Trogon Photo Tours

COLOMBIA BIRDS

June 5-19, 2021

Photo Tour: This photo tour focuses on photographing the amazing birds of Colombia.  Colombia has more species of birds than any other country on the planet and many of them are easy to photograph due to numerous lodges and feeding stations.  This tour is particularly rich in Hummingbirds, Tanagers and Antpittas but we will photograph many other birds as well.  The spectacular and endangered Yellow-eared Parrot and the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock are 2 specialty species.  We will do multi-flash hummingbird photography at 4 different locations and stay at 7 different lodges.    

Leaders: Charles Gangas and Javier Zurita.  Charles is an award winning photographer from Stowe, VT who will help you improve your photography.  Javier Zurita is from Ecuador and has spent a lot of time photographing the birds of Colombia.  Both Javier and Chuck are experienced working with multi-flash photography.

Number of Participants: Maximum of 6 photographers with a maximum of 10 total participants (including nonphotographer spouses and companions). 

Cost: $6,500 per photographer, $5,900 per nonphotographer spouse/companion, $800 single supplement includes all meals, lodging, drinking water, transportation within Colombia, guiding, instruction, park fees.  It does not include airfare to get to and from Colombia, drinks other than water, tips and items of a personal nature such as phone calls or laundry.  Deposit to reserve your spot is $1,800.



Itinerary:

June 5th: Arrival to Cali, Colombia.  Transfer to the Hampton Hilton Hotel.   Evening presentation on bird photography by the tour leaders.  Hotel: Hampton Hilton

June 6th: We will visit a farm near Cali which has both hummingbird and fruit feeders.  The feeders attract many tanagers and also 2 endemic ground birds, the Colombian Chachalaca and the Chestnut Wood-Quail.  In the afternoon we will transfer to our next lodge: La Minga Ecolodge.  

June 7th: We will have a full day of multi-flash hummingbird photography as well as photographing at the fruit feeders at this cloud forest lodge.  17 species of hummingbirds occur here including spectacular species such as Sword-billed Hummingbird, Long-tailed Sylph and Botted Rackettail.  An amazing 30 species in the tanager family can be seen at this lodge including the beautiful Multicolored Tanager.  Overnight: La Minga Ecolodge.

June 8th - Morning photography at La Minga, some of the other hummingbirds here include Blue-headed Sapphire and Versicolored Emerald.  Then we transfer to La Union where we will have an afternoon walk to look for scarce birds such as Spectacled Parrotlet, Dwarf Cuckoo and Greyish Piculet.  Hotel: San Miguel.

June 9th - We will visit a local park which is one of the best locations in the world to photograph the gorgeous Ruby Topaz hummingbird, then we transfer to our next lodge in the lowland dry forest for afternoon photography: Tinamu Lodge

June 10th - We will have a full day of multi-flash and fruit feeder photography here at Tinamu Lodge.  The hummers include Green Hermit, Long-billed Starthroat and Black-throated Mango.  Andean Motmot and many others come to the fruit feeders.  Overnight: Tinamu Lodge.

June 11th - Morning photography at Tinamu Lodge, there is a Golden-collared Manakin lek here as well.  Then 1.5 hour transfer to our next lodge: Rio Blanco.  In the afternoon we will photograph at the fruit feeders where Buff-breasted Mountain Tanager is one of the star attractions.  Overnight: Rio Blanco

June 12th - This morning will start out with Antpitta photography with up to 4 species including the endemic Brown-banded and Bicolored Antpittas.  Next we will do multi-flash photography with Long-tailed Sylphs and Collared Inca among the hummers as well as continue to photograph at the fruit feeders.  Overnight: Rio Blanco

June 13th - This morning we visit a small feeding station where the highlights include Crescent-faced and Rufous Antpittas as well as Gray-breasted Mountain Toucan.  Then we transfer to our next lodge, Termales del Ruiz, which in addition to a lot of great birds has wonderful hot springs.  Overnight: Termalis del Ruiz

June 14th - Full day doing multi-flash photography. The hummingbird feeders at this highland location are fantastic for multi-flash photography.  Species include the amazing Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, Black-thighed and Golden-breasted Pufflegs, Great Sapphirewing and Shining Sunbeam among others.  Overnight: Termalis del Ruiz

June 15th - We will visit highland paramo a few kilometers from the hotel where the beautiful Buffy Helmetcrest can be found feeding on flowers.  We will also look for the Black-billed Mountain Toucan and do some more multi-flash photography.  Overnight: Termalis del Ruiz

June 16th - One more morning of multi-flash and photography of hummingbirds near the lodge followed by transfer to our next destination Valdivia.  Overnight: Valdivia Plaza.

June 17th - We depart for a local reserve which is the last stronghold for the endangered Yellow-eared Parrot.  After we find and photograph them we will visit a local feeding station for both antpittas and hummingbirds.  Overnight: Valdivia Plaza

June 18th - This morning we visit a fantastic Andean Cock-of-the Rock lek, with the possibility even of close ups.  We then search for other birds in the area, check out and travel to our departure city, Medellin.  Overnight: Hotel Extremadura

June 19th - Transfer to the airport for your return trip home.