EL PAUJIL RESERVE & LIST 
COLOMBIA

near Puerto Pinzon, BOYACA (Compass)

Lat:00o00´S/00o00´W ha topography msl 
Protected/registered status 
Best Time for visit (24th-27th August, 2006)

 

Birding Site Guide

El Paujil is an excellent and very large ProAves reserve. It is fairly easily accessed by public transport. First you need to get to Puerto Boyaca. Buses several buses leave the terminal in Bogota. I took an Autoboy bus leaving at 6am although you don't need to leave this early. It took 6 hours and cost s24,000. From Puerto Boyaca, a bus leaves the plaza at 3pm for Puerto Pinzon. This takes about 2 hours and costs s10,000. A communal taxi leaves at the same time and is quicker, costing 12,000. Once you get to Pinzon, it is only about 40 minutes walk to the reserve but maybe getting dark so taking a vehicle could be better. With previous planning, someone from the reserve will come down to meet you and take you to the reserve. 

The reserve has ample accomodation in dormitories which have electricity and cold showers. Accomodation and food should be arranged at the ProAves office in Bogota. I was accompanied most of the time by the guardaparques Montero and Montero (Bertulfo), who are brothers and know the reserve well. Montero, the older brother especially knows good sites for the Blue-knobbed Curassow and White-mantled Barbet. 

A good area for birding is a grid of trails marked with letters and distances for studying spider monkeys. This is about 20-30 minutes walk from the house. A student saw the Curassows about 200m along H transect. To get to the grid, you need to turn left (coming from the house) off the track to the entrance, then turn right into the forest. On the first part of this trail were some good trees for hummingbirds including White-necked Jacobin, Black-throated Mango. I also heard the barbets in this area. On the other side of the track further towards the entrance is another trail that loops down towards the river Where I saw spider and capuchin monkeys and Barred Puffbird. 
Another good area is accessed by turning the same way left of the track and straight on instead of turning right into the forest. This comes to a gate where you turn left onto another gravel track. Follow this up the hill to a spot good for the barbets (ask Montero 1). Here you enter the forest and climb up steeply and along a ridge where Great Tinamou was common and I also had White-fronted Nunbird and Golden-headed Manakin higher up. 

Other good areas are accessed by crossing the river (when the water is low) or taking a boat upstream (when the water is high). Accross the river, walk towards Montero's house. Before this, take a very steep trail upwards into good forest where the Curassow has been seen. The final spot I visited is accessed by boat (or walking an hour) to a place called El Socio. From here you can walk up the right side of the valley through excellent forest. Along here I saw Double-toothed Kite, Yellow-browed Shrike Vireo and Sooty Ant-Tanager. At the beginning of this trail, you can instead take a trail crossing the river several times (Buff-rumped Warbler) and climbing up to an abandoned house called Peña Lisa. Near here I saw Blue-chested Hummingbird, White-bearded Manakin and Paraque. From the house, there is another trail into forest where curassows have been seen. I saw a group of 5 Saffron-headed Parrots feeding on a tree with red berries.


I saw 120 species including 19 lifers 
Species seen 

  • Great Tinamou Tinamus major
  • Little Tinamou Crypturellus soui
  • Great Egret Ardea alba Seen near Puerto Pinzon
  • Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis Seen near Puerto Pinzon
  • Bare-faced Ibis Phimosus infuscatus
  • Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
  • Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
  • Double-toothed Kite Harpagus bidentatus
  • Roadside Hawk Buteo magnirostris
  • Black Hawk-Eagle Spizaetus tyrannus
  • Yellow-headed Caracara Milvago chimachima
  • Laughing Falcon Herpetotheres cachinnans
  • American Kestrel Falco sparverius Seen near Puerto Pinzon
  • Speckled (Colombian) Chachalaca Ortalis guttata colombiana
  • Marbled Wood-Quail Odontophorus gujanensis
  • White-throated Crake Laterallus albigularis Heard only
  • Gray-necked Wood-Rail Aramides cajanea Heard only
  • Wattled Jacana Jacana jacana Seen near Puerto Pinzon
  • Southern Lapwing Vanellus chilensis
  • Rock Pigeon Columba livia Introduced species
  • Pale-vented Pigeon Patagioenas cayennensis Heard only
  • Ruddy Pigeon Patagioenas subvinacea Heard only
  • Ruddy Ground-Dove Columbina talpacoti
  • White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
  • Gray-fronted Dove Leptotila rufaxilla
  • Ruddy Quail-Dove Geotrygon montana
  • Chestnut-fronted Macaw Ara severa Heard only
  • Spectacled Parrotlet Forpus conspicillatus Seen near Puerto Pinzon
  • Orange-chinned Parakeet Brotogeris jugularis
  • Saffron-headed Parrot Pionopsitta pyrilia Vulnerable
  • Blue-headed Parrot Pionus menstruus
  • Orange-winged Parrot Amazona amazonica
  • Squirrel Cuckoo Piaya cayana Heard only
  • Greater Ani Crotophaga major
  • Smooth-billed Ani Crotophaga ani Seen near Puerto Pinzon
  • Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis
  • White-collared Swift Streptoprocne zonaris
  • Band-rumped Swift Chaetura spinicaudus Possibly seen
  • Rufous-breasted Hermit Glaucis hirsuta
  • Band-tailed Barbthroat Threnetes ruckeri Possibly seen
  • Eastern Long-tailed Hermit Phaethornis superciliosus Possibly seen
  • Stripe-throated Hermit Phaethornis striigularis
  • White-necked Jacobin Florisuga mellivora
  • Black-throated Mango Anthracothorax nigricollis
  • Blue-tailed Emerald Chlorostilbon mellisugus Possibly seen
  • Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Amazilia tzacatl
  • Blue-chested Hummingbird Polyerata amabilis
  • Violaceous Trogon Trogon violaceus
  • Black-tailed Trogon Trogon melanurus
  • Ringed Kingfisher Ceryle torquatus Seen near Puerto Pinzon
  • Rufous Motmot Baryphthengus martii
  • Broad-billed Motmot Electron platyrhynchum Heard only
  • Barred Puffbird Nystalus radiatus
  • White-fronted Nunbird Monasa morphoeus
  • White-mantled Barbet Capito hypoleucus Endemic Endangered Heard only
  • Collared Aracari Pteroglossus torquatus
  • Spot-breasted Woodpecker Colaptes punctigula
  • Cinnamon Woodpecker Celeus loricatus
  • Wedge-billed Woodcreeper Glyphorynchus spirurus
  • Straight-billed Woodcreeper Dendroplex picus Possibly seen
  • Streak-headed Woodcreeper Lepidocolaptes souleyetii
  • Great Antshrike Taraba major Heard only
  • Barred Antshrike Thamnophilus doliatus
  • Western Slaty-Antshrike Thamnophilus atrinucha
  • Checker-throated Antwren Myrmotherula fulviventris
  • White-fringed Antwren Formicivora grisea
  • Chestnut-backed Antbird Myrmeciza exsul
  • White-bellied Antpitta Grallaria hypoleuca Heard only
  • Purple-throated Fruitcrow Querula purpurata
  • White-bearded Manakin Manacus manacus
  • Blue-crowned Manakin Lepidothrix coronata
  • Golden-headed Manakin Pipra erythrocephala
  • Ochre-bellied Flycatcher Mionectes oleagineus
  • Sepia-capped Flycatcher Leptopogon amaurocephalus
  • Southern Bentbill Oncostoma olivaceum Possibly seen
  • Common Tody-Flycatcher Todirostrum cinereum
  • Olivaceous Flatbill Rhynchocyclus olivaceus
  • Yellow-olive Flycatcher Tolmomyias sulphurescens
  • Bright-rumped Attila Attila spadiceus Heard only
  • Rufous Mourner Rhytipterna holerythra Heard only
  • Panama Flycatcher Myiarchus panamensis Possibly seen
  • Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
  • Boat-billed Flycatcher Megarynchus pitangua
  • Rusty-margined Flycatcher Myiozetetes cayanensis
  • Social Flycatcher Myiozetetes similis
  • Streaked Flycatcher Myiodynastes maculatus
  • Piratic Flycatcher Legatus leucophaius
  • Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
  • Cinnamon Becard Pachyramphus cinnamomeus
  • Cinereous Becard Pachyramphus rufus Possibly seen
  • Masked Tityra Tityra semifasciata
  • Gray-breasted Martin Progne chalybea
  • Southern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx ruficollis
  • Black-bellied Wren Thryothorus fasciatoventris Possibly heard
  • White-breasted Wood-Wren Henicorhina leucosticta
  • Scaly-breasted Wren Microcerculus marginatus
  • Pale-vented Thrush Turdus obsoletus
  • Black-chested Jay Cyanocorax affinis
  • Lesser Greenlet Hylophilus decurtatus
  • Yellow-browed Shrike-Vireo Vireolanius eximius
  • Buff-rumped Warbler Basileuterus fulvicauda
  • Bananaquit Coereba flaveola
  • Yellow-backed Tanager Hemithraupis flavicollis
  • White-shouldered Tanager Tachyphonus luctuosus
  • Sooty Ant-Tanager Habia gutturalis Endemic Near-threatened
  • Crimson-backed Tanager Ramphocelus dimidiatus
  • Blue-gray Tanager Thraupis episcopus
  • Palm Tanager Thraupis palmarum
  • Thick-billed Euphonia Euphonia laniirostris
  • Green Honeycreeper Chlorophanes spiza
  • Swallow-Tanager Tersina viridis
  • Ruddy-breasted Seedeater Sporophila minuta
  • Thick-billed Seed-Finch Oryzoborus funereus
  • Black-striped Sparrow Arremonops conirostris
  • Buff-throated Saltator Saltator maximus
  • Yellow-hooded Blackbird Chrysomus icterocephalus Seen near Puerto Pinzon
  • Orange-crowned Oriole Icterus auricapillus
  • Chestnut-headed Oropendola Psarocolius wagleri
  • Citron-throated Toucan Ramphastos citreolaemus
  • Chestnut-mandibled Toucan Ramphastos swainsonii


Other Fauna 
A total of -- species of mammals. 

There are -- recorded species of amphibians and reptiles. 

Flora 

Author: Charles Hesse

 

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