Birding the Km 18 Road & Finca La Florida

Two unmissable stops on the Cali–Buenaventura Road · Western Andes, Colombia

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Introduction

The Cali–Buenaventura Road — known locally as the Vía al Mar — is one of the great birding corridors in the Americas. In a single day, this road drops from Andean cloud forest into the lowland Pacific rainforest of the Chocó, crossing altitudinal zones that few places on Earth can match. Among its many highlights, Km 18 and Finca La Florida stand out as two complementary experiences that, together, offer some of the most rewarding birding available from Yotoco Lodge — the Western Andes' premier birding basecamp at Km 26.

This article is a first-hand guide to both sites: how to approach them, which species to target, what the experience actually feels like in the field — and a few personal moments that made these places unforgettable.

Finca La Florida

The place and its caretakers

Finca La Florida is a privately managed property that has been thoughtfully adapted for close-encounter birding. The owner, Javier, has built a genuine bird sanctuary where wildlife management comes first. The day-to-day care of the birds falls to Andrés, whose dedication is the real engine behind what makes the finca so special. Andrés feeds the Chestnut Woodquail and the Little Tinamou at their stations every morning, maintains the hummingbird feeders, and keeps the banana feeders stocked and clean for tanagers and the Crimson-rumped Toucanet. Without his work, most of the encounters that make Finca La Florida famous would simply not happen.

The star species

What makes Finca La Florida unique is the opportunity to observe birds that in the wild would require hours — sometimes days — of patient searching. These are the species that define the experience:

Chestnut Woodquail

Andrés feeds this species at specific understory stations. In the wild, the Chestnut Woodquail is one of the most secretive birds in the Western Andes — you might wait an hour at a known territory and get nothing more than a brief brown flash disappearing into the leaf litter. At the finca, it comes to a feeder in good light and often stays long enough for a relaxed, unhurried look. That is a rare privilege.

Little Tinamou

The Little Tinamou is another jewel of the finca. Andrés keeps its feeding points active daily, making sightings surprisingly reliable. And reliable sightings of this bird — with its cryptic brown plumage and impossibly low profile — are genuinely hard to come by anywhere else.

White-throated Quail-Dove

Together with the Tinamou and the Woodquail, the White-throated Quail-Dove completes the trio of ultra-secretive understory birds at the finca. All three share the same maddening quality: they can disappear for forty minutes or more, then step briefly into view before retreating to the shadows. Being able to watch any of them calmly at a feeder — instead of catching a one-second glimpse on a forest trail — is the kind of thing that stays with you.

Hummingbirds

The hummingbird feeders at Finca La Florida attract multiple species and are reliably active throughout the day. They are spectacular to watch — but photographing them well here requires a specific approach.

Tanagers & Crimson-rumped Toucanet

Andrés keeps the banana feeders well-stocked, which draws a rotating cast of tanagers throughout the day, alongside the charismatic Crimson-rumped Toucanet. These feeders tend to be the most photogenic at the finca: open enough for clean angles, with natural perches nearby and decent light. A single morning session here can produce an impressive species count and a full memory card.

Scaled Antpitta — the unpredictable guest

The Scaled Antpitta appears at Finca La Florida in seasons — perhaps twice a year — and its visits follow no predictable schedule. There is no way to guarantee the sighting. But if you happen to be there on one of those days, consider yourself very fortunate indeed. It is one of those birds that justifies any journey.

Multicolored Tanager

The Multicolored Tanager is one of Colombia’s most strikingly beautiful endemics, and Finca La Florida is one of the most reliable places in the Western Andes to find it. The fruiting trees and banana feeders maintained by Andrés draw this species in regularly, giving visitors something that is almost impossible to achieve in the wild: a calm, extended look at a bird that is otherwise fast-moving and easily lost in the canopy. The combination of electric yellow, cobalt blue, black, and orange on a single bird is the kind of thing that genuinely stops conversation. When one lands in good light, every camera on the terrace goes up at once. It is, without question, one of the highlights of any morning at the finca.

Birding the Road — Km 18

Strategy and timing

My personal approach to the Km 18 road is to head out once I have covered the main targets at Finca La Florida. By then — roughly between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. — the forest edge along the road is still active and traffic is manageable. A second productive window is late afternoon, when the light turns golden, temperatures drop, and many species return to the forest edge before roosting.

The technique is simple: walk slowly, stop often, and listen. The roadside acts as a natural ecotone where the interior of the forest becomes visible at eye level. Many species that would normally stay hidden in the canopy or understory present themselves here in the open — often at surprisingly close range.

Key species of the Km 18 road

•         Golden-headed Quetzal — Without doubt the most spectacular bird of the Km 18 road. When one appears perched on a bare branch at the forest edge, iridescent green and gold in the morning light, it stops you in your tracks. This is one of those birds that makes you forget to raise your binoculars.

•         Collared Trogon — More frequently encountered than the Quetzal and equally elegant. A reliable presence along the road edge, often perched motionless and approachable — ideal for photography.

•         Blue-naped Chlorophonia — A gem of green and blue no bigger than a large grape. It frequents fruiting trees along the road edge and when it sits still — which it does — it rewards patient photographers with extraordinary images.

•         Green-and-black Fruiteater — One of the most sought-after cotingas in the Chocó region. It moves slowly through the foliage and when it appears in a clean roadside gap, it is a genuine gift.

•         Ashy-throated Chlorospingus — A reliable component of the mixed-species flocks that work the forest edge. When you locate a flock on the Km 18 road, stop and stay: there are always surprises mixed in.

The story of the Chestnut-breasted Wren

The Chestnut-breasted Wren is among the most secretive birds in the Western Andes. Under normal circumstances, you hear it — that deep, flute-like song that carries through the undergrowth — and never see it. Locating the bird visually is a genuine achievement, and most encounters amount to a brief movement in the shadows.

Practical Tips

How to combine both sites

The approach I use with my clients is to begin early at Finca La Florida to cover the feeder species — especially the Tinamou and the Woodquail, which tend to be most active in the first hours of the morning. Once we have worked through the main targets at the finca, we move to the Km 18 road for the mid-morning window. If time allows, a late afternoon session back on the road rounds out an exceptionally productive day.

Photography by habitat

•         Understory feeders (Tinamou, Woodquail, Quail-Dove): Set up your camera before the bird appears — these species emerge briefly and without warning. A monopod or tripod helps during the long waits. Pre-focus on the likely entry point and have your exposure dialed in.

•         Hummingbird feeders: Fill flash or continuous LED is essential. Minimum 1/2500 s to freeze wingbeats. Without supplemental light, the ISO required in shade will significantly compromise image quality.

•         Km 18 road: The lateral light of mid-morning and the golden hour at dusk are your best allies. Keep the camera ready — the Golden-headed Quetzal gives no warning.

•         Playback — a note on ethics: Use it sparingly: no more than 2–3 minutes per species, and not repeatedly at the same location. The Chestnut-breasted Wren responded beautifully once. That response is a privilege, not a resource to exhaust.

Final Thoughts

The Km 18 road and Finca La Florida are not competing experiences — they are complementary ones. The finca gives you intimate, close-up encounters with birds that would cost days of searching in the wild. The road gives you the electric unpredictability of open-ended birding: the Quetzal that appears without announcement, the wren that decides, for reasons of its own, to sing for an audience.

Together, they represent some of the finest birding available anywhere along the Cali–Buenaventura corridor — and both are within easy reach from Yotoco Lodge, your basecamp in the Western Andes.

Good birds and good light! 🐦🌿📸

— Yotoco Lodge · yotocolodge.com