The Birders Show in the Colombian High-Altitude Páramo
For the latest episode of The Birders Show, Chris and Diego visited the high-altitude elfin forests and páramos of the Central Colombian Andes. Read on for our host’s blog about Episode 3 of our 3-part special filmed in Caldas department.
After our stay at Glamping El Color de Mis Reves for Episode 2 of our Caldas special, we headed further up into the higher elevations of the Central Andes to shoot Part 3. For this episode, we explored elfin forest ecosystems and the high-altitude páramo moorlands up to around 4,000 masl. Of course, as is expected when you go up in altitude, bird diversity decreases, but our target species included some extremely range-restricted Colombian specialties and endemics.
Our day began with an early morning drive from El Color de Mis Reves to Termales del Ruiz Hotel. This luxurious mountain retreat is set in a stunning valley of elfin forest and waterfalls and includes a series of natural thermal pools and spa facilities. It’s also an excellent place for birding, both as a base to explore the páramo beyond and as a location, with a series of excellent trails winding through the elfin forest.
Termales del Ruiz Hotel: an incredible combination of luxury and excellent birding.
After checking in, we set out to bird these trails. Our first stop was a feeding station for the Tawny Antpitta. Although this antpitta is one of the simplest of its family to see - they tend to perch out in the open to call and don’t seem to exhibit the same shyness as other antpittas - it was still a treat to enjoy such close views as one confiding individual gorged on worms just a few hundred yards from the hotel. The antpitta came within a few feet of us and even sang for the camera. Not a bad start at all!
Intermittent rain made filming tricky, but we managed excellent footage of Scarlet-bellied and Lacrimose Mountain Tanagers, Pale-naked Brushfinch, and Masked and Glossy Flowerpiercers. Once we’d eaten breakfast, we went above the hotel to visit the real start avian attractions of Termales del Ruiz: the hummingbirds.
The hotel has become famous in recent years for its hummingbird feeders, which attract an array of tricky high-altitude hummingbirds. As Diego points out in the episode, many of these species used to be hard to see during a visit to these ecosystems. Now, thanks to Termales del Ruiz, birders can enjoy close-up views of species like Great Sapphirewing, Shining Sunbeam, and Golden-breasted Puffleg. Thanks to tiny little handheld feeders, some species will even come and perch in your hand to feed. There’s no experience like feeling those tiny little feet on your palm as a hummingbird sits there feeding!
After spending some time filming with the hummers in the gardens, we staked out some flowers in the carpark to try and film a male Rainbow-bearded Thornbill that was supposedly being seen there. As one of the most beautiful high-altitude Colombian hummers, the thornbill was a high-priority species for the show. Thankfully, the male turned up pretty quickly, and despite the misty conditions, we managed to get some excellent footage of it perched and feeding on tiny yellow flowers.
Naturally, we couldn’t visit a hot springs hotel and not use the facilities, so we spent some time in the afternoon relaxing from the previous day’s exertions in one of the hot pools. It can be a hard life for a birder in Colombia!
Not a bad place to relax after a tough day’s birding!
The next day we rose before dawn and set off up the mountains. Our first stop was a popular birding hotspot in the elfin forest, where we hoped to encounter some mixed flocks. Unfortunately, the activity was slow at first, and all we managed to spot was a distant Black-backed Bush Tanager: an excellent bird, but sadly almost impossible to film well, such was the distance from the road. Things picked up, though, with wonderful views of an almost impossibly-confiding Páramo Tapaculo, a lifer for me.
Our next stop was Laguna Negra, a picturesque glacial lake with a popular viewing point for day-trippers into the nearby Los Nevados National Park. Luckily we had access to a small nature reserve along the lakeshore, so we could hike down and get closer looks at Andean Duck and Andean Teal, along with a host of high-altitude species like Grass Wren, Stout-billed Cinclodes, and Andean Tit-Spinetail.
Filming birds in the high-altitude páramo of the Central Andes. Laguna Negra is visible in the background.
After a steep hike back up the hillside, we enjoyed a quick pick-me-up of agua de panela (a hot, sweet sugarcane drink with lemon) and cheese bread before making our final trip up to 4,100 masl in search of our star bird for the episode: the highly range-restricted endemic Buffy Helmetcrest hummingbird.
We arrived in the high páramo to persistent rain and overcast conditions, neither of which boded well for filming the bird. However, after a few cold hours of searching, we found a beautiful male huddled up on an espeletia plant. It was moving back and forth between several perches, so after a good deal of running about, we managed to obtain some good shots of this gorgeous hummer. Mission accomplished!
The magnificent Buffy Helmetcrest
Thankfully we had steaming hot springs to return to at Termales del Ruiz, a welcome relief after a full day at such high altitude.
Celebrating the Buffy Helmetcrest in the páramo
