El Jardín Encantado: Colombia’s Hummingbird Paradise

 

I have loved birds since I was a little boy growing up in Shropshire in England. I used to have a little green bird-book that I studied meticulously  so I could learn what they all looked like, and, on weekends (assuming I was good), my parents and I would drive to various bird reserves to look for fancy new species that we couldn’t see in our little, landlocked county. It was a passion that we shared as a family, and still do today, even though I’m living a lot further away these days. Yet, it’s Colombia that I’m living in, and this might have a little something to do with birds…one little factor that brought me (and keeps me) here is the sheer number of bird species to be seen: 1903 records at last count, and probably set to rise even more as the years go on. There are birds here that I could have only dreamed of seeing on those long, wet country drives with my Mum and Dad, off to another windswept corner of England: Scarlet Macaws, Quetzals, Flamingos, Vermilion Cardinals, and, of course, hummingbirds…

 

 

This brings me on to the subject of this post: El Jardín Encantado or the Enchanted Garden. 29 years ago, in her little house on the edge of the village of San Francisco de Sales, Doña Leonora started to put out hanging hummingbird feeders in her garden. She loved the little birds, with their iridescent colors, incredible movement in the air, and chattering little noises. She waited patiently for them to come and visit her feeders, and slowly added to her collection until her finca’s garden had over 40 hummingbird feeders. Luckily for the rest of us, 3 years ago Doña Leonora opened her doors to the public, and the Jardin Encantado became a reality.

 

 

And what a reality it is: her patient feeding of the birds has resulted in a tiny paradise for bird-lovers. Around 27 different hummingbird species have visited her garden (with 10-15 seen regularly), and the 40-strong strip of feeders is constantly covered in the miraculous birds; hundreds at a time, filling the air with the sounds of their humming wings and chattering calls. It’s all a little bit tough to assimilate, even for a serious birder: the garden is an almost overwhelming blur of noises and flashes of color. However, the chance to observe, at close hand, the magical Ruby Topaz (whose head changes color from bright pink to burnt orange as he moves it), the White-bellied Woodstar (who exhibits the best command of the air that I have ever seen, making a helicopter seem like a toy), the endemic Andean Emerald, and many more remarkable species makes it an experience not to be missed. I don’t care if you are especially interested in birds: everyone will love the magic of this enchanted garden.

 

 

San Francisco de Sales itself is a small, rural town, set down in a verdant valley off the road to La Vega in Cundinamarca. It’s one of those great Colombian towns which are remarkable simply for their unremarkable nature; a walk around here yields no ancient colonial architecture, or progressive urban planning, but shows off the very best of Colombia’s hospitable nature. People nod and smile at the newcomer, sit down at their table and chat and, best of all, invite them to join in their Sunday BBQ out in front of their house. So, visit the Enchanted Garden, and marvel at it’s gravity defying residents, but don’t hightail it straight out of San Francisco; stick around and get to know the place. The whole day I spent here was a firm reminder of several of the reasons that I fell in love with Colombia, and why I continue the love affair to this day. And 11 new species on the lifetime bird-list would have definitely delighted that little boy in the back of the car all those years ago…

 

 

Practical Guide: San Francisco can easily be visited from Bogota. A bus bound for La Vega from either Portal 80 or the main bus terminal is step 1. Ask to be dropped off at Minas (it will cost 10.000 COP), which is a little settlement on the main road, about 1 1/2 hours from the city. When you’re in Minas, a little collectivo bus will take you into the town in the valley for 1.500 COP. The house is at the bottom of the town (ask a local for the hummingbird house). It costs 12.000 COP for 2 hours of hummingbird viewing (and Doña Leonora is very knowledgeable about the birds that visit her). Find out more here.

 

 

Chris