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Travel - South America

Where the hummers come to you

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Many hummingbird destinations are privately owned and operated to attract both hummers and human visitors. Many have expended great effort to enhance your hummingbird viewing experience and offer fabulous diversity.

We do not endorse nor have a relationship with any of the facilities. We simply list them here as we believe they are some of the best we have visited. If you know of others please let us know.

If you are an avid traveling birder and seeking specific species I suggest you read some of the trip reports on CloudBirders. They offer coordinates, images, maps and species. Especially the trip reports by Ross Gallardy

South America > Argentina

Twenty-four (24) species recorder List

South America > Bolivia

Eighty Three (83) species  List

From a wonderful and comprehensive website Bird Bolivia we find:

White-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia chionogaster:  A common garden bird in Sorota town and often seen at flowering trees on the Chulumani Road.

Andean Hillstar Oreotrochilus estella: The Huni Pass on the Palca Road (outside of La Paz city) has been reliable. They seem to feed on plants growing in the small roadside pond at Huni Pass.

Wedge-tailed Hillstar Oreotrochilus adela Endemic:  The San Miguel Polylepis forest (near  Cochabamba city) is often cited as the best spot for this species.  Seasonal occurrence is tied to the availability of flowering plants.

Black-hooded Sunbeam Aglaeactis pamela Endemic:Appears to follow flowering plants.  The Takesi Trail and Sorata road in the rainy season are good locations.

Goeld's Inca Heliodoxa aurescens:  A split from the Collared Inca found further north in Peru, Ecuador and Columbia.  Goeld's Inca has a rufous (not white) patch on the breast.  Restricted to southern Peru and Bolivia.  Best found at Cotapata or Siberia (??) where the white flashing in the tail  make it somewhat distinctive.

Violet-throated Starfrontlet Heliodoxa aurescens: A relatively common hummingbird of the humid Yungas forests, especially near the Corioco Road.

Red-tailed Comet Sappho sparganura:  Fairly common in the dry valleys of Mecapaca near La Paz.  The Cochabamba dry valleys (i.e. the road west out of Cochabamba city towards La Paz) also support a large population.

Scaled Metaltail Metallura aeneocauda Restricted-range: Uncommon in the La Paz Yungas cloud forests.  Often confused with the similar Tyrian Metaltail.

Rufous-capped Thornbill Chalcostigma ruficeps:  Generally very scarce, but rather common during the rainy season at about 2500 meters in the Zongo Valley near La Paz.

Olivaceous Thornbill  Chalcostigma olivaceum:  Pongo, can be seen feeding on ground!

Blue-mantled Thornbill Chalcostigma stanleyi:  During the rainy season, can usually be found in the Polylepsis forest in the Choquetanga Valley near Pongo.  Seems to move down to lower altitude Yungas forests (ie. Cotapata trail) during the dry winter months.

South America > Brazil

Eighty-four (84) species List

Folha Seca, a private residence near Ubatuba that welcomes birders. The owner, Jonas d'Abronzo, maintains several hummingbird feeders that attract an excellent variety of species including Saw-billed Hermit, Sombre Hummingbird, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Black Jacobin, Brazilian Ruby, and Festive Coquette. Some 22 species of hummingbirds have been recorded on his property. More, and more

Ubatuba is located in the Atlantic rainforest coast mid-way between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in Brazil.

South America > Chile

Nine (9) species recorded List

  • Sparkling Violet-ear  Colibri coruscans
  • Andean Hillstar  Oreotrochilus estella Common in Putre.
  • White-sided Hillstar  Oreotrochilus leucopleurus
  • Giant Hummingbird  Patagona gigas The Giant Hummingbird lacks brilliant color but it makes up for in size. About the same size as a Northern Cardinal and the largest hummingbird. It is found in the Andes from southwest Colombia to Argentina and Chile.
  • Green-backed Firecrown  Sephanoides sephaniodes
  • Juan Fernandez Firecrown  Sephanoides fernandensis (Endangered)
  • Oasis Hummingbird  Rhodopis vesper Many in the Azapa Valley, particularly at Teresa's hummingbird preserve.
  • Peruvian Sheartail  Thaumastura cora
  • Chilean Woodstar  Eulidia yarrellii Seen in Azapa Valley. The town of Chaca itself is located on the left side of the Pan American highway. This is known area for Chilean Woodstar.
  • El Santuario de los Picaflores---Translated --- Maria Teresa Madrid's Hummingbird Garden, on the outskirts of San Miguel de Azapa where Peruvian Sheartails and Oasis Hummingbirds fight around the abundant blooms in this specially designed hummer garden. The garden can be found when heading out of town by turning right at km 14, after a garden with a huge sign in it reading 'Direccion de Obras Hidraulicas' (Hydraulics Institute). Eventually the road leads to a house with a “Hummingbird Garden” sign and all three of the valley’s Hummingbird species can be found around the excellent range of flowering plants. Morning is apparently best and occasionally the now very rare Chilean Woodstar also puts in an appearance. She is very passionate about nature and puts a lot of effort into her garden to protect the hummingbirds. A donation should be offered.  A link for more---you need to scroll down

South America > Colombia

One-hundred-thirty-six (136) species List

We do not normally endorse or recommend but if you are looking for hummingbirds in Colombia:

  • Rio Blanco NR is 10-15 minutes north of Manizales ( it has several sets of feeders ). It is excellent site for many species of HB’s and antpittas. 

  • Los Nevados National Park.

  • Villa Migelita Ecolodge A tad north east of Cali situated near Palmira right in the heart of Valle del Cauca, Colombia

  • Santa Marta. A 2017 Trip Report about seeking the Blue-bearded Helmetcrest (Oxypogon cyanolaemus). One of the rarest birds in the world: the Blue-bearded Helmetcrest. Reportedly lost for 60 years and rediscovered in 2015. 

  • Isla de Salamanca Park in the North near Santa Marta. You can find the Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird and Sapphire-throated Hummingbird

  • PR Chicaque A virgin rain forest private park near Bogota has the Golden-bellied Starfrontlet.

  • Termales de Ruiz is a hotel/ hotsprings in the Nevado de Ruiz area. Assorted feeders and many hummingbirds.

  • Suggested by Peter Hawrylyshyn

    In Manizales there is a Hotel Estelar Recinto del Pensamiento Hotel which has an excellent nature garden that has many HB feeders

    The lodge at Cerro Montezuma in Tatama NP has excellent HB feeders with many species

    About 20 km SW of Cali there is Finca Alejandria which has amazing HB feeders

    In Cali, there is the private home of Luis Mazariegos which also has amazing feeders and species

  • San Francisco de Sales, Cundinamarca  Jardin Encantado a hummingbird house in San Francisco, where more than 23 species of hummingbird have been reported visiting the feeders.

Rogitama Nature Preserve About 185 miles northeast of Bogota. An easy 3 hours drive via Rt 55 and Rt 62

Rogitama biodiversidad is a natural reserve that was born from the initiative of Roberto Chavarro who recovered barren land in 1982. Now Rogitama has become in a natural reserve thanks to his efforts and has many birds and other wild animals. Many visit to watch hummingbirds like the rare Black Inca Hummingbird/ Prince of Arcabuco (Coeligena prunellei) and the short-tailed emerald (Chlorostilbon poortmani). 

 Jardín Botánico de Bogotá José Celestino Mutis

A fabulous botanical garden in downtown Bogata.

November 2012 the summit "Cities and Climate Change" occurred. Botanic Garden Jose Celestino Mutis, as a tribute to the summit, held an exhibition of 65 sculptures depicting hummingbird, ' Garden Quito hummingbirds'.

In Ecuador there are 130 species of hummingbirds, of which 54 are in the Metropolitan District of Quito. The sculptures were made by the Ecuadorian artist Cordova Nixon. Each measures 1.70 meters tall, with wings outstretched on a base of 1.10 meters. They are worked in synthetic resin with a white marble-like finish. The works were taken over by artists, painters, sculptors, architects, graffiti artists, publicists, who were responsible for giving color to the sculptures.

And Exposición urbana Quito jardín de quindes.

Sixty-five giant hummingbirds, or quindes as they are known in Quechua, The work of Ecuadorian artist Cordova Nixon, the sculptures, some of which measure six feet in height, are decorated with a variety of indigenous and modern designs. The sculptures were first displayed in Quito earlier in the year. The exhibition is called "Paseos de los Quindes, 2012," "Hummingbird Tour"

 

Oservatorio de Colibries 11 miles/ about 30 minutes north-east of Bogotá. The feeders attract 18 species.

South America > Ecuador

One-hundred-sixty-four (164) species List

Fundación Jocotoco is an Ecuadorian non-governmental organization (NGO), created in 1998 with the objective of protecting areas of critical importance for the conservation of endemic and threatened bird species in Ecuador that are not under the protection of the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP). Jocotoco achieves this goal by acquiring and managing land as biological reserves.

Fundación Jocotoco was founded in September 1998 to protect the habitat of the local species Jocotoco Antpitta - the name "Jocotoco" is an onomatopoeia used by local farmers who recognized this species for its song.

So far, the foundation has established a network of twelve reserves, which together protect around 22 629 hectares. Although these reserves were created to protect the habitats of threatened birds, they also protect flora and fauna associated with these habitats. The foundation has established important relationships with the local communities.

The Jocotoco reserves are home to more than 900 species of birds, of which more than 50 are threatened or near-threatened with extinction on a global scale, and more than 100 species are regional endemics or species of restricted geographical distribution.

In addition, the reserves maintain populations of at least 200 species of amphibians and reptiles, many of which are threatened and range-restricted, and several newly discovered. They also protect large and rare mammals such as the Spectacled Bear, Mountain Tapir, Chocó Tapir, Puma and Jaguar.

All reserves have been recognized as Important Areas for Bird Conservation, and they are within hotspots of Biodiversity. Two of them are recognized as sites of the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE).

Hillstar
Beautiful Ecuadorian Hillstar on the Chuquiraga jussieui, also known as the “National flower of Andes". Photo By Joseph C Boone – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25207549.

South America > Ecuador North

  • Los Dos Corazones Nature Reserve This place is a bonanza of birds and well outfitted for photographers.

    Directions: 1-1/2 hours from Quito via the road to Calacali - Independencia (the one going to Mitad del Mundo) At kilometer 50, you pass the town of Nanegalito keep going. At kilometer 70, be at the lookout to the exit to San Sebastian on your left. (There is a road restaurant). Leave the paved road and enter the unpaved road to the town of San Sebastian. It is less than one Kilometer. When you see a small Catholic church on the right side, you will see a wooden sign to Los 2 Corazones turn right on the road parallel to the church and advance for two more kilometers. You will see a sign of Los Dos Corazones Nature Reserve on the left. There is a caretaker's house painted green just to your right. You can park there and knock on the door, if nobody answer, please call the administrator Luis at 593-99 135 9150, he speaks English. The hummingbird feeders are 30 feet above the house along with the feeders for tanagers, toucans, woodpeckers etc.

    Excellent density of hummingbirds, 18 species are resident. Many flowers are available for photography set ups, the photography studios are covered so you can shoot even when is raining. Multi flash is allowed. Electric outlet right there. Very accommodating to your needs.

  • Pacha Quindi Nature Reserve Pacha Quindi, which means Hummingbird Place in the native language of Quichua, for nearly two decades has been dedicated to protecting and preserving the natural habitat of the Andean cloud forest in NW Ecuador.  Possible to see 40 species.

  • Magic Birding Circuit Hummingbirds of Ecuador near Quito.  Four private birding reserves offer up to 60 possible hummingbirds species on our trails, with feeders for viewing at all three birding lodges. San Jorge Eco-Lodge, Tandayapa, Milpe and San Jorge de Cosanga -Yanayacu.

  • Cabañas San Isidro’s Lodge and Guango Lodge, are two separate properties (about 1-1/2 hours apart via car) that are owned and operated by sisters. They are both located on the eastern slope of the Andes but at different elevations. Guango at around 9,600 feet and San Isidro at about 7,000. Thus you view different bird communities at each elevation. Each offers very fine hummerbird-watching experiences. But it is the dozens of hummingbird species – sword-billed, mountain velvet breasts and tourmaline sun angels – that are the lodges' star feature.

  • Wildsumaco Lodge, Sumaco This place is a mecca for hummingbirders. "We believe that the combination of land ownership and a fine birding lodge, along with our personal, hands-on, no administrative red-tape approach, is the perfect formula for rainforest conservation here in Sumaco". Two visitors saw 26 hummingbird species at Wildsumaco in two days. Link

  • Yanacocha Reserve The reserve was established in 2001 to protect almost the entire known world population of the critically endangered hummingbird, the Black-breasted Puffleg, whose known range is restricted to the Pichincha Volcano, just north west of Quito. The habitat is mainly high altitude Polylepis forest, of a type which is severely depleted throughout the Andes due to agriculture and charcoal production. Some photos & videos

  • Séptimo Paraíso, Mindo Lodge and reserve.

  • Milpe Bird Sanctuary 

  • Mirador Río Blanco This hostal-restaurant is famous among birders for having one of the best fruit feeders on the northwestern slope.

  • Río Silanche Bird Sanctuary

  • Hacienda San Vincente (aka Yellow House) Mindo. More than 300 species of orchids and approximately 39 species of hummingbirds have been identified in this habitat. 200 hectars (494 acres) of rain forest includes: 1 marked main trail, 5 marked trails, scenic views of Mindo valley on trail #3

  • Casa Divina Mindo. Excellent accommodations and hummingbird tours to the nearby forests and lodges.

  • Puembo Birding Garden Puembo is a suburban town few miles outside of Quito and 20 away from the airport. Puembo has privileged micro climate with warm average temperatures that makes the area pretty attractive for living in contact with nature. For centuries it was home of many haciendas (local name for farms) of the Quitenian elite. Today is the place of family homes, vacation villas, sport clubs and agricultural crops.

    Calle 2 s/n y Luis Burbano | Sector Las Huertas, 94801 Puembo, Quito, Ecuador

  • Septimo Paraiso Mindo. Offers a 'Hummingbird Extreme' tour. Ecologically and environmentally safe tourism. 

  • Refugio Paz de las Aves In the Province of Pichincha, a subtropical region located 2 hours northwest of Quito. 

  • Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge Less than 1 hour 45 minutes from Quito. Bellavista is a private reserve of 700 hectares, at the top of the famed Tandayapa Valley, near Mindo, in an area that has won the highest 24 hour bird count in 2006, 2007, and 2008 in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Americas.

  • Tandayapa Bird Lodge  A wonderful hummer haven with thirty-one (31) species reported. 

  • Sashatamia  Sachatamia Lodge is a marvelous, private, ecological reserve exceeding 120 hectares of cloud-rain forest. Streaming video

  • Lodge Hummer Gallery

  • Alambi Cloud Forest Reserve Just 70 minutes from Quito, on the main highway that links Quito to the coast. Family home accommodation on cloudforest reserve (1450-2200m). Hummingbird paradise! over 15 species visiting our feeders every day. Perfect base for exploring Ecuador´s Northwest, set and custom tours available. Set at the foot of the famous Tandayapa Valley. Exclusivity and tranquility – Alambi hosts a maximum of 6 people at any time

  • Paseo del Quinde With the steady growth of nature tourism in the area, the old Quito-Nono-Mindo road and its surroundings have been dubbed the Ecoruta Paseo del Quinde (eco-route of the hummingbird), indeed many hummingbirds can be seen in this area.
Ecuador

This little road off of E28 many miles west of Quito & south of Nanegalito will take you to some of the best hummingbirding on the planet.

South America > Ecuador South

  • Casa Simpson, near Tapichalaca reserve, an hour and a half from Loja has 40+ hummingbirds not found in northern Ecuador

  • Copalinga Near Podocarpus National Park, in Zamora, South-Ecuador. Hummingbirds visiting the hummingbird feeders and flowers around the restaurant: 30 plus species.

  • Kapawi Ecolodge

  • Loma Alta Approximately 150 miles northwest of the port city of Guayaquil.  A 45-minute, 17km bus ride from the coastal village of Valdivia. Loma Alta Ecological Reserve is 7,500 community protected acres of cloud forest. An area representing over 40% of the community’s land!  It is comprised of four settlements. 200 species of birds. For overnight visits, call several days in advance for planning and coordination. People Allied for Nature

South America > French Guiana

Thirty (30) species List

  • French Guiana is mostly unsettled wilderness (90% of the land area is still rain forest !) with only 200,000 inhabitants is a department of France. You pay in Euros and you are supposed to speak French!

South America > Guyana

Thirty-eight (38) species List

South America >Paraguay

Twenty (20) species List

  • Coming soon

South America > Peru

One-hundred (100) species List

BBC video of Marvellous spatuletail hummingbird

  • The small villages of Pedro Ruiz and Florida have the Marvelous Spatulatetail, an endemic hummingbird that is one of the most spectacular in the world but it’s severely threatened by deforestation. They are known to visit feeders here. Other hummingbird possibilities here include Sparkling and Green Violetear, Mountain Velvetbreast, White-bellied Hummingbird, Andean Emerald, Bronzy Inca, Green-tailed Trainbearer, and both White-bellied Woodstar and Little Woodstar.

  • Waquanki Lodge, Moyobamba has twenty (20) species of hummingbirds can be seen at the loacl feeders. 

  • Instalaciones Abra Patricia y Huembo:
    ECOAN manages two nature reserves that are highlights for any nature lovers who visit northern Peru. First, ECOAN manages the Abra Patricia - Alto Nieva Private Conservation Area (or Abra Patiricia Reserve) featuring world class bird watching, endemic species and hiking. Overnight stays and day visits are offered. 

    The second reserve is located at Huembo, which is the best place to see the Marvelous Spatuletail (Loddigesia mirabilis) - perhaps the most spectacular of all the hummingbirds in the world. The hummingbird feeders at Huembo is the surest way to see this and 11 other species of hummingbirds. Sometimes, visitors also see the Spatuletail’s elaborate courtship display here.

  • Amazon Wildlife Center has a hummingbird garden. This beautiful garden offers excellent opportunities to see a wide variety of 22 hummingbirds species along with representatives of many other families. Reddish, White-browed, Needle-billed, Long-tailed, White-bearded and Rufous-breasted Hermits, Pale-tailed Barbthroat, White-chinned and Golden-tailed Sapphires, Sapphire-spangled Emerald, Festive and Rufous-crested Coquettes, Black-bellied Thorntail, Black-throated Mango, White-necked Jacobin, Gray-breasted Sabrewing, Gould's Jewelfront, Blue-tailed Emerald, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Black-eared Fairy, Long-billed Starthroat and Amethyst Woodstar.

  • Chachapoys Natives’ observations of the Marvelous Spatuletail. The best months to see the marvelous spatuletail in Choctamal are:
    November, December, January, February, March, April , May

  • Hacienda Amazonia is located in the tropical lowland rainforest of Manu Biosphere Reserve.  The Yábar family, from Cusco, established the lodge in 1980 which used to be a tea plantation in the 1970's.  The property have primary forest 65% mostly in the hills(foothills). The rest is mature secondary forest 30 years old whit reforestation. Their birdlist contains forty-one (41) hummer species.

  • Manu Wildlife Center Lodge is a privately owned rainforest reserve which forms part of the Manu Biosphere Reserve. It is located in the Cultural Reserved Zone, set aside for indigenous Amazonian peoples. The lodge is on the banks of the Madre de Dios River in pristine rainforest. Their birdlist contains twenty-two (22) hummer species.

  • Cock of thre Rock Lodge

 

  • Erika Lodge has a good garden that is frequently visited by over 10 species of Hummingbirds including Rufous-crested Coquette.

South America > Suriname

Thirty-three (33) species List

South America > Uruguay

Eight (8) species List

South America > Venezuela

Ninety-seven (97) species List

  • Estancia La Bravera  A lodge high in the mountains with beautifully landscaped garden with many flowering bushes. Around the dinning room are many hummingbird feeders that draw in such colorful species as Lazuline Sabrewing and Orange-throated Sunangel, as well as Venezuelan rarities including Buff-tailed Coronet and Gorgeted Woodstar