;-} Ecuador Birding Tours

Our most popular tour is based just two hours from Quito amidst the lush, bird-rich cloud forests of the western Andes and the famous birding sites of the Yanacocha-Mindo-Tandayapa-Bellavista area. We begin the tour leaving early from your hotel in Quito to travel by private vehicle to Yanacocha Reserve at 9,900 feet/3300m elevation which is the site of the rare Ecuadorian endemic hummingbird, the Black-breasted Puffleg. The morning at Yanacocha shows us the beautiful forest that forms the beginning of the watershed of the Rio Mindo and also allows us good looks at many hummingbird species, including the amazing Sword-billed Hummingbird, the unforgettable Shining Sunbeam and the elegant Great Sapphirewing, as well as other high elevation species such as Andean Guan, Andean Pygmy-Owl, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Pearled Treerunner, Rufous Antpitta, Tawny Antpitta, Ocellated Tapaculo, Red-crested Cotinga, Barred Fruiteater, Rufous Wren, Blue-backed Conebill, Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager and Hooded Mountain-Tanager. After lunch we continue down the old Nono-Mindo Road, birding en route along the Alambi River, searching especially for river-side specialties such as Torrent Duck and White-capped Dipper. We arrive at our lodge late in the day just in time to watch the late afternoon bird activity and the end-of-the-day gathering of hummingbirds at the feeders. Over the next 6 days we explore the entire Tandayapa-Bellavista-Mindo-Milpe-Pedro Vicente Maldonado area, from 6900ft/2300m elevation down to1500ft/500m elevation, among private nature reserves situated within the subtropical forests and foothills of the western Andes. Our trip lists usually result in some 300 species of birds seen, many of them rare and endemic species found only in the Chocó biogeographic region. With luck we may even see some of the mammals in the area such as the endemic Dwarf Red Brocket Deer, Tayra, Mountain Coati, and Two-toed Sloth.

Mindo and Northwest Ecuador are our backyard so we know the area better than anyone!

And for those who want even more birds, we can arrange a week-long stay for you at an Amazon jungle lodge and/or a Galapagos cruise, either before or after the regular tour.

2009 Scheduled group departures from Quito (7 days): 14-20 February, 21-27 June, 26 July – 2 August, 10-16 October, 22-28 November

For a detailed itinerary, bird list and prices, contact us at jlyons@ecnet.ec

Tour Q02-EE: "Birding the Chocó Lowlands" (2009)

With new lodges and outstanding birding, the province of Esmeraldas is fast becoming a "must" for birders. Based at the Fundación Jocotoco's rustic and comfortable new lodge, located in the middle of the 1100-hectare Río Canandé Reserve among Ecuador's beautiful western coastal foothills (150-450m elevation), this 8-day/7-night tour focuses on searching for the especially important and uncommon lowland Chocó endemics. The tour includes five full nights at Canandé Lodge, plus one day of travel to and one day from the main site with birding stops en route.

Specialties include: Plumbeous Hawk, Plumbeous Forest-Falcon, Rufous-fronted Wood-Quail, Tawny-faced Quail, Brown Wood-Rail, Olive-backed Quail-Dove, Rose-faced Parrot, Red-lored Amazon, Bronzy Hermit, White-tipped Sicklebill, Tooth-billed Hummingbird, Purple-chested Hummingbird, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer, Orange-fronted Barbet, Five-colored Barbet, Stripe-billed Araçari, Lita Woodpecker, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Star-chested Treerunner, Western Woodhaunter, Griscom's Antwren, Ocellated Antbird, Rufous-crowned Antpitta, Speckled Mourner, Black-tipped Cotinga, Long-wattled Umbrellabird, Red-capped Manakin, Green Manakin, Gray-mantled Wren, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Scarlet-breasted Dacnis, Scarlet-and-white Tanager, Gray-and-gold Tanager, Emerald Tanager, Silver-throated Tanager, Blue-whiskered Tanager, Rufous-winged Tanager, Golden-chested Tanager, Lemon-spectacled Tanager, Tawny-crested Tanager, Scarlet-browed Tanager, Yellow-green Bush-Tanager, and much much more, always with the possibility of rarities such as Great Green Macaw and Banded Ground-Cuckoo.

Come help us discover the species found in this remote and beautiful Pacific lowland forest. It was one of our tours that found the first Brown Wood-Rail and the first Rufous-crowned Antpitta and the first Banded Ground-Cuckoo on the reserve as well as the first live Great Curassow recorded in Ecuador since the early 1990s!!

2009 Group departures: 10-17 January, 4-11 July, 8-15 August, 14-21 November, 19-26 December.

For a detailed itinerary and prices, contact us at jlyons@ecnet.ec

NOTE: This tour can easily be combined with a tour of the Mindo-Bellavista area.


Long-wattled Umbrellabird	Rufous-crowned Antpitta	Crested Owl
By Charley Hesse		By Charley Hesse


Canandé River	Canandé River

Searching for Tawny-faced Quail	Canandé Lodge

Spectacular forest in the Canandé Reserve	Happy Birders!!

An amazing Copiopteryx sp. moth

Northeast Ecuador

Tour Q01-E: "Birds from Paramo to Jungle" (2009)

This very birdy tour runs along the gradient of the eastern slope of the northern Andes and includes 2 days at high elevation páramo, 5 days amidst the eastern slope mid-elevation woodlands and foothill forests, and 4 days in Amazonian lowland forest. The tour begins and ends in Quito. We will pick you up at your hotel in Quito and head east to the vast, wind-swept paramo at Antisana Reserve where we will look for Andean Condor, Carunculated Caracara, Black-faced Ibis, Silvery Grebe, Blue-mantled Thornbill and other open-country species. We will also search for the beautiful and amazingly cryptic Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe as well as additional paramo specialties such as Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Tawny Antpitta, Ecuadorian Hillstar, Giant Conebill, Stout-billed and Bar-winged Cinclodes, Andean Tit-Spinetail, Streak-backed and Many-striped Canastero, Paramo Pipit, and Band-tailed, Plain-colored and Paramo Seedeater. We then spend the next 11 days birding at key sites down the eastern slope of the Andes and into the Amazonian rain forest, including nights in Papallacta, Guango, San Isidro, Archidona and at Gareno Lodge. Gareno is located within Huaorani Indian Territory where we can find Harpy Eagle, Rufous Potoo, Pavonine Quetzal, Napo Sabrewing, Lemon-throated Barbet, Warbling Antbird, Thrushlike Antpitta, Bare-necked Fruitcrow, Spotted Tanager and much more.

2009 Scheduled group departures from Quito: 14-25 March, 19-30 September

For detailed itinerary and prices, contact us at jlyons@ecnet.ec



The very rare Rufous Potoo, Gareno Lodge By Francisco Enriquez	Female Bicolored Antvireo at nest By J. Fuhrman

Harpy Eagle

PRE- AND POST- TOUR EXTENSIONS IN NORTHERN ECUADOR

These short extension tours can be arranged before or after any regular tour that begins or ends in Quito. They can also be combined into or added to a custom tour.

1. The Highlands Post-Tour Extension (4d/3n)

This tour focuses on the vast and beautiful páramo zone of the Andes, with specialties such as Andean Condor, Ecuadorian Hillstar, Andean Snipe, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, Carunculated Caracara and many other high elevation specialties. Contact us for additional details at jlyons@pi.pro.ec




	Hacienda La Cienega
	Photos by: Mynor Chacón

2. The Amazon Jungle Tour Extension

The tour includes a short flight from Quito to Coca, motorized canoe trip down the Napo River, overnights at a jungle lodge of your choice, resident birding guide, and return flight to Quito. Contact us for additional details at jlyons@pi.pro.ec


By Lisa Thurston

3. The Cerro Mongus-Guandera Specialties Extension (4d/3n)

This tour is for those folks who want to search for some of the most elusive high elevation birds in the northern Andes, including Imperial Snipe, White-throated Screech-Owl, Rufous-banded Owl, Black-thighed Puffleg, Undulated Antpitta, Rufous Antpitta, Crescent-faced Antpitta, Chestnut-bellied Cotinga, Black-headed Hemispingus , Black-chested Mountain-Tanager, and numerous other species. No camping but lodging is rustic. Contact us for additional details at jlyons@pi.pro.ec


Short-eared Owl	Andean Snipe	Andean Guan

White-throated Screech-Owl	Paramo Birding	Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan
Photos by Charley Hesse

Southern Ecuador

Tour S01-G: “Birds of Southern Ecuador” (2009)

Rapidly becoming one of our most popular tours, Tour S01-G: “Birds of Southern Ecuador” is a 13-day/12-night tour which includes the southwestern birding sites of Machalilla, Isla de la Plata, Salinas/Ecuasal, Cerro Blanco, Manglares Churute and the southern birding areas of Santa Isabel, Buenaventura/Piñas, Loja, Cajanuma, Vilcabamba, Quebrada Honda/Tapichalaca, Valladolid, Jorupe/Utuana and Bombuscaro. Among the many highlights of this birdy tour are the endemic El Oro Parakeet, the very rare Pale-headed Brush-Finch, the rare Long-wattled Umbrellabird and the recently discovered Jocotoco Antpitta as well as many coastal species and southern regional specialties.

Itinerary:
Day 1 - Birding en route from Guayaquil to Machalilla, with stops at Cerro Blanco and Salinas.
Day 2 - Birding Machalilla National Park and pelagic to Isla de la Plata.
Day 3 - Birding dry and humid forests of Machalilla and Manglares Churute. Late afternoon to Santa Isabel.
Day 4 - Birding Yunguilla Reserve. Birding to Buenaventura Reserve.
Day 5 - Birding Buenaventura Reserve.
Day 6 - Birding to Buenaventura and afternoon en route to Jorupe.
Day 7 - Birding Utuana-Jorupe.
Day 8 - Birding en route to Jocotoco Tapichalaca Reserve and Quebrada Honda.
Day 9 - Birding Tapichalaca Reserve and Valladolid area.
Day 10 - Birding Tapichalaca Reserve and afternoon en route to Bombuscaro.
Day 11 - Birding Bombuscaro.
Day 12 - Birding en route to Loja.
Day 13 - Depending on international departure flights: early morning flight from Loja to Quito or Guayaquil.

2009 Scheduled group departures (13 days/12 nights): 23 January – 4 February, 19-31 October.

Min: 3, Max: 8

For details, bird list and prices, contact jlyons@ecnet.ec


Chestnut-naped Antpitta	Jocotoco Antpitta
By Franco Mendoza

Jocotoco Antpitta	Gray-capped Cuckoo
By Lynn Gearhart

Custom Tours

We are happy to design for you a custom tour of any or all of the key birding sites anywhere in Ecuador, including the Mindo-Milpe area, Yanacocha, Tandayapa, Bellavista, Lower Chocó Woodlands, Tinalandia, Rio Palenque, the Lita area, Volcan Cotopaxi National Park, Papallacta, Antisana, San Isidro, Cordillera de Guacamayos, Loreto Road, Tena, Gareno Lodge, Jatun Sacha, Podocarpus National Park and southern Ecuador, Machalilla, Isla de la Plata and coastal Ecuador, etc. In addition, we are tour agents for all of the Fundación Jocotoco reserves, including Buenaventura, Jorupe, Río Canandé, Tapichalaca, Utuana, Yanacocha, Yunguilla. We also run regular birding tours to Peru as well as custom tours to other South American countries.

These tours can be arranged for as few as 1 person or as many as 20 persons. For information, contact us at jlyons@pi.pro.ec.

Private tour trip reports available. Birding World July 2007 Trip Report August a2007 October, 2007 February, 2008

Jungle Lodges and Galapagos Cruises

We are also tour agents for various Amazonian Ecuador lowland jungle lodges, including Napo Wildlife Center, La Selva Jungle Lodge, Sacha Lodge, Kapawi, Yuturi and Yarina, Gareno Lodge, and are happy to arrange your tour to these special sites.






Amazonian Ecuador By Lisa Thurston

We can also book for you a Galapagos cruise at any time of the year and offer specific Galapagos birding tours in conjunction with North American birding tour companies. For additional information, please contact us at jlyons@pi.pro.ec

Monster-size Galápagos Marine Iguana
By Mynor Chacón


Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager	White-throated Crake


Purple-throated Woodstar by H.M. Lim	Speckled Hummingbird by H.M. Lim


White-bearded Manakin by Hirokazu Fukuda	Pale-mandibled Araçari by Hirokazu Fukuda