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Inirida - Colombian Amazonia

Guainía  >  Colombia

The Colombian government declared this area as the Ramsar site Estrella Fluvial de Inírida – the River Star of Inírida, the first Ramsar site in the Amazon.

Added* by Dragan Simic
Most recent update 21 April 2023

Description

Inírida is the capital city of the department of Guainía in the east of Colombia, mere 25 km (15 mi) from the border with Venezuela.

The local birdlist has reached more than 460 species, and some 30 more are expected. There is even the still Unnamed Antshrike (either related to Chestnut-backed Antshrike , or, given the morphological differences, a new species: Inirida Antshrike). Also, Inírida is the only accessible place where the extremely range-restricted Orinoco Softtail may be found.

The most intriguing aspect of local birding is the mixture of the more widespread birds of Amazonian origins and those more localised bird species of Guianan origins. The second group is often confined to the white sandy soil habitats characteristically drained by blackwater rivers and includes Little Nighthawk, Blackish Nightjar , Green-tailed Goldenthroat , Orinoco Piculet , Green-tailed Jacamar , Brown Jacamar , Bronzy Jacamar , Orinoco Softtail , Blackish-gray Antshrike , Pearly Antshrike , Cherrie’s Antwren, Imeri Warbling-Antbird , Yapacana Antbird , Rufous-crowned Elaenia , Capuchinbird (the only place to find it in the whole of Colombia), Purple-breasted Cotinga (scarce), Pompadour Cotinga , Yellow-crowned Manakin , Saffron-crested Tyrant-Manakin , Black Manakin , Azure-naped Jay (scarce), Brown-headed Greenlet , Red-shouldered Tanager , Rose-breasted Chat , Yellow-green Grosbeak , White-naped Seedeater and Plumbeous Euphonia .

Photos (2) by Juan Carlos and the Hoatzin by Tyler Ficker.

Details

Access

The local César Gaviria Trujillo Airport is serviced by Aerolinea SATENA, which has three flights a week to and from Bogotá (the flight lasts about an hour and a half). Several agencies offer tours of the area. I travelled with the Manakin Nature Tours and I strongly reccomend them.

Terrain and Habitat

Forest , Wetland , Plain , Grassland , Scattered trees and bushes , River

Conditions

Flat , Wet , Slippery , High water possible

Circular trail

No

Is a telescope useful?

Can be useful

Good birding season

All year round

Best time to visit

Winter

Route

Unpaved road , Wide path , Narrow trail

Difficulty walking trail

Average walk

Accessible by

Boat , Car , Foot

Birdwatching hide / platform

No

Extra info

Inirida has a unimodal rainfall system, with the highest precipitation during May-July and the lowest during the December-February period. The drier months of late November to mid-March are considered the best season. Your man to look for is the local guide Daniel Camilo.

Links

View other birding spots in the area that are published on Birdingplaces

Map

Top 5 birds

Capuchinbird
1. Capuchinbird
(Perissocephalus tricolor)
Orinoco Softtail
2. Orinoco Softtail
(Thripophaga cherriei)
Orinoco Piculet
3. Orinoco Piculet
(Picumnus pumilus)
Yellow-crowned Manakin
4. Yellow-crowned Manakin
(Heterocercus flavivertex)
Amazonian Umbrellabird
5. Amazonian Umbrellabird
(Cephalopterus ornatus)

Other birds you can see here

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