Volcán Chiles

Introduction

Volcan Chiles is an Extinct volcano on the Colombia/Ecuador border. It is part of the Nudos de Los Pastos chain of Volcanoes that stretch north through Nariño and rises to 4700 m.a.s.l. It is rarely seen due to cloud cover, except occasionally in the very early morning.

Getting there

It is not easy to get to this area and there is currently no accommodation. The best bet is to hire a jeep in either Pasto, Ipiales or probably better in Túquerres. Pass through the village of Chiles, the road then climbs for several kilometres until you reach a low pass at about 4000 m.a.s.l. From here you should start your birding.

Birds to look for

Once you reach the pass you should start looking for Andean Condor. This is one of few places you can find the magnificent birds in Colombia and there are several pairs in this area. Unfortunately they spend a lot of the time on the Ecuadorian side of the volcano. Also look for Speckled Teal, Red-rumped Bush-tyrant, Many-striped Canastero, Black-chested Buzzard-eagle, Black-tailed Trainbearer, Carunculated Caracara and Tawny Antpitta. As you start dropping down on to the Pacific Slope you will see small areas of Polylepis woodland. It is worth stopping at some of the larger tracts. In these areas look for Crowned Chat-tyrant, Purple-backed Thornbill, Spectacled Whitestart, Red-crested Cotinga, Buff-breasted and Scarlet-bellied Mountain-tanager, Pearled Treerunner, Blue-backed Conebill and Stripe-headed Brush-finch. Where the road borders open páramo it is worth looking for Cinereous Conebill, Páramo Pipit, Stout-billed and Bar-winged Cinclodes, Shining Sunbeam, Viridian Metaltail, Páramo Seedeater, Plumbeous Sierra-finch and Andean Siskin. In 1991 Ecuadorian Hillstar was discovered in Colombia in this area. However, in order to see it you must climb through the páramo to higher altitudes (above 3500 m.a.s.l.) and look for Chiquiragua insignis, the plant on which is almost exclusively feeds.

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