ECUADOR: ANDEAN CLOUDFORESTS, PARAMO & AMAZONIAN RAINFORESTS.
Dates: 22 Nov - 7 Dec 2008 led by Colin Bushell with assistance from Local guides.
The small country of Ecuador is undoubtedly one of South America’s most popular birding destinations. It’s attraction has been enhanced with the “antpitta feeding techniques” employed at some localities there and we’ll visit could forest reserves near Mindo where we have a real chance of seeing Giant, Moustached, Chestnut-crowned and Yellow-breasted Antpittas at close range. But this tour is not just about these normally shy forest floor inhabitants.
We expect to see many Choco endemics including Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan and Toucan Barbet in the cloud forests on the west slope of the Andes, an amazing array of hummingbirds (about 50 species possible on this tour), a selection of birds characteristic of the high paramo (including Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe) as well as manakins, cotingas, puffbirds, jacamars and much more in the Amazonian lowlands. We regularly record over 500 species of birds during this tour.
Group size: Maximum of 8 participants.
Price: £2250.00 (Quito / Quito).
Single room supplement: £255.00.
Includes: Accommodation in hotels and lodges, all transfers and ground transport, meals, and services of Toucan Birding Tours leader and local guides, tips to drivers and local guides.
Not included: International flights to Quito (contact us for information regarding flights), airport departure tax, and drinks.
ITINERARY.
Day 1. Travel from UK to Ecuador. Evening arrival in Quito and transfer to hotel in the city.
Day 2. Today we’ll begin our search of the birds of northwest Ecuador in the temperate cloud forests of Yanacocha. The Andean west slopes here are well endowed with many tanager species and we may see Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Black-chested Mountain-Tanager and Golden-crowned Tanager. Yanacocha is well known for its variety of hummingbirds and we could see Great Sapphirewing, Shining Sunbeam, Golden-breasted Puffleg and Sapphire-vented Puffleg amongst others. Two birds that we should certainly hear are the Ocellated Tapaculo and the Tawny Antpitta and we’ll make an effort to see both. In the afternoon we’ll make our way to our lodge along the old Nono – Mindo road. We’ll have a chance to see the splendid Black-and-chestnut Eagle above the forested slopes and we’ll check the rivers for White-capped Dippers and Torrent Ducks as we make our way to our lodge.
Day 3. Using our comfortable lodge as our base we’ll explore the west slope subtropical forests over the next two days. Two species we’ll be looking for in particular are endemic to the Choco region of southwest Colombia and northwest Ecuador: Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan and Toucan Barbet. These gaudy birds are frequently seen in the Tandayapa Valley, but a third speciality – Tanager Finch – is more difficult to encounter. Other birds we may find here include Golden-winged Manakin, Powerful Woodpecker and Green-and-black Fruiteater. Mixed feeding flocks may contain Pearled Treerunner, Dusky Bush-Tanager, the odd-looking Grass-green Tanager, Rufous-chested Tanager, Capped Conebill and Western Hemispingus and with luck we’ll locate the White-faced Nunbird that the area is famed for. Lyre-tailed Nightjar and Rufescent Screech-Owl will be our nocturnal targets near our lodge during our stay on the west slope of the Andes.
Day 4. We’ll take a trip down to Mindo today and explore the Choco forests at a lower elevation. We’ll spend the morning at a small private cloud forest reserve where we have an outstanding chance to see antpittas at close quarters. The rare Giant Antpitta is a regular visitor to a feeding station and with luck we’ll see Yellow-breasted and Moustached Antpittas too. As if this wasn’t enough, it’s highly likely that we’ll encounter the shy Dark-backed Wood-Quail too. However it’s not just the terrestrial species that we’ll be searching for here. On recent tours we’ve seen Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Golden-headed Quetzal, Scaled and Orange-breasted Fruiteaters, Olivaceous Piha and Crimson-rumped Toucanet here.
We’ll return to our lodge for lunch and spend the rest of the day in the upper Tandayapa Valley searching for more new birds.
Day 5. Today we make our way down to the Milpe Cloud Forest Reserve to explore the lower elevation Choco forests. The reserve is fantastic for feeding flocks and we’ll have to be very alert as the bird ‘wave’ moves through. Possibilities include birds like Pale-mandibled Aracari, Moss-backed Tanager, Rufous-throated Tanager, Ochre-breasted Tanager, Glistening-green Tanager, Grey-and-gold Tanager, Yellow-collared Chlorophonia, Choco Warbler and Rufous-rumped Antwren. We’ll also have a chance of two much sought-after birds here: the Velvet-purple Coronet and the ornate Club-winged Manakin. Both are typical of the wet Choco forests and extremely attractive denizens of this region. Overnight near Pedro Vincente Maldonado.
Day 6. Remnant forests remains near the town of Pedro Vincente Maldonado and some endangered species still survive here. Birding from a dirt road that passes through patches of primary and secondary forest we could see Choco Toucan, Pallid Dove, Choco Trogon, Tawny-crested Tanager, Rufous-winged Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Scarlet-and-white Tanager, Scarlet-browed Tanager or even Scarlet-breasted Dacnis. We’ll scrutinise any passing flocks for Slate-throated Gnatcatcher or Double-banded Graytails and check for White-whiskered Puffbird or Lanceolated Monklet sitting quietly on the vines or small branches. Despite serious fragmentation the low foothills are still productive but we should not forget the precarious status of some of these range-restricted birds. We’ll return to Quito in the late afternoon.
Day 7. We’ll have an opportunity for a later start today, as we will take a flight from the capital to the steamy lowlands of the Amazon. On arrival in the frontier town of Coca we’ll take a two hour river journey to our lodge in the Amazonian lowlands. During our journey along the Napo we should see a few of the birds associated with the larger rivers of the Amazon Basin like Black Caracara, Pied Plover, Yellow-billed Terns, Swallow-wings and White-winged Swallows before reaching our destination: Sacha Lodge. On reaching the dock we’ll be prepared for birding straight away! Weather permitting we can ‘bird’ our way to the lodge maybe spotting Scarlet-crowned Barbets, Spangled Cotingas, White-eared Jacamars or White-shouldered Antbirds before reaching our comfortable cabins with private facilities. Prehistoric Hoatzins frequent the nearby trees and with three full days here we’ll have plenty of time to immerse ourselves in this ‘melting pot of biodiversity’ that is the Amazon rainforest.
Days 8 – 10. There will be plenty to keep us occupied here at Sacha. We’ll spend one morning on the canopy platform watching for passing flocks of Opal-crowned, Opal-rumped, Paradise and Masked Tanagers, Many-banded, Lettered and Ivory-billed Aracaris. Plum-throated Cotingas are frequently seen from this forty-metre tower as well as the Cream-coloured Woodpecker. Less predictable, but still much desired, are Great and Paradise Jacamars, White-necked Puffbird, White-fronted Nunbird, and Coppery-chested Jacamar. Another morning will be spent on the Napo and its river islands paying an early visit to one of the local parrot-licks where birds gather to eat the clay on the riverbanks. Activity is likely to be rather frantic but we could see Mealy and Yellow-crowned Amazons, Blue-headed Parrots, Dusky-headed and Cobalt-winged Parakeets here. Commuting between here and the islands we may get some fly-over Scarlet or Chestnut-fronted Macaws. On the islands themselves we’ll be looking for the ‘obligate species’ like Black-and-White Antbird, Castlenau’s Antshrike, Lesser Hornero and White-bellied Spinetail.
Back on terra-firme there will be plenty of opportunity to walk the forest trails in search of those ‘classic’ Amazon birds like Wire-tailed Manakin, Yellow-billed Jacamar, Chestnut-capped Puffbird, Screaming Piha, Black-faced Antbird, Undulated Antshrike and Rusty-belted Tapaculo. We’ll spend one afternoon cruising down one of the many channels in flooded forest looking for Boat-billed Herons, Sungrebe, Green-and-rufous Kingfisher and Orange-crested Manakin. Nightbirding near the lodge can be very good with Crested and Spectacled Owls frequently seen. Tropical Screech-Owl is another possibility and maybe the local guides working at Sacha will know of a roosting site for Common or Great Potoo. With three days here we’ll get time to appreciate the subtly different habitat requirements of some of these lowland rainforest birds and their ecosystem niches.
Day 11. We leave the Amazon this morning spending some time birding as we make our way to the dock where our boat (and luggage) will be waiting to take us back to Coca. The short flight to Quito takes us over some snow-capped volcanoes and we’ll be met by our driver on arrival in the capital and drive to Guango Lodge in the Andes. The feeders at Guango are brilliant for Sword-billed Hummingbird, Tourmaline Sunangel, Gorgetted Woodstar and Mountain Velvetbreast.
Day 12. This morning we’ll head for the paramos of Papallacta Pass. Andean Condors are often seen coasting over the snow-capped peaks near the pass. Polylepis forest (a diminishing habitat throughout the Andes thanks to its use as firewood) here may support some small flocks. Bird diversity here is quite low but Pale-naped Brush-Finch and even Giant Conebill can be found with good fortune. Any montane scrub up here could hold Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant or Andean Tit-Spinetail. This is the most easily accessible paramo in northern Ecuador and at we’ll be taking our birding at a very leisurely pace. There are some fine rewards up here in the shape of Stout-billed Cinclodes, Many-striped Canastero and maybe even a Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe. Overnight at Guango Lodge.
Day 13. Today sees us continuing down the east slope of the Andes but we may like to look around Guango before leaving. Mixed flocks here can hold Black-eared and Black-capped Hemispingus, Grey-hooded Bush-Tanager, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant and Slaty Brush-Finch. Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan and Red-hooded Tanager are occasionally seen here and we’ll be alert for the far-carrying call of the former.
The rest of the day will be spent birding our way down the east slope of the Andes, eventually arriving at Cabanas San Isidro, where we’ll spend the next two nights. Located on an old ranch adjacent to extensive subtropical cloud forest, San Isidro is an excellent place to base oneself to explore the east slope of the Ecuadorian Andes. We’ll spend the rest of the day birding around here sifting through mixed feeding bird flocks that make South America such an exciting birding venue.
Day 14. The Cordillera de Guacamayos is only thirty minutes from San Isidro and we shall spend today birding this outlying ridge of the Andes. The trails here can be very good with White-capped Tanager, Black-billed Mountain-Toucan and Greater Scythebill all seen by us here in the past. Colourful birds like Hooded Mountain-Tanager and Lacrimose Mountain-Tanager are frequently seen and other foothill birds occurring in the area include recently described Foothill Elaenia is known from the east slope here, as is the rare Coppery-chested Jacamar as well.
The presence of a ‘Mystery Owl’ at San Isidro is very intriguing: intermediate between Black-banded Owl (not known at this altitude) and Black-and-white Owl (not found east of the Andes in Ecuador), these birds are quite regularly seen in the vicinity of the lodge. We shall search for these birds as well as Rufous-banded Owl and Rufous-bellied Nighthawk.
Day 15. Another day in the Cabanas San Isidro area before departing for Quito, birding as we go. Overnight in our hotel in Quito.
Day 16. Transfer to the airport for our flight to the UK.
PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE YOUR FLIGHT TO ECUADOR UNTIL YOU HAVE RECEIVED DEPARTURE CONFIRMATION OF THIS TOUR FROM TOUCAN BIRDING TOURS.
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