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Fledgling Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan at
Reserva Las Gralarias
By Dave Lewis
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Mindo
Bird Tours is a legally-constituted Ecuadorian birding tour company
founded
in 1999. We are a full service birding tourism company, and while the
Mindo
area
and northwest Ecuador remain our special area of expertise,
our business has grown to include birding tours throughout Ecuador
and elsewhere in South America. We currently arrange and guide
60+ custom and scheduled tours every year just in Ecuador!
A pair of Toucan Barbet, a Chocó endemic
We provide
guides, vehicles and tour itineraries for a day, a week, a month or
more, for one person or a large group. We can provide you with customized
birding and bird photography tours, and we also offer scheduled departures
for specific group tours. We prefer small groups as the opportunities
for bird and wildlife observation are much greater for each participant.
Our scheduled departure group tours have a maximum of 10 participants.
We regularly offer tours throughout Ecuador and Peru as well as custom
tours ro Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Cloud-forest Pygmy-Owl, newly described species
Happy Birders
Contact
us for your birding trip of a lifetime! Add
a cruise of the Galapagos Islands and
a trip to the Amazon jungle, and you will see why Ecuador ranks as
one of the world's top nature tourism destinations.
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| Rufous-crowned Tody-Flycatcher |
Stripe-throated Hermit |
Gray-breasted Wood-Wren |
In addition we are happy to assist in every aspect of your tour,
even
in activities and sites unrelated to birding, butterflying or photography.
We provide the expertise and experience, at the local, national and
international level, to be your in-country agent and to provide the professional
assistance you may need in any situation.
THE
MBT TEAM
Office
Manager
Mynor Chacón is originally from Puntarenas, Costa Rica but
now lives in Quito.. Mynor has a Bachelor of Arts from the National
University of Costa Rica and was
a licensed tourism guide in Costa Rica from 2004 until moving to Ecuador
in 2007. Mynor worked in Costa Rica’s
national parks and private reserves and also spent several years working
in various aspects of tourism
at hotels in Mexico and Costa Rica. He also worked with the Costa
Rica Ministry of Culture promoting folklore and popular dance and theater.
Mynor speaks Spanish, English and some Japanese and Italian. His wife
is Ecuadorian and they have twin sons. Mynor
manages MBT´s Quito
office.
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Senior Guide
Edison
Buenaño
(31), from Riobamba, Ecuador, has been a professional
birding guide since 1999. He graduated with a degree
in tourism administration and is certified as a
national tour guide. Edison was the resident guide
at Bellavista
Cloud Forest Lodge, worked at Cuyabeno Reserve
and has been a birding guide for Mindo Bird Tours
for
8 years. Besides birding and guiding throughout
mainland Ecuador and Galapagos, Edison has also
birded Peru,
Bolivia and Chile. He is well-known for his patience
in calling in reclusive antpittas, fruiteaters
and tapaculos. Edison speaks Spanish, English and
French. |
Senior
Guide
Charley
Hesse (34) is from West Yorkshire, UK. His Bachelor’s
Degree in Zoology took him to the rainforests
of Cameroon, while for his Masters of Science
in Conservation
and Biodiversity he studied bird communities
in the lowland rainforests of Malaysia. Charles
also
worked
on the Blue-throated Macaw project in Bolivia
and spent several years searching for globally-threatened
species throughout Latin America. His data and
recordings have provided important information
on numerous rare
species. Charles also worked as a bird-keeper
at
Harewood Bird Garden in Leeds, UK and conducted
surveys of threatened and endemic birds in the
Philippines.
He worked for 3 years teaching environmental
education in Japan, and is fluent in Japanese,
Spanish and
Portuguese. Charley lives at Reserva Las Gralarias.
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Legal
Services
Dr. Fabricio Cela has recently joined our team as the MBT attorney, involved
mostly in the business aspect, including contracts, visas for foreign staff,
business reports and any other legal or business issues. Dr Cela also currently
serves as the designated President of MBT.
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Drivers
Juan Carlos
Cruz and Jorge Ledesma have worked for MBT for 8
years as our professional drivers. During that time
they have learned a bit of English and have found
us some birds as well, while maneuvering the sometimes
challenging road conditions found in the more remote
parts of Ecuador – which is where birders like
to go!
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Webmaster
Victor Alberca has been the MBT webmaster since
1999. Victor is a professional design engineer as well as
a folk singer and has a deep appreciation for the beauty
of birds and nature.
Jane Lyons
began birding as a child in Austin, Texas and eventually
became the Wildlife Coordinator and Manager of the
Austin Nature Center. She co-led birding tours to Mexico,
Guatemala, Costa Rica and Ecuador for Travis Audubon
Society and earned a doctorate degree (Ph.D.) at the
University of Texas at Austin in Biogeography, with
minors in Zoology and Public Affairs, and specializing
in bird conservation in Latin America. She worked for
the National Audubon Society as the Regional Representative
for Texas and Latin America and was especially involved
in conservation efforts for the Golden-cheeked Warbler
and Black-capped Vireo. She lived in Montevideo, Uruguay
where she served as the |
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Director
of Natural Resources Programs for the U.S. Peace
Corps in Uruguay and Argentina.
She then moved to Quito, Ecuador and served as
the Head of the Americas Division for BirdLife International.
While at BirdLife Jane launched the Americas' Important
Bird Areas program. She has birded extensively
throughout
North America, the
Caribbean,
Latin America,
Europe
and
parts of
Africa. In 1999 she founded the Ecuadorian
birding tour company,
Mindo Bird Tours. From 2002-2008
she served on the Board of Directors of the Ecuadorian
conservation foundation, Fundación Jocotoco. In
2005 she helped found the U.S.-based Las Gralarias
Foundation, Inc. and currently
serves
as its Vice-President. In 2007 she was invited to serve
as a reviewer of scholarship applications for an
Ecuador endangered species program.
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Mindo
Bird Tours
Casilla
Postal 17-17-404
Quito, Ecuador
Cell: +
593-9-7351297
Phone:
+593-2-3520366
Toll-free
in the U.S.A. 1-866-787-9901
http://www.mindobirds.com.ec
Email: jlyons@pi.pro.ec
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