Ecuador: Avian Jewels of the Northwest Andes

Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan © Paul Greenfield

Ecuador’s spectacular Chocó-Andean bioregion offers extraordinary biodiversity and unsurpassed endemism along with the greatest hummingbird and antpitta shows on earth. This jam-packed, weeklong adventure, based at a single birding lodge, covers a relatively tiny natural corridor that runs from high-elevation elfin Andean woodland to remnant wet lowland jungle along the Pacific coastal plain.

Ecuador may well be the epicenter of Neotropical bird diversity, and perhaps no other destination expresses this better than the western slopes of Volcán Pichincha. This region stretches for only some 50 miles to the west of the country’s charming capital city, Quito, yet holds a phenomenal array of bird species. From two bases of operations, the Séptimo Paraíso Cloud Forest Reserve in the renowned Mindo Valley and Kapari Nature Lodge & Spa, located just to the west in Valle Hermosa, we will visit a variety of nearby bird sanctuaries, nature reserves, and birding hot spots in search of the local avian specialties found here.

Breathtaking dawn vistas greet us our first morning as we climb over the slopes of the inter-Andean plateau and wind our way up to Yanacocha Reserve. Here—where hummingbirds represent a major element of this stunted, moss and epiphyte-covered wonderland—we will search for high-Andean mixed foraging flocks and marvel at the wing-whirr of up to 12 species of these feathered jewels, including the unimaginable Sword-billed! We continue birding onward and constantly downslope through temperate and subtropical mountain-forest along Ecuador’s first “Ecoroute,” a pioneer community-based conservation project that has converted a 45-kilometer country road into a protected sustainable bird tourism zone, to finally arrive at our destination and “headquarters” for the week.

Nestled in a dramatic, prime montane cloudforest setting, Séptimo Paraíso not only offers comfortable accommodations, excellent cuisine, and the best birding opportunities to be found in the area, but is also strategically located to allow easy access to the key birding sites in this important bioregion. We will take good advantage of each day, working exceptional locations including Milpe Bird Sanctuary and Milpe Gardens, Angel Paz Reserve, Amagusa-Mashpi Reserve, and the “Paseo del Quinde” Ecoroute, among several excellent nearby sites. This is the domain of Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Toucan Barbet, Moss-backed Tanager, Guayaquil Woodpecker, and over 30 or so hummingbirds and tanagers, among more than 500 possible Neotropical avian specialties, with promises of unforgettable experiences for all.

From Kapari´s slightly lower elevation, we will explore Río Silanche Bird Sanctuary and the small enclave of 23 de Junio where, along with a few other optional sites, we will concentrate on lower elevation species; the possibilities could include: Rufous-fronted Wood-Quail; Dusky Pigeon; Pallid Dove; Bronzy Hermit; Purple-crowned Fairy; Black-throated Mango; Long-billed Starthroat; Purple-chested, Blue-chested, and Violet-bellied hummingbirds; Peruvian Pygmy-Owl; White-tailed Trogon; Barred Puffbird; Lanceolated Monklet; Orange-fronted Barbet; Pacific Parrotlet; Red-masked Parakeet; Black-striped Woodcreeper; Long-wattled Umbrellabird; and more spectacular tanagers!