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EASTERN VENEZUELA
Birdquest's Eastern Venezuela birding tour is a classic amongst South American birdwatching trips. Our Eastern Venezuela tour achieves the most comprehensive coverage of the region available and records an extraordinary variety of specialities.
Saturday 23rd February -
Saturday 9th March 2013
(15 days)
Junglaven Post-Tour Extension to Saturday 16th March (7 days)
Leader:
to be confirmed
Group Size Limit: 9
Tour Category: Easy for the most part, occasionally Moderate and two optional fairly Demanding walks
Harpy Eagle, without question, one of the world's most impressive species! The Eastern Venezuela tour perhaps offers the best chance of seeing this species as an active nest is usually staked-out (Pete Morris)
For the birdwatcher interested in the Neotropical region, Venezuela is a classic destination. The traditional birding circuit in the northwest of the country remains as wonderful as ever, but as Venezuela’s avifauna runs to nearly 1400 species, many of which cannot be seen in the most frequently visited parts of the country (i.e. Henri Pittier National Park, the Llanos and the Andes), this alternative itinerary concentrates on finding the many specialties of the eastern half of Venezuela. Our tour is the most comprehensive coverage of eastern Venezuela available and produces more of the region’s many specialities than any other.
The ultimate prize here is the famed but rare Harpy Eagle, but the region also features curassows, trumpeters and macaws – a heart-warming fact since these exciting birds have been extirpated in many other parts of South America. Their continuing presence is a sure indicator of untouched jungle, where as yet the only activities of man are prospecting for oil, gold and diamonds.
The special magic of eastern Venezuela, known locally as the ‘Oriente’, lies in its immense stretches of primeval rainforest. The Spaniards first landed here in 1499 on the Paria Peninsula, which boasts the oldest European settlement in South America (founded in 1520). Alexander von Humboldt, the famous German naturalist, travelled extensively throughout the Oriente at the onset of the 19th century and collected data here for his universal reference work on plant and animal life, depicting the strange Oilbird in the process.
The region’s most spectacular morphological feature are the Tepuis, huge and towering rocky outcrops that stick out of the jungle and are topped by extensive plateaus inhabited by a superb selection of endemic birds and plants. Conan Doyle used this locale as the background for his story ‘The Lost World’, which had explorers discovering dinosaurs on top of these enormous, table-topped mountains.
We start our journey with a visit to northeastern Venezuela’s coastal range, where we will explore the cloud forests of the Paria Peninsula in search of some of the least known Venezuelan endemics and near-endemics, including the unusual Scissor-tailed Hummingbird (the sole member of its genus), the flashy White-tailed Sabrewing, the lovely Paria Whitestart and the unobtrusive White-throated Barbtail .
From here we carry on southwards to Caripe in order to experience the incomparable performance of thousands of cave-dwelling Oilbirds and to search for the rare Grey-headed Warbler. We will also investigate some interesting forests near the oil city of Maturín where Little Hermit, Crimson-hooded Manakin and Jet Antbird can be found.
Next we proceed deep into the interior once more to the great rainforests of Rio Grande, situated in the lower reaches of the Sierra de Imataca, where we can add further exciting species to our growing list of rainforest birds, including, with just a modicum of good fortune, the huge Harpy Eagle! Other highlights here should include Dusky Parrot, Waved Woodpecker and Ferruginous-backed Antbird.
Finally, we will continue southeastwards into the remote Tepui region, where huge sandstone massifs that are home to an amazing set of endemic birds rise steeply above the surrounding forest and mighty waterfalls plunge from the table-like summits into green abysses far below. The higher slopes of these isolated mountains hold numerous specialities, including a series of regional endemics, including such splendid birds as White and Bearded Bellbirds, Rose-coloured Piha, Red-banded Fruiteater and Scarlet-horned Manakin, while in the adjacent lowlands we will look for the exquisite Crimson Topaz, the out-of-this-world Capuchinbird, the fabulous Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock and the attractive Cayenne Jay. After such a mix of breathtaking landscapes and fascinating birds it will indeed be hard to return once more to ‘civilization’.
During the optional extension we will take a spectacular flight by charter aircraft to a small lodge deep in the interior of the almost inaccessible southern state of Amazonas. Here the fabled Junglaven lodge allows easy access to savanna, shrubby woodland, terra firme and varzea forests and tranquil oxbow lakes where much sought-after birds like Agami Heron, Black Curassow, Crestless Curassow and Grey-winged Trumpeter can still be observed. Here in a region which has many affinities with Amazonia we will get to know the many marvels of these undisturbed, partly sandy-belt forests at the upper reaches of the Orinoco.
Birdquest has operated tours to Venezuela since 1988.
(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)
Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels are mostly of normal Birdquest standard, although hot water is not always available in some of the simpler establishments. At Las Claritas the lodge is very pleasant but has shared bathroom facilities. At Junglaven the lodge is rather simple but all rooms have private bathrooms. Water supplies at both are ‘tropical temperature’. Road transport is by small coach and roads are variable in quality.
Walking: The walking effort is mostly easy, but there are a few harder walks including one optional rather strenuous walk in the Paria Peninsula and another on Cerro Negro.
Climate: Warm or hot, with periods of sunny weather alternating with overcast spells. There will be some rain and it will be rather humid.
Bird Photography: Opportunities are worthwhile.
Linkable Birdquest: Western Venezuela
Tour Price: (provisional): $5220 Caracas/Caracas. Post-Tour Extension: $2840. Price includes all transportation (including all flights inside Venezuela), all accommodations, all meals, bottled water, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.
Single Room Supplement: (provisional): $567. Post-Tour Extension: $284.
Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).
International Airfares: Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.
For the bird family collectors, the fantastic forests of Junglaven offer an excellent chance to see a trumpeter, as small groups of Grey-winged Trumpeters are often see on the track (Pete Morris)
If we get some clear weather on the Gran Sabana, we should get to see some of the amazing Tepuis (Mark Van Beirs)
132 photos
View Gallery Photos From EASTERN VENEZUELA
The fantastic Crimson Topaz is one of a whole array of excellent hummingbirds possible on this tour (Pete Morris)
A fine selection of manakins occur including the localized Crimson-hooded Manakin (Pete Morris)
This tour offers one of the best chances of seeing the seldom-seen Black-faced Hawk (Pete Morris)
It's an excellent trip for contingids. On the fantastic Escalera, we should see the amazing White Bellbird (Pete Morris)
... the colourful Red-banded Fruiteater (Pete Morris)
... and the mind-blowing Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock (Pete Morris)
In addition, a huge number of more widespread forest species are possible such as Yellow-billed Jacamar (Pete Morris)
... and the impressive Great Jacamar (Mark Van Beirs)
Birdquest LLC, 3721 Executive Center Drive, Suite 268, Austin, TX 78731
Ph: 512-343-1700, Fax: 512-343-1701
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