The spectacular Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan is endemic to the lush cloud forests of the Chocó bioregion and nearly endemic to Ecuador itself, making it one of the most emblematic species we hope to see on this tour. Photo: Scott Olmstead
The Andes of northwest Ecuador have some of the best and most accessible birding locations in all of South America, and they just keep getting better every year. This fairly short tour based in the Mindo-Tandayapa area offers a superb look at the incredible bird diversity of the Chocó bioregion that will delight first time visitors to Ecuador and returning travelers alike.
Our tour will spend time at two outstanding and comfortable accommodations: Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge, situated in the upper subtropical zone above the Tandayapa Valley, and El Séptimo Paraíso, lower in the Mindo Valley. Both locations are excellent bases from which to explore the surrounding areas, and also have great birding right on the grounds. Among the localities we’ll visit are the Tandayapa Valley, Mindo, Mashpi, the Paz de las Aves reserve, and the forest preserves at Yanacocha, Milpe, Silanche, and Amagusa—all of them within 15 minutes to 1.5 hours from our lodging. During our eight days of birding we should encounter about 300 species, possibly including some of western Ecuador’s most celebrated: Toucan Barbet, Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Giant Antpitta, Oilbird, Lyre-tailed Nightjar, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Orange-breasted Fruiteater, and as many as 40 species of hummingbirds and 50 dazzling tanagers overall. Finally, on top of the amazing birds, another highlight will be the chance to meet and bird with some of the local entrepreneurs who have established the small reserves that help make birding so accessible and enjoyable in Ecuador, while conserving the important natural habitats of their home region at the same time.
Day 1: The tour begins at 6:30 p.m. in Puembo near Quito’s international airport. Night in Puembo.
Day 2: We’ll leave early this morning for the temperate cloud forests on the outer slopes of Pichincha Volcano. Our destinations will be Zuro Loma and Yanacocha, two nearby reserves that are home to a number of interesting high-elevation species. We’ll watch the hummingbird feeders for the iconic Sword-billed Hummingbird, bossy Buff-winged Starfrontlet, and elegant Great Sapphirewing. Tanagers are abundant at this elevation, and we’ll especially hope to find mountain-tanagers, such as Scarlet-bellied, Hooded, and possibly the rare Black-chested. With luck we may be able to see Equatorial, Tawny, or Chestnut-naped Antpitta. After lunch at Yanacocha we’ll descend below the town of Nono through breathtaking temperate and subtropical forest along the famous Nono-Mindo road. Here we’ll look for White-capped Dipper and roadside mixed-species flocks containing a variety of tanagers, flycatchers, warblers, and other birds. We’ll arrive in the late afternoon at Bellavista Cloud Forest, our home for two nights. Night at Bellavista.
Day 3: On our full day based at Bellavista, we’ll concentrate on birding the upper subtropical cloud forest around the lodge and in the adjacent Tandayapa Valley, without the need to drive very far at all. We’ll begin by birding right outside our cabins, where eye-catching Turquoise Jays, Blue-winged Mountain-Tanagers, Masked Trogons, and Strong-billed Woodcreepers frequently visit an insect light at dawn in search of their breakfast. The scarce White-faced Nunbird and gaudy Toucan Barbet occasionally put in an appearance as well. Hummingbird feeders at Bellavista and nearby properties attract an outrageous variety of hummingbirds, including gems like White-booted Racket-tail, Collared Inca, Andean Emerald, Purple-throated Woodstar, and Buff-tailed Coronet. Walking along the road can bring exhilarating birding too, and we’ll hope to encounter mixed flocks that might hold Grass-green Tanager, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Streaked Tuftedcheek, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, and Green-and-black Fruiteater. The striking Crested Quetzal and the incomparable Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan are both possible here. Night at Bellavista.
Day 4: Our second morning at Bellavista comes with an early excursion to look for the tricky, phantom-like Tanager Finch, a large sparrow known in Ecuador only from a handful of sites. After returning to the lodge for breakfast and a last chance to enjoy the bird activity at the feeders, we’ll check out with a pack lunch and take a longer drive (around 1.5 hours) down into the Guayllabamba River Valley to visit a dark and mysterious grotto home to a colony of Oilbirds that spend the daylight hours resting on steep rock ledges above a rushing mountain stream. These unique and bizarre birds, superficially similar to nightjars, are the only nocturnal, frugivorous bird species in the world, and they are known to use echolocation like bats! Their abrupt shrieking vocalizations combined with the somewhat spooky ambience of their hideout will provide for a memorable experience. After our visit with the Oilbirds we’ll have the rest of the day to make our way to Mindo; we may head straight for our lodge to check in or we may make some roadside birding stops en route. By late afternoon we’ll arrive at El Séptimo Paraíso Lodge, our home for the next five nights. Night at Séptimo Paraíso.
Days 5-8: We’ll have four full days to explore several of the most famous birding locations in northwest Ecuador. One morning we’ll depart before dawn to visit an Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek. The number of brilliant males attending the lek varies from day to day but the experience is never less than fascinating. We’ll visit the now-famous reserve managed by local farmer Angel Paz, where we hope to see a number of antpittas (Giant, Ochre-breasted, Chestnut-crowned, Moustached, and Yellow-breasted Antpittas are all possible) and other normally hard-to-see species.
On another morning we’ll visit the magical cloud forests of the Mashpi area, set at a similar elevation to the Mindo-Tandayapa area but on a different ridge of the Andes. This area is home to the marvelous Mashpi Amagusa Reserve, and hosts a plethora of species endemic to the Chocó bioregion of western Ecuador and adjacent Colombia, including Moss-backed Tanager, Black Solitaire, Orange-breasted Fruiteater, Pacific Tuftedcheek, Chocó Vireo, and Indigo Flowerpiercer.
We’ll be sure to descend at least once to the steamy lower foothills, where diversity is highest and we can encounter a different range of birds. Here, widespread rainforest species are found alongside some Central American specialties at the southern end of their range and some species endemic to the Chocó region. We’ll search for prizes such as Orange-fronted Barbet, Guayaquil Woodpecker, Blue-tailed and Gartered Trogons, Purple-chested Hummingbird, and uncommon tanagers like Gray-and-gold, Scarlet-browed, and Dusky-faced.
Our lodge, El Séptimo Paraíso, is situated in a forested valley with good birding possibilities on the grounds and nearby, and we’ll hope to run into mixed-species flocks containing Spotted Woodcreeper, Red-faced Spinetail, Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner, Slaty-capped Flycatcher, and Yellow-throated Chlorospingus. Also found around the lodge are some sought-after birds like Golden-headed Quetzal, Crested Guan, and Crimson-rumped Toucanet.
Hummingbird diversity is extremely high in the cloud forests of northwest Ecuador, and we can find 10 or more species at several sites. Given the popularity of hummingbird feeders at many small, local reserves, we can expect closeup encounters with extraordinary Chocó endemics like Violet-tailed Sylph, Empress Brilliant, Velvet-purple Coronet, Brown Inca, and Purple-bibbed Whitetip, surely a highlight experience. Nights at Séptimo Paraíso.
Day 9: We have the morning to look for anything special we may have missed, or we may visit a new area. Depending on the day’s program we may check out of Séptimo Paraso after breakfast or after lunch. In the afternoon we’ll drive back toward Quito, perhaps stopping in the arid country outside the city to search for a few species that we won’t see elsewhere. Possible species at this site include Ash-breasted Sierra-Finch, Band-tailed Seedeater, Golden Grosbeak, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, and Black-tailed Trainbearer. We’ll arrive back at our airport hotel in the late afternoon in time to rest a bit before a delicious farewell dinner. Night in Tababela.
Day 10: The trip ends this morning with transfers to the airport.
Created: 05 August 2024
Prices
- 2025 Tour Price : $3,950
- Single Occupancy Supplement : $250
Notes
Questions? Tour Manager: Greg Greene. Call 1-866-547-9868 (US or Canada) or (01) 520-320-9868 or click here to email.
* Tour invoices paid by check carry a 4% discount. Details here.
Maximum group size eight participants with one leader.