Considered the national bird of Peru, the Andean Cock-Of-The-Rock is a gorgeous bird found only in a few areas of the cloud forests in northern South America.
While this bird is known throughout Peru, perhaps the easiest place to spot these birds is in a small town in Colombia. The town of Jardin is one of the most charming towns I’ve ever been to, and while there are a few things to do, many naturalists visit solely to see the black and red Cock-Of-The-Rock. I also paired this trip with a trek into the cloud forest to search for antpittas which was an amazing experience.
Jardin is a popular weekend getaway for people from Medellin, and that is exactly what we planned to do. While Medellin itself has some great birding spots, I was itching to spot an Andean Cock-Of-The-Rock so that meant heading to Jardin.
Getting From Medellin To Jardin
Getting from Medellin to Jardin was extremely easy. We just made our way to the south bus station and got a ticket for the five-ish hour journey. The road is not the best, but the views are beautiful so it was overall a very pleasant trip.
Why Is Jardin The Best Place To See The Andean Cock-Of-The-Rock?
The often difficult to see Andean Cock-Of-The-Rock bird loves to stay by rivers in the lower parts of the cloud forest. So Jardin, a town at the base of the Andes cloud forest, with a river running through it, is a perfect spot.
However there is something even more – a natural park specifically preserved to attract these loud and colorful birds. Parque Natural Jardin de Rocas is located on the south side of Jardin and is the best place to spot these birds.
The park is about $2.50 to enter and is open from around 3:00 to 5:30pm. There are special built walkways that stick out into the trees, as well as a few other platforms in which to observe the Andean Cock-Of-The-Rock.
One thing I do have to mention is that it is dark. Being under tree cover means that you really have to open your camera aperture as much as possible to get as much light in as possible.
Photographing The Andean Cock-Of-The-Rock
Like with most bird photography you will probably be using a telephoto lens, and unless you have a very expensive prime lens, your f-stop is probably going to be around 4.5-6.3. It will go even higher if you are using a teleconverter.
This raw image was taken with a Sony A7II. The lens was a Sony 100-400 G-Master along with a Sony 1.4x teleconverter.
As you can see, the image is extremely dark even with the ISO cranked to 6400. Talk about grain. In full sunlight settings like these are fine for big game, but does not really work for birds under tree cover.
However there are a few places where sunlight does creep through, and if you are lucky a bird will perch in an optimal position.
I admit I did not have the best photography gear when I went to Jardin to look for the Andean Cock-Of-The-Rock. In fact, this was the quest that inspired me to purchase a Sony A1 for my trip to the Amazon about two weeks later.
Address
Parque Natural Jardín de Rocas, a 7-320, Cl. 9, 7-184, Jardín, Antioquia, Colombia
Animal Spotting Review
Birds
Andean Cock-Of-The-Rock
Pingback: Searching For Antpittas In Colombia - Animal Quests