Colombia is simply vast. With arguably the most diverse avifauna of any single country on Earth, there are far too many special and important habitats to visit in anything less than several months’ time. As part of our continuing effort to do this magnificent country justice, our new Remote Colombia birding tour takes us into some seldom-explored areas in search of a whole host of rare, special and localised species. Targets are too many to mention but include such gems as Baudo Guan, Fuertes’s Parrot, Baudo Oropendola, Bicolored, Thicket, Hooded, White-bellied and Streak-chested Antpitta, recently described Perija Tapaculo, Turquoise Dacnis, Recurve-billed Bushbird, Multicolored Tanager, White-mantled Barbet, Gorgeted Wood Quail, Green-bearded Helmetcrest, Antioquia Bristle Tyrant, Yellow-green Bush Tanager (Yellow-green Chlorospingus), Indigo-crowned and Lined Quail-Doves, Niceforo’s Wren, Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird, Esmeraldas and Magdalena Antbirds, Choco Tapaculo, Choco Brushfinch, Perija Metaltail, Perija Thistletail and Perija Brushfinch.
Chances for Harpy Eagle, Black-and-chestnut Eagle, Orange-breasted Falcon, Wattled, Baudo & Band-tailed Guan, Colombian Chachalaca, Choco Tinamou, Tawny-faced Quail, Chestnut Wood Quail, Horned Screamer, Brown Wood Rail, Indigo-crowned & Lined Quail-Dove, Colombian Screech Owl, Rusty-faced & Rose-faced Parrot, Flame-winged Parakeet, Choco, Cinnamon & Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, Greyish Piculet, Spot-crowned Barbet, Crested & Golden-headed Quetzal, Black-billed Mountain Toucan, Red-bellied Grackle, Baudo Oropendola, Mountain Cacique, Amazonian Motmot, White-chinned Jacamar, Yellow-billed Nunbird, Black-breasted Puffbird, Barred, Golden-breasted & Scaled Fruiteater, Green, Yellow-headed & Golden-headed Manakin, Bicolored, Thicket, Hooded, White-bellied & Streak-chested Antpitta, Black Antshrike, Spot-crowned Antvireo, Stub-tailed, Zeledon’s, Klage’s & Esmeraldas Antbird, Northern Barred & Black-striped Woodcreeper, Streak-capped Treehunter, White-browed & Rufous Spinetail, Perija Thistletail, Choco, Paramillo, Stiles’s, Pale-bellied & the yet-to-be-described Perija Tapaculo, Recurve-billed Bushbird, chances for Sapayoa, Perija Metaltail, Purple-chested, Tooth-billed & Green-bellied Hummingbird, Grey-chinned & Bronzy Hermit, Blue-fronted Lancebill, Blue-throated Starfrontlet, Blue Cotinga, Rufous Piha, Chestnut-crowned Gnateater, Antioquia, Sooty-headed & Chestnut-breasted Wren, Black-throated Tody-Tyrant, Apical Flycatcher, Choco & Grey-throated Warbler, Plushcap, Purplish-mantled, Multicolored, Moss-backed, Glistening-green, Golden-chested, Crested Ant, Tawny-crested, Grey-and-gold, Golden-hooded, Rufous-winged, Emerald, Blue-whiskered, Scarlet-and-white & Lemon-spectacled Tanager, Yellow-green Bush Tanager (Yellow-green Chlorospingus), Perija Brush Finch, Paramo Seedeater
cloud forest, temperate cloud forest, humid foothill forest, lowland & foothill Choco forest, secondary forest, wetlands, mangroves, rivers, meadows, creeks, Oak forest, subparamo scrub, paramo grassland, fincas
temperate to cold in highlands; hot and very humid in the lowlands. Rain is likely on some days.
8 with 1 Rockjumper leader and 1 local leader
Our Mega tours are very fast-paced birding adventures designed for the dedicated lister and serious birder. The focus of the tour is to see as many of the endemics and area specials as possible in our given time. In order to cover the necessary route to maximise the species list we tend to spend a single night at most sites and travel large distances. There is very little down time aside from that spent driving from one site to the next. These tours are not suitable for dedicated or avid photographers; inexperienced or new birders; as well as anyone with serious mobility or health challenges.
basic to comfortable
moderate with some challenging species
600+
often spectacular endemic reptiles and amphibians, stunning scenery, little-explored pristine forests
good
Rob Williams and the Rockjumper folks were absolutely fantastic in helping me after I lost my passport. They made sure I got back to Bogota for the embassy appointments, changing plans on the fly. Very impressive dedication to help customers.
We had a great time with Forrest Rowland in Colombia. A wonderful country. Forrest is a fantastic birder and a great guide.
Tuomas was excellent. He was an excellent birder and group leader, ensuring the everyone saw each bird. He was persistent in pursuing our target birds but knew when enough was enough for the day. Tuomas has an easy going manner, but he (and the local leader) were efficient and effective in dealing with problems in the field or with the accomodation.
I would just like to praise Dušan for all the constant effort he put in during a trip with external problems. He dealt with the bureaucracy of all our nations in getting our covid tests and the form filling, and it was no easy task. His knowledge of the birds and especially their calls, gave the the whole trip an extra level and I profited handsomely from his skills. I would be most happy to go on a tour with Dusan again.
Dusan is an outstanding guide. He consistently made sure that all of us saw each bird and knew its name. I have hearing and mild short-term memory problems and Dusan took specialefforts to be sure that these did not interfere with my birding success on the trip. Not only does Dusan know all of the Colombian birds by sight, but he knows all of their calls and is able to talk at length about their biology and behavior - that is, he is an excellent teacher, too. This is something that I appreciate greatly, as I am a retired college professor of biology and I recognize an excellent teacher when I see one in action. In addition to his skills as a guide, Dusan was tireless in making sure that the constantly-changing tour arrangements went smoothly from day to day. I am certain that we got every minute that was possible out in the field looking for new birds; this was the goal of the tour (1000 species seen in 30 days of birding). He has a very pleasant, enthusiastically-encouraging personality and is outstanding at promoting group coherence and morale in difficult and sometimes mildly-dangerous situations.
Tour Leader: Stephan Lorenz
Tour price (Per person): USD8,295 * GBP6,569 * EUR7,696 * AUD12,737
Single Supplement: USD910 * GBP721 * EUR844 * AUD1,397
Flight costs: USD440 * GBP348 * EUR408 * AUD676
Can be linked with: Colombia - Mitu Extension 2024
Tour Leader: Lev Frid
Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated and dates may change*
Tour price (Per person): USD9,000 * GBP7,128 * EUR8,350 * AUD13,819
Can be linked with: Colombia - Mitu Extension 2025
Colombia - Highlights (ECU replacement) 2024 - January 2024
Colombia - Northern Andes: Central Andes 2023 - October 2023
Colombia - Northern Andes: Medellin & surrounds 2023 - October 2023
Colombia - Northern Andes: Bogota & surrounds 2023 - October 2023
Colombia - Northern Andes: Santa Marta 2023 - September 2023
Colombia - Santa Marta Extension I 2023 - August 2023
Colombia - Highlights 2023 - August 2023
Colombia - Santa Marta Extension II 2022 - December 2022
Colombia - Northern Andes: Western & Central Andes 2022 - November 2022
Colombia - Northern Andes: Medellin & Magdalena Valley 2022 - November 2022
Colombia - Northern Andes: Bogota & surrounds 2022 - November 2022
Colombia - Highlights 2022 - September 2022
Colombia - Mega Birding Tour II 2021 - November 2021
Colombia - Mega Birding Tour I 2020 - January 2020
Colombia - Highlights 2019 - November 2019
Colombia - Santa Marta Extension 2019 - November 2019
Colombia - Perijá & Santa Marta Endemics (SGT) 2019 - October 2019
Colombia - Mega Birding Tour 2019 - February 2019