With more than 1900 species, Colombia is the country with the greatest diversity of birds in the world. A great destination for birders.

This tour offers a unique birding experience in Colombia’s Caribbean and Northern Mountain regions. It is designed to see the endemic and near-endemic bird species of the two most important mountain ranges in Northern Colombia: Serranía del Perijá and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. 

Our birding adventure starts in the Caribbean region of Colombia. We will be birding around the Magdalena River at Km 4 and in the Salamanca National Park. This park is characterized by the sweet water flowing from the Magdalena River and saline water of the Caribbean Sea. In the Tropical Dry Forest, Riparian Forest, and the Coastal Mangroves, we will look for interesting bird species, like Chestnut Piculet, White-whiskered Spinetail, Orinoco Saltator, and the endemic Sierra Nevada Brushfinch.

Following the Caribbean coastline in northern direction, we will visit the Los Flamencos Sanctuary. This is an important Coastal Wetland and Dry Forest Reserve created to protect a large population of American Flamingos. The marshes, lagoons, and dry forest of the sanctuary are visited by more than 180 other bird species, of which many are migrants. We have chances to see Roseate Spoonbill, Laughing Gull, Tocuyo Sparrows, Vermilion Cardinals, Russet-throated Puffbird, and Buffy Hummingbird.

We will leave the coast behind and start to ascend the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, an isolated mountain range, that is separate from the Andes. The highest mountain of Santa Marta reaches 5700 meters, and the Caribbean coast is just 42 km. away. It is the highest coastal mountain range in the tropics, and one of the highest coastal ranges in the world. The variety of ecoregions, including and Paramo grassland, Dry, Cloud, and Tropical Rainforest, are home to great diversity of flora and fauna species. During our ascent of the Santa Marta mountains, we will visit the Cloud Forest of Minca and the El Dorado Reserve. This reserve is a refuge for the endangered Santa Marta Parakeet and other endangered bird species, including Santa Marta Warbler, Santa Marta Antpitta, and Santa Marta Screech-Owl. The reserve is an important stopover point for migratory birds that breed in the United States and Canada, like Cerulean Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. We will spend some nights at the beautiful El Dorado Ecolodge (1900 meters above sea level).

Next we will visit another highlight of this tour: Serranía del Perijá. This mountain range is an extension of the eastern Andean mountain branch, situated between Colombia and Venezuela, and ending in the north in the Guajira Desert. Perijá contains mostly Tropical Humid Forest, and is home to endangered and endemic bird species including Perijá Thistletail, Perijá Metaltail, Perijá Brush-Finch, and the newly described Perijá Tapaculo. This unique mountain range is still being discovered by scientists and birders, since it was cleared in 2009 of Colombia’s internal struggles that lingered in area for decades. There are still many species that have not been documented yet. We will visit Chamicero de Perijá, a small nature reserve that was established in 2014. The Cloud Forest of this reserve harbors a great biodiversity and many bird species, like the endemics mentioned above, and other species, like Crested Quetzal, Golden-headed Quetzal, Barred Fruiteater, Plushcap, Páramo Seedeater, Buff-Breasted Mountain-Tanager, Lacrimose Mountain-Tanager. And interesting raptors, like Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Hook-billed Kite, and White-rumped Hawk.

To observe around 300 species of birds in just a few days during this tour, is very well possible. Your checklist will skyrocket!