A Day Birding Atuncela

Colombia's hidden dry forest gem · Where to stay: Yotoco Lodge, Western Andes Birding Basecamp

☀️🐦🌵

Introduction

Most birders who visit the Western Andes come expecting cloud forest and humid jungle. What they do not expect — and what invariably becomes one of the highlights of their trip — is Atuncela.

Tucked into the municipality of Dagua just 40 minutes from Yotoco Lodge, Atuncela occupies a completely different ecological world from every other site along the Cali–Buenaventura corridor. While Km 18 is draped in cloud and Río Bravo drips with Pacific humidity, Atuncela is sun-drenched, warm, and dominated by a sub-xerophytic dry forest at around 900 metres above sea level — shaped by a localized rain shadow that creates an arid landscape found nowhere else in Valle del Cauca.

The contrast is startling. And the birds that thrive in it are equally unexpected — species adapted to heat, thorny scrub, and endemic cacti, including some of the most visually spectacular hummingbirds in all of Colombia.

A Reserve of Global Significance

Atuncela is not just ecologically unusual — it carries formal recognition at the highest level. The reserve is designated as an Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) site: one of only 899 locations worldwide identified as holding the last remaining populations of Endangered or Critically Endangered species. That status alone makes every visit here an act of genuine conservation significance.

Julio Delgado (tour leader) with Anyelo (Local guide)

The protected area covers more than 5,700 acres in Dagua municipality, with habitats ranging from dry shrubland at lower elevations up through humid tropical forest as the terrain climbs. This altitudinal gradient within a single reserve creates a remarkable overlap of species — and means that a morning spent at Atuncela can surprise you with birds from multiple ecological communities.

More than 130 bird species have been recorded here, including at least three Endangered species. The combination of global rarity and sheer visual drama — that stark, sun-drenched landscape studded with cacti and cut through by dry ravines — makes Atuncela genuinely unforgettable.

The Local Guide — Anyelo and His Verbena Garden

Every great birding site has a great local guide behind it. At Atuncela, that person is Anyelo — and working with him has transformed how I experience this reserve.

Anyelo knows the trails of Atuncela the way most people know their own neighbourhood. He understands the seasonal movements of the birds, the timing of the flocks, and the precise locations where specific species can be found at different hours of the day. In a reserve covering thousands of acres, that kind of knowledge is not just useful — it is the difference between a productive morning and an empty one.

But the most remarkable thing Anyelo has created at Atuncela is entirely his own: a small private reserve built around a deliberate planting of verbenas — the flowering plants that the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird finds irresistible. The result is the best site in Colombia to photograph this species. I have been to many hummingbird stations across the country. None of them offer what Anyelo's verbena garden offers: the Ruby-topaz in natural vegetation, in good light, with clean backgrounds and regular, prolonged visits.

Key Species at Atuncela

Atuncela's dry forest speciality list is distinct from anything else accessible from Yotoco Lodge. These are the birds that define the site:

Ruby-topaz Hummingbird

One of the most desired hummingbirds in all of Colombia — and one of the most visually extraordinary. The male's deep ruby crown and golden-orange body are unlike any other hummingbird in the country. Anyelo's verbena garden is the best place in the region to see and photograph this species well, in natural setting, with reliable visits throughout the morning.

Blue-headed Sapphire

Another hummingbird highlight of Atuncela — the Blue-headed Sapphire is a dry forest specialist that appears alongside the Ruby-topaz in the scrub and flowering trees of the reserve. The combination of two spectacular hummingbird species in a single morning session here is something genuinely hard to find elsewhere on the Cali birding circuit.

Apical Flycatcher

A Colombian endemic with a restricted range — Atuncela is one of the most reliable sites to see it. The species favours the dry scrub and cactus-studded edges of the reserve, and once you know its call, you will find it appearing regularly throughout the morning.

Ultramarine Grosbeak

A stunning dry forest species and one of the most satisfying finds at Atuncela. The deep blue of the male is extraordinary in good morning light — but the bird is not always easy to locate. Which makes the unexpected encounters all the more memorable.

Bar-crested Antshrike

One of the characteristic species of dry and sub-xerophytic scrub in this elevation range. Vocal and responsive, it is usually one of the first birds located at Atuncela — and a good indicator that you are in the right habitat.

Striped Cuckoo & Pale-breasted Spinetail

Both thrive in the open scrubby habitat that defines much of Atuncela's lower elevations. The Striped Cuckoo in particular has a ventriloquial call that seems to come from everywhere at once — tracking it down to a visual is always satisfying.

Golden-rumped Euphonia & Cocoa Woodcreeper

The Euphonia frequents fruiting trees at the forest edge, flashing yellow and green in the dappled light. The Cocoa Woodcreeper is an excellent representative of the dry forest woodcreeper community — well adapted to the drier conditions here and a species not found at the cloud forest sites higher up the road.

In the Field — The Ultramarine Grosbeak's Bath

Sometimes the best moments in birding are the ones nobody planned.

How I Structure an Atuncela Day from Yotoco Lodge

Morning — make the most of the cool hours

Atuncela's defining characteristic as a birding destination is also its main practical constraint: the heat. By mid-morning, temperatures in the dry forest can become genuinely intense — and bird activity drops sharply as the day warms. The golden rule at Atuncela is to arrive early and work hard in the first three hours.

From Yotoco Lodge, the drive to Atuncela takes approximately 40 minutes, which means leaving the lodge around 5:30–6:00 a.m. to be on site at first light. With Anyelo leading the way, we work the verbena garden first for the Ruby-topaz and Blue-headed Sapphire, then move through the dry scrub trails targeting the antshrike, flycatcher, grosbeak, and cuckoo before the heat shuts activity down.

Afternoon — back to Yotoco Lodge

By late morning — typically around 11:00 a.m. — the Atuncela dry forest becomes uncomfortable and birdactivity is greatly reduced. This is when I like to return to Yotoco Lodge, where the lodge's own feeders and garden provide an excellent afternoon session in dramatically cooler, shadier conditions.

The contrast between a hot, sun-drenched morning in the dry forest and a cool, shady afternoon at Yotoco's hummingbird and tanager feeders is one of those combinations that makes a multi-day stay at the lodge feel genuinely varied and well-paced. Two completely different ecosystems, two completely different palettes of species — on the same day.

Photography Tips for Atuncela

•         Ruby-topaz Hummingbird at the verbena garden: Early morning light is your best friend here — the bird's metallic plumage responds brilliantly to direct sun at low angles. Shoot with the light behind you and position yourself so the flowers are in the background. 1/2000 s minimum for flight shots; in full sun you can push higher and keep ISO clean.

•         Blue-headed Sapphire: More likely to perch briefly than the Ruby-topaz. When it does, the direct sunlight brings out the electric blue of the head in a way that is hard to replicate in shade. Have your focal length ready — it moves fast.

•         Ultramarine Grosbeak and other dry forest species: The open scrub habitat actually works in your favour photographically — backgrounds are cleaner than in dense forest, and the light is abundant. The challenge is heat shimmer by mid-morning, which is another reason to work early.

•         General tip — heat and gear: Carry more water than you think you need. Dry forest birding in Colombia's Pacific foothills at 900m is genuinely hot. Protecting your gear from direct sun when not in use extends battery life significantly.

Planning Your Atuncela Visit — Stay at Yotoco Lodge

Atuncela is one of those sites that rewards birders who arrive prepared, rested, and guided. A rushed visit from Cali city — without local knowledge, without Anyelo, and without a comfortable base to return to — will not give you what this reserve is capable of.

Staying at Yotoco Lodge — the best birding lodge near Cali, Colombia, and the Western Andes birding basecamp at Km 26 — puts you 40 minutes from Atuncela with everything organized: early departure, coordination with Anyelo, and a comfortable afternoon return to the lodge for the feeder session and a cold drink.

Atuncela features in our Colombia birding holiday packages as a dedicated morning excursion, typically paired with an afternoon at the lodge feeders. For birders on extended 15-day Valle del Cauca tours, it can be revisited during a second loop — often yielding species missed on the first visit as seasons shift.

Final Thoughts

Atuncela is the wild card of the Cali–Buenaventura birding corridor — the site that nobody expects and everyone remembers. The combination of its global conservation status, its unique dry forest habitat, Anyelo's extraordinary verbena garden, and the sheer visual impact of birds like the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird and Ultramarine Grosbeak makes it a non-negotiable stop on any serious Valle del Cauca birding itinerary.

Come early, move slowly through the scrub with Anyelo, and do not be surprised if the bird that stops you in your tracks is one you did not put on your target list.

That is what Atuncela does best.

Good birds and good light! 🐦☀️🌵

— Yotoco Lodge · yotocolodge.com