Photo Gallery
Gavin Bieber unless otherwise noted
We’ll start out the trip with a one-day voyage to the nearby Andes mountains, just west of Quito, where amid jaw-dropping scenery…
…we’ll find gems such as Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager…
…or Turquoise Jay.
A host of birder friendly hummingbird feeders…
…permit close encounters with birds such as Brown Inca, or…
…the astounding Sword-billed Hummingbird.
A trip along a rushing Andean stream might produce a White-capped Dipper, or, as here, a stunning Torrent Duck.
The next day we’ll take the short flight to Coca and board our longboat for the trip down the Rio Napo.
These boats are comfortable, and well shaded for sun or rain.
La Selva lodge boasts a collection of thatched cabins…
…with a wonderful overlook from the bar of Garzacocha, a small oxbow lake…
…which is full of birds and Pirahna though the lodge swears swimming is perfectly safe.
The common room provides the perfect spot for relaxation, the nightly bird-list, or a cool refreshing tropical drink…
…and a day roost of Sand-colored Nighthawks is literally just an arm’s length away.
The Cabins are simple but spacious and clean…
…and some include heated spas on the verandas.
Numerous forest trails take off from just behind the cabins…
…and the La Selva tower allows close access to birds of the high canopy…
The diversity around the lodge is mind-boggling and ranges from Spangled Cotinga…
…to colorful poison-dart frogs or…
…improbable Long-billed Woodcreepers.
The canopy tower gives us a bird’s eye view, where we might spot a rare Lanceolated Monklet…
…a hunting Ornate Hawk-Eagle…
…or flocks of foraging Many-banded Arazaris.
Being paddled around in dugout canoes is a great way to access some of the flooded forests along the Rio Napo…
…where Azure Gallinules might be found amongst the lilies…
…or perhaps the cryptic Zigzag Heron, a La Selva specialty, might be found on a night paddle hidden amongst the streamside thickets.
Photo: Gary Rosenberg
Trips across to the South side of the river will turn up a wide array of different birds, like the colorful Scarlet-crowned Barbet…
…or the amazing Amazonian Umbrellabird…
…and the amazing clay licks are attended by a colorful swarm of parrots including these Cobalt-winged Parakeets.
Night paddles are productive with Tawny-bellied Screech-Owls, several species of Potoos…
…and maybe even a huge amphibian, like this one pound behemoth, the Smoky Jungle-Frog.