan, gray-breasted mountain toucan), and seed feeders (white-throated quail-dove, gray-browed brushfinch).  Other birds on their property include red-crested cotinga, black flowerpiercer, paramo seedeater, white-browed spinetail, and more. 

We then get a taste of high Andean paramo as we head up to the nearby Los Nevados National Park.  In high cloud forest and above treeline in the paramo, we’ll look two endemics - buffy helmetcrest and rufous-fronted parakeet - while enjoying spectacular vistas and the unusual Espletia plants.  Other birds here include plumbeous sierra-finch, grass wren, stout-billed cinclodes, Andean siskin, black flowerpiecer, white-chinned thistletail, Andean tit-spinetail, paramo tapaculo, Andean ruddy duck, Andean teal, many-striped canastero, and sometimes Andean condor.  

We’ll spend two nights at the nearby Hotel Termales del Ruiz, a spectacular place with good cloud forest, stunning scenery, amazing hummingbird feeders, and hot-spring-fed pools.  This location is always a trip favorite as the feeders and garden host great sapphirewing, buff-winged starfrontlet, mountain velvetbreast, golden-breasted and black-thighed pufflegs, viridian metaltial, and rainbow-bearded and purple-backed thornbills.  The long stretch of intact forest around and below the hotel is home to red-crested cotinga, four species of chat-tyrant (crowned, slaty-backed, rufous-breasted, and yellow-bellied), gray-breasted mountain-toucan, grass wren, plain-colored seedeater, superciliaried hemispingus, golden-fronted whitestart, capped conebill, pearled treerunner, and many more. 

We end the trip with a short drive to Pereira where we stay at a nice hotel with a very good restaurant.  On the way we'll make a stop at a small reservoir where we finally have a shot at some water birds - blue-winged teal, green and ringed kingfishers, buff-necked ibis, blackish rail, several waders, and others - as well as gray and ruddy-breasted seedeaters, cattle tyrant, grayish piculet, and spectacled parrotlet.  

Like my trip to Northern Colombia, Central Colombia is fairly compact, includes some very nice lodging, great scenery, mild weather, and a spectacular array of Andean eye candy.

Last updated: June 27, 2024.