Tour D: Andes / Los Llanos / Henri Pittier
Bird watching 14 days (Venezuela West, Coast)
Day 1: Arrival at the internacional airport in Caracas. Transfer to hotel close to the airport. Night Hotel Santiago
Day 2: In the morning transfer
back to airport. Flight from Caracas to Merida City. Our
bird guide will pick you up and give you a detailed briefing.
Then we drive to La Azulita and start to bird. There we will bird
around La Carbonera cloud forest and coffee plantations.
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Highlights:
Crested Quetzal, Masked Trogon, Plush capped Finch, Military Macaw,
Bronze Winged Parrot, Rose Headed Parakeet, Black Mandibled Toucan,
Collared Aracari, Emerald Toucanet and different hummingbirds,
flycatchers and tanagers.
Übernachtung in einer traumhaft gelegenen Posada in La Azulita
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Day 3: In the morning we will bird
around La Azulita again. When the bird activity gets quiet, we will
drive to Tabay and bird in the afternoon in the subtropical cloud
forest beyond La Mucuy. We will stay in the beautiful Posada Casa Vieja.
Day 4: Full day at La Mucuy, Sierra
Nevada National Park. Some of the birds are: tanagers, endemic
hummingbirds and with some luck endemic antpittas and endemic
tapaculos. Overnight in Posada Casa Vieja.
Day 5:
We drive to the Páramo, which is between 3000 and 4300 meters/
14000 feet, and start to bird down the outside wall of the Andes.
Highlights: Andean Condor, Black-Chested
Buzzard-Eagle, Ochre-browed Thistletail (endemic), Bearded Helmetcrest
(endemic), Paramo Wren (endemic) and the Sword-Billed Hummingbird.
In the afternoon we go down to the Santo Domingo Valley to La Soledad,
San Isidro, and Los Frailes. We will stay in the Posada Caceres in
Altamira.
Highlights: Cock of the Rock, Red-ruffed
Fruitcrow, Crested Quetzal, Masked Trogon, Sword-Billed Hummingbird und
verschiedene sunangels und fruiteaters.
Day 6: After breakfast we will bird
in the Altamira area, looking for the Wire-tailed Manakin,
White-bearded Manakin, Golden-headed Manakin, White crowned Manakin, as
well as many tanagers and hummingbirds. Here are plenty of trails
where to observe. Around 11 am there are soaring birds of pray. With
luck we might see a Black and chestnut Eagle, Crested Eagle or Black Hawk Eagle.
We will stay in the Posada Casa Vieja in Altamira.
Day 7:
This day we will observe the birds at Altamira the direction to
Calderas and La Soledad road again. There will be different species to
fill our lists. We are flexible this day and can also go to the
different areas you enjoyed most like the Cock of the Rock or the
Manakin LEKs. This day is important like there are so many species to
see in the area of Altamira, Soledad, San Isidro, Rio Baragan,
Calderas, etc... We will stay in the Posada Casa Vieja in Altamira.
Day 8: In the morning we will drive
to our ranch in los Llanos. Here it is possible to see up to 150 bird
species in one day. Los Llanos is also the best area in Venezuela to
see wildlife like Orinoco crocodile, spectacled caiman, giant anteater,
different turtels, capybaras, monkeys, etc. We stay at the biological
station from WWF at Hato El Cedral.
Highlights: Orinocan Saltator, Ruby Topaz and
Copper-rumped Hummingbird, Orange-crowned Oriole, Russet-throated
Puffbird, Pale-headed Jacamar, Yellow-knobbed Curassow, Scarlet Macaw,
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White-fringed
Antwren, Barred- and Black-Crested Antshrike, as well as all kinds of
storks, ibis, herons, hawks, kites, falcons, caracaras, vultures etc.
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Day 9: Fullday
birding in the Hato. In the morning we do a boat excursion on the
Caño Cuaritíco. Besides the shorebirds we will see
dolphins in the river . In the afternoon we will concentrate on birds,
or, if you would prefer, the animals that we haven't seen yet.
Overnight Hato el Cedral
Highlights: the Hoatzin and, with luck, the Ornate Hawk-Eagle. Jabiru stork, roseate spoonbill, owls sowie parrots und macaws.
Day 10: In the morning we will have
one hour to bird in El Cedral and then after breakfast we will drive ca
8 hours to Maracay. In the late afternoon we will arrive at
Posada Limon where we will stay the night.
Day 11: After an early breakfast we
drive 10 minutes and we are in the national park Henri Pittier. The
park was created 1937 and named after the Swiss botanist Henri Pittier.
The size of the park is 220.000 ha and there are different ecosystems
with up to 2000m high mountains to the Caribbean coast in the north.
There are different zones from semi dry woods to evergreen rain forest
and cloud forest without driving a big distance. First we will
observe birds in the subtropical cloud forest and then all the way
downhill to the coast. We drive the way to Ocumare and at an altitude
of 50m we will drive west the way to Cumboto and bird around the cacao
plantation. Night at Posada Limón.
Highlights: White tipped Quetzal, Collared
trogon, Helmeted Curassow, Venezuelan Wood-Quail, Red eared Parakeet,
Solitary Eagle, White necked Puffbird, Black banded Woodcreeper,
Guttulated Foliage Gleaner, Short tailed Antthrush, Plain backed
antpitta, Tanagers, Hummingbirds, etc.
Day 12:
Today we drive the other road in the park direction to Choroni. At the
highest point of the road at 1600m we will observe birds. Lots of times
while birding we spotted Sloths there. From here we drive all the way
down and bird on the way to Choroni in diffrent ecosystems.
Day 13: In the early morning we will
bird in the xerofitic vegetation around the village. Then we go to the
evergreen rain forest and bamboo areas to look for other species.
At this day you also have the possibility to bird in the garden around
the posada or to visit the beaches of choroni. Of cause you tell our
guide if you want to keep birding. Overnight Posada Choroni
Highlights: Lance tailed Manakin and Wire tailed Manakin.
Day 14: Our last day and travel back
Europe. The morning will be at your disposition. At 10 am transfer to
the airport in Caracas an you will have your international flight
connection.
If you want after that excursion a visit to the Canaima national park
and Angel Fall or to the Caribbean islands of Los Roques have a look at
our website.
Rates on request
Extra day in Los Llanos:
Extra day in Mérida:
Included: Bilingual bird guide, Transportation with new vehiculos,
Lodging in beautyfull guesthouses and lodges , nationalpark entrance,
cooling box, breakfast and lunch is incuided in the excursion. Dinners
are only at Hato el Cedral incluided. National Flights.
Not included: Tips, Airport Tax
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