Thursday’s meeting will feature a presentation by Dianne and Bob Leonhardt on Birding in Colombia.

Birds & Beers resumes on January 8th at the usual time and location – the Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW, starting at 5 pm. This is an informal social get-together, so come any time after 5:00 and have dinner or a drink, and a chat with your fellow birders. Everyone is welcome!

You can arrive any time up to 7 pm, when there will be a presentation by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt about the first half of a birding tour of Colombia they attended in January 2025.

Birding In Colombia- The First Ten Days Bob and Dianne Leonhardt   

In January of 2025, Gavin McKinnon of Meadowlark Birding Tours led a group of Calgarians on a tour of Colombia to view some of the over 1900 species of birds found in that country.  Prior to the beginning of the actual Birding Tour, John and Lorrie Anderson and ourselves traveled to the historic city of Cartagena.  The city was founded by the Spaniards in 1533 and served as the main port for the shipments of gold pillaged from South America and sent to Spain.  Today it is one of the most touristic locations in Colombia with an active nightlife.  We also located a wonderful birding location outside the city known as Agricola Camelias.  By the time the Birding tour was to begin we had already counted well over 100 species.

After four days in Cartagena, we flew to Cali, in the Western Andes, where we were met at the airport and transported to Araucana Lodge, about 29 kilometers northwest of the city.  This beautiful and modern lodge served as our home for the next six nights.  From here we did day trips to a variety of environments with a diverse assortment of colorful birds.  Several of the locations had feeding stations which provided extraordinary opportunities for viewing and photographing the birds.

The first part of the Birding Tour came to a close as we drove to Manizales in the Central Andes.  During these first ten days we viewed about 250 species.  By the end of the entire tour, which finished up in the Santa Marta area of Northern Colombia, we had counted about 560 species of birds.  A number of the photographs shown in our presentation were provided by our traveling companions, John and Lorrie Anderson.

The next Birds & Beers will be on Thursday, February 12th.

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