;-} Birding South America

Mindo Bird Tours is proud to be one of the very few birding tour companies in the world that has actually purchased and is protecting significant habitat for rare and endangered species of birds. This conservation objective has been a life-time commitment of the owner.

Mindo Bird Tours´ conservation objective is to purchase and protect high quality habitat for rare, endemic and special species of birds in the Mindo area. In 2002-2007 we purchased additions to our Reserva Las Gralarias so that the reserve now covers 1063 acres or 425 hectares. We plan to continue to expand our holdings in this beautiful area in order to expand a habitat connection upslope that will provide a continuous protected habitat zone from 1600 meters to 3500 meters elevation, along approximately 40 kilometers of the northwestern Andean slopes.

Located in the westernmost foothills of the northwestern cordillera of the Andes some 200km above the Pacific Ocean, Reserva Las Gralarias sits just south of the equator, between 1600-2300m elevation. It is home to 24 of the 44 montane endemic species of the West Slope of the Andes and includes 12 of 19 bird species in this region considered to be at risk (p. 65-6, Birds of Ecuador). It has 23 species of hummingbirds, including Hoary Puffleg, Gorgeted Sunangel, Empress Brilliant, Velvet-purple Coronet and Wedge-billed Hummingbird.

However, its main attractions are Giant, Moustached, Yellow-breasted and Ochre-breasted Antpitta as well as breeding populations of Orange-breasted and Scaled Fruiteater. Additional bird species found at Reserva Las Gralarias include Cloud-forest Pygmy-Owl, Black-and-white Owl, Rufescent Screech-Owl, Dark-backed Wood-Quail, Sickle-winged Guan, Toucan Barbet, White-faced Nunbird, Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Golden-headed Quetzal, Crested Quetzal, Black-billed Peppershrike, Golden-winged Manakin, Olivaceous Piha, Beautiful Jay, Plushcap, Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager, and much more. Mammal species so far encountered there include Two-toed Sloth, Oncilla, Puma, Mountain Coati, Tayra, Red-brocket Deer, Nine-banded Armadillo, Kinkajou, Long-tailed Weasel, various squirrels, opossums and bats. One nectarivorous bat species, Anoura fistulata, described only in 2005, has recently been found on the reserve.

Since 1999 we have operated a bird banding project on the reserve in order to better understand the movements of the avifauna in this zone as well as to document individual characteristics of plumage and body measurements. Volunteers interested in assisting in this project are invited to contact us.

In 2001 a team from Ecuador's National Herbarium conducted an initial survey of the plantlife at Reserva Las Gralarias. Collecting 82 species of plants considered important to birds, the team found 11 species that are endemic to Ecuador. Of these 11 endemics, 5 are classified as vulnerable, 3 are classified as near-threatened, 1 is considered endangered and 1 is considered critically endangered. The species considered critically endangered is Podandrogyne brevipedunculata of the family Capparaceae and is found in three separate sites on our reserve. We were also able to identify numerous plants that are important as food sources for various frugivorous and nectarivorous bird species. Thanks to this survey, we can now ensure adequate protection for these rare and important plants and the birds and other animals that depend on them.

In 2004 we sponsored the formation of the first-ever environmental education program and birdwatching club, "Los Exploradores", in the area near Reserva Las Gralarias, with donations from Tim Krynak of Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., Terry Moore of Leica Sports Optics, U.S.A., Jock and Samm McKay of Waterloo, Canada, and Shamus Terry and Sheltered Wings of Middletown, Wisconsin, U.S.A. During 2005-2008 our environmental education school programs continued and expanded under the leadership of Tim and Kathy Krynak. The U.S.-based Las Gralarias Foundation, Inc. also made donations of binoculars and school supplies to the elementary school near Canandé Reserve.


By T. Krynak	By T. Krynak

By T. Krynak	By T. Krynak

In 2005 we invited U.S. scientists to conduct the first-ever moth and butterfly survey at the Reserve. The results were astounding, with over 450 speces of moths and butterflies found in two weeks. Additional surveys are planned.

Moth researchers have, to date, found two new species at Reserva Las Gralarias which they have named for the reserve and for the owner: Hynhamia lasgralariae and Dimorphopalpa lyonsae. The scientific papers describing the new species are currently in preparation.

In January 2006 the first-ever amphibian survey, sponsored by the Cleveland Zoo, U.S.A., was conducted at Reserva Las Gralarias. The survey, conducted by Kathy Duffey and Tim Krynak, included visual encounter and audio surveys, leaf litter plots and water quality analysis. The results were amazing. One species of frog, Eleutherodactylus eugeniae, considered an endangered amphibian and on the IUCN’s Redlist, was found in relatively high abundance throughout the reserve. A Chocó endemic species, Eleutherodactylus appendiculatus, was found only within primary forest, while along the Santa Rosa River was found the spectacular Giant Glass Frog, Centrolene grandiosonae, which is a species found only in clean pure water. The water quality analysis found the Santa Rosa River to be free of contamination and minerals, i.e., totally pure water. In addition, a Hyla carnifex breeding pool was found near the Santa Rosa River. During the second amphibian survey in January 2007 Tim and Kathy found three species of frogs that are apparently new to science. Work continues on trying to identify these three species.

In June 2008 our frog surveys continued with Tim and Kathy Krynak, from Cleveland, and Hannah Koppelberger , from Washington, D.C. These 2008 surveys discovered several additional species of frogs on the reserve, including another still unknown species of Eleutherodactylus

In addition in June 2008 we were honored to host a team from National Geographic magazine at Reserva Las Gralarias. This world-famous magazine will be spotlighting the Global Amphibian Crisis in an upcoming issue and their visit to Las Gralarias was spent documenting our ongoing work to identify, monitor and conserve the amazing diversity of frogs and other amphibians found at the reserve

In May 2008 we welcomed Suzanne Bartzke, a graduate student from Germany studying mammals and conservation at the University of Leeds in the UK. Suzanne is currently conducting a survey of the mammals of Reserva Las Gralarias as part of her graduate degree in Conservation and Biology.

Donors interested in donating to our Habitat Conservation Fund, which is used solely to achieve our conservation objective, and volunteers willing to work at Reserva Las Gralarias are asked to contact us for additional information. Contact information: jlyons@pi.pro.ec or tkrynak@aol.com


Eleutherodactylus appendiculatus	Eleutherodactylus eugeniae, endangered species

Centrolene grandiosonae	Eleutherodactylus eugeniae, endangered species


Buckley's Glass-Frog, a species found at Reserva Las Gralarias that is critically endangered in Ecuador
Photos by Tim Kryak and Kathy Duffey Krynak