The spot we visited on Day 6 was a comparatively lower elevation spot in the Magdalena Valley southeast of Ibague. We had a huge list here and many of them were new because most of our tour was spent at higher elevations. This spot was basically a dirt road running along farm fields on one side and some artificial lakes on the other side.
However, on the way there we made an early morning pit stop at a local sports park in Ibague to pick up the Yellow-crowned Parrot before it left its nighttime roost.
Yellow-crowned Parrot - the light was terrible but you get the idea.
Southern Lapwing
The first birds to greet us at Hacienda El Escobal were some of my favorites of the trip.
Spectacled Parrotlet! This was the male with the blue spectacles.
And the female with the green specs.
I don't know what it is about these little guys that I love so much, but they definitely ring my bell. It was hard to keep walking, but you take your cues from the tour leaders and they didn't have much interest in these.
Straight-billed Woodcreeper
Pale-breasted Spinetail
Tropical Kingbird - one of the most common birds throughout the tour, but still deserving of some photographic love.
Chestnut-capped Warbler
Buff-rumped Warbler
Cinerous Becard - my only record shot of this species.
Barred Antshrike
Buff-breasted Wren
White-bellied Antbird - these usually are famously hard to see well, but this one posed for us.
Yellow-chinned Spinetail - I have seen on many occasions on other Colombia and Brazil trips but it was good to reacquaint myself.
Blue-black Grassquit - most of the time you just see the black.
But if the sun hits it right, you can see the blue which I think is similar to the shine on a grackle.
Red-breasted Meadowlark - I saw one of these on the last Colombia trip.
Fork-tailed Flycatcher - we have met many times but not yet in North Carolina. I am waiting patiently for the day when this sometimes vagrant comes to Cackalacky.
And hopefully it's one with a proper tail like this one.
Social Flycatcher
Apical Flycatcher! This was a Colombian endemic although admittedly it is very similar to other Myiarchus flycatchers.
The main physical feature that separates it from other Myiarchus is the whitish tail tips which is only mildly noticeable on this bird and only if you really zoom in. However, the call is diagnostic and I believe it was the only expected one at this spot.
Roadside Hawks always trick me into thinking they are something else, and this one was no exception.
Smooth-billed Ani - this spot has all three Ani species so you have to pay attention to the details.
Note the relatively smooth bill.
This Lance-tailed Manakin stayed pretty far off on the far side of a field. This is one of the few manakin species that you can see in full sun because they hang out in dry forests.
Streaked Flycatcher with a big ass spider.
Ruddy-breasted Seedeater
Some Ruddy Ground Doves are not very ruddy at all. This one was scrutinized for other possibilities first but the consensus was it was a Ruddy.
Gray Seedeater
Streaked Saltator
A truly Ruddy Ground Dove!
Little Cuckoo! Although this species is widespread in South America, it usually does not offer great looks so this one was exceptional.
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
White-shouldered Tanager
Short-tailed Hawk - most higher elevation spots don't have many raptors or at least soaring ones so it was nice to see a few here mixed in with the vultures.
Black-bellied Wren - apparently this species is very hard to see and when I look up the page on Wiki, my photo is similar, hidden behind some twigs.
Tricolored Munia - these stunning finches are native to India but have established populations in Colombia, Cuba and some other places.
Aplomado Falcon
Scarlet-fronted Parakeets - a huge flock flew overhead and I only managed some very distant shots but this one came out ok.
Pied Water-Tyrant
Yellow-hooded Blackbird
Black-faced Grassquit - the same species we have in the Bahamas
That was it for Hacienda El Escobal. We headed out for our next destination which was La Florida, a mountain town to the northwest of Ibague and the home town of our Colombian guide. I will handle that in the next post.
