Just the thread I was looking for!
I have recently booked my flights to Ecuador (a couple of days before the unrest happened- fingers crossed everything will be back to normal) for a 6 week birding trip from January 3rd to February 17th 2011. Having cut my teeth on shoestring 8 month+ birding trips in Africa and Indian subcontinent which seemed to involve more time waiting for transport and were rather unfocussed and inadequately prepared for, my plan is to hire a 4x4 pickup and have a targeted itinerary. I field tested the method in September/ October 2009 with a similar length trip in Australia that took in the majority of the East from Iron Range to Tasmania including the NW Victorian Malee. Can’t claim to have cleaned up but on the whole it worked well.
I intend to take 5 weeks following the Quito to Quito loop below before spending c5 days at a Napo lodge (probably Sani). The itinerary still needs tweaking and some sites will no doubt get dropped along the way. On the whole I intend to offset the cost of hiring the pickup by not staying at expensive lodges except for Sani and the Jocotoco foundation lodges in the South - an organisation I am particularly keen to support. Rio Canande is noticeably absent from my list due to the reports of the difficult and time consuming access. I’m aware it is an ambitious itinerary in the time frame and no doubt a trip of three months would give each site a more reasonable chance of producing. However longer away from the girlfriend would be a relationship breaker and as a way of coming to grips with the avifauna of a region in a relatively short time it definitely works. Even if I dip my awareness of a restricted range or threatened species is hugely reinforced.
I get much more satisfaction from finding and identifying birds myself rather than having them pointed out to me which is why I tend to bird alone. (Of course by “finding” I mean going to sites which others have reported and pioneered). However it is great to share the experiences and having other birders around tends to keep me more motivated when the energy starts flagging or I start to question why the hell I am doing this – usually when those skulkers fail to show. Undoubtedly I would be bumping into birders along the way but this time I have decided to advertise my proposed trip ahead of time. If anybody is seriously interested in joining me for all or part of it and would be willing to share some of the car hire/ fuel costs (I have been quoted c £30/ $50 per day for a 4x4) let me know. I have reasonable Spanish (though don’t ask me to rewrite this post in Spanish) so would also be interested in the possibility of being joined by an enthusiastic Ecuadorian national who perhaps might be planning on becoming a bird guide and would benefit from an opportunity to bird/ recce new parts of the country. In this instance I wouldn’t expect them to share costs. If it sounds like a way of trying to get a local guide for free that is not my intention. Anyway I’ll stick that idea out there and see what comes back. Comments or suggestions welcomed.
Maybe see you out there.
Cheers
Adam
Week 1
1. Yanacocha
2. Calacali
3. Pululahua Crater
4. El Pahuma Orchid reserve
5. Refugio Paz de los Aves
6. Oilbird Cave Chontal
7. Mashpi Reserve
8. Tandayapa Lodge
9. Bellavista Lodge
10. Reserva Las Gralarias
11. Mindo
12. Milpe
13. Restaurant Mirador de los Bancos
Week2
14. Mangaloma Reserve
15. Rio Silanche
16. Rio Palenque
17. Segua Marsh
18. Los Frailes Machalilla
19. Isla de la Plata
20. Agua Blanca
21. Rio Ayampe
22. Ecuasal
23. Cerro Blanco
24. Puerto Honda
Week3
25. Manglares Churute
26. Cajas National Park
27. Yunguillas
28. Acanama
29. Buenaventura
30. Catacocha
31. Jorupe
32. Zapatillo – Tumbes Tyrant site
33. Utuana
Week 4
34. Tapichalaca
35. Cajanuma, Podocarpus NP
36. Loja- Zamora Road
37. Copalinga Cabañas
38. Bombuscaro Podocarpus NP
39. Cabañas Yankuam
Week 5
40. Gareno Lodge
41. Loreto Road
42. Wild Sumaco
43. Cabañas San Isidiro
44. Cordillera de Huacamayos
45. Guanjo Lodge
46. Termas Papallacta
47. Papallacta Pass
48. Antisana
Week 6
49. Sani Lodge
Most (if not all) of the sites were visited by and are described in David Kverno’s comprehensive blog
http://birdingecuador.blogspot.com/ which has been a fantastic resource for trip planning. This includes a google map showing locations if any of the sites are unfamiliar to you.