Southern Ecuador:
Southern Ecuador:
Antpittas and more, Loja and the Deep South
March 22 - April 1, 2009
Reservations and prepayment are required on all Ventures. Your place on this Venture will be reserved when your deposit of $300 has been received. Please make your check payable to VENTURES, Inc. and send it to this address or call the office with your VISA or MasterCard #.
Limited to 12 participants.
Ecuador is the size of the state of Georgia, yet 1,540 species of birds have been recorded in the country. On this Ventures trip, we'll travel throughout the Southern Ecuadorian Andes seeing a dazzling display of tanagers, flycatchers, antpittas and hummingbirds. We will search for Tumbesian endemics such as Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner, Ochraceous Attila, and Ochre-bellied Dove; Central Andean endemics such as White-breasted Parakeet and the newly discovered Jocotoco Antpitta; Foothill endemic species such as the Foothill Elaenia and Coppery-breasted Jacama; and Maranon endemics such as Maranon Thrush, Maranon Crescent-chest
With the recent publications of The Birds of Ecuador and Birds of Northern South America: an identification guide, there is not a better time to visit this small, yet wonderfully diverse, Andean nation. Our accommodation will be comfortable and convenient to the best birding spots. The food is excellent and the people very friendly. If you have never been to South America before, this trip to Ecuador will open your eyes to the beauty and diversity that is South America.
Leader: Simon Thompson
$3350 per person with single room supplement of $310
Price includes: All transportation throughout (with driver), all accommodation, all meals, entrance fees and gratuities (except for leader/guide), trip information, packet & bird checklist, and guide/leader service throughout.
Not included: Round-trip airfare from the US to Ecuador or internal flights to and from Loja, airport departure tax, alcoholic beverages, any meals specified in the itinerary, laundry, and other items of a personal nature.
This southern Ecuador tour may be combined with both the Western Ecuador and the Buenaventura tours. You may wish to arrive in Loja the day before in order to explore the city or rest before our early start on Day 1.
Day 1 (Sunday, March 22) Drive to Macara
Those leaders and participants already in Ecuador will meet additional
participants at Loja airport early on Friday morning. We will then spend most of
the day driving and birding on the road south to Macara looking for Tumbesian
endemics such as Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner, Tumbes Swift, Baird's Flycatcher,
and Tumbes Sparrow. Night in Macara
Day 2 (Monday, March 23) Sozoranga and Utuana
We will concentrate our efforts on two forest patches near the town of
Sozoranga and the new Jocotoco reserve at Utuana. We will search Sozoranga for
Rufous-headed Chachalacas, Elegant Crescentchest, White-tailed Jay, Plumbeous-backed
Thrush, and the rare Gray-breasted Flycatcher. At Utuana we will search for one
of the last remaining populations of Gray-headed Antbird - this bamboo
specialist is, though, notoriously difficult to see. The reserve is also good
for Piura Hemispingus, Black-crested Tit-Tyrant, and Piura Hemispingus. Night in
Macara
Day 3 (Tuesday, March 24) Sozoranga and Utuana
We will return to both reserves to clean-up any birds we missed
yesterday. Hopefully we should see all of the following: Plushcap, Black-cowled
Saltator, and the elusive Bay-crowned Brush-Finch, Ochre-bellied Dove,
Ochraceous Attila and Rufous-necked Foliage-Gleaner, Rainbow Starfrontlet,
Purple-throated Sunangel, Line-cheeked Spinetail, Chapman's Antshrike, Watkins's
Antpitta and Loja Tyrannulet. Night in Macara
Day 4 (Wednesday, March 25) Drive to Zamora
Once we're on the Zamora road we will look for such birds as:
White-breasted Parakeet, Rufous-vented Whitetip, Amethyst Woodstar, Rusty-winged
Foliage-gleaner, Ecuadorian Tyrannulet, Yellow-cheeked Becard, Gray-mantled
Wren, Black-billed Thrush, and Olive Tanager. If we're really lucky we might
find Cliff Flycatcher at a spot we know. This area is also known for its
White-capped Dipper, Torrent Duck, Lyre-tailed Nightjars and Rufous-bellied
Nighthawks. Night at Copalinga
Day 5 (Thursday, March 26) Rio Bombuscaro
We will start early along the park's trails in search of Highland Motmot,
White-breasted Parakeet, Dusky Spinetail, Black-streaked Puffbird, Amazonian
Umbrellabird, Coppery-chested Jacamar, and Grey-mantled Wren. If we run into a
tanager flock we could find: Orange-eared, Paradise, Green-and-gold,
Golden-eared, Spotted, Golden and Bay-headed Tanagers. Above the Podocarpus NP
HQ we'll look for Ecuadorian Piedtail, and the localized Orange-crested
Flycatcher. In the mid-to-late afternoon we'll return to Copalinga to check out
their hummingbird feeders. We can expect Glittering-throated Emerald,
Violet-crowned and Black-throated Brilliants, Spangled Coquette, and
Wire-crested Thorntails. The lodge is also one of the best places in Ecuador for
Foothill Elaenia. Night in Copalinga
Day 6 (Friday, March 27) Drive to the Orange-throated Tanager
Site
Leaving early we hope to find such birds as: Masked Saltator, Speckled
Chachalaca, Yellow-tufted and Spot-breasted Woodpeckers. At the Cabanas feeders
we might be treated to Gray-breasted and Napo Sabrewings and Gray-chinned
Hermits. Night at Cabanas Yankuam
Day 7 (Saturday, March 28) Orange-throated Tanager Site
After spending the morning searching for the Orange-throated Tanager, we
will spend the rest of the day birding the area where we hope to also locate
Chestnut-fronted Macaws and several Antwren species, as well as a host of other
birds. Night at Cabanas Yankuam
Day 8 (Sunday, March 29) Orange-throated Tanager Site and Cajanuma
After breakfast we will drive via Cajanuma to Tapichalaca. A
mid-afternoon stop at Cajanuma could yield the following: Red-faced Parrot,
Barred Fruiteater, Black-chested and Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanagers. While
Tawny-breasted Tinamou, Ocellated, Ash-colored and Chusquea Tapaculos are
frequently heard. We also check out the feeders at the lodge - they typically
have Chestnut-breasted Coronets, Amethyst-throated and Flame-throated Sunangels,
White-bellied Woodstar, Long-tailed Sylph, Collared Inca, and Tyrian Metaltail.
Night at Tapichalaca
Day 9 (Monday, March 30) Jocotoco Antpitta Trail and Maraņon
Drainage
We will spend most of the morning on a trail searching for the Jocotoco
Antpitta and Chestnut-naped Antpitta. Yet we can also expect to see Bearded
Guan, Tyrannine Woodcreeper, Orange-banded Flycatcher, Rufous-crowned Tody-Flycatcher,
plenty of Gray-hooded Bush-Tanagers, Black-headed Hemispingus, and many birds we
may have missed at Cajanuma. If we are really lucky we might see and hear both
White-capped Tanagers and White-faced Nunbird. After lunch we will spend the
afternoon in and around Valladolid where we will look for Rufous-fronted
Thornbird, Maraņon Thrush, Silver-backed Tanager, Maraņon Crescentchest,
Black-cowled Saltator, Maraņon Spinetail, white-necked Thrush and Buff-bellied
Tanagers. Night at Tapichalaca
Day 10 (Tuesday, March 31) Return to Loja birding Cerro Toledo
At Cerro Toledo we will search for Neblina Metaltails, Paramo Seedeater,
Mouse-colored Thistletail, Golden-plumed Parakeet and other high elevation
birds. Night in Loja
Day 11 (Tuesday, April 1) Return to Quito or Guayaquil, then USA
Due
to weather and other conditions, this itinerary is subject to change.
