Birding and hiking adventure in Finca El Pilar Antigua

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Prior to arriving to Guatemala, I discovered a great birding spot nearby called Finca El Pilar from researching on Google and Youtube. It appeared that El Finca Pilar was extremely close to Antigua in the nearby mountains. It looked like it was within Uber or a taxi ride as it was only a fifteen minute drive outside the tourist hub. I searched for a guided day trip, but was at first unsuccessful. A few weeks before leaving on my trip, I checked again on Get Your Guide. This time, I found that a day birding trip had recently popped up, so I booked it.

Finca El Pilar day birding trip

The day trip featured being picked up at the hotel, and sure enough, a car pulled up right on time. My guide Monica introduced herself, and we headed to the birding area. She informed me that I was the only guest for today. Fifteen minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot, which was empty, although soon after another car entered the park. We had the birding area to ourselves for most of the day as the other hikers soon passed us going into the park, and they passed us again on their way out. Other than that, we saw no one else the rest of the day.

Hummingbird feeders at the entrance

We walked past a very nice pool area that is apparently open to the public, a water treatment area, and then an area that had several hummingbird feeders. The feeders were swarmed with hummingbirds, so we spent the first 30 minutes just watching the hummingbirds feed. There were ample trees around, so many of the hummingbirds roosted in the nearby trees in between feeding. We counted at least three different species, but there were probably more. The three we identified were Rivoli’s hummingbird, white-eared hummingbirds, and rufous sabrewings.

Related: Hiking into the Corcovado cauldron in Costa Rica

We only have one hummingbird in the eastern United States, so my skill at identifying the numerous species in Central America is lacking. There are 39 species of hummingbirds in Guatemala alone. There were certainly more than three species flocking the feeders today. Besides hummingbirds, we heard and saw a Wilson’s warbler, which would turn out to be a constant companion throughout our hike.

Wonderful hiking in Finca El Pilar

The trail was wonderfully maintained with many areas that had a boardwalk. There were often steps at steep parts and railings when there was a steep drop. The trail was usually wide with good footing. There was some elevation as one trail goes up to a mountain, but most of the other trails were moderate and not too steep. Most of the trail system is in the shade, which is a nice way to get out of the sun, especially on really hot days. I was there in November and the temperature was in the mid 70s, so it was absolutely perfect for hiking and birding.

Crested Guan was the highlight

Soon after leaving the hummingbirds, Monica spotted a bird high up in the trees. It turned out to be a pair of crested guans. This would be the highlight for me for the day at least for big birds that I do not get to see much. We would see many warblers that I am accustomed to seeing in the Chicago area in May and October, but I only get to see crested guans when I jump on a plane to Central America. I have seen them in Guyana and Costa Rica, but this would be my first in Guatemala. I would also see a couple later in Tikal.

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El Finca Pilar is a beautiful mountain wilderness

It did not take long to realize that the mountains here are beautiful. The elevation is not too high, but high enough to be a llttle cooler and for there to be extremely lush vegetation. I would not consider El Finca a cloud forest, but the vegetation is extremely lush. Monica pointed out a favorite tree of hers that had roots that extended down a precipitous rock face while the tree hung just over the drop. There is a trail that hikes straight up to the top with a nice view, but we concentrated our efforts on birds. There are plenty of beautiful views that I would see from the Pacaya Volcano and just about every view in Antigua is amazing, so I did not feel like I was missing out.

Stopping for warblers and vireos

I was hoping to see many migrant birds that I have not seen in Chicago since October, plus as many local birds as possible. Although the birding was a little slow at times, we did see many warblers and vireos. The Wilson’s warbler was omnipotent, but we also saw black-and-white warblers, a black-throated green warbler, and a blue-headed vireo. The blue-headed vireo was a lifer for me. I have come close to seeing this species as it has more than once popped up on my Merlin app sound identifier. One blue-headed warbler was actually right above me when I was birding Montrose Point in Chicago. Another birder informed me while I was taking a picture of a distant magnolia warbler, a blue-headed vireo was right above me.

I kept seeing yellow warblers and thought that they might be other species, but most just turned out to be another Wilson’s warble. The black-throated green was the only exception. It was great to see these birds during the late fall season as I usually do not see them until May.

Many birds heard but not seen

We both had our Merlin app going, and we definitely heard other birds. We kept hearing flycatchers and pee-wees along with always having a Wilson’s nearby. Due to the dense vegetation, photography was not easy. Another bird we heard several times, but did not see was a band-backed wren, but we finally found one that was semi out in the open. Along the ridge of the trail going up, a band-backed wren was hiding at the edge of a thicket of trees. He was fairly covered, but he extended his head out a few times, so I was able to get a couple pictures.

Wonderful day birding Finca El Pilar

I thoroughly enjoyed hiking and birding Finca El Pilar. The tour was only supposed to be 3.5 hours, but Monica was enjoying the day as much as I was, so we ended up hiking for over 7 hours. The tour was $85.00, so this extra time sure made the trip even more worthwhile. People who come to Antigua mainly stick to the volcanos, but I highly recommend doing something different like a birding trip to Finca El Pilar. The hike is worth the price of admission itself. There was no extra charge for seeing three hummingbirds, a crested guan, more Wilson’s warblers than you could shake a fist at, and several other warbler species.

I would definitely recommend using Get Your Guide to go on a day hike with Monica. There were a few mosquitoes in Finca El Pilar, so I would recommend bringing mosquito repellent, suntan lotion, and plenty of water and snacks. Take a look at the option here.

Adventure on!