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Adventure Tours |
 W2 BIRDWATCHING EAST On this two - week trip we visit some of the best birding sites in the Andes mountains, eastern slope of the Andes and Amazon lowlands. We start at high paramo regions and move then subsequently to lower regions, visiting mountain forests. Then we descend the eastern Cordilleras, covered by cloudforests to the Amazon foothills and finally to the tropical rainforests covering the lowlands. Day 1 We start our birding trip to the high paramo area of Pichincha. This is one of the better regions to still see condors in the wild. Other larger birds encountered are various species of eagles and hawks. But not only large bird species are found there, this is also a very good area to see various high altitude hummingbird species, like Ecuadorian Hillstars and Shining Sunbeams. Day 2 We leave Quito and move east to the Eastern Cordillera. Before getting to the pass at 4000m we stop at a place where condors also sometimes can be seen. On the pass we undertake shorter hikes through the paramo with stands of polylepis trees, hoping to get a glimpse of the Red-Rumped Bush-Tyrant and Giant Conebill among other birds. Later we move to the Guango Lodge near Papallacta in the higher cloudforest regions of the eastern flank of the Andes. Day 3 In the morning we explore the bird population on trails from the Guango Bird lodge. This area is rich with many species, like tanagers, hummingbirds, songbirds, etc... making their home in the higher cloudforest regions. After lunch we move farther down to Baeza, a small town located at 2000m, where we spend the next night. Day 4 Today we explore the interesting birding area around Baeza and Cosanga. Hundreds of species inhabited this region which is partly forested and partly turned into open pasture and fields. After lunch we move on to Loreto, which lies already in the lower Amazon basin. Day 5 We explore the trails around the San Isidro Lodge, which is a well-known birding area with some very rare birds. Late afternoon we move on to Coca, where we get ready for next day's venture into the rainforest. Day 6 In the morning we stow our equipment in a motorized canoe to start our trip down the Napo towards Pañacocha. On this stretch we can observe already various birds with hawks and eagles seen along its banks, also terns and horned screamer might be seen. After 3 hours we reach the entrance to Pañayacu river and move up on this small river to reach the lagoons. Day 7 We get up at first light in the morning and paddle in a small canoe around the lagoons to observe birds. The weaving birds like cacique and oronpendulas are numerous in that area but there also colonies of hoatzins, macaws, herons, anhingas, kingfisher, vultures, raptors and many more to be seen. In the afternoon we move by motorized boat down the river Pañayacu and spend some more time bird watching. Day 8 We go out again at first light to watch for birds, hopefully seeing some more species. After a late breakfast we start out on our walk towards the Napo. This hike takes around 3 hours and there we might see quails, woodpeckers and hummingbirds. The boat picks us up at the shore of Napo and brings us then back to Coca. Day 9 Today we drive from Coca to the San Rafael Waterfalls by way of Lago Agrio. We arrive there early in the afternoon and use the time for looking for oropondelas, tanagers and other birds in the vicinity. Day 10 Early morning we go out to look for cock-of-the-rocks which inhabit this area. This eastern race differs slightly from the western one by a paler plumage. On this hike other birds will also be observed as well. Day 11 Today we drive from San Rafael to Guandera Biological Reserve, a high Andean forest and paramo reserve (3100-3600m), where high mountain parrots and toucans still can be found. Day 12 We go out early in the morning and look for Black-thighed Puffleg, masked Mountain-Tanager, Chestnut-bellied Cotinga and other rare birds. This reserve boasts of a mountain forest and adjacent higher paramo, a transition habitat for some birds. Day 13 Another day is spent in this birding place, hiking through the woods and the open paramo regions. This also a great place to observe various species of hummingbirds, which are important pollinators. Day 14 In the morning we leave the reserve and continue south to the Cayambe-Coca nature reserve. There we visit the small mountain lake of San Marcos, located at 3400m and surrounded by thick vegetation. After hiking around the lake we move higher and look for the last time for condors. Late afternoon we arrive in Quito.
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