Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas

Laura and I had enjoyed the wildlife of Río Claro but we were looking forward to some of the comforts of civilization again - namely, the chance to do laundry, experience reasonable temperatures, and have a wifi connection to plan the next part of our trip. We ended up finding a place near the Medellín airport that could accommodate our needs. Called Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas, it is situated less than 10 minutes from the airport but the property is gorgeous, set on a few hectares of green space. We were given a wing of the building which included a spacious bedroom with bathroom on the main floor, and an upstairs room and balcony that functioned as a sort of canopy tower for birdwatching, complete with a hammock.

We ate all our meals here (which were fantastic and very reasonably priced), and we were even given full use of the washing machine and clothesline. It is amazing how the simple things can seem so luxurious when backpacking!

The birding was excellent on the grounds as well and we tallied over 50 species in a few hours of watching in the afternoon and morning. Acorn Woodpeckers are some of the more obvious birds since at least four individuals were regularly patrolling some of the trees on the property.

Acorn Woodpecker - Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas, Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia

Acorn Woodpecker - Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas, Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia

One of the highlights was when a flock of twenty or so Red-bellied Grackles flew in, noisily chattering from the trees along the driveway. This species is endemic to Colombia and is quite striking in appearance. Unfortunately, by the time that I had fetched my camera, they were in a less favourable location for photos.

Flycatchers were well-represented in the yard. In addition to the common ones a pair of Torrent Tyrannulets patrolled the small creek, while a few Pale-edged Flycatchers made the rounds. I finally managed to take a good photo of a Golden-faced Tyrannulet as well.

Pale-edged Flycatcher - Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas, Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia

Torrent Tyrannulet - Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas, Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia

Golden-faced Tyrannulet - Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas, Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia

Quite the surprise for us was observing two pairs of White-faced Whistling-Ducks beside a pond on the neighbouring property. This species is supposedly reasonably common in the Medellín area but it is one that I had never seen before in Colombia, and was a new one for Laura. Later in the evening we enjoyed the interesting calls they made as they flew around.

White-faced Whistling-Duck - Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas, Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia

An Andean Motmot was not shy in the least and on a few occasions we watched it at the edge of the property.

Andean Motmot - Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas, Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia

Andean Motmot - Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas, Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia

One last surprise was in store about an hour or two before we had to depart for the airport. Laura spotted and called out this handsome Prothonotary Warbler in some of the bushes. This species is much more common further north in Colombia, though they are around in the Medellín area in small numbers. Soon, it will be on its way north into the United States, or perhaps even into southern Canada.

Prothonotary Warbler - Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas, Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Finca Hotel Portón de las Palmas and would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone who needs somewhere to stay near the Medellín airport.