SOLD OUT! Watch for a NEW hummingbird-intensive tropical adventure coming this winter!
We’re going back to Ecuador!!!
June 12-22, 2023
We are resuming our international tours with a trip to our favorite place, Ecuador. This will be a hummingbird-focused tour to the high Andes (the true “hummingbird capital of the world”), similar to our 2019 trip when we saw 60 species of hummingbirds while enjoying world-class accommodations and birding. Six participants will accompany Tom Wood and Sheri Williamson (author of A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America in the Peterson Field Guide series) and a local guide as we explore both slopes of the Andes and a variety of habitats.
Our tours are low-key relaxed trips with plenty of time to watch the feeders at our lodges, photograph the myriad of hummingbirds, tanagers, and other species, or simply enjoy the Ecuadorian hospitality. After a day at a birder-friendly lodge on the edge of Quito, we will visit the Mindo area in the western cordillera of the Andes, probably the best-known hummingbird hotspot in the world. Along with hummingbirds we will also see an astounding array of colorful tanagers, motmots, toucans, and other tropical birds. We will visit Angel Paz’s farm and wildlife sanctuary to see Andean Cock-of-the-Rock and meet the famous antpittas that share his farm.
Returning to Quito, we will then head east through one of the high mountain passes of the Andes, home of the Giant Hummingbird, Andean Condor, and Ecuadorian Hillstar. On our last trip we also saw Andean or Spectacled Bear, the only bear native to South America. The lodges here host a different mix of hummingbirds than the western ones, including the incredible Sword-billed Hummingbird and the charming Wire-crested Thorntail. We will visit four different lodges with feeding stations on the east slope, each with their own signature birds.
The trip is designed to see a high diversity of hummingbirds, but as anyone who has traveled with us will tell you, we enjoy everything along the way. Our trips are perfect for someone just wanting to enjoy a trip to this wonderful region, relax, and see some birds. Our local guides use playback sparingly and only when appropriate.
Cost: $3950 double occupancy + $380 single occupancy
Day 1: Arrival to Quito and transfer to Puembo Birding Garden
Day 2: Relaxing, acclimating, and birding around Puembo Birding Garden
Day 3: Depart Puembo for Mindo, birding at Alambi, overnight at Sachatamia Lodge
Day 4: Birding around Mindo, overnight at Sachatamia Lodge
Day 5: Visit to Angel Paz, overnight at Sachatamia Lodge
Day 6: Depart for Quito, visit to the Equatorial Monument, overnight at Puembo Birding Garden
Day 7: Visit Antisana reserve, overnight in Termas de Papallacta (lodge with hot springs!)
Day 8: Morning birding around Cayambe Coca National Park, afternoon visit to feeding station at Guango Lodge. Overnight at Cabañas San Isidro
Day 9: Morning birding at Cabañas San Isidro, drive to Wild Sumaco
Day 10: Full day birding at Wild Sumaco
Day 11: drive to Quito, day use at Puembo before international flights