Ecuador Bird Photography

Our workshop begins in Quito, the beautiful and historic capital city of Ecuador, where we’ll have an evening orientation and dinner. Night in Quito.

Our trip begins with a journey into the most biodiverse place on Earth: the Amazon Rainforest. After a short regional flight to the town of Coca, we'll travel by boat downriver into the vicinity of Yasuni National Park, where we'll be based at an amazing and comfortable lodge for four nights. This region is home to an incredible array of birds, with over 600 species recorded in the near vicinity—similar to the number of species recorded in the entire country of Canada!

During our stay, we'll visit an impressive canopy tower, providing a unique perspective on canopy-dwelling birds, and a clay lick where parakeets, parrots, and macaws gather to ingest minerals from the soil. We'll also explore the rainforest by canoe at dawn and dusk, photograph birds around the lodge grounds, and visit the local Kichwa community for a traditional lunch. In addition to an incredible diversity of birds, we may also encounter monkeys, caimans, and a variety of reptiles and amphibians as we explore the waterways and forest trails.

After our time in the Amazon, we'll head west to the eastern slopes of the Andes, where Cabañas San Isidro will be our base for two nights. Here, we'll begin to experience the spectacular hummingbird diversity of the Andes, with species such as the breathtaking Long-tailed Sylph and Chestnut-breasted Coronet regularly visiting the lodge grounds.

Early mornings provide outstanding photography opportunities as birds gather to feed on insects attracted to the lodge lights overnight. We'll also visit several nearby reserves, including an active Andean Cock-of-the-Rock lek, where males perform their remarkable courtship displays. The San Isidro Black-banded Owl is often encountered here, and after dark we'll also watch for Mountain Tapir and other nocturnal wildlife.

On days 8–9, we'll make our way to the higher slopes of the Andes. This region is particularly spectacular, with jaw-dropping mountain scenery, rushing rivers, waterfalls, and expansive páramo landscapes. Our base for these two nights will be the lovely Guango Lodge, just downslope from Papallacta Pass. At this beautiful cloud forest hideaway, we'll be surrounded by hummingbirds, including several new species for the trip.

In the mornings, insects attracted to lights near the lodge draw a variety of cloud forest birds onto close-up perches, including flocks of beautiful Turquoise Jays and many others. A short walk from the lodge leads us into the habitat of Torrent Ducks, White-capped Dippers, Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucans, and other cloud forest specialties. We'll also explore the nearby high-Andean páramo in search of alpine specialists such as Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, Chestnut-winged Cinclodes, Many-striped Canastero, Carunculated Caracara, Andean Condor, and other high-elevation birds.

On days 10–13, we travel west of Quito to visit what is arguably the hummingbird photography capital of the world: the Tandayapa Valley. Well over a dozen hummingbird species regularly visit the feeders at our base, Tandayapa Bird Lodge, where they have little fear of people. Tanagers, Rufous Motmots, Crimson-rumped Toucanets, and Toucan Barbets are also frequent visitors to the fruit feeders. While at the lodge, we'll practice photography and lighting techniques using professional photography setups at the feeding stations.

We'll also visit several renowned reserves in the region, including Refugio Paz de las Aves, where we'll enjoy exceptional opportunities to photograph Giant and Yellow-breasted Antpittas, visit another spectacular Andean Cock-of-the-Rock lek, and search for specialties such as Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan and Sword-billed Hummingbird. Before returning to Quito, we'll make one final birding stop on the slopes of Pichincha Volcano, where a final array of hummingbirds and other Andean specialties provides a fitting conclusion to our journey.