Ecuador is simply beyond belief as a tropical birding tour destination. Some 1580 species have been recorded there, excluding species found only in the Galapagos Islands, and a well-designed 2-week birding tour to the country is likely to record over 500 species of birds. A single visit can produce 60 species of hummingbirds, 20 species of antbirds, 15 species of antpittas, 70 species of flycatchers, and 70 species of tanagers. Ecuador is home to some 60 endemic birds found nowhere else in the world, the gigantic Andean Condor, the bizarrely primitive Hoatzin, and the uniquely beautiful lek-breeding Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. All that combined with very safe travel conditions makes Ecuador a premier birding destination in South America and the New World.
A single birding tour to Ecuador is hardly adequate to do the country justice. Most Ecuador birding tours are based in the north. They typically cover some or all of the western Andes Mountains, eastern Andes Mountains, and the Amazon headwaters along the Napo River. More exotic birding tours go to the south, where some 150 species not found in the north can be found. Birding tours to the south are becoming increasingly popular as people discover all that southern Ecuador has to offer.
The bird diversity found in Ecuador is nearly unmatched in such a small area anywhere in the world. This great avian diversity is a direct result of the country's topography. The Andes Mountains divides the country down the center and acts as a barrier for low and mid-elevation birds, preventing them from interbreeding between the western and eastern slopes of this towering mountain range. As a result, speciation over time has produced markedly different species composition on the two slopes. The diversity to be found by visiting several altitudinal zones on either side of the Andes, combined with the amazing avifauna to be found in the Amazon headwaters of the Napo River basin, creates incredible birding opportunities that require 2-3 visits to fully exploit.
The ideal way to bird Ecuador is to do a tour of the north and a second tour of the south. Northern Ecuador (including the Amazon basin) offers some 540 species not found in the south, while southern Ecuador offers some 140 species not found in the north. In addition, many species found in the north are more easily seen in the south, with the result that our southern tour typically records over 200 species not seen on our tours of the north. A tour of the south can be combined with a visit to Kapowi Lodge in a remote part of the Amazon basin that features many specialties not found in the Napo River area. Alternatively, it could be combined with a trip to the Galapagos Islands, or it can stand on its own.
Northern Ecuador features some of Ecuador's best known premier birding locales. Areas we visit on tour include the Choco Endemic Bio-region around Mindo where many endemics and range-restricted birds are found. It's one of the best birding locales in South America. We also visit cloud forests on the western and eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains, lowland rainforest along the Napo River of eastern Ecuador forming the headwaters of the Amazon Basin, and the eastern slope of the Andes from subtropical forests to high elevation paramo where many additional endemics and localized birds are found.
Southern Ecuador is a less traveled area but offers extraordinary birding opportunities. It features a great variety of endemics characteristic of the Tumbesian Endemic area that also includes northern Peru, the newly discovered Jocotoco Antpitta, and such unusual birds as the Horned Screamer of Manglares Churute Reserve, the El Oro Parakeet and El Oro Tapaculo discovered in the 1980's, and a great many parrots, parakeets, hummingbirds, tanagers, and finches not found farther north. Our tour of the south encompasses extraordinary landscapes from sea level to over 11,000 ft in elevation, beautiful mountain valleys, dry forests, subtropical forests, temperate forests, and paramo. TOP
