Some readers may have noticed that I haven’t been myself lately, that my blogging output has diminished, to say the least. While the safe money on why my brain is a bit mushy would certainly be on an excess of book reviews in December, I have a much more reasonable explanation: I am going to Ecuador next week!
Yes indeed, the birding gods have smiled upon me once again, sending their emissaries Renato and Paola to graciously invite me to the world’s only eco-lodge inside a 2500 year old caldera. Pululahua Hostal will be our base of operations as we explore both spines of the Ecuadorean Andes.
Why is a regrettably brief trip to Ecuador sufficient to blow this man’s mind? Maybe because Ecuador has the highest avian species diversity in the world with over 1600 species packed into a country the size of Oregon. Maybe because the field guide is as thick as a telephone book, the old Yellow Pages kind. Maybe because the Northern Hemisphere’s infamous Little Brown Jobs are both garish and unmistakable in comparison to the equatorial profusion of ovenbirds, antbirds, and tyrant flycatchers. An outside observer might well think I’ve been studying for a doctorate in South American ornithology over the last few weeks. Folks, I’m just spending four days in Ecuador.
But what an amazing four days these presage to be. Renato has pieced together a preposterously thrilling itinerary that includes most of the hottest spots in the Quito area:
- Yanacocha
- Nono-Mindo Road, aka the Ecoroute
- Pululahua
- Refugio Paz de las Aves
- Mindo
- Reserva Mangaloma
- Mirador del Rio Blanco
- El Milpe
- Pallapacta Pass
- Guango Lodge
All this in four days! If the exhaustion doesn’t end me, the sheer ecstasy of all those birds might.
Believe it or not, I’m not making this announcement to boast… I expect that my trip reports will do the talking on that score. Instead, I’m inviting YOUR reflections on birding Ecuador. Have you been to any of the locations I’ve mentioned? Have any tips you’d like to share? I’ll take all the advice I can get!
pinch, pinch, pinch,…
No I haven’t been there yet. The best of luck, tons of birds and may the ecstasy only ALMOST do you in so you will live to tell the – exciting – tale.
Cheers!!
I haven’t been to the localities. I have however been to Ecuador and consider it one of my life’s highlights. A tiny suggestion, although I imagine that you’ve already booked everything. It would be a shame, a real shame, to be down there and not take a side trip on your own to the Galapagos Islands. Did I say it would be a shame not to go there?
Papallacta is perhaps the most magical place I’ve ever seen in the Neotropics: dress warm and plan to spend extra time looking for the seedsnipe!
You’re going to have a great time. Look forward to reading all about it–
rick
Thanks, gents. Clare, I decided to defer the inevitable experience of the Galapagos for my next Ecuador trip. This time, I just want to experience the full force of 50+ tanagers, 50+ hummingbirds, and all the rest of the insanity!
I went to Bellavista Cloud Forest (near or part of Mindo?) 13 months ago for a half-day. The hummingbirds were great. My link above is to my picasa album. It’s mostly the Galapagos, with a few Bellavista pictures at the end.
After the open fields of the Galapagos, the forest felt very confined. You will certainly hear but not see some birds.
The Cloud Forests are named appropriately. Bring your rain gear.
pinch some more.. We are too very excited of your visit and are currently doing lots of rain-and-bird-dances inside this crater to attract the most and the rarest birds to the area. We are working on the final datails and logistics to make sure this experience is itself a lifer and would last for a long time in your memory. This is the way we do thing inside this caldera and invite all of you readers to come and visit us some day, even if you are just going to Galapagos.
Saludos from inside this volcano,
Renato y Paola