With over 1,600 unique species of birds already observed and recorded within its various ecosystems (tropical rainforests, cloud forests, high-altitude paramo, and coastal mangroves, to name a few) Ecuador is one of the planet’s most bio-diverse nations. And each day more species are added to the list. This is twice the number of birds recorded in North America and three times as many as are known to exist in all of Europe.
Ecuador’s small size and well-developed transportation system gives tourists easy access into the various habitats of these birds. Ecuador is one of the world’s most impressive destinations for bird watching and a tour is a must for anyone interested in bird watching.
Bird watching trips are available for one or more days to a number of excellent bird watching destinations – Pasochoa Reserve, located an hour from Quito; Mindo, Nambillo Protected Forest, Boliche Recreational area, Cotopaxi National Park; and La Perla, a protected forest on the coast.
The most impressive and accessible sites are: El Angel Paramo, El Placer, and San Lorenzo (railroad), Quito, Nono, Mindo (great place for spotting the Cock of the Rock), Chiriboga, Papallacta, Baeza, and San Rafael. The following species are often spotted in these areas: Condor, Carunculated Caracara, Andean Lapwing, Andean Gull, Black-faced Ibis, Ecuadorian Hill Star, Canastero, Thistletail, and more.
The most impressive and accessible sites are: Tena, Misahualli, Puyo, the Loreto-Coca Road, Cuyabeno, Zancudococha, Lagartococha, Limoncocha, La Selva, Yuturi Complex, the Napo River, and A-angucocha. Some of the species you can expect to see are: Hoatzin, the Horned Screamer, kites, hawks, hawk-eagles, the Powerful Harpy, antbirds, manakins trogons, cotingaas, toucans, barbets, curassows, parrots, and macaws.
The majorly diverse areas for bird watching are: Santo Domingo, Río Palenque, Atacames, Muisne, the Gulf of Guayaquil, Cerro Blanco, Salinas, Punta Carnero, Machala, and Arenillas. The region’s most important species are the Pale-mandible Aragari, Gray-backed Hawk, the Guayaquil Woodpecker, the Blue-tailed Trogon, the Esmeraldas Antbird, the White-tailed Jay, the Pale brown Tinamou, the Peruvian Tick-knee, the Red-masked and Gray-checked Parakeets, and a variety of gulls.
On all of our tours, our staff is always concerned about the standards of quality of the services that are provided. We want the best for our clients, without sacrificing the environmental well being of the places we visit.
Are you a bird watching enthusiast? If so, why not customize your own tour with our expert birding guides. Just fill out a reservation to Contact us