General Location Information
- ● Birding will primarily be on forested roads and some trails –difficulty is generally easy;
- ● We will be birding elevations between 400 – 4,000 meters, asl(13,000 feet), mostly between 1300 and 2700 meters (4,265 feetand 8,858 feet).
- ● We will experience all kinds of weather, but no special clothingis necessary
- ● We will have electric power at all our destinations. There aresockets inside all rooms with 110 volt electricity.
- ● We will have rooms with twin beds and private bathrooms.
- ● There is hot water
- ● Internet: this service is available inside most of the lodges andhotels.
What to bring and general information
- ● Please do not bring too much luggage. For domestic flights you can have 20 kg. ( 44 lbs.) and 5 kg. (11 lbs.) in hand luggage. Extra costs will be paid by you.
- ● Lightweight comfortable clothing is recommended, i.e. standard field pants and shirts, for the entire trip.
- ● At Piha Reserve, and Montezuma laundry can be done
- ● Sunblock and hat or cap, umbrella, and rain poncho arerecommended
- ● Small flashlight for owling – we will have a strong owling light
- ● Rubber boots are not really necessary. But, bring extra shoes ortrekking/water shoes. The point is: you will probably get muddyone day!
- ● You will need a fleece or other light jacket – NOT a heavy wintertype coat/jacket. This is noted for the paramo. If you are a person that gets cold easily – perhaps a little more clothing, like a warm hat or light-weight gloves would be in order.
- ● Please avoid using camouflaged or military clothing at most of the sites.
- ● Shower thongs / rubber flip flops will be useful
What I (guide) will have with me
- ● Recording gear, iPod, and speaker
- ● A telescope, laser pointer, owling light. I will be carrying Restall’sbook (Birds of the North of South America) and the new field
guide Birds of Colombia (from Proaves) Both can be found on www.amazon.com
Medical and Health Information
- ● High altitude information you may find useful. Adjusting to higher altitude is a very individual thing. Some may feel no effects at all, some may have minor effects, and others may experience great difficulty.You may feel the lack of oxygen, and will easily get “out of breath” for the first two or three days, so take it easy. You may feel a little nauseous, have a headache, or tire easily.. You will acclimatize to it by producing more red blood cells, so you should make sure you stay well hydrated, as the extra cells thicken your blood.Drink lots of water, while avoiding alcohol or caffeine. Dehydration can make any effects of altitude worse. Try to avoid over-eating the first day.Please keep in mind our birding tour will be over a wide range of altitudes – and we will be acclimatizing as we move through the different habitats.
By the time we reach the very high altitude of the Paramo we should be adjusted to the altitude. We will be taking our time, birding slowly, and enjoying ourselves. That being said, your safety and well-being is of first importance above all else. Therefore, I will be making frequent checks to make sure everyone is feeling well. If someone in the group isn’t feeling well our driver will be ready to take the person or the group to lower altitude very quickly.There are medications available for altitude sickness. Please check with your doctor. For the headache, you can take an over-the-counter medicine, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or naproxen (Aleve). - ● *Yellow Fever vaccination is required for travel to Colombia and other tropical countries.
● Malaria and other tropical diseases are not present in our destinations. We will be in areas with a few mosquitoes and other biting bugs. But, Insect repellent will be useful in the lowland areas.
Travel insurance
Our suggestion is that you use travel insurance service. The normal price of this tour cover travel insurance only inside the Proaves reserves Chesnut Capped Piha reserves.
Books:
The new pocket “Field guide to the birds of Colombia” (0,4 kg), by McMullan, Donegan & Quevedo (ProAves) recently came on the market the third edition. This guide is quite good and useful in the field. All birds are printed but some illustrations are small, and not the greatest.
The “Guide to Birds of Colombia” (1,3 kg) by Hilty & Brown is rather old (1986) but it is – apart from the changed taxonomy and new species – rather good. The plates are excellent. Unfortunately, only 75% of the species have illustrations.
Published in 2006 the “Guide to the Birds of Northern South-America” by Restall. It consists of 2 volumes. The first volume (Plates and Maps) (1,4 kg) is usually sufficient. Although it depicts all birds of Colombia and even subspecies, be aware that there are still a considerable numbers of errors in the book. Recommended for those who are already familiar with Colombian birds.