ANDES AMAZON EXOTIC

Giant Hummingbird

INFORMATION

Average expected number of birds seen during the trip: 450 to 500 species.
Vegetation Types Visited: 6 out of 16 Ecuadorian Vegetation Types.
Total habitats visited: 13 out of 20.
Altitude Range: 298 to 4000 meters (977 to 13,123 feet)

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A Top-Ten Bird List by Habitat follows:

Habitat	Localities	Top Ten Highlight Birds
Western Cordillera: Cloud Forest and Paramo (Grass, shrub and cushion Paramo)	Yanacocha Reserve	Black breasted puffleg*, Giant Conebill, Ocellated Tapaculo, Imperial snipe, Andean and Sickle-winged Guan, Shining sunbeam, Mountain Velvetbreast, Sword-billed hummingbird, Black-chested mountain tanager.
Western Cordillera: Cloud Forest and Lower Mountain Forest	Nono – Mindo Road	Brown and Collared inca, Western emerald, Great saphirewing, Dark-backed wood-quail, Scarlet-bellied mountain tanager, Hooded mountain tanager, Golden tanager, Flame faced tanager, Black-winged saltator
Coastal Region west of the Andes: Lower Mountain Forest	Tandayapa Valley Bellavista Lodge & Reserve Mindo Valley	Empress brilliant, Violet-tailed sylph, Green-tailed trainbearer, Tawny-bellied hermit, Green fronted lancebill, Purple-throated woodstar, White-bellied woodstar, Green-crowned woodnymph, Plate-billed mountain toucan, Toucan barbet. Fasciated tiger-heron, Velvet-purple coronet, Fawn-breasted brilliant, Giant antpitta, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Club-winged manakin, Toucan Barbet, Blue-winged mountain-tanager, Beryl-spangled tanager, Beautiful jay
Amazonian Region east of the Andes: Lowland rain forest	Coca and Jungle Lodge chosen	Grey-winged trumpeter, Maroon-tailed parakeet, Orange-cheeked parrot, White-eared, White-cheeked and Purplish jacamars, Lemon-throated Barbet, Reddish-winged bare-eye, Cocha antshrike, Orange-crested manakin
Eastern Cordillera: Eastern Cloud Forest and Lower Mountain Forest	Papallacta – Baeza Road	Torrent duck, Sword-billed hummingbird, White-capped dipper, Tyrannine woodcreeper, Greater scythebill, Dusky piha, Red-hooded, White-capped and Golden-crowned tanagers, Rufous-breasted Flycatcher.
Eastern Cordillera: Eastern Cloud Forest	Cabañas San Isidro Cordillera de Guacamayos	Black-and-chestnut eagle, Rufous-vented whitetip, Moustached and Peruvian antpittas, Bicolored antvireo Oleaginous hemispingus, Chestnut-breasted chlorophonia, White-capped, Yellow throated and Metallic-green tanagers Highland tinamou, Slate-crowned antpitta, White-bellied antpitta, Striped treehunter, Bicoloured and Broad-winged hawks, Black-and-chestnut eagle, Rufous-bellied nighthawk, Chestnut-breasted coronet, Lemmon browed flycatcher
North Ecuadorian Grassland and “Quebrada” vegetation (Interandean Valleys)	Quito	Harris’ Hawk, Western Emerald, Black-tailed trainbearer, Giant hummingbird, Vermillion flycatcher, Streak-throated bush tyrant, Spectacled whitestart, Golden-rumped euphonia, Southern yellow grosbeak, Band-tailed seedeater.

Itinerary

Day 1

Transfer to Hotel Sebastian[1] upon arrival to Quito “Mariscal Sucre” Airport (2800 m / 9,186 ft.)

Day 2

Pick up time: 6 am. Our first stop will be Jocotoco Foundation’s Yanacocha Reserve[2] (3400 to 4000 m / 11,155 to 13,123 ft).
Then, bird the Nono[3] – Mindo Road (Starting at 3086 m / 10,127 ft) all the way and into the Tandayapa Valley (1719 m / 5,643 ft). Overnight in Bellavista Lodge[4] (About 2000 m / 6,562 ft).

Day 3

Birding the Bellavista Trails and the dirt road that leads across a ridge, at the edge of the property, and down into the Mindo Valley. Overnight in Bellavista Lodge.

Day 4

Birding the Mindo Valley (1525 meters / 5,006 feet) or Sacha Tamia Lodge [5]and its premises (About 1700 m / 5,577 ft).

Day 5

Birding Pedro Vicente Maldonado (588 m / 1929 ft) and the patches of Choco Forest[6] in this area. Overnight in Mindo.

Day 6

Early transfer from Mindo to Quito. During the drive, bird the road sides looking for the elusives of our second day. Overnight in Quito (Hotel Sebastian).

Day 7

Mid morning flight to Coca (Puerto Francisco de Orellana: 298 m / 977 feet) for the Amazon portion of the trip.
Then take the connection to Napo Wildlife Center[7], Sacha Lodge[8] or La Selva Jungle Lodge[9]. Either of these will be your final destination today.

Day 8 to 10

Bird the forest around the lodge and enjoy the rich biodiversity, parrot lek, observation tower, river islands and oxbow lakes.

Day 11

Start your day riding a motor canoe back to Coca, which connects with the mid morning flight to Quito. Overnight in Quito (Hotel Sebastian).

Day 12

Pick up time: 6 am. Bird the drive to Papallacta (3071 m / 10,078 ft).
Overnight in Termas de Papallacta[10], a mountain resort and spa. There, after an intense day of birding, a series of natural hot spring water pools will welcome you.

Day 13

Bird the eastern slope of the Andes while driving from Papallacta down to Baeza (1796 m / 5,892 ft) and Cosanga (2,075 m / 6,807 ft). Overnight at San Isidro Lodge

Day 14

Bird the Guacamayos’s Cordillera[12]. Then drive back to Quito. Farewell dinner at El Galpón Museum and Folk Store. Overnight in Quito (Hotel Sebastian).

Day 15

Transfer to flight back home.

Include/Not Include

Price Includes:

All transfers to and from airports and hotels
All accommodations throughout
All box lunches
Private transportation and driver
Specialized birding guide
Meals while at lodges
Flight to and from Coca

Price Includes:

Meals while in Quito except for breakfast Drinks throughout, tipping and international airport tax

Four star Hotel located in Modern Quito http://www.hotelsebastian.com/
Nono geographical description http://www.fallingrain.com/world/EC/18/Nono.html
Bellavista Lodge & Cloud Forest Reserve http://www.bellavistacloudforest.com
Sacha Tamia Lodge & Reserve http://www.sachatamia.com
Choco Forest http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/tumbes_choco/conservation.xml
One of the eight Jocotoco Foundation Reserves in Ecuador http://www.fjocotoco.org
Napo Wildlife Center http://www.ecoecuador.org
Sacha Lodge http://www.sachalodge.com/
Termas de Papallacta http://www.termaspapallacta.com/
Cabañas San Isidro http://www.sanisidrolodge.com
Guacamayos’ Cordillera: A Primeval Cloud Forest Overlooking the Amazon Basin by Terry L. Erwin, http://icte.umsl.edu/newsletter/dec94.html

FOR PRICES PLEASE CONTACT US:

mrivaden@pi.pro.ec
nforest@q.ecua.net.ec

Endemic and Critically Rare Bird Species