Piculet Birding & Photo Tours

15/08/2026

14/08/2026

Dear friends from Yotoco Lodge!

Six years ago, during one of the most difficult moments for Colombia’s birding community, you were there for us.

In 2020, 392 people who contributed through Vaki to , helping us turn solidarity from birders and friends around the world into real support for our community.

We have never forgotten it.
We are reaching out today for one reason: Birders Together is back.

Following the recent earthquake in Colombia, we began receiving reports of birders, guides, families, lodges, reserves, and birding places that have been affected.
We are fine in Yotoco Lodge and fortunately we don't need any help this time, but there is people in the birding industry that really need help.

Once again, Colombian birding companies and organizations have come together. We are identifying and verifying affected cases and raising funds to support the people and and places within the birding community with the greatest needs.

If you would like to stand with Colombia’s birding community once again, you can contribute here:

SUPPORT

https://vaki.co/en/vaki/birders-together

Every contribution matters. And if donating is not possible right now, sharing the campaign with other birders and friends of Colombia can also make a meaningful difference.

Important: When contributing, Vaki may automatically suggest an additional 15% contribution to support its platform. This amount does not go to and is optional. You can change or remove it before completing your contribution.

Thank you again for what you did in 2020 - and for having been part of this community ever since.

Once again, we come together.

Thank you for being part of this community. 💚🐦🇨🇴



An initiative by Birds Colombia, together with Colombian birding tour operators and organizations.

12/08/2026

Una vez más los pajareros se unen cuando mas se necesita!

¿Conoces a alguien de nuestra comunidad pajarera que necesite ayuda?

Desde estamos identificando pajareros, guías, familias, reservas, lodges y lugares vinculados al aviturismo que hayan resultado afectados y necesiten apoyo.

Si conoces algún caso, o tú mismo has sido afectado, ayúdanos a identificarlo y repórtalo en el formulario:

Reportar una afectación – Birders Together
https://forms.gle/yiGxUz8cErLLP11V9
La información nos permitirá conocer y verificar los casos, dimensionar las necesidades y orientar las acciones de ayuda.

Una vez más, nos unimos. 💚🐦🇨🇴

Gracias por ser parte de esta comunidad.

07/08/2026

El fin de semana pasado nos visitaron Nicky y Mauro de Birdscolombia, tomaron fotos muy cheveres y se charló muy sabroso!! Pasamos bueno!!!

06/08/2026

What a great visit! These past few days we hosted Daniel Uribe and his client from Spain here at Yotoco Lodge — great company, great conversations, and even better birds.
Today Daniel kindly let me join them, with Turisteando Atuncela (Anyelo) the local guide, at , where we enjoyed gems like Ruby-topaz Hummingbird, Dwarf Cuckoo, Ultramarine Grosbeak, Western Emerald, Pearled Kite, Hook-billed Kite and Apical Flycatcher, among many others.
Thank you, Daniel! You're always welcome back. 🇨🇴🦜

26/07/2026

Most of the time it just looks like a green hummingbird. Then it turns its head.
That's the thing about the Purple-bibbed Whitetip (Urosticte benjamini). The body is iridescent green, there's a neat white spot behind the eye, and both the male and female have those distinctive white-tipped central tail feathers (Earth Life) — elegant, but understated. Nothing that screams for your attention from across the garden.
Then the light hits that throat.
The male has a glossy violet patch on the lower throat, and below it, a clean white band that cuts across the chest (Earth Life) like a little formal collar. In the right angle, that purple goes almost electric. In the wrong angle, it disappears completely. It's the kind of plumage that rewards patience — and birders who slow down.
This species rarely forages in the open, which makes it even harder to find (Avibase) — it prefers to work the flowers deep in the forest understory, nesting along steep ravines using moss and ferns, (ResearchGate) living a fairly private life for a hummingbird. It's sedentary in Colombia, so when you find it, it's a resident — not a visitor passing through. (Animalia)
Its range is tight: the Pacific slope of western Colombia south into Ecuador — Chocó Endemism Bird Area territory, (ResearchGate) one of the most biodiverse and threatened ecosystems on the planet. Finding this bird means you're standing somewhere that matters.
Doña Dora is one of those places — a quiet, mossy, completely underrated stop you can reach from Yotoco Lodge, where this species turns up reliably if you know where to look. The kind of spot that doesn't make the big lists but delivers the moments you actually remember. 🌿
Want to know how to get there?
👉 yotocolodge.com
🔗 www.yotocolodge.com

23/07/2026

Three colors. One tiny bird. No way to look away.
The Ruby-topaz Hummingbird (Chrysolampis mosquitus) is one of those species where the field guide description — "ruby red crown, golden throat, orange tail" — reads almost like an exaggeration. Then you see one hovering in the sun and realize the field guide was actually underselling it.
The male has a shining ruby-red crown and nape, a throat and breast that shifts between iridescent gold and emerald depending on the angle, and an orange tail (Birda) — all packed into a bird that weighs somewhere between 2.5 and 5 grams. (Birda) Less than a teaspoon of sugar. Somehow carrying all of that color.
Here's the thing that makes finding it even more rewarding: this species is a seasonal migrant in the Cauca Valley — it arrives around May and disappears again by September. (ResearchGate) There's a window. Miss it and you wait another year.
Males are fiercely territorial, and you'll often hear them before you see them — high-pitched chips and whistles as they patrol their feeding zones (Birds of Colombia) and chase off anything that comes too close. For a bird that small, the attitude is impressive.
We pick this species up around Atuncela, one of the foothill stops you can reach from Yotoco Lodge — a location that sits right in the heart of the Cauca Valley, which puts you perfectly positioned for this bird during the right season.
If your timing lines up, don't second-guess it. This one is worth the trip on its own. ☀️🍊❤️
Want to know when to come?
👉 yotocolodge.com
📍 Atuncela · Valle del Cauca, Colombia
🔗 www.yotocolodge.com

22/07/2026

There are tanagers. And then there's this.
The Scarlet-and-white Tanager (Chrysothlypis salmoni) is one of those birds where you see it for the first time and immediately understand why people travel across the world to bird in Colombia.
The male is intense scarlet overall — head, back, wings — with contrasting white flanks, and just a narrow strip of scarlet connecting the hood down through the belly. (Birds of the World) It sounds almost too much on paper. In the forest canopy with the right light hitting it, it's somehow even more than that.
And here's the thing — this is a scarce bird. Its entire world is the wet lowland and foothill rainforest of western Colombia and a sliver of northwestern Ecuador. Nowhere else on Earth. (eBird) You're not bumping into this one by accident on a general trip. You come here, to this forest, specifically for birds like this.
They move fast through the mid-canopy, usually in small groups or mixed flocks, and getting them in good light is its own challenge (Multicolorbirdingcolombia) — which honestly makes the moment you finally nail it even better. Sometimes you'll find them with other tanagers in the genus Tangara, (BirdWeather) which means when you hit the right fruiting tree at the right time, the whole thing can turn into something close to chaos. The good kind. 🎨
San Cipriano — one of the best-preserved Chocó lowland forest fragments in Valle del Cauca — is where we find this species. It's a place we take our guests as part of the birding experience based from Yotoco Lodge, and every single time, this bird earns its reputation.
Some lists get ticked quietly. This one gets celebrated. 🥂
Want to plan a visit?
👉 yotocolodge.com
📍 San Cipriano · Valle del Cauca, Colombia
🔗 www.yotocolodge.com

06/07/2026