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ECUADORChoco Special!
November 27 - December 5, 2010
Sunrise Birding is pleased to offer an excellent value tour to Ecuador’s Choco region featuring some of the country’s best birding areas. This smallest of the Andean countries holds a wealth of different ecosystems and it is this that brings with it the mind boggling diversity of birds. This tour will provide us with a wealth of dazzling tanagers, glittering hummingbirds, elusive antpittas, and much more including many species endemic to the Choco region. The tour will also highlight the beauty and splendor of the small but wonderful country of Ecuador. Don't miss this extraordinary tour featuring the best of Ecuador’s birding destinations!
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. Photo by John Ashworth.
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ITINERARY
Day 1 - Arrival Quito
This day we will arrive in the magical city of Quito, the first and perhaps only complete city to be declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO. We will meet at the airport at 3 PM to transfer to our hotel.
Day 2: Yanacocha Reserve / Old Nono-Mindo Road
This morning we will leave Quito early heading toward Yanacocha Reserve (nearly 10,000 feet above sea level) and spend our morning birding this stunning reserve with its gaping chasms. At this altitude, highland specialties are the desired quarry. The main attraction of the area is the rare Black-breasted Puffleg, one of the world’s rarest hummingbird and a bird whose world range is almost completely restricted to this one reserve (even here it is difficult to find).
Other conspicuous hummingbirds are the almost comically billed Sword-billed Hummingbird as well as Great Sapphirewing, Golden-breasted Puffleg and 13 other hummingbirds are possible at the reserves feeders and around the ground. Added to the hummingbirds are a glittering array of colorful mountain-tanagers, chat-tyrants, wrens, flycatchers and warblers than move in incredible waves of mixed flocks through the forest as well as the possibility of a rare Andean Condor. After an alfresco lunch at the reserves feeders, we head downhill to the Tandayapa Valley through the famous Old Nono-Mindo Road which will take us to the very heart of the cloud forest. We bird on the way for specialties including Golden-headed Quetzal and the exquisitely rainbow-colored Toucan Barbet among many others. After an action packed birding day we will retire to our comfortable lodgings there.
Day 3: Upper and Lower Tandayapa Valley
This day we bird at around 6,500 feet within the cloud forest in an area rich in hummingbirds including Chocó endemics such as Violet-tailed Sylph, Gorgeted Sunangel, and Brown Inca. Here in the cloud forest it is possible to find over 40 species of hummingbirds. Surrounded by dozens of species of stunning tanagers, the magnificence of the Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan stands out and happily it is not uncommon here. Endemics we will put spend particular effort finding are Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Cloud-Forest Pygmy-Owl and the appropriately named Beautiful Jay. Other birds of interest are the extremely local Tanager Finch, Powerful Woodpecker and the always elusive but spectacular Ocellated Tapaculo. We 
spend the night in the same lodge and this evening we will look for some nocturnal species including Lyre-tailed Nightjar.
Day 4: Angel Paz Antpittas Reserve “Paz de las Aves”
This day we will spend some time looking for some much sought after species. By morning we will visit one of the cloud forest’s main attractions, an Andean Cock-of-the-Rock Lek and be treated to these amazing birds stunning displays. Afterwards we will bird this wonderful reserve. Angels reserve is globally famous for sightings of antpittas. Giant, Moustached, Ochre-breasted and Yellow-breasted Antpittas are renowned for their elusive behavior and are famously impossible to see, yet here they respond relatively easily to the voice of Angel ‘the Antpitta whisperer’, and owner of the reserve. He calls them in to a feast of grubs that he lays out for them each morning and he has even gone as far as to give each of his regular individuals names; a sight that has to be seen to be believed!!!
This afternoon we head towards Maquipucuna Reserve and a new lodge for the night. Before retiring for bed we will try for the stunning Spectacled Owl which, on occasion, calls from around the lodge.
Day 5: Maquipucuna Reserve and Oilbird Cave
We start this day birding around the lodge. It is a place where stream side birds are the quarry and where the beautiful Torrent Duck is present together with the spry White-capped Dipper and Torrent Tyrannulet. During the months of December through February it is possible to even find Spectacled Bear at this site. By midmorning we move towards an Oilbird cave where we can see these enigmatic birds while they roost by day in a very narrow canyon. Other birds seen on the way to view these curious birds include Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Band-backed Wren and even Gray-breasted Flycatcher. Before dark we move to a lower elevation lodge in the Los Bancos area for more birding, dinner and a well deserved nights sleep.
Day 6: Milpe Bird Sanctuary and Mindo Loma
This morning will be spent around this renowned sanctuary (at about 3600 feet ) where a lek of the endemic Club-winged Manakin is present. This area is great for other endemic species such as Choco Toucan and Pale-mandibled Aracari. We also regularly find rarities here such as Moss-backed Tanager, Esmeraldas Antbird, Choco Trogon, Pacific Tuftedcheek and Glistening-green Tanager plus other conspicuous birds including Guayaquil Woodpecker, Choco Warbler, Golden-winged Manakin and a variety of Foliage-Gleaners. During the afternoon, we visit Mindo Loma reserve to look for a couple of local endemics: Hoary Puffleg and Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager before retiring for the night in Los Bancos.
Day 7: Silanche Bird Sanctuary
This day we will bird at the lowest altitude for the trip (a mere 800 feet). The reserve has a canopy tower that we will ascend in order to look for some uncommon tanagers including Emerald, Blue-whiskered, Scarlet-and-White, and Rufous-winged plus Scarlet-breasted, Yellow-tufted and Scarlet-thighed Dacnis. We will also check for woodpeckers including the large Guayaquil Woodpecker that has been seen from the tower. Back on solid ground the birding is equally outstanding and antbirds are well represented by Checker-throated, Pacific and Griscom´s Antwrens as well as Chestnut-backed and Bicolored Antbirds and Western Slaty Antshrike. On the way to the reserve, the secondary forests along the dirt road can bring some excellent sightings such as Brown Wood-Rail, Scarlet-backed and Cinnamon Woodpeckers, Dusky-faced Tanager and even the spectacular Red-billed Scythebill. During the afternoon we will focus our efforts on whatever we may have missed in the morning before returning for another night in Los Bancos
Day 8: Pacto-Pachijal Road and Calacalí Area
This morning we will spend trying to get any cloud forest specialties we have missed and the old road is the perfect place to do that. In any given day we may expect birds like Esmeraldas Antbird, Russet Antshrike, Orange-fronted Barbet, Black-billed Peppershrike among others. After lunch we will start on our return to Quito birding the dry area around Calacalí as we go. This habitat is home to specialties like White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant, the worlds largest and aptly named Giant Hummingbird (it truly is a monster of a bird), Rusty Flowerpiercer and Purple-collared Woodstar. We will arrive back for a night in Quito and a closing dinner.
Day 9: Departure
This day we transfer to the airport and say goodbye to new friends and this wonderful country. Possible extensions can be arranged including a trip to Antisana for Andean Condor.
TOUR PRICE: $2295.00 per person Maximum Group Size: 12 plus leader Included in cost: Group airport transfer at Quito; guided ground transportation; meals during the tour; accommodations; all admission fees; taxes (except airport departure tax, currently $44.30, subject to change); service charges; gratuities (except for the guides, which is left at your discretion); plus guiding services of expert tour leaders. Tour price is based on double occupancy. Cost of the tour is based on a minimum of 8 people, with fewer a small group surcharge may apply. Not included: Round trip airfare to Quito. Personal items such as laundry, telephone calls, bottled water, alcoholic beverages, dishes and beverages not included with meals, passport fees, individual transfers, trip insurance, airport departure tax (currently $44.30, subject to change).
Final payment is due on July 27, 2010. If a minimum enrollment is not met, Sunrise Birding, LLC reserves the right to levy a small group surcharge for this trip. Cancellations and Refunds: Cancellations must be made in writing. Prior to July 27, 2010, a refund less $250.00 will be made for written cancellation requests. No refunds will be made after July 27, 2010. There are no refunds for unused meals, accommodations, or other trip features. Insurance: The purchase of trip cancellation insurance is strongly recommended. Sunrise Birding, LLC can not accept liability for airline cancellations or delays or penalties incurred by the purchase of non-refundable airline tickets or other expenses incurred by tour participants in preparing for this tour. Questions? Contact us at gina@sunrisebirding.com Phone: 203.453.6724 PHOTOS: For species names and photo credits, mouse over each photo. |
ECUADOR
Choco Special!