Upon arrival in Barranquilla, after clearing customs and collecting your luggage, you'll be met and taken to your hotel. This is an arrival day and no meals are included. Check-in starts at 3 pm.
After an early breakfast and program orientation, head to the area known as KM 4 to begin the day's birding in the mangrove habitat of Salamanca National Park. The wetlands of this area provide habitat for numerous species of shorebirds. Target species will include Bicolored Conebill, Pied and Russet-throated Puffbirds, Stripe-backed Wren, Caribbean (Pale-legged) Hornero, Turquoise-winged Parrotlet, Glossy, White, and Green Ibises, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Large-billed Tern, Sapphire-bellied and Sapphire-throated Hummingbirds, and more. Have lunch at a local restaurant before driving four to five hours to Riohacha. Check in at the Taroa Lifestyle Hotel, the first "Wayúu Lifestyle Hotel" in Colombia; the hotel is staffed by Indigenous Wayúu people, and every space in the hotel is inspired by Wayúu culture, which is represented in their weaving, ceramics, vegetation, and gastronomy.
Today, visit Los Flamencos Sanctuary and focus on the wetlands and shorebirds. Los Flamencos Sanctuary is an important coastal wetland and dry forest reserve created to protect a large population of the American Flamingo. This 17,000-acre reserve of marshes, lagoons, and dry forest also provides habitat for 185 other bird species, 80% of which are migrants. Spend some time birding the dry scrubland for specialties such as the Tocuyo Sparrow, Vermilion Cardinal, Chestnut Piculet, White-whiskered Spinetail, Pearl Kite, Aplomado Falcon, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Burrowing Owl, Green-rumped Parrotlet, Brown-throated and Blue-crowned Parakeets, Red-billed Emerald, and Buffy Hummingbird, among others. Afterward, visit the village of Camarones, where we will learn about the Wayúu Indigenous people. We will have a chance to meet with our local guide's family, visit their home and learn about their arts and crafts, especially the handmade, colorful bags known as mochilas. Have lunch at a local restaurant at Camarones Beach then search for some key species like the Vermilion Cardinal, Tocuyo Sparrow, Orinocan Saltator, Blue-crowned Parakeet, Buffy Hummingbird, Chestnut Piculet, Bare-eyed Pigeon, White-whiskered Spinetail, Glaucous Tanager, Pileated Finch, and Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant.
After breakfast at the hotel, check out and travel to Santa Marta with birding en route. La Guajira Peninsula is among the country's most arid regions, and as a result, low-growth shrubs and spiny trees dominate the landscape; these sub-xerophytic conditions help maintain the unique diversity of species. The dry forests in La Guajira are distributed in territories belonging to the Wayúu, who grant access to their lands for bird-based tourism. The trails are basically sandy walkways in between shrubs and stocky forests, swamps and some creeks, which are dry much of the year. Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant en route to Santa Marta. Check in at the beachfront hotel and spend time at the beach or birding in the surrounding area. (Elevation: Sea level / Accessibility: Rural, unpaved road / Temperatures: 82-97 °F.)
Depart early for Minca, with birding along the way in the humid tropical forest around the town of Minca. Minca sits in the low-elevation foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where a dry forest ecosystem predominates across the ridges. Above the village, the premontane forest mixes with coffee crops to create habitat for many local and migratory bird species, including the Golden-winged Sparrow and Black-backed Antshrike, which tend to be difficult to find in other regions of the country. We'll have lunch in Minca while watching hundreds of hummingbirds at the nearby feeders. After lunch, check-in to the hotel and spend the afternoon birding around the area. Elevation: 2,300-3,600 feet / Accessibility: Easy, rural unpaved road / Temperatures: 75-86 °F. Lowlands of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta-Elevation: 2,620-7,550 feet / Temperatures: 59-77 °F.)
After breakfast, board several 4x4s and journey higher into the mountains to the beautiful El Dorado Lodge, the ProAves Foundation's Aflagship lodge. Situated in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, this area is home to a vast array of species. Spend today exploring the San Lorenzo Ridge. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the highest coastal mountain range in the world, is home to an incredible 20 endemic species, which account for 27 percent of the endemics in the entire country. Search for as many of these species as you can find along the altitudinal gradient of the San Lorenzo Ridge. Some of the species that you may hope to find in the Santa Marta Mountains include the Santa Marta Parakeet, Santa Marta Screech Owl, White tailed Starfrontlet, Santa Marta Woodstar, Rusty headed Spinetail, Santa Marta Antpitta, Brown rumped Tapaculo, Santa Marta Bush Tyrant, Yellow crowned Redstart, White lored Warbler, Santa Marta Warbler, Santa Marta (Black cheeked) Mountain Tanager, Black backed Thornbill, Sierra Nevada Brushfinch, Hermit Wood Wren, Black fronted Wood Quail, White tipped Quetzal, White rumped Hawk, Band tailed Guan, Sickle winged Guan, Band tailed Pigeon, Scarlet fronted Parakeet, Red billed Parrot, Masked Trogon, Golden olive Woodpecker, Yellow billed (Groove billed) Toucanet, Emerald Toucanet, Montane Foliage gleaner, Spotted Barbtail, Streaked Xenops, Gray throated Leaftosser, Strong billed Woodcreeper, Rusty breasted Antpitta, Rufous Antpitta, Mountain Elaenia, Black capped Tyrannulet, Venezuelan and White throated Tyrannulets, Olive striped Flycatcher, Black throated Tody Tyrant, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Yellow bellied Chat Tyrant, Golden breasted Fruiteater, Orange billed and Slaty backed Nightingale Thrushes, Great Thrush, Black hooded Thrush, Slate throated Redstart, White sided Flowerpiercer, Blue naped Chlorophonia, and many others.
Spend today birding in the El Dorado Natural Reserve, located on the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, inside a matrix of cloud forests. The reserve sits in a transitional zone between lower mountain forests and higher cloud forests, creating a confluence of species from both areas. It is the perfect place for hiking and searching for endemic species over the mountains or to simply sit and enjoy the birds that visit the feeders overlooking the Caribbean Sea on the foothills of the range. The reserve is known for its incredible feeders for hummingbirds (some of which are endemic), tanagers, guans, and wood quails. Targets today include the Santa Marta Foliage gleaner, Santa Marta Antbird, Hermit Wood Wren, Coppery Emerald, Black Hawk Eagle, Military Macaw, Red billed Parrot, Lined Quail Dove, Brown Violetear, Steely vented Hummingbird, Keel billed Toucan, Lineated and Crimson crested Woodpeckers, Greenish and Forest Elaenias, Ochre bellied Flycatcher, Social and Piratic Flycatchers, Cinnamon and White winged Becards, Rufous breasted and Rufous and white Wrens, Black chested Jay, Brown capped Vireo, Rusty Flowerpiercer, Streaked and Olive gray Saltators, Yellow bellied Seedeater, Crested Oropendola, Thick billed Euphonia, and more. During the northern winter months, these foothills harbor a good number of North American breeding migrants, including Swainson's Thrush, Yellow throated Vireo, Tennessee, Golden winged, Cerulean, Blackburnian, and Black throated Green Warblers, Rose breasted Grosbeak, and Summer Tanager. (Elevation: 5,900 feet / Accessibility: Easy to medium; rural, unpaved road; hiking trails along the reserve / Temperatures: 60 75 °F.)
Spend a final morning birding around El Dorado Reserve before starting the descent toward Santa Marta, with birding en route. We'll use the 4x4 Jeeps until we reach Minca, where we'll have lunch and then continue in our bus to Barranquilla, with more birding en route.
This morning, check out and head to the airport in Barranquilla for early afternoon flights back to the U.S. Check-out is at 1 pm.