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Recent bird sightings:
Sites - Rio Claro

Site evaluation: 4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Species:  
Elevation: 600-1000 m
Climate: Hot and humid
Trails: good, roadside
Accommodation: 4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Food: 4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Hot water: Yes
Electricity: Yes
Communications: cell phone
Region: Magdalena valley
Location: Dept. of Antioquia
Summary: Rio Claro is a beautiful reserve protecting Magdalena Valley humid foothill forest. The birding is good, and the scenery is excellent --- the Rio Claro is a rushing river in a steep-sided canyon made predominately of marble. This is the best place in Colombia to see the strange and interesting Oilbirds.
Endemics: White-mantled Barbet, Beautiful Woodpecker, Antioquia Bristle-Tyrant, Sooty Ant-Tanager
Key Species: Barred Puffbird, Grey-cheeked Nunlet, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Oilbird, Black Antshrike, Pacific Antwren, Dull-mantled Antbird, Southern Bentbill, Brownish Twistwing, Western Striped Manakin
Access: The reserve entrance is located along the Bogota-Medellin highway 3 hours from Medellin, very near to the down of Dorodal.
Site Description: This beautiful site protects humid foothill forest. It attracts plenty of tourists for river rafting and caving -- you may want to avoid this site on a weekend, as peace and quiet are best for finding birds. The main birding areas are along the forested entrance road (approximately 3 km) and a beautiful trail that travels up the canyon. The canyon and river are beautiful, with plentiful marble and interesting caves and geological formations.

A bonus at this site are two oilbird caves. The oilbird cave at Rio Claro is very difficult to access, but the birds can easily be seen (and heard!) at twilight when they emerge from their cave, a 15 minute walk from the lodging. A second option is the nearby Cueva de los Condores, which contains oilbirds, not condors. There are also good humid forest birds around Cueva de los Condores, which is accessed along the highway close to Rio Claro (ask reserve staff for directions).

The top targets are the humid forest Magdalena endemics: White-mantled Barbet, Sooty Ant-Tanager, and Beautiful Woodpecker, although the Woodpecker can be tough to find. This is also the best site for the rare endemic Antioquia Bristle-Tyrant. Listen for this flycatcher high in the treetops.

There is a nice variety of hawks, hummingbirds, toucans, trogons, motmots, antbirds and tanagers at this site, although there is not enough forest protected to harbor populations of the critically endangered Blue-billed Currassow.
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