Chasing birds in Colombia

• Published date: 18 April 2023
• Publication title: Ensign, The

It’s July 2022. ‘‘Why don’t we have Christmas with the family in Colorado?’’ I say

‘‘I think we should go to Colombia,’’ Hamish says.

Rapidly I sort through elusive memories — what do I actually know about Colombia? I know it’s spelled with an O, not a U. I know it’s in South America. I know it has (or had) drug lords and civil war and danger.

Surely I know more about it than that? On deeper reflection, I remember that it is between Panama and Ecuador, so it must be near the equator. Therefore it’s hot. And it must have mountains because it lies on the line of the great Cordillera ranges of mountains that run from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska.

Why does he want to go there, particularly, I ask.

Colombia has the most species of birds of any country, he replies.

We book our tickets and our birdwatching tour. The itinerary arrives with names of total unfamiliarity: Manizales, Cali, Buga. We pay for it all, somehow, and his lordship (Hamish) orders the Colombian bird book. It must weigh a kilo!

Every day I go to eBird and choose a bird picture from the Colombia list, then email it to his lordship for identification. We call it ‘‘Colombirdle’’.

The whole time we are prepping for our adventure, I have no pictures in my head. Colombia is a total blank to me. But I practise my Spanish on Duolingo, and fret about packing light on a trip that includes snowy Colorado and tropical Colombia.

I ask a friend to pick and freeze my plums, which will fall while we are gone. I learn to say: ‘‘this black skirt costs too much’’. We go out to buy jungle trousers — light coloured, lightweight, can be tucked into socks if it is buggy. His lordship makes notes in the 2kg bird book.

November passes slowly. December speeds up, and our suitcase choices keep changing. We seem to need a lot of first aid items. We pack cool clothes; we pack warm clothes. We pack binoculars and cameras. I can now say: ‘‘the green trees are swaying in the wind’’.

I pack the 3kg bird book. No, he says, the bird book must go into the carry-on backpack.

‘‘So I can study on the plane,’’ he says. ‘‘Just in case the luggage goes missing,’’ he says.

We weigh the suitcases. Much worrying and rearranging takes place, but in the end we get on the plane and leave New Zealand.

After tree-decorating and presents, laughter and fun, puzzles and games, cooking and eating, we hug and say goodbye to family because we’re off to Colombia! Watch out birds, here we come.

Bogota, it turns out, is high. 2600m high! People get sick...