Colombia reportedly has an astonishing 1,876 bird species within its borders, making it, along with Brazil, Costa Rica and Ecuador, one of the best places worldwide to indulge in birdwatching. With the troubles of the violent years hopefully consigned to the past, Colombia is becoming a hot ticket in birders’ circles for unexplored routes and new experiences.
Quite honestly, Colombia had fallen off the tourist trail in the past few decades due to the soaring levels of violence and various international governments advised strongly against travel there. Few people dared invest in or research the tourism opportunities making accurate and up to date information was scarce. Today, fortunately all of this is changing, making access to formerly out of bounds areas possible.
Maps of Colombia
Usually you will be able to find reasonable maps abroad in specialist shops, but if you find yourself in Colombia, you can head to the Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi (IGAC). The IGAC is a public institution that is responsible for producing all of the official maps to Colombia. While your guidebook is an indispensable source of knowledge, for more in depth information you are better off looking elsewhere.
Bird Agencies in Colombia
There are many tour agencies and foundations that have been set up to protect the environment and promote sustainable tourism in Colombia, here are a few:
- Fundacion Proaves: In partnership with local communities the Fundacion Proaves aims to protect wild birds and their habitats and offers placements in National Parks.
- Birding Colombia: UK-based birding travel agency specializing in various South American countries including Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
- Colombia Birding: Not to be confused with the aforementioned agency, this is Colombian-owned and run with pages of good information and ideas.
- Colombia.travel: The official Colombian Government tourism portal with some interesting articles and reports on birdwatching in this country.
Birdwatching Books for Colombia
A Guide to the Birds of Colombia: Stephen Hilty's sizable tome of bird species found in Colombia is still the best available book on the market. This can be picked up at most bookstores and of course online.
Field Guide to the Songbirds of South America: Robert S. Ridgely and Guy Tudor do an admirable job with this book that deals with all of South America. Of course this deals only with songbrids, one can also find specialist books that address Non Passerines, Lnd Birds and other such varieties.
Locations to Explore for Birdwatching in Colombia
And if all of the above information isn't enough to whet your appetite to book your flight to the shoulder of the South American continent, then take a look at the regions of Colombia that offer birding opportunities!
Central, Eastern and Western Andes
The Choco region in the Pacific
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
The Magdalena River Valley
The Llanos
The Amazon
Richard McColl - I am a freelance writer from deepest darkest London but for the past 10 years or so I have been maintaining my extended "writing break" in ...
