BIRDING EASTERN VENEZUELA AND HENRI PITTIER NATIONAL PARK 5-19
November 2005 A
Trip Report by Peter
Nash PeterDNash HealthWe all used the recommended anti-malarials and took the usual precautions regarding food and water. We all suffered diarrhea at times. Insects were a constant problem and various ants and
bees and wasps stung
all of us. Biting insects and ticks and chiggers were encountered on an
almost a daily basis. Repellents containing DEET worked to some extent but
any ticks and chiggers that took hold had to be dealt with at every
opportunity. Map referencesSome
of the places we visited are hard to locate on maps so I have copied some
details from MS Encarta. Rancho
Grande, 10deg 22min North, 67deg 41min West Araya
Peninsula, 10deg 37min N, 63deg 51min W El
Palmar, 08deg 02min N, 61deg 54min W Las
Claritas, 06deg 07min N, 61deg 23min W Pace Because
we wanted to maximize the potential of our stay we really
crammed in as much as possible. Pre-dawn starts and after dark return to
our hotels were the norm, and we had some long drives between sites. Weather We
had rain (rarely heavy or prolonged) every day except the 9th.
Temperatures in the lowlands were around 35C and just a little cooler
higher up. Itinerary5 November (Saturday)We
flew with Air France from Manchester and Heathrow via Paris and arrived in
Caracas-Maiquetia International Airport on time at 1530 local time. Jose
and our driver Carlos met us at the airport and transferred to the Best
Western Hotel Puerto Viejo near the airport in the town of Catia la Mar.
Stopping to bird at some coastal lagoons on the way there we saw White-cheeked
Pintail, Blue-winged Teal, American Flamingo, Scarlet Ibis and Roseate
Spoonbill, Black-crowned and Striated Heron, Black-necked Stilt, Black
Skimmer etc.At the harbor and on buoys next to the hotel we saw Brown
Pelican, Brown Booby, Magnificent Frigatebird, Laughing Gulls and
waders etc. 6 November (Sunday)An
early start for the 2.5 hours drive to Henri Pittier NP. This national
park is one of the most important in Venezuela as it protects a huge
100,000 ha section of the coastal mountain range and surrounding areas. We
headed straight for the Rancho Grande research station and birded the
trails. Rancho Grande was originally to be a holiday palace for one of
Venezuela’s dictators, but he was deposed and it was never finished. Now
it is a massive multi-level dilapidated concrete structure that has been
converted to research facilities. There are a couple of feeders and forest
trails, and the upper level functions as a canopy platform. Some of the
birds we saw included Red-eared Parakeet, Groove-billed Toucanet,
White-tipped Swift, Crested Spinetail, Gray-throated Leaftosser,
Short-tailed Antthrush, Chestnut-fronted Macaw, Lilac-tailed
Parrotlet, Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Rufous-lored Tyrannulet,
Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Smoke-coloured Pewee,
Golden-crowned Flycatcher, Slaty-capped Shrike-Vireo, Brown-capped Vireo,
Whiskered Wren, Scaly-breasted Wren, White-shouldered Tanager and
Russet-backed Oropendola. In the evening return to Maracay and
stay at Hotel Byblos. 7 November (Monday)Two
narrow, winding roads that can be excellent birding during weekdays when
the traffic is light traverse Henri Pittier NP. Birded the road to Choroní,
which passes through excellent mid-elevation forest up to about 1500m.
Some of the birds we saw included Band-tailed Guan and White-tipped
Quetzal near Rancho Grande, and Schwartz’s
Antthrush and Scallop-breasted Antpitta near the
radio masts along with Black-and-White Hawk-Eagle, Golden-breasted and
Handsome Fruiteater, Guttulated and Montane Foliage-Gleaner,
Montane Woodcreeper, Slaty Antwren, Pale-edged Flycatcher, Wing-barred
Piprites, Black-and-white and Chestnut-crowned Becard,
Golden-headed Manakin, Inca Jay, Whiskered Wren, Andean Solitaire,
Glossy-black, Black-hooded, Cocoa and Bare-eyed Thrush,
Black-and-White Warbler, Three-striped Warbler, Guira Tanager, Blue-winged
Mountain-Tanager, Thick-billed Euphonia, Burnished-buff and
Turquoise Tanager and Lesser Goldfinch. Also
birded the first section of the road to Ocumare. Return to Hotel Byblos
for the night. 8 November (Tuesday)The
road to Ocumare (the one that passes Rancho Grande) offers some drier
forest birding on the north side of the mountain. We saw Rufous-vented
Chachalaca, Black-backed Antshrike, Lance-tailed Manakin, Venezuelan
Flycatcher, Flavescent Warbler, as well as many other more common
birds. After lunch, we returned to the Hotel Puerto Viejo near Caracas for
the night. On the way we stopped at Pico Codazi near Colonia Tovar where
we saw Black-throated Spinetail, Caracas Tapaculo and
Plushcap. 9 November (Wednesday)After
a slightly delayed flight from Caracas to the coastal city of Carúpano
(arriving at around 1030), we had a few hours to bird the arid Araya
Peninsula. Our primary target was the endangered Yellow-shouldered
Parrot, but we also saw other interesting species like Buffy
Hummingbird, Glaucous Tanager, Vermilion Cardinal, and Two-banded
Puffbird. Some nearby lagoons held numerous waterbirds such as Scarlet
Ibis, Caribbean Flamingo, Reddish Egret, Tricoloured Heron and
lots of waders. In the afternoon we drove for a few hours to the town of
Caripe. We visited the Oilbird cave near dusk, where we
watched the amazing spectacle of thousands of Oilbirds
pouring out of the caves. Night in Hotel Pueblo Pequeño. 10 November (Thursday)Today
we hiked up Cerro Negro in search of some of the rare endemics of the
region. The trail first passes through overgrown coffee plantations before
finally entering lush cloudforest higher up. The coffee plantations are
good for White-tailed Sabrewing, Venezuelan Sylph, Venezuelan
Troupial and Bicolored Wren. Farther up the mountain the track
disappears and the going gets very rough. We found a Gray-headed
Warbler, White-throated Barbtail, Mountain Elenia, Helmeted Pygmy-Tyrant,
Yellow-olive Flatbill and Golden-sided Euphonia up
there. Heavy rain made the decent even more treacherous. In the afternoon
called in at the Oilbird cave again and then drove for a few hours
to the city of Maturin, a bustling oil-town. Night
in hotel Maturin International. 11 November (Friday)We
had hoped to visit Caño Colorado, but our 16 seat rear wheel drive
transport proved inadequate for the job. Heavy rain meant the track was
turned into a muddy quagmire passable only by 4 wheel drive. This was
disappointing and we missed some good birding here. We had to be content
with birding a couple of Kms down the track to Caño, close to a forested
area. We managed to find Slender-billed Kite, Plain-breasted
Ground-Dove, Blue and Yellow Macaw, Striped Cuckoo, Little Hermit,
Black-spotted Piculet and Lesser Seed-Finch here.
Later in the morning we started the long drive south.
A stop in the Llanos produced Azure Gallinule, Black-bellied and
Fulvous Whistling Duck,
Limpkin, Ruby-Topaz
Hummingbird, White-tailed Goldenthroat, Yellow-chinned Spinetail,
White-headed Marsh-Tyrant, Ringed and Amazon Kingfisher.
After crossing the Rio Orinoco at Puerto Ordaz we arrived at the very
basic Parador Taguapire at El Palmar. 12-13
November The
forests of Río Grande have become world famous over the past decade due
to “staked-out” Harpy Eagle nests. Some of the birds
here included, Pearl Kite, Double-toothed Kite, Crane Hawk, Savanna
Hawk, Black-collared Hawk, Roadside Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Yellow-headed
Caracara, Laughing Falcon, Bat Falcon, Crested Bobwhite, Southern Lapwing,
Painted Parakeet, Dusky Parrot, Great Potoo, Band-rumped Swift, Eastern
Long-tailed Hermit, Grey-breasted Sabrewing, Fork-tailed Woodnymph,
White-chinned Sapphire, White-tailed and Violaceous Trogon,
Paradise Jacamar, Black-spotted Barbet, Black-necked Aracari,
Channel-billed and White-throated Toucan, Crimson-crested
Woodpecker, Plain-crowned Spinetail, Great Antshrike, Northern-slaty
Antshrike, Dusky-throated Antshrike, McConnell’s Flycatcher, Greyish
Mourner, Rusty-margined, Piratic and Varigated Flycatcher,
Pink-throated Becard, Black-tailed Tityra, Purple-breasted Cotinga,
Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Cayenne Jay, Fulvous Shrike-Tanager, White-lored
Euphonia, Bay-headed Tanager, Grey Seedeater, Eastern Meadowlark,
Red-breasted Blackbird, Red and Yellow-rumped Casiques, and
Green Oropendola. Nights Parador Taguapire. 14 November (Monday)A
clear up visit to the forest provided Great Jacamar and
Spotted Antpitta amongst others. Later we drove south to Las
Claritas. For some reason our planned stay at the Barquilla de Fresa (which is said to have very good feeders)
was changed to a simple lodge called Campamento Anaconda right in the
middle of the town. We had been told that we could pay to visit the
feeders but in the event despite pleas from Jose we weren’t allowed in.
We missed some hoped for photo opportunities as a result. 15-16-17-18 NovemberSouth
of Las Claritas lies La Escalera, a long paved road gradually winding
through the forested slopes of the Sierra de Lema, one of the many tepuis
in the southern part of Venezuela. There are many species here found only
in these mountains and adjacent Guyana.The
Bellbirds were not calling but we had a lucky sighting of a Bearded
Bellbird perched high on an exposed branch.Not
far from our hotel a lowland forest trail heads towards the Guyanan
border. We spent part of Wednesday on this trail.The Capuchinbird
trail is just outside the town of Las Claritas and is now a well used gold
miners and loggers track. We only saw the birds at their lek along this
road.A couple of hours south of Las Claritas lies the Gran Sabana, a high
plateau covered with scrub and dry vegetation.Some of the birds seen
during our stay included, King Vulture, Grey-bellied and White Hawk,
Black Curassow, Marail Guan, Scaled Pigeon, Tepui Parrotlet, Blue-cheeked
Parrot, Roraiman Screech-Owl, Tepui Goldenthroat, Black-eared Fairy,
Crimson Topaz, White-necked Puffbird, Chestnut-tipped Toucanet,
Spot-breasted Woodpecker, McConnell’s Spinetail, Crested Spinetail,
White-throated Foliage-Gleaner, Buff-throated Woodcreeper, Todd’s
Antwren, Roraiman Antwren, White-browed Antbird, Tepui Antpitta, Ruddy
Tody-Flycatcher, Bright-rumped Atilla, Flutist Wren, GuianianCock-of-the-rock,
Black-faced Tanager, Blue-backed Tanager, Olive-backed Tanager, Paradise
Tanager, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater and Yellow-browed Sparrow.Nights
at Campamento Anaconda 19 November (Saturday)Drive
back to the city of Puerto Ordaz where we visited Cachamai Park.
Highlights here included, Cocoi Heron, Black-collared Swallow and
Red-capped Cardinal. We then flew back to Caracas and
connected with our 1830 flight to Manchester. PricesUS$3690
per person (approx £1910)
each. Air
France, UK to Caracas £510 Price
included
Flight Caracas-Carupano Flight Puerto Ordaz-Caracas Park
fees
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