Photo Gallery
Photos by Gary Rosenberg
The tour begins with a day trip up Papallacta Pass in search of Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe.
If we are lucky, we may find one or two at high elevation among the cushion plants.
Other species at this elevation include the dapper Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant…
…and Tawny Antpitta, the only antpitta likely to be seen out in the open in Ecuador!
Around Catamayo we may see one of our first Tumbes Sparrows.
At Cajanuma in Podacarpus National Park, Golden-headed Quetzal is one of many fancy birds we are likely to see.
Along the Rio Bombuscaro section of Podacarpus National Park, the birding is excellent.
Specialty birds include the diminutive Lanceolated Monklet…
…the rare Coppery-chested Jacamar….
…and the very local White-breasted Parakeet.
The stunning Ornate Flycatcher is common along the Rio Bombuscaro.
Next we’ll travel farther south to the Tapichalaca Reserve.
At least eight species of hummingbirds come to the feeders at the Jocotoco House, including the Chestnut-breasted Coronet.
It will take great luck to locate the recently described Jocotoco Antpitta.
At Buenaventura, we hope to see the eccentric Long-wattled Umbrellabird…
…and search for other specialty birds, such as this El Oro Parakeet.
Club-winged Manakins snap their wings above their heads in their strange mating display.
Brown Violetear is common at the feeders…
…as is the stunning Violet-bellied Hummingbird.
Rarer is the Barred Puffbird, restricted to the lowlands of western Ecuador.
Of four species of toucan found at Buenaventura, the Pale-mandibled Aracari is one of the more elegant.
We’ll finish in the lowlands west of Guayaquil, searching for other “Tumbesian” endemics, such as the Collared Warbling-Finch…
…and Baird’s Flycatcher.
The Peruvian Pygmy-Owl is a recent split from the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl.
But perhaps the cutest bird in this region is the Pacific Parrotlet.