Ecuador: The South

Day 1: Everyone should arrive in Guayaquil by this evening for our introductory dinner. Night in Guayaquil.

Day 2: We’ll start the tour birding south of Guayaquil in the diverse coastal forest reserve at Manglares-Churute. This remnant mangrove forest bordered by dry forest and agricultural fields (rice paddies) is awash with interesting bird life and we have chances here for the southwestern forest specialties like Jet Antbird, Baird’s Flycatcher, and Orange-crowned Euphonia. Further, the rice fields and wetlands often have waders and shorebirds and Horned Screamers and unbelievable numbers of Snail Kites, and the mangrove forests have Mangrove Yellow Warbler. We’ll continue south from there into the low foothill rainforest of Jocotoco’s Buenaventura Reserve and the very comfortable Umbrellabird Lodge.

Day 3: The Buenaventura Reserve protects some of the most threatened forest in the country, and the drive there through mostly cleared pasture makes one appreciate the value of this spectacular piece of forest. We’ll have breakfast to the sounds of distant Howler Monkeys and squabbling hummingbirds before we take a hike to look for the namesake of the lodge: the amazing Long-wattled Umbrellabird which has a lek nearby. Its foghorn call is often heard, and we should be able to find one or more sitting unobtrusively in the forest sub-canopy.

The reserve also protects the scarce and local El Oro Parakeet, which we have a chance of seeing at the upper end of the reserve. We may get to see a few Club-winged Manakins displaying or a White-tipped Sicklebill tap into a heliconia flower. We could run into Gray-backed Hawk, Barred Puffbird, or Ochraceous Attila among throngs of other birds. The fruit feeders around Umbrellabird Lodge’s dining area can attract tanagers, araçaris, and coatis, and its hummingbird feeders are among the best in Ecuador. Night at Umbrellabird Lodge.

Day 4-5: After another morning of birding the rainforest, we’ll depart Buenaventura for a very different habitat, spending the next two days birding dry country—tropical deciduous forests and arid thornscrub—for the specialty birds of this seemingly strange habitat in a country mostly known for being lush and green. We’ll bird the Jorupe Reserve, another Jocotoco Foundation property, and spend two nights at the Jorupe Reserve’s Urraca Lodge. Notable birds to look for include Henna-hooded Foliage-Gleaner, Watkins’s Antpitta, Blackish-headed Spinetail, and Ecuadorian Piculet – but, even the fairly common species like Whooping Motmot, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Speckle-breasted Wren, and Black-called Sparrow are worthy distractions. The feeders at the lodge are usually busy in the morning with Rufous-headed Chachalacas, Blue Ground-Doves, White-tailed Jays, and Plumbeous-backed Thrushes. Nights at Urraca Lodge.

Day 6: Leaving Jorupe, we’ll travel across more arid country, but spending the morning in the high-elevation stunted forest of the tiny Utuana Reserve. Here we hope for Rufous-necked Foliage-Gleaner, Chapman’s Antshrike, and Glossy-black Thrush. The hummingbird feeders here usually have lots of Purple-throated Sunangels and Rainbow Starfrontlets. Descending from Utuana en route to the city of Loja, we’ll stop in the lower thornscrub for Tumbes Sparrow and the sneaky, but spectacular Elegant Crescentchest. Night in Loja.

Day 7: Today will be a varied day, beginning with the high-elevation part of Podocarpus National Park in the cloud forest of the Cajanuma sector just south of Loja, where we could find Equatorial Antpitta, Chusquea Tapaculo, Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan, and perhaps a couple of flashy tanager flocks with the sublime Golden-crowned Tanager and ridiculous Grass-green Tanager catching the eye. After the morning there, things change fast, and we’ll first descend through arid, scrubby valleys, where Croaking Ground-Doves and Purple-collared Woodstars are possible, and finally we’ll go back up to reach the very humid high-elevation woodland of the Jocotoco Foundation’s wonderful Tapichalaca Reserve. Night at the homey Casa Simpson.

Day 8: At Casa Simpson we’re only steps away from excellent birding, starting with the hummingbird feeders on the front porch and perhaps Bearded Guans in the driveway. Surrounding the lodge, the Tapichalaca Reserve is the home of the flagship species of the Jocotoco nonprofit organization, and we’ll walk the forest trail to where the huge, spectacular Jocotoco Antpitta is now coming to earthworms at a feeding station. Golden-plumed Parakeets, White-throated Screech-Owl, Chestnut-naped Antpitta, Black-throated Tody-Tyrant, Dusky Piha, and White-capped Tanager are also possible while we wander the roads and trails that pass through the reserve. Also easily accessible from Casa Simpson are the upper reaches of the Río Marañon watershed, which flows south through the Amazonian foothills of Peru and marks a major ecological divide. Only a touch of this watershed enters the far southeast of Ecuador, and here we can find birds at the edge of their range, such as Black-faced Tanager, Marañon Thrush, and Rufous-fronted Thornbird. Night at Casa Simpson.

Day 9: After a final morning in the Tapichalaca Reserve and perhaps another stop back in upper Podocarpus National Park, we’ll end our day at Copalinga Lodge outside of the town of Zamora in the Amazonian foothills. Night at Copalinga Lodge.

Day 10: The charming Copalinga Lodge lies along the Río Bombuscaro at the eastern edge of the vast Podocarpus National Park. An easy trail along the river permits access to this lower elevation part of the park, and the list of potential birds is impressive. The brilliant Coppery-chested Jacamar and the local White-necked Parakeet are possible, as are more subtle species such as Black-streaked Puffbird and the recently described Foothill Elaenia. The grounds of Copalinga Lodge are superb for birding as well: fruit feeders can attract tanagers, euphonias, Speckled Chachalacas, and Red-crested Finch, Andean Cock-of-the-rock sometimes feasts in the palms and cecropias, and Little Woodstar occasionally visits the verbena. There is also a bird-feeding station back off in the woods that attracts a Gray Tinamou. Night at Copalinga Lodge.

Day 11: After a morning of birding around the lodge or back at the park, we’ll drive farther east. As the elevation sinks toward lower Amazonian foothill habitat, we could encounter Green-backed Trogon, Long-tailed Tyrant, raucous Black-capped Donacobius, and a few new tanagers like Turquoise, Masked, and Yellow-bellied. We’ll reach our lodge, Cabañas Yankuam, in time to settle in and perhaps do a little birding before dinner (in the late afternoon there are often White-tipped Swifts flying against the cliffs). Night at Cabañas Yankuam.

Day 12: Cabañas Yankuam lies along the Río Nangaritza in the Cordillera del Condor, a special habitat on a sedimentary stone tepui spur ridge of the Andes and home to near-endemic species and others at range limits or in isolated populations. Orange-throated Tanager is striking and will be a species for which we will have particular focus, but other likely prizes include Purplish Jacamar, Zimmer’s Antbird, and Gray-tailed Piha. In these primeval forests literally at the end of the road, Black-and-white Tody-Flycatcher and Fiery-throated Fruiteater are resident, and Ecuadorian Tyrannulets are almost common. Other birds occasionally seen along the road here are Lemon-throated Barbet, Yellow-backed Tanager, Slaty-capped Shrike-Vireo, and White-bellied Pygmy-Tyrant, yet another bird known in Ecuador only from this location. One feels on the verge of a great discovery every step of the way in the forests of this remote locale. Night at Cabañas Yankuam.

Day 13: We’ll bird the area around Cabañas Yankuam this morning before returning west and back up into the mountains. Night in Loja.

Days 14: From Loja we’ll go north to bird some high elevation forests near the town of Saraguro. We’ll keep an eye and ear out for tanager flocks, and we might bump into some mountain specialties like Glowing Puffleg, Mouse-colored Thistletail, or Paramo Tapaculo. Leaving here, we’ll get even more mountainous and drive west deep into the Andean ridges to the remote mountaintop of Cerro de Arcos. If there is good weather in the afternoon we will make our first attempt at finding Blue-throated Hillstar, a hummingbird first discovered in 2017 and known only from this location. Night at Casa Refugio Cerro de Arcos.

Day 15: We will spend the morning birding the area around the lodge, where, in addition to the Blue-throated Hillstar, other above tree-line specialties can be found. Jameson’s Snipe is often calling in the pre-dawn around the lodge and we may be able to track one down. Streak-backed Canastero, Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant, and both Mountain and Carunculated Caracaras (and hybrids) are all possible. The hummingbird feeders around the lodge can have Shining Sunbeam, Great Sapphirewing, and Virdian Metaltail. We will stay until lunch then drop north through some desolate rain-shadow terrain toward the acacia woodlands of the scenic Yunguilla Valley. Night in La Union.

Day 16: We’ll start in the acacia woodlands of the Yunguilla Reserve that protects the tiny range of the critically endangered Pale-headed Brushfinch, a species rediscovered after being unrecorded for decades. They’re fairly common in the shrubby parts of the reserve and usually come in to the bird feeder, as often does Gray-browed Brushfinch and sometimes even a Chestnut-crowned Antpitta. From here we’ll drive up and north to the edge of El Cajas National Park on the outskirts of Cuenca, Ecuador’s third-largest city. Time permitting, we may stop on the way up at one of the “miradors” for a look out over the scenic countryside or pop into some polylepis woodland for a shot at a Giant Conebill. Night near Cuenca.

Day 17: Today we’ll be out birding near and above tree-line in El Cajas National Park, where we can expect such characteristic high-elevation species as Tawny Antpitta, Blue-mantled Thornbill, Chestnut-winged and Stout-billed Cinclodes, and Tit-like Dacnis, and we can at least hope for the endemic hummingbirds, Ecuadorian Hillstar and Violet-throated Metaltail, all against the dazzling backdrop of the high Andes. Depending on the weather and time, we may make a few last stops in our afternoon drive to Guayaquil for our final night in Ecuador. Night in Guayaquil.

Day 18: The tour concludes this morning in Guayaquil.

2024 Narrative

This is the long haul of tropical birding. Two and a half weeks of extensive coverage of some remote and beautiful places in the far less visited southern part of Ecuador. Herein lie the endemics like Blue-throated Hillstar, Violet-throated Metaltail, Neblina Metaltail, and Pale-headed Brushfinch, the show-stoppers like Jocotoco Antpitta and Long-wattled Umbrellabird. We saw all of those. We also saw some less specialized, but still special species like Oilbirds, Henna-hooded Foliage-Gleaner, gobs of Paradise Tanagers, raucous Yellow-rumped Caciques, and we heard the otherworldly deep-forest tootlings of Musician Wren in the eastern rainforest and Song Wren in the western rainforest. Those were among the well over 500 species we encountered on this epic voyage. The travel was fun, the crowd was up for good times, the lodging was comfortable and chill, the food was excellent local fare, and the birds? Well, this is only the first paragraph.

Our first day out was one of extremes. We left the big, noisy city of Guayaquil for the tranquility of nature, and we also went from sea level to some of the highest elevations we visited on this tour. The birds were pretty extreme, too, with monstrous Horned Screamers in the coastal wetlands to something much smaller with Glowing Puffleg in the mountains. And, there aren’t many birds more extreme than an incandescent Vermillion Flycatcher. Some other highlights from the day were a Laughing Falcon, one of our first birds out of the van, and Black-cheeked Woodpeckers from the van as they worked an electrical pole in the midst of people gathering for a church service. The bright orange Fulvous Whistling-Ducks were our most numerous duck species today. Thicket birds were well represented with some goodies like Olivaceous Piculet, Jet Antbird, and Fasciated Wrens. The day ended in the scenic mountains just below treeline at our base for the next day’s alpine exploration.

At times, on our full day at El Cajas National Park, we fought with cold, wet weather (not unusual in the mountains), but pulled out a productive day of birding. Before entering the park we started with a singing Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager as well as Rainbow Starfrontlet and a cooperative Mountain Wren. Within the park we found some Turquoise Jays and Andean Ducks, and even a couple of Spectacled Redstarts feeding in some low marsh grass. Weird. We then went to the higher elevations above treeline and cleaned up with killer looks at Tit-like Dacnis, a Tawny Antpitta that snuck in on us, and both the endemic Violet-throated Metaltail and the nearly bill-less (for a hummingbird) Blue-mantled Thornbill. The birding was good, but it also felt nice to descend into the warm, dry Yunguilla Valley later that afternoon.

We started the next day with one of Ecuador’s rarest endemic birds and ended the day with a different one. Reserva Yunguilla is the home to the Pale-headed Brushfinch, a species with only a few hundred extant individuals in a tiny valley. They were easy to see, though, and came in to the bird feeders. Also coming in to the bird feeders were Gray-browed Brushfinch and even a Chestnut-crowned Antpitta, something one doesn’t usually think of as a bread-eater. From Yunguilla we did our ascent to the lofty heights of Cerro de Arcos and the tiny range of the recently discovered Blue-throated Hillstar. It took a little more work than usual to find one, but we did and had excellent looks at this banger of a hummingbird. We headed to our alpine lodge as the weather deteriorated, so just in time!

Though the next day was mostly a driving day to get from the alpine tundra to the foothill Amazon rainforest, we worked in some birding nonetheless. In the morning Cerro de Arcos was what it is sometimes: cold, wet, blowing fog with poor visibility. The hummingbird feeders were good, though, and we enjoyed the Shining Sunbeams being bullies, as well as the huge Great Sapphirewing cruising about. Not far from the lodge we could get down below the fog, and there we watched a couple of stately Mountain Caracaras stalking around in the paramo grass. Our long drive to lower elevations was broken up by a picnic lunch and a nice walk along a road in some high elevation cloud forest. We had extended looks at a Glowing Puffleg feeding and it was clear why it had both of its names. We also had a wonderful experience with a pair of Streaked Tuftedcheeks, one of which perched accommodatingly out on a bare branch for a good look around. Our final leg of driving got us to Copalinga Lodge in the low foothills and we got some quick watching of the feeders (and a whole new batch of hummingbirds) before dinner.

Many days of this tour involve a long drive to the next spot, but this one was all close to home. We started at the end of the street with a walk through foothill rainforest along the Rio Bombuscaro of Podocarpus National Park. Forest birding is both exhilarating and frustrating as mixed-species flocks bomb through the canopy and understory. A lot goes by unidentified. But, we see a lot, too. One such flock of tanagers, flycatchers, and such also included an animated Yellow-breasted Antwren, shaking its tail as it sang. Another had a scarce Spectacled Bristle-Tyrant.

After lunch we puttered around the lodge, watching hummingbirds both at the feeders for some nice stuff like Fork-tailed Woodnymph and Gray-chinned Hermit and at the flowers in the parking lot that had crazy-looking Wire-crested Thorntail and bee-like Little Woodstar. We then walked down the main road toward town to look down on the river a little. We found some more tanagers along the way including a flock of gaudy Paradise Tanagers. Flying around the river and perching on the rocks were a couple of sublime White-banded Swallows. The final event of the day was to watch a Gray Tinamou come to corn thrown in the trail up the hill from the lodge. Bonuses included a White-throated Quail-Dove that joined the tinamou and a Coppery-chested Jacamar that was perched over the trail on the way up. It was a big day with a lot of birds.

The time we spend in the Amazon watershed includes both the Zamora area (from Copalinga Lodge) but also the Nangaritza Valley along the Cordillera del Condor. It’s a bit of a drive in there and, of course, but with good birding along the way. We started on the old road above Zamora where we found some good tanagers like Golden-eared, Orange-eared, more Paradise Tanagers, and a Golden-collared Honeycreeper. We also had some local specialties like Yellow-browed Sparrow delivering its insect-like song, and a pair of Blackish Antbirds, doing their thing, unsolicited in a vine tangle where we could see them. There were also some hometown pride birds for us North Americans like Blackburnian and Canada Warblers. The star of the morning, though, was also our first bird out of the bus, a male Andean Cock-of-the-rock that flew over us, landed in a tree, and proceeded to quietly eat little berries while we watched. Once into the Nangaritza Valley we encountered some more lowland specialties like Violaceous Jays that looked pretty violaceous, rather than just kind-of-blue. We also had a charismatic flycatcher (usually an oxymoron) in the form of a Long-tailed Tyrant on the power lines. White-eyed Parakeets were flying around while we ran back to the van as a thunderstorm opened up over us and we arrived at Cabanas Yankuam, base for the next two days of birding this special place.

The aforementioned challenge and delight of forest birding was well manifest this day in the Nangaritza Valley. We walked a nice dirt road through a forest reserve with birds abound. There were plenty of squints into the dark shadows for glimpses at some deep skulkers and some neck-cracking looks into the treetops at flocks of tanagers. Of the canopy birds, Golden-collared Toucanet, a pair, in fact, was noteworthy as they remained in place for long enough for us all to enjoy lengthy scope views. There was a lot of canopy mayhem, however, including a Russet-backed Oropendola chasing a Black Caracara – perhaps in response to a close nest approach. Back down in the understory, staring at dark birds in dark thickets was nicely broken up by some color in the form of a couple of Ornate Flycatchers posing over the road. And no day is complete without some porch sitting at the lodge. The fruiting trees collected a nice group of Paradise Tanagers, among others, and the flowering verbenas brought in Amethyst Woodstar and Glittering-throated Emerald, two new ones for the trip.

Typically a day to “mop up” any missing specialties in the Amazonian foothills, our last day in this habitat was anything but a simple mop-up. It was our last morning in this forest, and though we’d birded it hard the entirety of the previous day, we still pulled out new stuff. One of our first birds was a Musician Wren, and we listened to its ethereal jamming. Then, we got everyone on Orange-throated Tanager, so that was great. It’s THE specialty of the area and seems to get harder to find every year. We then took advantage of the little jog in the road that dips into Peru and added some Peruvian birding to our trip. It was secondary habitat, so much easier birding than the dark forest, and we saw lots of open country tanagers, like Turquoise Tanager, plus some little thicket birds like Golden-winged Tody-Flycatchers. We then left the Amazon watershed and drove to the mountain town of Loja, but not before making one last stop along the river for a beautiful female Torrent Duck as well as a surprise couple of Oilbirds roosting in a dark hole next to a waterfall. We then tried to leave as a surprise flock rolled through and we had eye level looks at Orange-eared Tanager, Three-striped Warbler, and a chattering mob of Yellow-throated Chlorospinguses among others. We tried to leave again and a Broad-winged Hawk came over with some vultures. Then we really did leave, a satisfying end to the day.

The following day was a return to the cloud forest. We left Loja and made for the higher elevations of Podocarpus National Park. The forest was nice, but the clear, sunny, and frankly beautiful weather made it get pretty quiet, pretty quickly. Nevertheless, we saw some nice stuff like outrageous Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanagers in the trees and the more subtle (but still pretty gaudy with a good look) Red-crested Cotinga on a treetop. Moving south, we stopped again on the edge of the vast park at the continental divide and border between the state of Loja and the state of Zamora-Chinchipe. Here we encountered a flock of birds at or below eye level in the stunted vegetation. It included spectacular Golden-crowned Tanagers, bright Rufous-chested Tanager, and a couple of Citrine Warblers. With a little more work we even found a Neblina Metaltail, a fairly drab, but very local hummingbird endemic to this part of southern Ecuador. We arrived a Casa Simpson in the Tapichalaca reserve in time to watch coronets and sunangels being less than angelic to each other at the feeders.

Reserva Tapichalaca gave a good performance the next day. We walked the loop through the cloud forest and saw many of the special birds of this habitat. There were a few species of mountain tanager, flocks of Golden-plumed Parakeets, some little things like Black-throated Tody-Tyrant, some medium wild things like Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, and some big wild things like Powerful Woodpecker. We spent a long time at the Jocotoco Antpitta station, and though it sang for quite a while, it only made the briefest of appearances. However, throwing worms out had the effect of bringing other species in including a pair of Barred Fruiteaters (on the ground, eating worms) and a Glossy-black Thrush. In the afternoon we went down hill into the little town of Valladolid and worked out a few more species, some of which are only found in Ecuador in this upper reach of the Rio Marañon watershed. Marañon Thrush and Rufous-fronted Thornbird were among them, but the whole area was just very birdy and we got looks at Scarlet-rumped Cacique, Long-tailed Sylph, and point blanks of a few Golden-eared Tanagers. It was a very busy, fun day.

The forest was comparatively quiet the next day. There was some rain the night before, but just one of those tropical mysteries. However, we took another pass at the Jocotoco Antpitta and it put on its more typical performance, in fact, two of them did, and we enjoyed extended looks at these special birds. The Barred Fruiteaters also returned and were chased away by the antpittas – a conflict between a ground bird and a canopy bird that probably doesn’t happen often. With a little work in the forest we were able to winkle out a Rufous-crowned Tody-Flycatcher, a small and colorful flycatcher of the deep bamboo thickets. Our afternoon was in the high elevations of Cerro Toledo, and though the birds weren’t that active, we got to see Rainbow-bearded Thornbill. It might sound like the name of some old hippy, but it is instead an amazing hummingbird of treeline scrub. After that, we left the wilderness and returned to the city of Loja for the night.

After a week of birding the extreme southeastern corner of Ecuador, we moved to the southwest and through arid thornscrub. Not only was the scenery and habitat different, but the bird life was also entirely different than what we had previously encountered. The desert did produce some goodies, though. Elegant Crescentchest was spectacular and far more cooperative than usual as it moved low through the roadside brush. Collared Antshrikes were equally accommodating and striking in their bold patterns. Golden Grosbeaks and Yellow-tailed Orioles are about as bright and bold as birds can get, and we saw several perched up on the thorns. We did dip into forest just a little at the highland oasis of the Utuana Reserve. We enjoyed the hummingbird feeders, to which were visiting several Rainbow Starfrontlets, a colorful name for a bird that doesn’t disappoint. Always a pleasant surprise, but in this case even more so, was a family group of Plushcaps working low through the bamboo. We crossed the thornscrub and ended up in the tropical deciduous woodland of the Jorupe Reserve and the chill vibes of Urraca Lodge for the next two nights.

Our full day in the dry forest was full indeed. Though dry, dusty, and leafless, the birds were there and we did very well with some of the trickier and scarcer residents of this habitat. The morning started at the lodge with bird feeders attracting beauties like Plumbeous-backed Thrush, Blue Ground-Doves, White-tailed Jays, and up to FOUR Whooping Motmots at once. Getting away from that and into the forest we winkled out Blackish-headed Spinetail and we had scope views of Henna-hooded Foliage-Gleaner that started perched, then dropped into the leaves and began rummaging around creating something like a “leaf volcano” as it foraged. The day was quite cool and pleasant for this occasionally blisteringly hot place, but it still created excellent soaring conditions and we had our best raptor day yet with: Gray-backed Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Savannah Hawk, Harris’s Hawk, Great Black Hawk, and a Hook-billed Kite. The Savannah Hawk, Gray-backed Hawk, and Great Black Hawk were seen perched, as well, an added bonus for these three fancy raptors. We ended the day hearing Peruvian Screech-Owl and Buff-fronted Owl off in the darkness.

The next day, though practically a driving day to get us from the dry forest of Reserva Jorupe to the rainforest of Reserva Buenaventura, wasn’t without plenty of birding and birds. The dry country was indeed dry, and thorny, but we found one of Ecuador’s dullest hummingbirds, the Tumbes Hummingbird. It was accompanied by a flock of one of the dullest “tanagers,” Ash-breasted Sierra-Finch. Short-tailed Hawk and Harris’s Hawk wheeling above were not dull at all. We continued and exited the dry valleys and into the wet forested slopes of El Oro. A quick stop here got us close views of Yellow-throated Toucan and Collared Acaçari, which we showed to some curious, but friendly police. The final act came upon our arrival at Reserva Buenaventura, where, with great weather, we did the hike to the lek of Long-wattled Umbrellabird and found 4 or 5 of these absolutely bizarre cotingas, their foghorn calls carrying through the forest.

Continuing in the forest the next day, we successfully saw El Oro Parakeets at one of their nest boxes. Typically, hidden by fog, today was nice and clear and we had great looks at them and other birds in the area. Spotted Woodcreeper, tanagers, saltators, and chlorospinguses, and even a Bay Wren showed well. Violet-tailed Sylphs and a Velvet-purple Coronet were at the feeders and were new hummers for the tour, and some of the finest. A White-necked Jacobin missing its green pigment was also pretty cool and moved ghostlike among the bright, shiny mobs. Perhaps hundreds of hummingbirds swarm around the sugar water dishes at the lodge along with a constant parade of Green Honeycreepers and Bananaquits. On the soundscape, we enjoyed the fluting calls of an Andean Solitaire in the treetops and the stylings of a Song Wren deep in the forest.

The final day of birding began in the forest and we did well with antbirds of all things, seeing pairs of both Zeledon’s Antbird and Chestnut-backed Antbird, as well as an energetic little Checker-throated Stipplethroat working some vine tangles above the road. We then moved west to the coast to look at waders, waterfowl, and shorebirds before sitting down to a huge seafood lunch in a small fishing village. That was the perfect recipe for a nap on the long drive through towns and banana plantations on the only flat stretch of road in Ecuador, back to our starting location in Guayaquil, closing the loop of 3000km of driving and the end to an epic birding adventure.

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