Coraves Birding Tours is a leading birdwatching and nature photography company in Colombia, with over 12 years of experience organizing birding tours, wildlife expeditions, and photography trips across Colombia and South America.
Based in Manizales, Coraves is known for offering custom birding tours in Colombia led by expert local guides who help travelers explore the country’s incredible biodiversity. From the Andes to the Amazon, from Caribbean wetlands to the Pacific Chocó, every tour is designed for bird photographers, nature lovers, and eco-travelers seeking authentic and sustainable experiences.
Coraves promotes responsible birdwatching tourism, supporting local communities, environmental education, and bird conservation projects. Their team of passionate birding experts ensures professional guidance, personalized service, and the chance to photograph Colombia’s most iconic species — from Andean Cock-of-the-rock to Multicolored Tanager and Harpy Eagle.
Whether you’re planning your first bird photography tour in Colombia or returning to discover new destinations, Coraves Birding Tours guarantees an unforgettable adventure connecting nature, conservation, and people.
🌎 Discover, photograph, and conserve — with Coraves Birding Tours.
“Owner Journey: How Coraves Took Flight”
A true story of resilience and overcoming
I am Ferney Salgado, the main guide and founder of Coraves Birding Tours and this my Life Story:
I was born into a humble family in a small Colombian town marked by social struggles and violence. Since childhood, I was curious about the birds that surrounded me — I didn’t know their names, but their songs always fascinated me. My relatives, including my father, were hunters, and I often followed them into the forest. While they looked for animals to hunt, I found myself drawn instead to the life and beauty in the trees above us. Each time a bird fell, it left a quiet sadness inside me — a feeling that something so full of life should never have to end that way. I forgot to mention that we also picked up Blackberrys in the wild to earn some money and to buy food for our family.
When I grew older, life became more difficult. I had to leave school at just 14 to help my family and began working in construction alongside my father. It was hard, exhausting work that I did for almost ten years — until my father passed away. His death changed my life completely. I decided to return to school and find a different path, no matter how hard it was.
Without a diploma or professional career, it wasn’t easy to find opportunities. But I stayed focused and finally earned my high school diploma in 2006, more than a decade after leaving school. Around that time, I joined a program led by an NGO that offered young people from low-income backgrounds the chance to train as tourism guides and learn a new language. That opportunity opened a door I never knew existed — and it brought me back to nature.
As a nature guide in a small forest reserve, I began to truly connect with birds. Every day taught me something new. I still remember one of my first encounters — a bright green bird I proudly told visitors was an Emerald Cuckoo. Later, when I got my first field guide, I discovered that the Emerald Cuckoo actually lives in Africa! My mysterious bird was really a Green Jay. That moment made me laugh, but it also woke something inside me — a hunger to learn and a love for discovery that has never faded.
Years later, I attended a Tourism Congress, and one of the speakers talked about birdwatching tourism — how people travel around the world just to see and study birds. I was amazed. I already knew the names of so many Colombian birds, and I realized that my passion could become a purpose.
When I decided to start my own company, some friends told me it was impossible. “Nobody knows you,” they said. “Don’t waste your time — you’ll fail.” But I refused to give up. My wife, who believed in me from the very beginning, became my greatest support and strength. Together, we decided to follow our dream — to create something meaningful through birds, people, and conservation.
That’s how Coraves Birding Tours was born.
Now, after 12 years, I can proudly say that dreams really do come true when you believe in them. Thanks to birds, our lives changed — they gave us purpose, direction, and a reason to protect the natural world that gave us so much.
In this family, we don’t just watch birds — we love them, learn from them, and protect them. Because for us, birds aren’t just part of nature.
They’re part of our story.
