What‘s Included

Meeting and Pickup

What To Expect

Reviews

• Treat yourself - take this tour - you will not regret for a second.

  okemabeach,

  Dec 3, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  The nature reserve was absolutely as advertised - we arrived early in the morning after pick up at our hotel. From the moment we pulled onto the property we heard and saw various birds - we hiked into a farm and were greeted by the owner and his wife - fabulous warm people and were made to feel at home. The rest of the morning we hiked the grounds and wildlife, monkeys were spotted and various birds Overall it was a very worthwhile adventure and money well spent.

• Wonderful experience!!

  peggyhL3327EE,

  Dec 1, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Luis did a wonderful job of finding & identifying birds. The private ranch/ reserve we went to served a delicious breakfast in a lovely setting by a lake. And on the way back to Cartegena, he stopped on the side of the highway whenever he spotted interesting birds. I picked up several new lifers just by doing that!

• Birds Galore !

  michaelwM222RI,

  Nov 28, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  This was an absolutely great experience that ended up lasting the whole day. We left Cartagena , headed towards Santa Marta, and wandered a 47 hectare marshy area where birds and wildlife were active. It was an early start to make sure we took advantage of the cooler day when the birds were most active. And we saw so many birds - about 90 different species! Our guide Luis was excellent - he was an endless source of knowledge about birds, the area, and Columbia. This was a fabulous day, and we would recommend it highly.

• Amazing birding trip!

  G7935JEjoannac,

  Oct 7, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  The private bird tour with Luis was excellent. As a big birder for many years, I had so much to learn from him about birding! We saw over 70 birds species (I can’t remember the exact number on the top of my head, although Luis sent a list of everything we saw.) including a roseate spoonbill, pygmy owl, and toucan. I recommend this tour for anyone. There was a free breakfast and the tour was on a gorgeous farm estate. The farm also had two rescued monkeys! It was great to spend so much time in nature searching for birds! Take a look at my photos!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Great bird excursion!

  Thomas E,

  Jun 15, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Fantastic bird excursion in a super nice area in Colombia. Very experienced and enthusiastic guide who speaks excellent English. Spotted 70 different bird species and also saw monkeys. The guide takes beautiful pictures that you get afterwards. Highly recommended!

• An amazing day of birding awaits!! Book this tour!!

  erinhL6645ZX,

  Jun 7, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  I am so glad we booked this tour! It was great to get out of the city, and we never would have found this birding area on our own. Luis helped us see 68 species, several of them endemic and the majority lifers for me! I cannot recommend highly enough.

• Excellent guide who showed me lots of birds and some of Colombia's most awesome animals!

  Q9093IJrichardf,

  Mar 25, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Luis is a fabulous guide and a great guy to spend a day (or more) with birdwatching in northern Colombia. Before I booked my only free day on this trip with him he spent lots of time answering my questions about which birds we might see, and what sites would be best to visit, all done over WhatsApp in the days leading up to our outing. I am totally focussed on birds, but he does all kinds of wildlife and nature tours. He thoughtfully and carefully consulted with me about where we should go, and together we ended up choosing the wonderful Finca la Cienaga, a natural farm with lots of varied habitat. We racked up an impressive list of over 90 species there, including many special birds I had especially been hoping to see. Most people aren't as bird obsessed as I am, but we also so some excellent mammals including stunning nearby views of a sloth hugging a palm tree, and a really fabulous anteater. Luis was patient and good at explaining things. I had a great day out with him!

  

  

  

  

  

• Trip of a lifetime!

  smithjk,

  Mar 13, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Luis and Maria showed us incredible hospitality on our birdwatching tour. They went out of their way to give us the very best birdwatching experience. Luis’s passion for birdwatching was contagious. More than that he was extremely knowledgeable—there wasn’t a bird on our tour that he didn’t know. Luis was also attentive to our comfort. We didn’t bring the right shoes to go through mud, so he took us to another place. Oh, and at the end of the tour he gave us photos of many of the birds we spotted!!! Totally shocked us with his generosity. My husband and I cannot say enough good things about Luis! We’re recommending him to all of our friends and family. Do yourself a favor and book this tour. It’s worth every dime and more!

  

  

• 5 + Star Experience!

  wendysbstpl,

  Mar 5, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Our birding experience with Luis was amazing!!! He is highly knowledgeable about all of the birds in the area and is an enthusiastic, professional leader. After an hour of birding at dawn we enjoyed a wonderful local breakfast prepared on the farm we had access to. Then more birding. Over 73 species just at that farm. So many wonderful birds, including 2 Northern Screamers! We also had arranged a horseback ride on the beach with Luis and his daughter, Maria. Another incredible experience! Both taught us with much patience how to ride their Colombian Paso Fino horses. We definitely recommend both the Bird Watching Tour and Horses Cartagena to visitors coming to Cartagena!

  

  

• Luis was an excellent guide. Spotted many species on this day trip

  ImmerWandern,

  Jan 10, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We had an excellent day of birding with Luis and would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone interested in spotting many of the almost 2,000 species of birds that have been reported in Colombia. The farm/plantation he took us to offered a variety of habitats that offered us the opportunity to spot a variety of birds; I would emphasize, though, that as long as there was light enough to see Luis was already calling out birds even as he drove. If birding is your thing or if you are interested in starting, definitely consider going with Luis Zuñiga and Horses Cartagena. Arranging the day trip was relatively straightforward. Initial contacts were made via email and subsequent interactions were on WhatsApp. Luis had sent us sent us information as to the appropriate clothing to wear for birding (avoid bright colors) to avoid wearing/using fragrances. This was a long day starting with a pick up at 0500 and ending close to 1500. Luis picked us up at Plaza de la Trinidad near our lodging. he was accompanied by his daughter, Maria. Luis gave us his perspective on the history and development of Cartagena as we drove through the city and then outside past the port and the oil refinery. He also related how he changed from his previous career to that of running a ecotour company from their family home on Isla Barú, beach horse-riding trips on the mainland and now birding tours around the region. Soon after dawn, there was enough light for Luis to start scanning the roadside and the adjacent meadows for birds. He was intent at finding a Northern Screamer for us, and find when he did. There were several other birds. The many cattle egrets didn’t rate a mention, but we also spotted Limpkin, Rufescent Tiger heron, and I notes a Ringed kingfisher on the power or telephone lines (and would again on our way back). He took us to his preferred location eco-Lodge, a farm that was also now accepting a few visitors as well as small birding groups like ours on their property. We had a very pleasant Colombian breakfast washed down with freshly brewed coffee. The birding continued the moment we stepped out of the car; Ruddy Ground dove on the ground and a Caribbean Hornero in the tree. After a hearty breakfast washed down with Colombian coffee, of course, we set out. We covered a lot of ground, literally. We explored tropical forest, river banks, date palm plantations, large ponds, and marshy areas. As Luis had warned us many of the paths were very muddy, but we also hiked on graded roads and well-worn paths as well. Of course Luis spotted and called out more birds than I actually laid eyes on let alone was able to photograph. He was adept at mimicking some bird calls to see if any birds would react and show themselves. While the majority of our sightings were “Lifers” there were also some familiar winter migrants already in the area. We spotted a male Prothonotary warbler; we’d seen these warblers before, notably in Ohio’s Magee Marsh. On the other hand the Summer tanagers - both male and female - we lifers for us; we had been unsuccessfully watching out for them in the US and it took a trip to Colombia for us to finally see them. Other migrants known to us were waterfowl. An appropriately solo Single sandpiper was picking its way across a muddy trail we were on; we’d spotted them before in the Midwest. On the way back to Cartagena we passed the marshes near La Boquilla and spotted a small flock of Short-billed dowitchers; we’d seen the species just 3 months earlier along the shoreline of Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba. We always knew of the great distances that some migratory birds would have to fly but it was always an awesome experience to encounter these intrepid travelers at the extremes of their travels and not just while they traveling through the Midwest. One mild disappointment was that for all the reported 163 hummingbird species in Colombia we never spotted any this day. We did see a fair number of raptors, however, beyond the Yellow-headed caracara many of which we had already seen in the city. We observed Crane hawk, Gray-lined hawk, Gray-headed kite, Snail kite, and Roadside hawk. Watching a pair of the Roadside hawks flying tre to tree was exhilarating. They deserve a better name, though. There were small piles of snail shells on the side of the road along the marshland where we spotted the Snail hawk We spotted avifauna familiar to us from Costa Rica. It was a thrill to see the Keel-billed toucan, the archetype of its species relatively close. We had seen one only at a distance in Costa Rica. It was good to see Mot-mots again. Same with the Crested oropendola which, like its counterpart in Costa Rica (Montezuma) like to intermittently hang upside down. Speaking of familiar-looking, the Red-crowned woodpecker (Carpintero habado) had a striking resemblance to the Red-bellied woodpecker we frequently spot in our area. The most striking bird of our outing may have been the male Crimson-crested woodpecker, his flame-colored head truly eye-catching. Luis was determined to find us another bird - as determined he had been to show us the Northern Screamer - called Black-capped donacobius, known locally as Cucarachero de Laguna. It took awhile but he did get to show us the donacobius towards the end of our time at the farm. Luis issued a lot of instructions prior to the outing (eg no bright-colored clothing, strong perfumes, sturdy footwear). Be prepared to hike uneven ground in hot and humid weather. I recommend wearing a wide-brimmed hat for the sun and perhaps bringing a small super-absorbent towel for perspiration. Be sure to stay hydrated. As always is the case when searching for wildlife in their natural habitat bring lots of patience. I strongly recommend Luis and Horses Cartagena for any birdwatching trips in the area. We came with a clean slate, happy to see whatever avifauna Luis could find for us, but he would be happy to help you search for any particular species if you let him know ahead of time.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
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