Bird Paradise!! Exploring the cloud forests of Ecuador
Large, colourful and extraordinary birds make Ecuador a birdwatcher’s paradise.
It’s a rewarding and beautiful country for nature lovers, from the cloud forests and volcanoes around high altitude capital city Quito, to the tropical rainforests of the Oriente, the Amazonian lowlands.
Birders from around the world flock to Ecuador, attracted by the chance to see more than 300 species on a one week trip. This country has more than 1550 bird species or about 10 per cent of the world total.
Ecuador is easy to access from New Zealand too. We flew from Auckland across the Pacific direct to Santiago in Chile and then a five hour link flight along the Andes, up to Quito at a breath-taking 2800m.
For most people, it doesn’t take long to acclimatise and the city is a logical starting point for any trip to Ecuador. It is after all, at the ‘centre of the world’, and you can visit El Mitad del Mundo — the monument that marks the equatorial line just outside Quito.
Anytime of year is good for visiting Ecuador, and in October when we were there, it was pleasantly temperate without being cool. It’s warm and tropical on the coast and in the Amazonian areas, but cooler as you gain altitude towards the Andes.
Quito is set in a long valley covering more than 70 kilometres. Its’ commuter suburbs are in the south of the city with the striking snow-capped Cotapaxi Volcano (4800m) as a backdrop. The picturesque Old City is in the middle of Quito, and the business district, industry and more suburbs, lie to the north.
Like most visitors we stayed in the centre of Quito and explored the Old City on foot with a local guide. Highlights included the seven ornate cathedrals, the Presidential Palace and the many old buildings dating from around the Spanish colonial era in the 16th century.
Spanish is the local lingo and if you don’t speak it, do take a Latin American phrase book with you and have a go. The locals are friendly and helpful, and appreciate the extra effort. In the cities, many tourism operators have some English, but in the countryside, you will get further faster with a little Spanish.
A good starting point for exploring is the slopes of nearby Pinchincha Volcano to the east of Quito, where many high altitude birds are found. As our four-wheel drive made easy work of the narrow winding road, we climbed through open paramo grasslands towards the montane cloud forests.
On the way we spotted a Tawny Antpitta calling from low bushes on the roadside, and an American Kestral out hunting, while in the roadside scrub, an Ocellated Tapaculo called, but stayed hidden from view. We later got a closeup view of this large ground bird with its spectacular bright red face and throat, and boldly white-spotted body.
We arrived at Yanacocha Cloud forest Reserve high on Pinchincha, (about an hour’s drive), left the vehicle in the care of our driver and walked part of the mostly flat, Old Inca Trail that winds around the hill at that altitude.
As we walked, bright multi-coloured Tanagers darted among the overhanging trees, and we glimpsed the fast-moving Sword-billed Hummingbird among the many that frequent the feeders in the Reserve.
The whirr of tiny passing Hummingbirds was a novelty for us. They come in a whirling array of colours and styles with exotic names to match their appearance, such as families of Pufflegs, Sunangels, Emeralds, Sapphirewings, Brilliants and more.
The reserve includes montane cloud-forest with many ferns, orchids, bromeliads and epiphytes, Elfin forest, Polylepis, and paramo. Polylepis trees are endemic to the Andean páramos, and occur naturally, at higher elevations than any other angiosperm.
These forests continue to disappear at an alarming rate, partly because people follow cultural traditions of land clearance, and partly due to ever-increasing population growth and its increasing demands on the landscape.
Yanacocha is now the property of the Jocotoco Foundation which is protecting it as the Polylepis trees here are the last breeding refuge of the endemic Black-breasted Puffleg — a small rare species of Hummingbird.
The views from Yanacocha are fantastic sweeping vistas of steep sided, forested hills and deep valleys — the western foothills of the Ecuadorian Andes range.
After a morning in the reserve, we head for Mindo, descending through bush and farmland, past small haciendas farming cattle and crops. In this area there were all sorts of birding surprises from a Crested Cotinga and Turquoise Jay spotted in the trees, to a startled Noble Snipe that burst out of bushes beside a stream.
Mindo is a small town on the western side of Pinchincha surrounded by dairy farms and cloud forest. It’s in a beautiful lush river valley that drains the Rio Mindo and Rio Nambillo, and it is here we find the Bosque Protector Mindo-Nambillo Reserve of about 19,000 ha. More than 350 species of birds have been identified in this area alone.
Cloud forest species such as the stunning Choco Toucan, the stately Golden-headed Quetzal, and the immaculately attired Andean Cock of the Rock, are all impressive sights around Mindo.
Not far from Mindo is Bellavista, a cloud forest and bird lover’s paradise. This private reserve was set up by an Englishman to create a sanctuary and protect large sections of cloud forest from clearance and development.
Bellavista now covers 300 hectares at altitudes between 1400m and 2600m. The forest here is also home to numerous species of ferns, orchids, and bromeliads, and at least 270 species of birds including specialties such as the Giant Antpitta, the Tanager Finch, the Swallow-tailed Nightjar and a huge variety of Hummingbirds. More than a dozen trails have been created offering visitors spectacular views of the area.
During our visits to Bellavista, we saw a pair of the spectacular Plate-billed Mountain Toucans, heard the rhythmical hooting of our first Toucan Barbets, spotted a Crimson-mantled Woodpecker and at dusk, experienced a swooping visit from ghostly Nighthawks.
In this region’s cloud forests there are about 100 species of Tanagers alone — each one sporting a different colour combination from the stunning Blue and yellow Mountain Tanager, to the Golden-crowned, Scarlet-bellied, Purple-mantled Tanagers, or the subtle highlights of the beautiful pale blue and silver-pink Grey and Gold Tanager.
Less colourful, but just as entrancing are families of neo-tropical birds such as the Euphonias, Flowerpiercers, Tyrants, Antpittas and Antshrikes, Conebills, Canasteros, and Manakins
This is just one of the special areas of Ecuador to explore. In the east is the Oriente Amazonian region with its rich lowland bio-diversity. In the centre is the Andean region and in the south is another area of cultural and ecological experiences worth exploring.
As you explore the natural history of Ecuador, you also encounter its rich cultural heritage including many markets and festivals.
An easy side-trip between Quito and Mindo is a visit to the country’s largest artisan market, just an hour or so east of the capital, in the town of Otavalo.
Here stalls sell weaving and leather crafts, including colourful woven ponchos, wall-hangings and table-cloths. There is also silver hand-crafted jewellery, carvings in marble, wood and stone and folk instruments for sale at the markets.
Whether you go to buy gifts and souvenirs or just to experience the colourful market , friendly people, and the local culture, it’s a wonderful place to finish a visit to Ecuador.
