I was planning to go to Peru in 2022 but there were riots and road closures in the areas we were planning to go. So at the last minute I went back to Colombia and saw some other places.
Unfortunately, there was a lot of overlap, so I did not get a lot of new birds on the trip. However, many areas now have set up feeding stations and several were built for photography. I used the same guide Pablo Florez and I had my daughter with me on the trip this year.
However on the bright side, the setups for photography and the number of places that had feeders allowed me to get many improved photos of birds I had mediocre photos previously.
The funarids (ovenbirds) are a huge New World family of mostly brown birds So although most are not 'pretty', many are difficult to see well and even harder to photograph. The spinetails and foliage-gleaners are particularly difficult for me to photograph.
The easy ones are the woodcreepers as they climb the tree trunks searching for insects.
The 12" Strong-billed Woodcreeper (Xiphocolaptes promeropirhynchus) is a large woodcreeper with a thick bill.
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| Strong-billed Woodcreeper |
The 8" Montane Woodcreeper (Lepidicolaptes lacrymiger) is reddish-brown above and heavily streaked below.
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| Montane Woodcreeper |
Cinclodes are another easy to see group as they live on the paramo, so are seen in the open on the ground or on fence posts. The 8" Stout-billed Cinclodes (Cinclodes excelsior) is an attractive brown bird with rusty wing patches and a striped face. He has a curved beak.
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| Stout-billed Cinclodes |
The cute 4.5" Plain Xenops (Xenops minutus) is a common bird and seen on most of my trips. It has an upturned bill.
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| Plain Xenops |
The 5.5" Ash-browed Spinetail (Cranioleuca curtata) has a light eye stripe. The book says that this bird usually works on the outer branches which makes it easier to see then most spinetails. I guess that is why I was able to get a photo.
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| Ash-browed Spinetail |
His cousin the 5.5" Red-faced Spinetail (Cranioleuca erythrops) is distinctive with his reddish cheeks. This was my second time to photo this bird, but by far my best photo.
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| Red-faced Spinetail |
The 6" Slaty Spinetail (Synallaxis brachyura) is an exception to funarids as he is charcoal colored with just rusty wings and crown.
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| Slaty Spinetail |
The last one is the 7" Western Woodhaunter (Hyloctistes virgatus). The book describes this bird as uncommon and inconspicuous. I was very lucky as the bird appeared just as we were turning to go back to the lodge for dinner. It was at dusk and the light in the jungle was poor, but after several attempts to photo him, he popped into the open for a moment. This was a lifer for me.
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| Western Woodhaunter |
I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing
David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com
photos copyright 2006 - 2023 David McDonald
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