Birding in Colombia #7: High in the Andes

The Páramo

This morning was dedicated to birding the páramo high in the Andes, in and around Los Nevados Natural Park on the flanks of the volcano. We drove in glorious sunshine up to a Visitor Center with an observation deck just outside the entrance to the National Park at 13,500 feet. 

A Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant seen from the deck

That was the highest we would go on this tour. Even though I did get winded when walking quickly uphill, I found the altitude less daunting than at home, perhaps because there is more vegetation because the tree line is higher.

Quite a view

We were in the páramo zone, where vegetation is dominated by bunchgrass, woody plants and groves of espeletia, commonly called frailejónes. Their name translates to "big monks” because, when viewed from a distance in the thick mist of the Andean páramos, their tall, fuzzy and hooded appearance resembles a procession of monks wearing robes. 

They just look like cactus to me (they are actually part of the sunflower family)

Because frailejónes grow in large, dense groups, these towering plants often appear to be "marching" or watching over the landscape. While they are primarily known for resembling monks, some people have likened them to cartoon characters like Beaker from The Muppets.

Or maybeTriffids (IYKYK)

Native mainly to Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, frailejones have a thick trunk with succulent hairy leaves in a dense spiral pattern. They have leaves that wither but do not fall off, remaining attached through winter and into spring to protect buds from freezing (yeah, we were near the equator, but it’s cold at 12,000+ feet!) and deter birds and animals from eating new growth. The flowers are usually yellow, similar to daisies.

The plant is endangered due to destruction of the páramo for agriculture, especially potato crops. This activity continues, despite the Colombian government declaring it illegal.  

Threats include beetle larvae, a moth and fungus that climate change allows to flourish

Frailejónes contribute to water sustainability by capturing vapor from passing clouds in their spongy trunks and releasing it through roots into the soil, thus helping to create vast high-altitude subterranean water deposits and lakes that eventually form rivers.

The area where we stopped sat under some very steep mountainsides that Alejandro told us had never been explored.

Mystery mountains

The view out over more mountains was stunning.

So green for such high altitude

We saw another Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle playing in the wind currents above the mountaintops. 

Closer than the first one, but it wouldn't perch as I hoped

I kept looking for an Andean Condor, but we never saw one. A local guide we talked to at the observation deck had seen one the day before.

Maybe somewhere out there

In the shrubland stretching out below us, we saw a couple Brown-backed Chat-Tyrants, a lifer.

On a wire ...

... and in the Shrubs

I saw an Andean Tit-Spinetail, but it was too, too fast.

But, after missing one the day before, I did capture a Plumbeous Sierra Finch running along a stream next to the road.

Plumbeous means gray

Right at that moment, someone spotted our main target: the endemic Buffy Helmetcrest. Chaos ensued because lots of people were there looking for this tiny Hummingbird.

The Buffy Helmetcrest is just about five inches long

We saw it twice (or, perhaps, we saw two), perched on two different twiggy bushes in the open. 

It was a bit too far away for a clean shot 

The Buffy Helmetcrest has a very limited range, found only at extremely high elevations in Colombia's central Andes, making any sighting rare.

Not many places to look

I largely ignored some familiar birds we spotted – Eared Doves, a Great Thrush, Rufous-collared Sparrows and another Plain-colored Seedeater – and I totally missed a Tawny Antpitta (I should NEVER go to the restroom!).

We hoped that we might see one (or two) of the animals living in the National Park – the Mountain Tapir or the Spectacled Bear. No such luck. As I said before, mammals were in very short supply in Colombia, which seemed odd in such a wild and unpopulated place.

After time at the top, we wound our way back down the mountain, making several stops for views of Nevado del Ruiz and for birds. 

You can see it puffing in the lower right photo

I managed to snag a four more lifers, including Red-crested Cotingas far, far (as in binocular far) across the valley ...

Two males enjoying berries

... and was finally gratified when they landed a bit closer to us as we stood by the side of the road ... 

You can see the crest here

The Red-crested Cotinga has what is called a disjunct distribution; it is found in the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia, in the Serranía del Perijá that straddles the Colombia-Venezuela border, in the Andes from northeastern Trujillo in Venezuela into the northern part of Colombia's Eastern Andes and nearly continuously in the Andes from Colombia's Central and Western ranges south through Ecuador and Peru into Bolivia. 

Carrying nesting material

It inhabits semi-open landscapes on the edges of cloud forest and humid woodlands, in the páramo with some patches of trees and bushes and borders of agricultural areas that have trees. It is found at elevations between 7,500 and 12,500 feet in Colombia.

Surveying the landscape

While the Cotingas perched at the tops of the shrubs, we found a cute little Grass Wren deep inside the thicket.

Trying (and failing) to hide from us

Also in that thicket was a crafty White-throated Tyrannulet (a lifer) and a Pale-naped Brushfinch (a repeat bird from Termales del Ruiz) that successfully avoided the spotlight, as did a small flock of Golden-plumed Parakeets that zoomed over a couple of times. The White-naped Brushfinches the rest of the group saw escaped my notice altogether.

I was not on my flying bird game during this trip, so much so that I didn’t even try most of the time a flock of Parrots or the ever-present Brown-bellied Swallows and the occasional White-collared Swifts flew over.

But, I did get some nice shots of a cute little Golden-fronted Redstart in the trees. 

Adorable

The name "redstart" originates from a combination of the color "red" and the Old English word steort (or Middle English stert), which means "tail." It literally translates to "red tail," describing the reddish-orange or rusty-red tail feathers of both European and American Redstart species, which they frequently fan and flash. The name was originally applied to European Thrush species (such as the Common Redstart). The American Redstart, a Warbler, was named because the male resembles the Common Redstart.

 

The Golden-fronted Redstart, however, does not have red tail

The first part of its name references the brilliant yellow on its face and breast. The Redstart name comes from its habit of fanning and flashing its tail. It used to be called the Golden-fronted Whitestart, which makes more sense. Oh, and as you’ll see later, some Golden-fronted Redstarts have white faces!

Frailes

After our super-high-altitude adventure, we traveled down for just some high-altitude roadside birding near Frailes. 

The beautiful Andes

A rural coffee-growing area near Villamaría in Caldas, Frailes is near the source of the Chinchiná River and is characterized by fertile forested terrain. 

Local flora

Most of what we saw were familiar birds (even if they were only familiar since our last stop): Andean Tit-Spinetail, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, Brown-bellied Swallow, Great Thrush, Golden-plumed Parakeet (flying once again!).

A Rufous-collared Sparrow

A Golden-fronted Redstart having a bad hair day 

Several Red-crested Cotingas; this is a female

And, a lifer, a Black-capped Tyrannulet

Tyrannulet is a diminutive term for Tyrant Flycatchers to denote their status as tiny members of the family. Tyrant Flycatchers are fearless and aggressive, even toward larger birds. 

This stop was where I saw my first Tapaculo, a Paramo Tapaculo, although I wasn’t able to get a photo. Heck, I could barely see it. Tapaculos are known for skulking in dense vegetation that renders them almost invisible.

Sort of like this, but darker; Photo (before I darkened it): eBird

The Tapaculo’s song is a dry, cicada-like rattle that usually lasts two to six seconds and is then repeated again after a pause. While they may be tricky to see, the are certainly easy to hear.

The day was starting to wane and we still had a way to go to make it to our evening destination: Reserva Ecológica Río Blanco. The route took us through many coffee plantations, some down the sides of very steep hills. It is common for the coffee to be grown under the shade of plantain or banana trees, making for interesting rows of plants.

Mixed coffee/banana plantation; Photo: Barista Hustle

Then, we drove through Manizales, the city we had been able to see from our mountaintop lodging at Hotel Termales del Ruiz. 

Distant Manizales

The main center for the production of Colombian coffee, Manizales is described as having an "abrupt topography" with many ridges and steep slopes. This, combined with the seismic instability of the area, has required architectural adaptations and public works to make the city safer from earthquakes, mudslides and volcanic eruptions.

Despite being located in the tropics, the city seldom gets very hot, featuring spring-like temperatures throughout the year because of its high altitude of about 7,100 feet. Compared to the other places we had been in Colombia, Manizales looked modern and clean. 

Manizales; Photo: Wikipedia

And, it certainly appreciated birding. Manizales has a statue of a giant Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, one of many bird statues, in town. 

Statue and the real thing that we saw later; Left photo: La Patria

Hernan negotiated the town’s heavy traffic using what seemed to be a series of short-cuts and by-passes. And, then, as quickly as we left rural Colombia to enter Manizales, we were back outside the city on our way to Río Blanco.

Collared Inca, Buff-tailed Coronets and Long-tailed Slyph at Río Blanco

But, that’s for next time.

Tour dates: March 7-28, 2026