Before leaving Colombia we had one free day in the Capital Bogota. There were a few birds we could see in this part of the country plus we had a chance of finding the bear species that Children’s favourite Paddington is based on – the Spectacled (or Andean) Bear. We had to go for it.
We enlisted the help of local guide Fredy Alexander of Observatorio Aves De Los Andes (WhatsApp +57 311 2521451, Instagram). Fredy guides in the region around Guasca, north east of the city. The day started wet but gradually improved.
Whilst not great conditions for photos in the rain we added several new birds including Bronze-Tailed Thornbill, White-Chinned Thistletail, Silvery-Throated Spinetail, Streak-Throated Bush-Tyrant and Black-Backed Grossbeak.
But for a while we stopped our “birding mode” and were looking for the bear. And we were delighted when after about half an hour Fredy signalled energetically that he had found one. Not only that but we were able to get excellent, close and sustained views of this 20+ year old male Spectacled Bear. Thank you Fredy!
The weather started to brighten, an Eastern Meadowlark offered an early photo opportunity followed by Mountain Cacique and a pair of Streak-Throated Bush-Tyrants which appeared to be nesting under a bridge over a river.
Moving down the mountain to a lower altitude Fredy took us to a place with a feeder setup he was developing. Here we were delighted to add the Muisca Antpitta (regional endemic), Brown-Breasted Parakeet (vulnerable endemic) and Longuemare’s Sunangel to our life-list.
So big thanks to Fredy for helping us track down “Paddington” and leave our time birding in Colombia on a high with 18 lifers in the day. Our total for Colombia was 356 species of which I managed to photograph 172. Our trip total to date upon leaving Colombia was 898. Next up we head to Ecuador with my notional target of 1,000 birds looking very close indeed.
WildScot Photography 
Fabulous that you saw a spectacled bear, plus all the others beauties. Your stats are looking great!!
LikeLike