Venezuela - the Andes, llanos and
Henri Pittier National Park

While entirely encompassed by the tropics, Venezuela contains a wide cross-section of habitats from lowland Amazonian rainforest through to barren, snow-capped Andean peaks. The country is readily divided into various ecological zones and on our main tour we visit three of these; the High Andes of western Venezuela, the vast marshes and grasslands of the flat llanos, and the lush rainforests of the coastal mountain range in the north. Each has a very different avifauna and, consequently, the bird list for this short tour is lengthy - nearly 470 species in 2002.

For those on their first trip to South America many of the families we encounter will be new, and coping with screamers, potoos, tapaculos, euphonias, and hemispinguses may at first seem daunting, but with the help of Venezuela's excellent field guide, they quickly resolve into familiar groupings that start to make sense. Some, of course, are already familiar, due to exposure on wildlife documentaries, and there can be few birdwatchers whose pulses don't quicken at the thought of Sunbitterns, Hoatzins, macaws, hummingbirds, cocks-of-the-rock, and multicoloured tanagers.

Venezuela is a sophisticated, modern country, with a good road network, excellent hotels and fine food, which guarantees a very enjoyable time for all. In addition, our tour has been perfected by Judy Davis and David Fisher who have been travelling together in Venezuela almost annually since their first visit there in 1986. Having now spent over a year leading tours and studying the birds and their vocalisations in this country, they look forward to each tour with great anticipation. These will be their 13th and 14th tours there for Sunbird.

Friday 14 March to Saturday 29 March 2003
Friday 12 March to Saturday 27 March 2004

with Judy Davis and David Fisher as leaders.

Venezuela (Andes/llanos) bird list
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Day 1: The tour starts in London with a flight to Caracas. On arrival we'll transfer to a small coastal hotel in nearby Macuto for the night. We'll watch Brown Pelicans gliding over the breaking surf and Magnificent Frigatebirds soaring overhead, and just before dusk a few Vaux's Swifts will flutter by.

Day 2: We'll catch an early morning flight to Merida in the High Andes, and transfer to the hotel that will be our base for the next three nights. The valley behind the hotel is filled with lush vegetation and flowering Immortelles and we'll soon be out looking for Rufous-tailed and Steely-vented Hummingbirds, wintering North American warblers and brilliant Crimson-backed Tanagers. After lunch we'll drive to the base of the Pico Humboldt trail where we'll see a wide range of commoner Andean species including many more colourful tanagers. Night in Merida.

Day 3: We'll make a very early start so as to visit the La Azulita road on the western slope of the Andes. Here we'll walk down through pristine rain forest, enjoying a good selection of Andean birds, probably including Ruddy Pigeon, the endemic Rose-headed Parakeet, Wedge-billed Hummingbird, Crested Quetzal, Masked Trogon, Emerald Toucanet, Variegated Bristle-Tyrant, Black-capped Tanager, and Moustached Brush-Finch. Night in Merida.

Day 4: Today we'll walk the lower part of the Pico Humboldt trail which ascends to the high páramo zone far beyond the areas we'll explore today. The lower part of the trail winds up through beautiful rainforest where we'll search for Andean Guan, White-capped Parrot, Merida Sunangel, Collared Inca, Golden-headed Quetzal, Chestnut-crowned and Gray-naped Antpittas, Green-and-black Fruiteater, Mountain Wren, Chestnut-bellied Thrush, and Russet-crowned Warbler. Night in Merida.

Day 5: We'll spend the day in the treeless páramo zone, a high-altitude world of rocky slopes covered with strange and unfamiliar-looking plants. Among the relatively few species living here are páramo specialities such as Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Bearded Helmetcrest, Paramo Pipit, Bar-winged Cinclodes, Andean Tit-Spinetail, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, and the local Ochre-browed Thistletail and Merida Wren, both Venezuelan endemics. Night in Santo Domingo.

Day 6: We'll make a gradual descent of the Santo Domingo Valley stopping to look for Torrent Duck and White-capped Dipper in the fast flowing mountain streams. Side roads provide access to fine patches of subtropical forest and we'll spend time looking for birds such as Orange-throated Sunangel, Red-headed Barbet and Cliff Flycatcher, and hope to end the day watching displaying Andean Cocks-of-the-Rock at a lek. Night in Santo Domingo.

Day 7: We'll spend the morning at higher elevations near our hotel where we'll search for species that inhabit the vegetation just below the tree-line such as Pearled Treerunner, Azara's Spinetail, Blue-and-black Tanager, Lachrymose Mountain-Tanager, Blue-backed Conebill, and, with luck, the stunning Ocellated Tapaculo. Later we'll descend to Barinas where we'll spend the night.

Day 8: Most of the morning will be taken up driving east through the llanos to a private ranch, Hato El Cedral. Though it will be difficult to resist stopping to look at the increasingly large flocks of brilliantly coloured waterbirds in roadside pools along the way, fortunately all of these are even more numerous at the ranch. We'll reach there in time for an afternoon 'game drive' on open-sided trucks that give superb views of the abundant wildlife.

Day 9: We'll take a morning boat ride along channels that meander through dense aquatic vegetation teeming with birds, and rated by Judy and David as the best waterbird spectacle they have so far encountered anywhere in the world. All of the llanos's many herons, egrets, ibis and ducks will be present, as well as 'rarities' such as Pinnated Bittern, Orinoco Goose, Pied Lapwing, and Greater Ani. We'll pull into a side creek to look for Zigzag and Agami Herons, and Yellow-knobbed Curassow, and also keep our eyes peeled for American Pygmy and Green-and-rufous Kingfishers. We'll venture out again in mid-afternoon, and visit 'jacamar drive' where the bee-eater-like Rufous-tailed Jacamars nest, and will linger until dusk looking for Band-tailed Nighthawks over the nearby river, where Pink River Dolphins swim in the shallows. We'll then drive back in the dark, looking for Common Potoo, a variety of nightjars, Savanna Fox and, with luck, a Giant Anteater or Ocelot. Night at El Cedral.

Day 10: We'll spend another morning on the ranch looking for any species we missed the previous day. After lunch we'll drive east to San Fernando de Apure, where we'll spend the night.

Day 11: We'll leave early and enjoy a picnic breakfast along a side road just north of town where we'll look for Black-capped Donacobius and Orinocan Saltator. We'll then drive north through the llanos stopping to look for any species that might have eluded us up to this point, and especially for Bare-eyed Pigeon. On this drive a few years ago we saw 21 species of raptor! Further north we'll stop at a lake where several species, including Tricolored and Green Herons, reach the southern limit of their Venezuelan range. Night in Maracay.

Days 12-14: To the north of Maracay lies Henri Pittier National Park, the oldest national park in Venezuela and the one with the largest bird list - over 500 species having been recorded within its boundaries. Encompassing habitats ranging from the dry lowlands around Maracay, up through the tropical montane rainforests of the coastal range, and then down to the dry cactus scrub on the coast the park protects a wide range of flora and fauna including many of Venezuela's endemic birds and we'll seek these out during our days here.

On one day we'll visit Rancho Grande Biological Station, one of the sites where William Beebe studied migration during the first half of the last century. We'll spend our first few hours on the roof of the station watching the feeders that attract many species of multicoloured tanagers, flocks of oropendolas, and hummingbirds including Long-tailed Sylphs and Violet-fronted Brilliants. The roof is also a great place for raptor watching and regular sightings of Solitary Eagle, White Hawk,
and up to three species of hawk-eagle can be made. White-tipped Swifts nest in the building and zoom by low overhead, while all around the forest presses in bring mix-species flocks past at eye-level, and close encounters with such endemics as White-tipped Quetzal, Blood-eared Parakeet, and Handsome Fruiteater.

We'll walk the trails behind the biological station in search the more skulking species including Guttulated Foliage-gleaner, Stripe-breasted
Spinetail, Gray-throated Leaftosser, Plain-backed and Chestnut-crowned Antpittas, Short-tailed Antthrush, Nightingale Wren, and Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch. The calls of Red Howler Monkeys resound through the forest, and sometimes we encounter them on our walks.

On another day we'll start at the pass of the Choroni Road looking for Black-throated Spinetail and Rufous-cheeked Tanager, both endemic to this coastal mountain range, and then walk downhill through fabulous pristine rainforest with fantastic views down into the Caribbean lowlands visible from every corner. En route we'll enjoy a wide range of forest species perhaps including Band-tailed Guan, Bronzy Inca, Booted Racket-tail, Collared Trogon, Groove-billed Toucanet, Streaked
Tuftedcheek, and Golden-breasted Fruiteater, and if we are very lucky we might chance upon a Helmeted Curassow.

We'll visit a cocoa and coffee plantation in the lowlands, where on a quiet shady trail beside a stream we'll visit the lekking sites of Lance-tailed and Wire-tailed Manakins, and with luck, watch their bizarre antics as the males call, strut and shuffle trying to impress any passing female. The loud songs of two new wrens should greet us here - Rufous-breasted and Rufous-and-white - while Flavescent Warblers tick and hop through the undergrowth.

On our third day we'll drive down to the coast near El Playon, where we'll walk through cactus-dominated scrubland that is home to a surprising variety of birds. In particular we'll be looking for Buffy Hummingbird, Blue-tailed Emerald, Black-backed Antshrike, White-fringed Antwren, several small flycatchers, Glaucous Tanager, Black-striped Sparrow, and Gray Pileated-Finch. Later, from the nearby seacliffs we'll watch Magnificent Frigatebirds and Black Vultures soaring past us at eye-level, and see Brown Boobies roosting on rocky islands offshore. Nights in Maracay.

Day 15: After another full morning in the park, we'll drive to Macuto, where we'll have day rooms. After dinner we'll catch an overnight flight to London where the tour ends on day 16.

Cost £3120

Single Room Supplement £260

With Tepuis cost £4780

Single Room Supplement £460

With Amazon and Tepuis cost £6330

Single Room Supplement £570

All these prices refer to 2003.

Maximum group size: 16 participants and 2 leaders.

Venezuela (Andes/llanos) bird list
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