Arrival in Bogotá and transfer to our hotel. Your guide will meet you at the Hotel.

Early breakfast in hotel. Dawn to 9:00 am we shall visit La Florida Park in search of Apolinar’s Marsh-wren and Bogotá Rail and common Andean wetland birds. We’ll also be on the lookout for Rufous-browed Conebill and Silver-throated Spinetail. Here we’ll get a van to La Florida and return to the airport for flight to Medellin and drive to the Arrierito Antioqueño Reserve B:L:D

This reserve named Arrierito Antioqueño is home to the recently described Chestnut-capped Piha (endemic) and we’ll be actively searching for it. Other birds here include Stile’s Tapaculo, Red-bellied Grackle (endemic), Multicolored Tanager (endemic), Black-and-gold Tanager, Parker’s Antbird (endemic). Black Tinamou, Blue-fronted Parrotlet, Colombian Screech Owl, Red-faced Spinetail, Striped Woodhaunter, Purplish-mantled Tanager, Scarlet and White Tanager, Chestnut-crowned Ganteater, Sooty-headed Wren, Fulvous-breasted Flatbill, Chestnut-breasted Wren and much more. Night in the reserve. B:L:D

A full mornings birding along the Motmot and Bangsia trails looking for what we have missed and leave the reserve after an early lunch and arrive at El Carmen (7 hours from Piha reserve). B:L:D

A full day at the new Las Tangaras Reserve which holds many Choco specialties. We will spend all day walking slowly up a well maintained trail to a ridge top – short distance with well placed benches to rest up and wait for flocks – we’ll have a picnic lunch on the ridge top. This moss laden forest is home to some very special birds including Crested Ant Tanager (endemic) Black Solitaire, Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl, Yellow-vented Woodpecker, Fulvous-doted Treerunner, Buffy Tuftedcheek, Uniform Treehunter, Yellow-breasted Antpitta, Choco Tyrannulet, Orange-breasted Fruiteater, White-headed Wren, the endemic Black and Gold and Gold-ringed Tanager’s, Blue-whiskered & Scarlet and White Tanager’s and Indigo Flowerpiercer It is probably one of the best two place in the world to see the recently described Choco Vireo. Night at Las Tangaras Lodge B:L:D

Morning at the Las Tangaras reserve birding the very birdy roadside with Narino Tapculo and the “soon be described” Alto Pisones Tapaculo. After lunch we’ll drive to the picturesque town of Jardin in the heart of Antioquia, the traditional heart of Colombia. B:L:D

We’ll take Jeeps to Yellow-eared Parrot reserve which is the critically endangered species of the area. Once occurring all the way down into central Ecuador, this species is now only know from a couple sites in the western and central Andes of Colombia. A new 130 hectare reserve has been acquired to protect some of the prime forest for the parrot, but the birds wander widely throughout the area in search of food, making it impossible to buy up all the habitat. Public awareness programs have been essential to protect this species, and ProAves has done a great job with this. Local people are now aware of the parrots and are proud to have them on their land. The wax palm tree, which the Yellow-eared Parrots use for nesting, has nearly been wiped out, since their leaves are highly sought-after for use in religious ceremonies. Some of the other birds we may see here include Tawny-breasted Tinamou, Purple-throated Woodstar, Yellow-vented Woodpecker, Spillman’s Tapaculo, Handsome Flycatcher, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Citrine Warbler, Ocellated Tapaculo Sharpe’s Wren, Black-billed Mountain Toucan, Tourmeline Sunagel and Tanager Finch. Leaving in the afternoon we’ll travel to Pereira with a stop for our first chance at Apical Flycatcher and Greyish Piculet –both endemics and then to the Quimbaya reserve. Night in the Otun Quimbata Reserve . FB:L:D

A full day at the Rio Blanco Reserve. Protecting an important watershed for the city of Manizales, the important Rio Blanco reserve holds some of the rarest and most threatened species in Colombia such as the Rusty-faced Parrot and the skulking and hard to see Brown-banded and Bicolored Antpittas. But here we have habituated Antpittas coming into worm feeders and usually Brown-banded, Bicolored and Chestnut crowned are fairly reliable, Chetnut-naped and Slate-crowned somewhat less so but we have seen all 5 in a morning. Also here are the Jay-like White-capped Tanagers are here too, one of the oddest members of its family and probably not even a tanager at all. There are good Hummingbird feeders here where we may see Tourmaline Sunangel. Speckled Hummingbird, Buff-tailed Coronet and the tiny White-bellied Woodstar. Other species that we will hope to see here include Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Tyrannine and Black-banded Woodcreepers, Long-tailed Antbird, Dusky Piha, Rufous- crowned Tody-Tyrant, Black-capped and White-tailed Tyrannulets, Smoke-coloured Pewee, Pale-edged and Golden-crowned Flycatchers, Citrine and Russet-crowned Warblers, Glossy Flower-piercer, Capped Conebill (here with a white cap),Grass-green and Flame-rumped Tanagers, Grey-hooded Bush-Tanager, Stripe-headed Brush-Finch and Black-winged Saltator. We will also seek out bamboo specialists such as Black-eared Hemispingus and Plushcap, Yellow-billed Cacique or Masked Saltator.. Night Manizales

Morning on the Paramo and the Los Nevados National Park above 3000 meters in the high temperate zone where patches of forest give way to the paramo. Here we may see the endemic and very localized Rufous-fronted Parakeet, which is very hard to find. Flowering bushes attract a number of colorful hummingbirds including Viridian Metaltail, Golden-breasted Puffleg and Shining Sunbeam. On occasion, the somewhat nomadic Black-thighed Puffleg can be present in some numbers, but at other times it is largely absent. If we are lucky we will also come across Rainbow-bearded and Purple-backed Thornbills, Great Sapphirewing. In the forest patches we will look out for Paramo Tapaculo, White-banded Tyrannulet, Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager, Black-backed Bush-Tanager. In the more open areas and around a wetland we shall look for Andean Teal, White-tailed Hawk, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Andean Tit-Spinetail, the localized Stout-billed Cinclodes, the attractive Many-striped Canastero, White-chinned Thistletail, Grass Wren, Pale-naped Brush-Finch, and a variety of seedeaters including Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, and Paramo and Plain-coloured Seedeaters. Tawny Antpittas are often very tame here. In the late afternoon we’ll head for Libano and our comfortable hotel. B:L:D

15 minute drive to fragmented, remnant forest near Libano for looking for endemics and others, which include Crested Ant –Tanager (endemic), Olive-headed Brush-Finch (endemic),, Blossomcrown (endemic),, Tolima Dove(endemic), Red-billed Emerald (endemic), Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Andean Emerald. Bronzy Inca, Highland Motmot, Olivaceous Piculet, Apical Flycatcher(endemic),, Mountain Elaenia, Slate-headed Tody-tyrant, Whiskered Wren, Yellow-throated Brush Finch, Black-winged Saltator, Rufous-naped and Scrub Greenlets, Rufous-capped Warbler, Oleaginous Hemispingus, Scrub Tanager, Streak-capped Treehunter, Bar-crested Antshrike, (endemic), Immaculate Antbird. Andean Emerald; Bronzy Inca; Squirrel Cuckoo; Moustached Puffbird; Andean (Emerald) Toucanet; Azara’s Spinetail, Montane Foliagegleaner; Bar-crested Antshrike; Golden-winged Manakin; Golden-faced Tyrannulet; Dusky-capped Flycatcher; Mountain Elaenia; Whiskered Wren; Blackburnian Warbler; Canada Warbler, American Redstart (all common winter migrants from North America). In the afternoon we’ll visit a nearby locality specifically for the endemic Apical Flycatcher and the elusive Velvet-fronted Euphonia, but there are many others to see here. Night in Mariquita B:L:D

Morning at Laguna del Hato or another loclaity. Lots to look for here with Mustached Puffbird, White-bellied and the endemic newly described Upper Magdalena Antbird, Apical Flycatcher (endemic), Spectacled Parrotlet, Pileated Finch, and more, and then we’ll drive four hours to the El Paujil reserve. Once off the main road and on the access road to this reserve we’ll look for Northern Screamer and Bare-faced Ibis. Here also we’ll see Large-billed Seed-Finch, White-throated Crake, the endemic Colombian Chachalaca and Chestnut-fronted Macaw and others. We’ll walk into the reserve birding along the way B:L:D

El Paujil Reserve. We’ll spend 2 days at this reserve which has a well developed trail system and a lovely stretch of little traveled road on the outside of the reserve. The reserve was created to protect the critically endangered Blue-billed Curassow, a species thought to be nearly extinct until a ProAves expedition located a viable population here in 2003 and has a pleasant rainforest feel to it with en suite rooms. Blue-billed Currasow is anmain target here, (we saw a stunning pair in June 2007). Other birds we’ll look for over the next 2 days include White-mantled Barbet (endemic),, Black Antshrike(endemic),, Beautifull Woodpecker (endemic),, Dull-mantled Antbird, Black-billed Flycatcher (endemic),Colombian Chachalaca (endemic),, Red-lored and Saffron-headed Parrot, Pale-bellied and Stipe-throated Hermit, Northern Violaceoaus and Western White-tailed Trogons, Barred Puffbird, Black-mandibled Toucan, Citron-Throated Toucan, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Black-striped and Cocoa Woodcreeper, Antioquia Bristle-Tyrant, Western Slaty Antshrike, Jet Antbird, Bare-crowned Antbird, Chestnut-backed Antbird, Western Striped Manakin, Sooty-headed Tyrannulet, Southern Bentbill, Cinnamon Becard, Black-bellied Wren, Sooty Ant Tanager(endemic),, Plain-colored Tanager and more. B:L:D

A travel day. Early birding at El Paujil reserve and then we’ll leave around 9:00 am for a 7 hour drive with a lunch stop to the town of San Vicente and the Reinita Cielo Azul (Cerulean Warbler) Reserve. We’ll make ome stops along the way to syretch our legs and do some birding. Transferring to jeeps we’ll complete the drive in to the reserve accommodations – spacious rooms with a large roomy balcony from which endemic Lemon-rumped Tanager and Indigo-capped Hummingbirds are common and the very rare Turquoise Dacnis can be seen. Night at the Cerulean Warbler Reserve B:L:D

Full day at Reinita Cielo Azul Reserve with picnic lunch. We’ll head for the forest at first light and spend all day birding here. Several threatened Colombian endemics also occur here, including Gorgeted Wood-Quail, Parker’s Antbird, White-mantled Barbet, Turquoise Dacnis-Tanager, and Black Inca. Mountain Grackle occurs in temperate forest just above the reserve and we saw these in June. Alos here is Mustached Brush Finch, Yellow-breasted Brush Finch, Wedge-billed Hummingbird, Collared Trogon, Mustached Puffbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Stripe-breasted Spinetail, Uniform Antshrike, Slaty Antwren, White-bellied Antpitta, 2 species of un-described Tapaculo’s, Ornate Flycatcher, Rufous-naped Greenlet, Yellow-throated Spadebill. Other more widespread species include Barred Forest-Falcon; Wattled Guan; Band-tailed Pigeon; Lined Quail-Dove (mainly voice), Rufous-bellied Nighthawk; White-tailed Nightjar; Chestnut-collared and White-tipped swift; Green Hermit; Lazuline Sabrewing; all three violet-ears; Short-tailed Emerald; Rufous-tailed Hummingbird; Andean Emerald; Speckled Hummingbird; Green-crowned Brilliant; Long-tailed Sylph; Collared Trogon; Golden-tailed Quetzal; Olivaceous Piculet; Smoky-brown Woodpecker; Azara’s Spinetail; Spotted Barbtail; Montane and Lineated foliage-gleaner; Streak-capped Treehunter; Strong-billed and Olive-backed Woodcreeper; Uniform Antshrike; Plain Antvireo; Slaty Antwren; Rusty breasted Antpitta; Green-and-black Fruiteater; Golden-winged Manakin; Olive-striped Flycatcher; Variegated Bristle-Tyrant; Rufous-browed Tyrannulet; Sooty-headed Tyrannulet; White-throated Spadebill Night at the Cerulean Warbler Reserve B:L:D

Morning walk down through coffee plantations, which should be packed with boreal migrants depending on the time of year. W should see the endemic Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird and Nicifero’s Wren here. Here we can see Large-billed Seed-Finch, Bar-crested Antshrike and more. A quick look for Chestnut bellied Hummer, if we have not already seen it, and onto Ocaña a 5 hour drive and stay in town at Plaza Real Hotel. B: Lunch on route. B:L:D

Full day at the Hormiguero de Torcoroma reserve (Recurve-billed Bushbird). We’ll be in the bamboo and walking the trails at dawn through to lunch. Our target is of course the Bushbird, which we saw well in June. Other interesting species include the endemic Gray-throated Warbler, Moustached Brush-Finch, Lined Quail Dove, Lazuline Sabrewing, Red-billed Emerald, Andean Toucanet, Stripe-breasted Spinetail, Long-tailed Antbird, Yellow-legged Thrush, Speckled Tanager, Black-headed Tanager, and Black-fronted Wood-Quail. If the morning is successful we may visit a nearby locality in the afternoon where the endemic Todd’s Parakeet has recently been re-discovered. Night in Ocaña. FB:L:D

Transfer to Bucaramanga for the late afternoon flight to Bogota arriving at 5:30 pm Bogota flight and connections home or join the Santa Marta and Guajira Peninsular Extension. All air within Colombia included

All air within Colombia included