Birding Laguna de Sonso from Yotoco Lodge | Birdwatching Cauca Valley, Colombia

Posted by Julio Delgado — Founder, Yotoco Lodge & Piculet Birding | Western Andes Birding Basecamp, Km 26, Cali–Buenaventura Road, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Quick Facts

Yotoco Lodge sits at 1,800 metres in the Western Andes cloud forest, surrounded by tanagers, toucans, and the mist-laden silence of the Pacific slope. It is one of the finest birding basecamp positions in Colombia. But the Western Andes are only part of the story.

One of the most valuable excursions available from the lodge takes you in the opposite direction — down from the mountains and out across the flat, sun-baked floor of the Cauca Valley, to one of Colombia’s most important  wetland birding destinations: the Laguna de Sonso.

In a single morning, you trade cloud forest for open water, hummingbirds for herons, and the cool mountain air for the heat shimmer of a tropical oxbow lake. The contrast is total — and so is the species list. For birders visiting Colombia on a birdwatching tour near Cali, Sonso is not optional. It is essential.

The Dinosaur with Wings — My First Horned Screamer

Nothing prepares you for your first Horned Screamer.

I had heard the call before I saw it — a deep, resonant blast that carries across the water with extraordinary force, the kind of sound that stops a conversation mid-sentence and makes every birder in the group look up at once. It doesn’t sound like a bird. It sounds like something much older.

When I finally spotted it, perched at the top of a tree at the edge of the lagoon, I understood why. The Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta) is genuinely prehistoric in appearance: a large, heavy-bodied bird with a bizarre cartilaginous horn projecting forward from its forehead, sharp bony spurs on each wing, and a slow, deliberate flight that looks like it was designed for a different era of Earth’s history. It is, as I always tell my clients, a dinosaur that forgot to go extinct.

When it saw me, it did what Horned Screamers at Sonso always do — it began to fly away, unhurried, its heavy wingbeats carrying it across the water at a pace that suggested it had never needed to rush for anything in its evolutionary life.

That moment taught me the most important lesson about birding Laguna de Sonso: patience and distance are your greatest tools here. Unlike the feeders at Yotoco Lodge, where birds come to you, Sonso rewards the birder who learns to read the landscape from a distance — scanning open water with a telescope, reading the treeline carefully, approaching the water’s edge slowly and with the vegetation to your back.

The Horned Screamer is now a bird I look forward to showing every client who visits. Not just because of how it looks, but because of the expression on their faces when that call first hits them across the water. Every time, without exception.

What Is Laguna de Sonso?

The Laguna de Sonso — also known as Laguna del Chircal — is an ancient oxbow lake formed by a meander of the Cauca River, located near the heritage city of Guadalajara de Buga in Valle del Cauca. It covers approximately 14 square kilometres across the municipalities of Buga, Yotoco, and Guacarí, and is the largest remaining wetland in the Cauca Valley.

The reserve protects 2,045 hectares of wetland and tropical dry forest — a combination that makes it biologically exceptional. The open water and marshes hold the waterbirds; the dry forest edges and gallery vegetation hold the endemics and the forest specialists. The two habitat types stack on top of each other in a way that makes every birding morning here feel like two hotspots in one.

More than 390 species have been recorded at Sonso. For a birdwatching hotspot near Cali, Colombia, that figure is extraordinary — particularly when you consider that most of those species are wetland and dry valley specialists that simply cannot be found in the cloud forest around Yotoco Lodge. Sonso doesn’t overlap with the lodge’s bird list. It extends it.

Key Species to Look For

A morning at Sonso on a good day yields 70 to 90 species. These are the birds that define the experience:

The Headliner

Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta) — The iconic bird of Sonso. Prehistoric, haunting, and spectacular. Best approached from a distance with a telescope. Its call will find you before you find it.

Colombian Endemics — Dry Valley Specialists

Apical Flycatcher (Myiarchus apicalis) — Colombian endemic; also found at Yotoco Lodge feeders, but here it occupies the dry forest scrub. A must-see for any Colombia birding checklist.

Grayish Piculet (Picumnus granadensis) — Colombian endemic woodpecker; tiny, active, and easily overlooked but reliably found in the dry forest edges.

Spectacled Parrotlet (Forpus conspicillatus) — Near-endemic; fast-moving flocks that announce themselves with sharp, metallic calls.

Endemic Grayish Piculet

Waterbirds & Wetland Specialists

Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) — Elegant, buoyant flight over the open water; one of the most graceful raptors of the Cauca Valley wetlands.

Buff-necked Ibis (Theristicus caudatus) — Unmistakable in open pasture and wetland edges; loud, gregarious.

Bare-faced Ibis (Phimosus infuscatus) — Often seen alongside Buff-necked Ibis in the flooded margins.

Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana) — Walks on floating vegetation with surreal confidence; the classic Neotropical wetland bird.

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) — Gregarious, noisy, and often seen in large flocks on open water.

Masked Duck (Nomonyx dominicus) — A secretive diving duck; always a special find when it emerges from the marsh vegetation.

Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis sylvicola) — Striking, large duck; the male’s comb is unmistakable in flight.

Limpkin (Aramus guarauna) — Striking wader with one of the most evocative calls in the Neotropics.

Blackish Rail (Pardirallus nigricans) — Secretive but vocal in the marsh vegetation; patience usually rewards.

Pinnated Bittern & Least Bittern (Botaurus pinnatus / Ixobrychus exilis) — Both species recorded; the Pinnated Bittern in particular is a standout find.

Raptors & Open Country

Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis) — Elegant, long-tailed falcon of open savanna; always a crowd-pleaser.

Yellow-headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima) — Common and photogenic in open areas around the reserve.

Dry Forest Specialties

Dwarf Cuckoo (Coccycua pumila) — Small, skulking, and persistently elusive; one of the most sought dry valley birds.

Bar-crested Antshrike (Thamnophilus multistriatus) — Near-endemic; vocal and responsive in the dry forest scrub.

Jet Antbird (Cercomacra nigricans) — A sharp contrast to the cloud forest antbirds of the Western Andes; very much a lowland specialist.

Great Antshrike (Taraba major) — Loud, bold, and usually reliable in dense gallery forest edges.

Female Bar-crested antshrike

Hummingbirds

Ruby-topaz Hummingbird (Chrysolampis mosquitus) — The male’s combination of ruby crown and golden body makes it one of the most photographed hummingbirds in the valley. A very different species from the cloud forest hummingbirds at Yotoco Lodge.

Blackbirds & Open Country

Yellow-hooded Blackbird (Chrysomus icterocephalus) — Common in marsh edges; the yellow hood against black body is excellent for photography.

Red-capped Cardinal (Paroaria gularis) — A strikingly handsome bird of waterside vegetation; always draws attention.

How the Day Works — Logistics from Yotoco Lodge

Common Potoo

A Sonso excursion from Yotoco Lodge is a full-day commitment, and the early departure is non-negotiable. This is a hot, open wetland at 950 metres — by 10:00 AM the temperature is climbing and bird activity begins to slow significantly. The first two hours after dawn are where 80% of the day’s species list is built.

04:30 AM Departure from Yotoco Lodge. Coffee and a light breakfast before you go.

06:30 AM Arrival at Laguna de Sonso. First light is already breaking over the water. The Horned Screamers are calling.

06:30–10:00 AM Prime birding time. We cover the wetland edges, the dry forest trails, and the open water systematically. A 70–90 species morning is realistic on a good day.

10:00 AM–12:00 PM Slower midday birding — forest edges, shade areas, and any remaining targets. Good time to consolidate the list and review photos.

Midday Lunch at the reserve. Local, simple, and very welcome after a 5-hour birding session in the heat.

Afternoon Departure toward Buga for onward connections (see below).

Sonso is a hot site and comfortable clothing is important. Lightweight, light-coloured field clothing, sun protection, and plenty of water are essential. This is a very different physical experience from the cool cloud forest mornings at the lodge — plan accordingly.

Best Time to Visit

The dry seasons are strongly preferred for a Sonso excursion. During the wet season, the Cauca River rises and the lagoon can overflow significantly, flooding the access road and making the approach much more logistically challenging — not impossible, but requiring a flexibility that doesn’t always suit a structured itinerary.

In the dry season, the water levels are lower, the access is straightforward, and the concentration of waterbirds along the receding shoreline is often spectacular. Migratory North American shorebirds and waterfowl can also add significantly to the list during the northern winter months (October–March).

The birding itself is productive year-round — the resident species are always present — but for first-time visitors, the dry season gives you the most reliable access and the most dramatic concentrations.

Why Visit Sonso from Yotoco Lodge?

Most birding tours that include Laguna de Sonso treat it as a standalone destination — driving directly from Cali, spending the morning, and returning. That’s a perfectly valid approach. But it misses the larger strategic picture.

Yotoco Lodge is positioned as the Western Andes Birding Basecamp — the single base from which a visiting birder can access the full altitudinal and habitat range of Valle del Cauca without changing accommodation every night. Sonso is the final piece of that picture: the Cauca Valley wetland component that completes the transect from 200 metres of Chocó lowland to 3,200 metres of cloud forest, all reachable from a single lodge.

This is the core value proposition for any birder planning a Colombia birding holiday package in the region: you do not need to manage multiple lodges, multiple check-ins, and multiple logistics. You stay at one base, go out to six different hotspots across six different days, and the habitats come to you.

Sonso is typically scheduled as the final excursion of a stay — strategically placed. After birding the day ends with lunch at the reserve and an onward connection either to Buga (for clients continuing to the Cordillera Central) or directly to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Palmira — making Sonso a natural and efficient endpoint for the Valle del Cauca loop.

Cocoi Heron

The six main hotspots accessible from Yotoco Lodge, of which Sonso is the final:

•      KM 18 (La Florida & San Felipe) — foothill Pacific slope endemics, antbirds, tanagers

•      Doña Dora near El Queremal — upper cloud forest, quetzals, high-elevation tanagers

•      Atuncela near Dagua — drier inter-Andean species, raptors

•      San Cipriano near Buenaventura — Chocó lowland endemics at sea level

•      Suee Birding — one of the finest sites for Chocó endemics in the Western Andes

•      Laguna de Sonso near Buga — Cauca Valley wetland, 390+ species, gateway to the airport or Cordillera Central

Practical Information

Base lodge: Yotoco Lodge, Km 26, Cali–Buenaventura Road, Valle del Cauca. ~40 minutes from Cali airport.

Distance to Sonso: ~120 km / approximately 2 hours by road from the lodge.

Departure time: 04:30 AM. Non-negotiable for first-light arrival. The early start is the excursion.

What to bring: Lightweight field clothing, sun hat, high SPF sunscreen, insect repellent, binoculars, and plenty of water. A telescope is strongly recommended for open-water birds.

Guiding: All excursions personally led by Julio Delgado, founder of Piculet Birding. 15 years of field experience in Valle del Cauca. English-speaking. No intermediaries.

Accommodation: Yotoco Lodge is exclusively for birdwatchers. No general tourism guests.

White-faced Whistling Duck

Book Your Birdwatching Tour Near Cali

Whether you are planning a focused Valle del Cauca birdwatching holiday, a broader Colombia birding holiday package, or a strategic extension of a longer South America trip, Laguna de Sonso belongs on your itinerary — and Yotoco Lodge is the most efficient base from which to include it.

We handle all logistics directly: accommodation, guiding, ground transport to Sonso and all other hotspots, and a personalised itinerary built around your target species and time available. No operators, no intermediaries, no surprises.

Contact us via WhatsApp or email to check availability and start planning. We reply within 24 hours, usually faster.

Yotoco Lodge — Western Andes Birding Basecamp

Km 26, Cali–Buenaventura Road, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Related articles:

•      Birding at the Feeding Stations of Yotoco Lodge — Meet Caleño the Apical Flycatcher

•     KM 18 La Florida & San Felipe — Birding Guide

•      San Cipriano: Chocó Lowland Birding Near Buenaventura

•      Doña Dora near El Queremal — Cloud Forest Birding in Valle del Cauca

•      Where to Stay for Birding Near Cali, Colombia