Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Species List

Group Participants:

Steve Arlow
Brian Baldock
Dave Knight
John Wright

Day 1:- 22-Nov: Arrive in Quito. Night Hotel Fuente de Piedra.
Day 2:- 23-Nov: Morning trip to Antisana followed by afternoon visit to Papallacta Pass.
Day 3:- 24-Nov: Morning transfer to Coca with late morning journey along the Rio Napo, afternoon at La Selva.
Day 4:- 25-Nov: La Selva – Terra Firme Forest.
Day 5:- 26-Nov: La Selva – Canopy Tower, Rainforest Trails and Várzea Island.
Day 6:- 27-Nov: La Selva – Canopy Tower and Várzea Island.
Day 7:- 28-Nov: Morning transfer to Quito with afternoon at nearby Shrike-tyrant site. Night Fuente de Piedra.
Day 8:- 29-Nov: Morning at Yanacocha, afternoon and night Tandayapa Bird Lodge.
Day 9:- 30-Nov: Morning along the Tandayapa Bird Lodge Trails with afternoon along the upper valley. Night at Tandayapa Bird Lodge.
Day 10:- 01-Dec: Tandayapa Valley, Night at Tandayapa Bird Lodge.
Day 11:- 02-Dec: Los Bancos, Mindo and Upper Tandayapa Valley, night Tandayapa Bird Lodge.
Day 12:- 03-Dec: Four Rivers and Peidro Vincent Maldano, night Tandayapa Bird Lodge.
Day 13:- 04-Dec: Pedro Vincent Maldano (low Choco foothills) and afternoon at La Perla. Night Hotel Zaracay in Santo Domingo.
Day 14:- 05-Dec: Day at Rio Palenque. Night Hotel Zaracay.
Day 15:- 06-Dec: Mid morning at Chone, drive to Puerto Lopez. Night MantaRaya Lodge.
Day 16;- 07-Dec: Early morning at Machalilla National Park with rest of day on Isla de la Plata. Night MantaRaya Lodge.
Day 17;- 08-Dec: Early morning at Rio Ayempi. Mid morning to mid afternoon birding the coastal lagoons (Ecuasal) at the Santa Elena Peninsula. Return flight to UK early evening.

Originally we had planned on visiting Venezuela but during our planning stages the political situation in that country deteriorated to the point that a trip was not viable and we could only encounter more problems than it was worth. An alternative destination was now needed and it eventually came to a short list of two countries, Ecuador and Uganda. I was favouring Uganda. I undertook some preliminary investigations but the general thought by the others was to continue with a South American theme so Ecuador was the hot favourite. My initial investigations gave me a potential itinerary to work with and a potential cost. This cost was put to the guys at about £1600 which was basically a do it and drive it yourself trip. However it transpired that the majority were in favour of getting a local guide with vehicle for the entire time we were there to save travelling hassles and optimise the birding time. After further investigation the cost of a 17 day trip had increased to £2300 which was more than I would have liked to have paid but everyone else seemed okay with this so I went ahead and began booking the flights, accommodation, guides etc.

The flight was booked with Iberia through Trailfinders at a cost of around £525 return via Madrid. We would fly into Quito and return from Guayaquil. I booked La Selva Jungle Lodge for 3 nights and Tropical Birding for the rest of the days. It must be said that this was like going on a Sunbirder or Birdquest trip but with the added bonus of it just being our small group and at least £1300 cheaper, our own private organised tour. We were to also take in some locations that the tour companies do not visit and the final trip list was perhaps higher than any of those tour companies reach.

Hotel Fuente de Piedra, Quito
This hotel was booked by Tropical Birding prior to our departure. The hotel was clean but had several drawbacks in that it was situated on a busy main road and there was no running water on arrival. It must be said this was not the hotels fault as part of the city had no water due to repair work for a major leak. The rooms were comfortable with good sized bathroom with shower (good when the water came back on). There is a restaurant opposite with several others nearby though we only ate here. A few doors down the road is a telephone/call shop for making those calls home.

La Selva
The lodge itself is very basic and is situated on the edge of the Garzacocha ‘oxbow’ Lake in the heart of the Amazonian forest. The lodge is comprised of two large buildings on the lakeside, the main bar and the restaurant, with the rooms/huts behind. The huts are reached by means of a raised boardwalk with several others leading off from this. At the end of the main boardwalk is the trail to the butterfly farm, the Canopy Platform and forest trails beyond. The end hut at the far end of the boardwalk was John’s and mine. Lighting in the huts is by way of a kerosene lamp and single light bulb in the bathroom. Once dark this provides very little useable light so make sure you have a torch. The power goes off at 11pm. The light at the restaurant isn’t much better but oddly the light in the bar area is very good. You are also able to recharge batteries in the bar, that is until the generator goes off. The food here was good. The lodge also provides rubber boots that are surprisingly soft and comfortable. I declined the use on the first day and had little problems without them though the next day I wore a pair as the area we were to visit was very wet and muddy, the boots are recommended.

There are plenty of birds to be seen around the lodge with Hoatzin’s, Violaceous Jay, Yellow-rumped Cacique’s, Sand-coloured and Common Nighthawks, Thrush-like Wrens nesting, Black-billed Thrushes and Amazonian White-tailed Trogon. Apparently there had been an Anaconda the week before on a near daily basis for four days but it had gone by the time we arrived. La Selva is only one of two options for visiting the region with the other being Sacha Lodge that you pass along the river on the way to La Selva. I can’t speak for Sacha Lodge but for many of La Selva’s shortcomings it still is a quality place to stay in the rainforest. La Selva takes care of the travel arrangements, booking the flights from Quito to Coca (and return) and will pick you up from your hotel. They ensure your luggage is checked in at the airport and arrange transport from Coca airport to the boat. You are then transferred to La Selva by means of a fast canoe down river. The journey takes about 2 hours, a little longer if you stop for birds La Selva can be contacted at laselva AT qui.satnet.net or via www.laselvajunglelodge.com. Be sure to mention that you are birders to ensure you get a bird guide otherwise you may get a general nature guide stopping to show all the different trees and bugs and having limited birding experience.

Our bird guide was Holger (sounds like O’Hare) Licuy and was amazing. He just seemed to find birds out of thin air and even managed to get a scope onto it whilst we were still struggling to see where he was looking. Even his helper, who carried the scope and had no binoculars, kept finding quality birds and also managed to get the scope onto them. An example of this was the Black-and-white Antbird on one of the river islands. He managed to find and get the scope onto the bird in tall grass with no binoculars whilst we struggled. When we looked through the scope at the bird it was amazing in that only head was visible about 2 feet into the grass. How he got onto that is one of life’s mysteries. All I can say is these guys are highly recommended.

Tandayapa Bird Lodge in association with Tropical Birding
This lodge is part of Tropical Birding and co owned by our guide Iain Campbell. The lodge can be booked either directly with Tandayapa Bird Lodge www.tandayapa.com or Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com. Situated in the Tandayapa Valley the lodge is very good with a wealth of birdlife just on your doorstep. The lodge itself is on top of a hill over looking part of the valley and is reached by a series of steps from the car park. The main hall of the lodge is part common room and part dining room. The seating is comfortable with good lighting and stocked bar.

There is also a small library and numerous photos of the local speciality birds. The food is good and you have several meals a day. The rooms are down the hallway and are a good size with twin beds and plug sockets for battery recharging. One of the wonders of the lodge is the hummingbird feeders just outside on the balcony. This has to be one of the best hummingbird feeding stations in world, easily beating those at the famous Monteverde in Costa Rica. These feeders were apparently quite slow whilst we were there with some species being less common than usual but during our time here we logged 18 species though upto 25 species can be present. The feeders were just alive with hummers. The lodge is a great place for striking out to nearby birding locations.

Hotel Zaracay, Santo Domingo
This was booked by Tropical Birding as part of the package and used as a base for visiting Rio Palenque. The hotel was large and clean with a new bar being built. The restaurant served good food and beer was readily available for those who wanted it. The rooms were large with very hot showers. Not much more can said for this hotel as we were only there for a couple of nights and were so knackered it was just, shower, food, sleep.

MantaRaya Lodge, Puerto Lopez
An interesting lodge (again booked by Tropical Birding) on the coast that has a colourful appearance. Situated on top of a hill over looking a valley and the Pacific in the distance. The lodge has an adequate dining hall though the food was a little less to my taste. There is a large swimming pool though there is inadequate fencing around the patio to stop small children disappearing into the scrub below. The rooms are good with John and I getting perhaps the best one, the balcony with hammock overlooking the valley, excellent. It is noticeable that the doors have what in Britain would be draft excluders attached at the bottom. It became apparent from the bugs about that it was there to keep the creepy crawlies out. Saying that there were still a few wee beasties in the room. One evening a Tarantula was found on the steps just outside Brian and Dave’s room that was eventually chased off. It took four of us to see off this one spider.

There is good birding just along the road though caution must be exercised as cars tend to fly past rather rapidly though thankfully there’s not that many of them. About 150yards down the road one of the birds of the trip was seen, after quite some scrambling, a superb Elegant Crescent-chest. The lodge also has some good birds with Pacific Screech Owl seen by torchlight.

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