Birding Milpe Road
By Lisa Thurston

The best recommendations come from our guests. Below are some of their comments.
  • "Our trip to Chile was just amazing. We saw wonderful birds, had fabulous weather, saw beautiful sights, and all your planning worked out just perfectly. Thanks so much for a great trip with such smooth and easy connections and transfers....I must say that our driver from Ruta 9 was exceptionally nice and accommodating. I always have a hard time picking one "best species". Some of the best were Green backed Firecrown; Moustached Turca; Chucao Tapaculo; Austral pygmy owl; Austral parakeet; Black throated Huet Huet; Magellanic Penguin; Chiloe Wigeon; Tawny-throated Dotterel; Yellow-bridled Finch; and more!
    Road conditions were very good (except the last few miles to Torres) and all the drivers were excellent, especially Alvaro...Thanks again for helping us put together a wonderful trip to a most beautiful country. I loved the Chileans! They have lots of spark and personality and a great sense of humor....We really did love Tinquilco! You are absolutely right, it was off the beaten path and we loved our little cabin...Carlos gave us the cabin that was farthest from the main lodge and it had a great view of the lake. ...Birding right on their property was good and the lake was very pretty. We had a resident Fire-eyed Diucon right outside our window -- that alone kept us warm on cold mornings. Also it had a little kitchen and we could make tea in the morning. .. Las Torres was great. Rooms were very comfortable and the location was great. They had huge buffets every morning and evening, so we had no problems eating. We had a very nice waiter who took special care of us and loved speaking Spanish with me! He only charged us half price for meals because we didn't eat any meat! ...You really picked perfect spots for us and got us right in the middle of the birds. We love that." 16-30 Dec 2009, J&MP, El Paso, TX, USA
  • "Thanks for everything! All went very smooth, even Tapichalaca – I arrived earlier then expected, there was too much rain so no stops along the way. I did see many birds and even more important, photographed at least 130 species including 8 species of Antpitta! Not too bad. Have to come back to photograph the remainder of the 1600 species. Friends of mine will visit Ecuador next year, will recommend Mindo Bird Tours to them." 7-22 December 2009, MG, Holland
  • “Thanks for the wonderful food and the wonderful company! Love your forest and I hope more people like you get a piece of life to take care of and share, that way we won´t lose our loving creatures, birds and all living creatures…Hope to come back soon!” 30 August – 4 September 2009, V&RM, Bogota, Colombia
  • “We have had a really nice week here. Dusan has found us more than 160 species and we haven´t finished yet! Everything has been very comfortable – good accommodation, great food, and interesting company. Thank you very much.” 15-28 August 2009, J&JW, London, UK
  • “Thank you for a wonderful week! Good food, very comfortable lodging and BIRDS!! Unforgettable!” 28 July – “ August 2009, MS, Berkeley, CA, USA
  • “This has been the trip of a lifetime for me. Actually seeing and experiencing what I´ve only seen in pictures is beyond description. Your hospitality as well as that of all your staff is first rate. I hope this won´t be my only visit here. I´ll never forget my little hummer friend landing on my finger…” 12-23 July 2009, COQ, Hunt, TX
  • "Thank you so much for your hospitality and friendship.  We totally enjoyed the reserve, the birding, hummer feeders, the wonderful food!!!, Anise de Mono, and mostly your company.  What a wonderful place.."  22-24 June 2009, JK & BR, Nevada, USA
  • "Thank you and your wonderful staff for treating us so well during our one-week stay.  It´s not easy to leave. Las Gralarias is an inspiration...hopefully we can do something similar in the future.  The habitat and subsequent wildlife are incredible and the lodge is situated wihtin this tranquil setting reminding us why we are travelling in South America.  Thanks for the comfort and fattening us up with the delicious food before we hit the road again.  We will recommend this reserve to anyone who is interested in birds, conservation, or those wanting to get away from it all..."  3-10 June 2009,  CO & PPB, Prince George and Montreal, Canada
  • “We had a wonderful visit, so comfortable with great food and service… and of course great organization, advice and hospitality... We saw some great birds, including all the antpittas! Thanks so much – we really hope to visit again! Keep up the great work!” 20 May – 8 June 2009, S&TB, Brisbane, Australia
  • “Thanks so much for your hospitality and all the marvelous food. The birds and their habitats were stupendous, breathtaking. Thanks also to Gabriel for all his patience and experience. We had a fantastic time.” 21-25 April 2009, TR&AW, New York City, NY, USA
  • “We came here because you are a fellow Texan, and we were right – so friendly, so much fun; gracias y’all.” 28 May – 5 June 2009, T&JT, Fredericksburg, TX, USA.
  • “Jane, your place is amazing. I wish I was you so I could wake-up and see all the great birds every day. Thanks for your hospitality and amazing staff.” 28 May-5 June, TL (age 14), Atlanta, GA, USA
  • "This was a good start to what looks to be an excellent tour of Ecuador. Wonderful food, outstanding birds and very pleasant people.” 27 January -15 February 2009, S&JD, Ontario, Canada
  • “FANTASTIC!! Mucho, mucho thanks Jane. The place is awesome – beyond my expectations. Great birds, unreal and surreal scenery!” 26-30 January 2009, MB, St. Louis, MO, USA
  • “Wow! First trip to “sunny” Ecuador and what a trip! Many thanks to Jane and Mindo Birds for putting it all together – the birds, the comfortable lodging, the wonderful food, the roads, the ferry crossings, the birds, the power outages (I should have said candlelight dinners) and of course the rain. Last, but no way least, I will be forever grateful to Juan Carlos for getting us there and to Charley for finding those fabulous birds!” 8-18 January 2009, TS, Georgia, USA
  • “Thanks to each and everyone that made for such a wonderful visit. The birds, the hospitality, the food, the land and of course the cloud forest. A wonderful way to bring in the new year!” 25 Dec – 6 Jan 2009, PM, Beddeford, ME, USA
  • “We had a wonderful time.  Great birding .  Thanks for all the hospitality and the chance to learn about the ecosystems of this area.  Good luck with the continued preservation of this unique landscape…Thanks again.  We will be back in the future.”  16-19 Dec 2008, GS & KL, Sitka, AK, USA
  • “Great trip – food – birds.  Thanks so much.”  9-12 Dec 2008, MC, San Benito, TX, USA
  • “We have just returned from our Quito/Galapagos trip and I wanted to write and thank you for the excellent time we had in Mindo. We really loved all of it. The cloud forest was so beautiful and the hummingbirds were to die for. To tell the truth we wished we had stayed longer at Mindo and less at Otavalo. The latter was interesting and a very nice hotel but we would have liked to have had more time to look for birds at your place.  I cannot thank you enough for the care you took over our stay and, in particular, about my diet. We thought the food was just wonderful and very much appreciated.  I have to say that the Flamingo…was exceptionally well organised and efficient and also gave us excellent food…. We thought the islands were magic and, if anything, exceeded our expectations. None of us was seasick and we had a great bunch of fellow passengers.  I hope we might make it your way again. We really did love Ecuador….We wish you very, very well in that lovely place of yours, happy Christmas, and we thank you again so very much for a great experience.”  Dec 2008, S&DA, UK
  • “WOW!!!!!  Maybe So. Ecuador next year… same time, same guide!  Muchas gracias for everything!”  22-30 Nov 2008, L&MC, Hermosa Beach, CA, USA
  • “My trip to northwest Ecuador is the best trip I have ever taken!  Jane is a wonderful hostess and the trip was perfect.  Edison did a great job showing us the birds.  The lodge feels just like home, only new!” 22-30 Nov 2008, YH, St. Louis, MO, USA
  • “We had a remarkable trip, and will always remember our first visit to Ecuador fondly….I'm sure that you've already heard from Charley, but we comfortably broke the 400 bird mark on our final day… Charley’s knowledge of the birds was remarkable, and his energy level was really something to see…Mynor and Juan Carlos were sure and reliable drivers, and made that aspect of the trip simple as well.  We thought that Las Gralarias was a remarkable property and lodge. You have much to be proud of there.”  1-14 Nov 2008, M&TM, Elgin, TX, USA
  • “Thank you for planning an extraordinary experience!  I loved it all…I loved all the habitats we visited and cannot say enough about the experience at La Selva with Jose.  This was my first trip birding outside of the US and I hope to visit you again.  Great, great time!  Many thanks.”  12-21 Sept 2008, LK, New York City, NY, USA 
  • “We had an excellent trip in the Mindo area during August and September….Our final count was 483 species including the Galapagos islands with 300 species seen during the Mindo leg…We are interested in another trip to Ecuador. We would like to go on the trip from Paramo to the Jungle this time…”  17 Aug-5 Sept 2008, W&KH, Canada
  • “What a unique holiday you arranged for us. It is hard to believe it all happened.  I don’t think I have ever had a designer trip before and each day we were astonished by what we saw in Ecuador.  To visit Las Gralarias is quite a privilege. The whole place is such a lovely place to stay and we were beautifully looked after by everyone there.  Your remarkable reserve on the equator nurtures the birds and animals, the insects and frogs, the trees and plants of this very beautiful and extraordinary place on earth.  I learned so much on this trip and it will remain in my heart for a long time. Who could forget coming out after dinner and finding a wall of the most exquisite moths, or after lunch the gory story unfolding of the Tarantula Hawk Wasp with its paralysed spider being dragged across the yard and down the road to its burrow or, wandering at ease along the Granny’s Trail and Parrot Hill looking for elusive birds, or trying to photograph the speedy hummingbirds. Thank you so much for all you did to make this a holiday of a lifetime.”  15 Aug-8 Sept 2008, VL, London, UK
  • “We arrived home late yesterday safe and sound... We thank you so much for arranging our trip to Ecuador, definitely the trip of a lifetime. Our itinerary incorporated many complexities of scheduling and yet, thanks to your planning, it unfolded smoothly and seamlessly.

    The tours of the Galapagos and the Amazon exceeded our expectations. The Coral I was the perfect ship for us—excellent activities, great guides and crew, and delicious meals. And the same for our stay at Sacha Lodge. We’ll never forget birding there with Oscar Tapuy, one of the best birding guides we’ve ever had.

    The hotels you chose were memorable. We enjoyed the Hacienda Cusin and Termas Papallacta. We will always remember the fun we had with Gabriel exploring the Hacienda Cusin and Otavalo, and with Charlie and Juan Carlos, thawing out in the hot springs at Papallacta while the rain poured down.

    You've put together a wonderful professional staff. A member of your staff was always there at the airport to meet us even when the flights were seriously late. Our drivers, Jesus and Juan Carlos, were excellent....In particular, Juan Carlos went above and beyond to help us retrieve our delayed luggage from Copa Airline. Mynor was so helpful in making repeated phone calls to Copa to track down our bags.

    Our birding guides were amazing. Their enthusiasm, birding skills and knowledge of birds extended beyond just recognizing a species by sight but to recognizing birds from their songs and behaviors, knowing the habitats, the altitudes, and best locations to go birding. They are truly master birding guides. They were also charming and witty company as was our city guide...who was a wonderful, sweet introduction to Ecuador.

    Our chief regret is that we did not have the opportunity to meet you personally, but we do thank you so much for our memorable trip! “  1-15 September 2008, G&JS, California, USA.
  • “I take this opportunity to congratulate all your team for the excellent work during those 18 great days !!! Ecuador is an amazing country. We had a GREAT GREAT time there !! It is certainly not too much saying that this was one of our most memorable trips & general birding experience. But maybe it is the forests which will forever stay in our memories. They really are amongst the marvels of this World !! I am currently busy writing the trip report which consists of 603 species, of course a personal record for the 3 of us. Having visIted extensively North America in the nineties, I have a personal total of 455 lifers for this trip but my companions have almost the entire list !” 15 July-2 August 2008, HD, VB, & B, Belgium
  • “The trip was wonderful ! We saw more birds that we could have imagined. The guides you provided were experts and the country was just beautiful. I grew up on the Mississippi river and riding down the Napo brought back many fond memories. Thanks!”,28 June-6 July 2008, J&TB, Auburn, Alabama, USA
  • “ We were so thrilled and honored to be able to share all the beauty here in Ecuador and Reserva Las Gralarias. Thank you for all your care, good food, and especially Charley. He is so thoroughly professional, knowledgeable and made sure we had the best possible experience! The birds are (as we say in the States) TOTALLY AWESOME!” 2-8 June 2008, CB &EC, New Jersey, USA.
  • “ I've just returned from a marvelous 21-day tour of Ecuador. The focus, of course, was birds, and I and my friend saw quite a few - 516 total species, including 78 endemics and 356 lifers. Since Ecuador is relatively small, endemics include species that may overlap into surrounding countries.

    The areas we visited included both western and eastern slopes of the Andes in the north and the south of the country, plus three days in the Amazon region... Our last two days were spent at Cotapaxi and Antisana volcanoes. The trip was superbly put together by Jane Lyons of Mindo Bird Tours (jlyons@pi.pro.ec)...

    Where to start? We had rainy weather virtually every day, but sometimes that was good, we learned. It was cool when we climbed into the Andes -- I think 14,000 feet was our high point -- and it was usually muddy. We saw a total of 63 hummingbird species, including Swordbill and both Green- and black-tailed Trainbearer. But my favorite was was the endemic Velvet-Purple Coronet.

    We had hoped to see some antpittas, and we were not disappointed. Two we found on our own: Tawny and Rufous. But the two most spectacular we saw at sites where the birds emerged to feed on worms thrown to them; these were the Giant and the Jocotoco, both endemics.

    We saw a number of lifers in the tanager group, such as Golden-collared Honeycreeper, Yellow-bellied Dacnis, Masked Flowerpiercer, plus Rufuous-chested, Saffron-crowned, Golden-eared, Golden-naped, Masked, Opal-rumped and Opal-crowned Tanager, in addition to these mountain-tanagers: Lacrimose, Scarlet-bellied, Blue-winged, and Buff-breasted.

    Cotingas included Red-crested, Plum-throated and Spangled, plus Green-and-black Fruiteater, Scaled Fruiteater, White-browed Purpletuft, Olivaceous Piha, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Purple-throated Fruitcrow and, my nominee for bird of the trip, Bare-necked Fruitcrow. The last we saw from the canopy tower. A close second was Toucan Barbet, beautiful and at the same time a bit strange with its outsize bill. Crested Owl was spectacular. Helping a passer-by get a look, I told her to ignore that brown leaf and find the bird to the left; it turned out that the "leaf" was a second owl, perched with its back to us. A visit to a parrot lick turned up four species…and a night walk produced a roosting Great Tinamou. A nighttime hike in the mud in the south produced Andean Potoo, Swallow-tailed Nightjar and the enormous Rufous-bellied Nighthawk.

    Other favorites: Chestnut-capped Puffbird, Many-banded Aracari, Ringed Woodpecker, Azara's Spinetail, Orange-fronted Plushcrown, Streaked Tuftedcheek, Hairy-crested Antbird (with a remarkably wide white eye-ring), Yelow-olive Flatbill, Swainson's Flycatcher, Wire-tailed Manakin, Beautiful Jay, White-breasted Parakeet, and Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher.

    Lifer warblers included Spectacled Whitestart, Black-eared Warbler, Citrine Warbler, Russet-crowned warbler and Olive-crowned Yellowthroat. We also saw lots of Blackburnians in beautiful plumage. Our very last bird, fittingly, was an Andean Condor,which soared fairly close on the Antisana volcano. What a trip! I'm ready to go back.” 31 January – 22 February 2008, JD, Bulgaria
  • “We had a blast!! The timing was great all of the time, thanks to Juan Carlos, who was a really good friend all week....The accommodations were great, and each was very different from the others, as you well know…We are looking for a possibility of Peru next year--will be in touch.” 9-16 February 2008, SS, Rome, GA, USA
  • “I just wanted to let you know what a great time Stuart, Dwayne and I had on our trip thanks to you. Charley and Juan Carlos were excellent. Every place that we stayed was wonderful as was the food. …You plan great trips. I hope to do another one with you soon. Thanks again. “ 9-16 February 2008, BH, Rome, GA, USA
  • “Many thanks for working with Sharon, Alice, and me to put together such a fascinating trip. So many birds, so many habitats, so many new experiences. Accolades to Alejandro. He is a superb guide. His knowledge of birds, their habits and habitats is impressive, and he is informative about plants and animals as well. He is concerned that everyone sees the bird in question, is congenial, and unusually considerate….Juan Carlos also deserves praise, not only for his excellent driving but for his charming manner. A splendid trip!” 26 December – 5 January 2008, SW, New York City, NY USA
  • “Our trip totals: Papallacta with Alejandro: 46 species, 35 lifers… .La Selva (including Coca airport): 147 species, 136 lifers. Here we learned the challenges of jungle birding (this was harder than the jungle birding we did in India). Las Gralarias time with Edison: 199 species, 162 lifers. We had a great time...We're definitely hoping to have the opportunity to bird in Ecuador...in the future...Totals: 365 species, 345 lifers. Overall, some incredibly outstanding birding along with fantastic scenery, people, butterflies and other animals! Thank you for handling all of the arrangements. We enjoyed the trip immensely…We're definitely hoping to get back to Ecuador in the future and when we do, we'll definitely want to stay at Las Gralarias again.” 30 May – 14 June, KD, Denver, CO, USA
  • “ Thanks for planning such a wonderful trip for all of us! Looking back it seems like they were 2 unbelievable vacations rolled into one. You did a fantastic job! All of the places we stayed were great, as was the food, and of course the birding was fantastic! My only regret was not being able to squeeze more time into each day, but I guess that's out of my control! Las Gralarias is fantastic Jane, you have done such a great job creating it....The Galapagos trip was also great! It was like being on another planet! Even though I knew a fair amount about the galapagos and what to expect, nothing can prepare you for the actual experience! The Coral 1 was a great boat and we had a really good bunch of people on board. I am still swaying today! “ 1-17 Jun 2007, MAB, Houston, TX USA
  • “I want to thank you for arranging an excellent field trip today [to Yanacocha Reserve]. All aspects were excellent and I enjoyed both Alejandro's and Mynor's company. The birding wasn't excellent mostly due to timing and just a quiet day out there, but that's nothing you can control! We very much enjoyed the day and all came home happy.” 5 June 2007, TC, Saratoga, CA, USA
  • “Our trip to Ecuador went perfectly, in part because of your wonderful assistance. Everything went so smoothly that we see no reason why we should not return soon. It was an easy trip and an outstanding trip. We saw so much and enjoyed our stay with you so very much. Being able to walk a couple of steps from our room to the overlook with the hummingbirds so close was truly wonderful. We also enjoyed the trails along with meeting Pablo and Jose….The Cock-of-the-Rock lek was a great experience and the antipittas and wood-quail were just the very best! I am sure you will see us again. Thanks for taking such good care of us!” 1-6 April 2007, EH & SS, Sacramento, CA, USA
  • “Barbara and I returned home yesterday…and I want to say that our birding trip to Ecuador far exceeded our expectations in every way, and you can be sure that we will be very strongly recommending Mindo Bird Tours to anyone who is considering birding in South America. We were very pleased with the accommodation in all places and with the wonderful birding opportunities afforded by the locations we visited... Whilst I haven't yet checked thoroughly through our bird list, the total number of species seen exceeds 400; we had hoped we might see 300!...Thanks again for enabling Barbara and I to have the birding trip of a lifetime (will anything beat Sword-billed Hummingbird?!), and we will be in touch soon regarding next year's trip.” 1-16 January 2007, D&BH, Bull Creek WA , Australia
  • “I’ve had a great time here at Las Gralarias. Hospitality excellent, beautiful location. Alejandro has been an absolute gem as a guide.” 9-13 January 2007, ND, British Columbia, Canada
  • “ Thank you so much for wonderful hospitality and for all your efforts to help conserve Ecuador’s biodiversity. We have enjoyed every minute of our stay at Las Gralarias and you can be assured that we will return – sooner rather than later!” 1- 17 January 2007, D&BH, Perth, W. Australia and R&JH, Essex, UK.
  • “ Jane, you are doing a superb job in both ecotourism and conservation. Thanks for your warm and professional hospitality and loads of useful information and sharing of biological facts and passion for it.” 30 Dec – 5 Jan 2007, CG, Columbus, Missouri, USA
  • “ A wonderful visit – beautiful location, hospitality and birding…” 30 Dec – 4 Jan 2007, JG, DG, DG & KG, Ontario, Canada
  • “ Great place and hospitality - Thanks!” 30 Dec – 4 Jan 2007, FL, UK.
  • “ We have really enjoyed our stay here! Especially the “ghostly night birds” near Mindo town…. 27-30 December 2006, GK, Auckland, New Zealand & TF, Maryland, USA.
  • “ We had a great time with Edison and during our stay at Las Gralarias-- Fabulous lodge – we will be back very very soon – had too much fun! …Thanks so much for the terrific hospitality.” 9-16 December 2006, FB & SB, Knoxville, TN, USA
  • “ Everyday in our trip was so enjoyable. We saw a lot, we experienced and learned a lot. Thank you once more for arranging this wonderful trip for us. We are very much impressed by your substantial effort in habitat conservation, a difficult but meaningful task in nowadays world. Alejandro is great and Vito is a very good companion. Please send our thanks to them. We really hope to visit Ecuador and some other S. American countries if we have a long vacation.” 9-23 November 2006, R&PL, Hong Kong.
  • “We truly enjoyed our stay with you and conversations about shared experiences in Austin and Venezuela…We congratulate you for the wonderful lodge you run here. We hope we can host you in our country house in Italy some day.” 1-3 Dec 2006, RH & DOL, Washington, D,C, and Spoleto, Italy.
  • “ We have truly enjoyed our trip to Ecuador and al the arrangements you made for us have exceeded our already lofty expectations! Thanks so much!” 21 Nov- 8 Dec 2006, D&SH. Eugene, OR, USA.
  • “ What a fantastic experience, great birds, great food, great organization! We really enjoyed your company Jane and hope to see you again. We will have plenty of “emotions to recollect in tranquility”. 14-30 November 2006, GT & MO, Yorkshire, UK.
  • “ We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, and someday will return. Your trails are beautiful as are the birds. Our experience in Ecuador has been very rewarding, thanks to your efforts.” 19-30 November 2006 JW&LS, Old Lyme, CT, USA.
  • “Thank you for arranging such a wonderful nature and birding trip for us. All the people are so friendly and helpful. We are especially impressed with the effort of Las Gralarias Reserve in conservation of this precious piece of natural environment." 15-20 Nov 2006, RL & PC, Hong Kong.
  • “ We have had a lovely time for the five nights we have had here. Fortunately we brought good weather with us from your home town of Austin. 225 birds are not bad and you have arranged for three more days. Your hospitality was great...We’ll be back.” 11- 20 Nov 2006, J&ZH, MR, Austin, TX, USA.
  • “ This place is a treasure – even soaking wet! We have had a great time with you, Alejandro, the birds and the tarantula. Keep up the good work you do in preserving this special corner of the world!” 9-11 Nov, 2006 R&MH, Omaha, NE, USA.
  • “ We wanted to thank you for our arrangements for our recent trip to Ecuador. We enjoyed staying at Las Gralarias and visiting with you. The room was the best we have had to date in Ecuador. The guide was superb and is a world-class guide. His patience is also infinite. We have not made order of all the chaos yet and the pictures are not all sorted. But we had a wonderful time. Thank you again for all your help.” 21 Oct – 11 Nov 2006, B&JL, Washington, D.C., USA.
  • “ We had a wonderful time in Ecuador. Thank you so much for your help in putting our trip together. Alejandro was a good guide. He was attentive and knowledgeable. The best part of the birding may have been at Papallacta Pass, since he was so interested in those LBBs you can only see in the fog at 15,000 feet on a wet, cold, windy day. We really liked the lodge at Papallacta. The hot springs were great….La Selva was probably the highlight of the whole trip, though, since we had never been that far into the Amazon basin--only to Amazonia Lodge in Peru, on the way to Manu, which wasn't nearly so low or so wet. The parrot licks were terrific and Jeff really enjoyed getting to see the Pygmy Marmosets and the Umbrellabird….Juan Carlos was a good driver and a good guide at Saquisili. We really enjoyed getting to Saquisili and Day of the Dead celebrations. I had colada morada three times…So everything worked out well. We bumped into Dennis again at the airport, on our way to La Selva. All the travel arrangements worked out perfectly. We liked the Charles Darwin, especially the location and the friendly hosts. We got to wander around Quito two afternoons, which we really enjoyed. It was almost perfect. (Another few tanagers and cotingas and manakins would have made it perfect!)…. Thanks, Jane, for everything. It was great seeing you again. We'll stay in touch and be back, maybe for a trip to Loja and Tumbes.” 21 Oct -3 Nov 2006, DB, Minneapolis, MN, USA
  • “ Jane, we have enjoyed this third trip to Ecuador that you have planned for us. Edison has done a great job with lots of patience and we have some wonderful photographs to show for it. Thank you for sharing your hospitality and lovely lodge.” 21 Oct-11 Nov 2006, B&J L, Arlington, Virginia, U.S.A.
  • “ Great to return to a favorite place - 4th trip to Mindo. Thanks fore the great food and wonderful hospitality.” 22-26 October 2006, JB, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
  • “ Thoroughly enjoyed my stay, one of several over the years.” 19-25 October 2006, DS, Miami, Florida, USA
  • “ It was great meeting you. Thank you for making me feel so comfortable. What a great place you have and the birds have been fantastic... Hope to see you again soon.” 8-14 October 2006, EB, Reston, VA, USA
  • Trip report on SurfBirds.
    “This excursion was an opportunistic side trip out of Quito done in a 32-hour period. Mid-September is not the ideal season for visiting the cloud forest in Mindo, but the 12th and 13th were the dates that I was able to fit in my work/airline schedule.

    I appreciated every aspect of the stay at Las Gralarias. I like the fact that it is a biological research station and a conservation project with a hospitality component, so its raison d’être is conservation and not tourism. But the housing and the food were excellent, the hummingbird feeders right on our veranda were spectacular, and the welcome we received from Jane Lyons and the bird guiding were without a fault.

    We arranged the driver and vehicle through Las Gralarias so that we were picked up at our Quito hotel in the morning and dropped off again the following afternoon. The drive itself through the Andes was amazing for me, as this was my first time in South America. Most of the road was paved and in excellent condition although full of curves, but the final part of the drive is over a one-lane gravel path that follows a ridge.

    I experienced the cloud forest first hand as the drizzle and misting commenced in the early afternoon. We saw plenty of birds although mostly not in good light because of the rain. It did not rain the next morning, (we even saw some blue sky), but around noon the clouds rolled in. My guide said that this was typical cloud forest weather.

    Highlights for me were the hummingbirds, the Crested Quetzal, the Masked Trogon, and the Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan which all came out in the open for close looks. Other birds like Spillman’s Tapaculo and Azara’s Spinetail we could hear all around us but got just one-second visual sightings because they were almost always hidden behind foliage. I was very glad that I had downloaded the Las Gralarias species list and reviewed them in my field guide in advance of the trip.

    One other amazing sight which I will never forget was hundreds of different moths of all colors and sizes which gathered in the evening on the outside walls of our lodging. A number of new moth species have been discovered at Las Gralarias.” 12-13 September 2006, MC, Mali, West Africa

    Powerful Woodpecker
    By Tim Krynak
  • “Mary and I wanted to thank you for your fine work on the trip…We really enjoyed our time staying at your lodge. All of the arrangements worked out very well, and the people you chose to work with us were first-rate. The other lodges were great (well, it's early days for Jorupe House, but the staff there did wonders with what they had). Finally, of course, it was a pleasure to meet and talk with you… We hope to see you again on another trip to Ecuador!” 27 June – 19 July 2006, B&MH, Ohio, USA
  • “ Dear Jane, We have just about recovered from the truly magnificent tour you organised and have finally gotten all the figures together. 2006 - 19 days Total of 416 species (28 heard only), Total lifers = 274; 2005 - 28 days, Total of 428 (50 heard only). Total lifers = 424 This means that in just over one year we have seen or heard 702 different species in Ecuador, 698 of them lifers! The other thing that was new this year was how VERY WELL we saw the vast majority of the birds, old and new. We are so very grateful!...We were very happy to meet Pancho on another of your tours with a group of 4 really interesting Americans, to whom I shall be sending my report….All in all we had a wonderful time, totally exhausting again (I even rebelled one afternoon after an 8-hour nonstop morning!) and so memorable and successful. This is due to your meticulous organisation and to Edison, whose patience with us old fuddy-duddies is unbelievable….Another thing that takes a lot of the stress out of the trip is his driving style, which is so relaxed. As you know it's always stressful for an experienced driver to be driven;;;;but not with Edison!...Anyway, seeya and a mighty thank you once again!” 27 June – 17 July, 2006, B&C J, Paris, France
  • “ Steven and/or I ended up seeing 539 species of birds, plus an additional 43 heard only, during our three weeks in Ecuador. Very nice, especially considering we did not go to Amazonia!!! We are slowly going through our pictures and writing a trip report - we will send you a copy or a link when we are done. Thanks for a great trip!” 27 June – 19 July, 2006, JD, Athens, Ohio, USA
  • “Everything was great. 241 lifers! Over 500 spp. seen, many of them very special endemics. …Manu was fantastic but not long enough. Very many thanks for the great organisation!...We can’t thank you enough for the really great trip [to Peru]! We were really happy with the trip...! We'll be back!” 21 April – 6 May 2006, S&TB, Queensland, Australia
  • “Just a thank you for a wonderful holiday. All of the arrangements worked extremely well and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Edison was a very good bird guide and found lots of new birds for us, we also enjoyed his friendly company. All of the transfers worked well and all of the accommodation was lovely. We liked everywhere so if was impossible to say which was our favourite! Thank you so much for your organisation. We hope to go back to Ecuador again so will of course be in touch.” 13 April – 3 May 2006, A&PE, UK
  • “Met all our expectations and then soared way beyond them!.. Everything was new and exciting and when we trudged home in the evening we were greeted with care and great food. Thank you. “ 1 April 2006, NZ, South Africa
  • “Tacu fôr allt! Rum, fágel – suáoning, guide, mat har varit utmãrkt!” 27 March 2006, J-EN, Årmus, Danmark
  • “Thanks for your gracious hospitality and for taking care of this special spot in the world.” 8 March 2006, CJ, Altadena, CA, USA
  • “ You made our stay here so enjoyable – good food – good birds – good service. Two looks at the Yellow-breasted Antpitta are unbelievable. Thanks.” 7 March 2006, LG, Wilsonville, OR, USA
  • “Giant Antpitta, Yellow-breasted Antpitta, tapaculos, beautiful tanagers and hummingbirds complemented by terrific food and a gracious friendly staff. Thanks for a great time. I’m lookin forward to southern Ecuador with Mindo Bird Tours.” 7 March 2006, MB, Portland, OR, USA
  • “Birding the western slope sure has changed!! Thanks to people like you there still is a western slope!!! Great place. Great birds. Where were all these birds fifteen years ago?!” 7 March 2006, PD, North Carolina, USA
  • “I just wanted to thank you for arranging Terry's and my tour in Ecuador last month. All accommodations, meals and service were wonderful!...All the people we met were very pleasant and helpful. …Thanks again, Jane, for putting together a fun and pleasant itinerary for us. The Mindo valley is a very special place and we would love to return some day.” 16-26 February 2006, KCS, Kansas City, MO, USA
  • “Absolutely wonderful! Superb birding in spite of the rain – excellent guides, good pace, fabulous birds. You have a lovely home and I felt very comfortable. Thank you for making my first visit to Ecuador so nice.” 18 Feb 2006, BS, Wilton, CT, USA
  • “Thanks so much for your wonderful hospitality! This is a great place and I just LOVE the forest and all its great birds. You and your staff have been excellent hosts. Hope we will return some day.” 23-29 January 2006, ST, Richmond, BC, Canada
  • “ I am finally getting time to thank you and Benji for a wonderful birding week in the Mindo Valley area. We had a wonderful time…. Both lodges (food and rooms) were more than adequate….Benji was a great guide.....he knew the birds, was very personable, and fit right in with our group. I hope he had as much fun with us as we did with him! It was a GREAT week...thanks!!!” 27 January -11 February 2006, JE, Washington, USA
  • “ Thank you so much for your flawless planning, for your warm hospitality, the birthday cheer and the loan of the boots…It was extremely helpful to have a very able guide available, and worth its weight in gold to be taken where the birds were…And then, there were the birds. My sighting records are now complete, but I have not yet added up the total…Birds like the Andean condor, the toucan barbets, the torrent ducks and the, what, over 50 species of hummingbirds were just fantastic. But for a long-time birdwatcher like myself, special memories will be things like watching a pair of sickle-wing guans preen after a rain storm, or the Andean lapwing chicks galumphing through the paramo grasses. At Milpe Road, a handful of anis spread themselves out along the top of a roadside shrub, like black socks, trying to dry out. At Papallacta Pass, a variable hawk carried a small rabbit in its talons to court its mate. And, yes, we did see seedsnipes at 13, 673'….Birding in Ecuador was a great experience. The country has well-developed tourist services, so the living was easy. Your plans worked impeccably. Edison was a dear. Juan Carlos was exactly where he needed to be, exactly when he needed to be there. Benji was a gentle and genial guide on our last day, at Antisana….And, if there is another time, we will be in touch with you!” 5-22 January 2006, GC, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA
  • “Thanks Jane for our best stay! You have a wonderful facility here with so much thought to detail. Thanks also for all your help and answers to our questions.” 23-29 January 2006, MT, Richmond, B.C., Canada
  • “Jane you certainly have made our trip worthwhile. Thanks for the great service and great hospitality.” 23-29 Jan 2006, JT, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • “50 lifers today – and at a very comfortable setting. Thanks!” 7-9 Nov, 2005, GM, San Francisco, CA, USA.
  • “I’ve been printing our pictures from the Ecuador/Galapagos trip and re-living all the sights, sounds, laughter and good fellowship. It was a wonderful trip. We loved Las Gralarias and it is my dream to someday come back and just stay there for a week (or longer), feet up, watching hummingbirds. Believe me, of all the places we went, yours was the best of all.” 2-6 Oct 2005, SE, Webster,WY, USA
  • “Nous nous sentons a la maison a Las Gralarias. De bons repas, des beaux sourires et un bel environment. Mais nos avons surtout vu de tres beaux oiseaux : le Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan tout juste avant de quitter et trios especies de fruiteaters..nous n’en esperians pas tant! Merci.” 27 Nov – 1 Dec, 2005, PP &GR, CM & RB, Québec, Canada.
  • “Great birding, great food, relaxing surroundings. Thank you Jane for this delightful week and many thanks to Benjamin”. 19-24 Nov, 2005, JG, Montréal, Canada.
  • “Un gros merci Jane pour le chaleureux accueil. Le confort, la bonne nourriture et un super guide ont fair le succes de ces agradables tours a las Gralarias.” 19-24 Nov, 2005, AD, Québec, Canada
  • “Thank you so much for your hospitality! Great food, great birding, great company. A delight!” 14-18 Oct, 2005, LR & RT, Austin, TX, USA
  • “Spectacular hummers, wonderful hospitality, great food and excellent conversation. Who could want more? Thanks!” 2-3 Oct, 2005, KL, Exeter, PA, USA.
  • “Having a great trip thanks to your organization and guides. Marvelous stay here; you have wonderful trails and super house and lodging. Thanks.” 10-12 Oct, 2005, H&AH, Canada
  • “We are back home and adapting to somewhat different temperatures and a leaking hot water tank. Just thought you might appreciate some feedback on our trip, which really was fantastic. Ecuador is a very special place and no doubt we will plan to return…Sacha [was] Really wonderful, and time there or at an equivalent lodge should be a recommended add-on to anyone’s trip. Given the number of potential birds, especially the various antbirds, and the fact that the weather can be a factor, an extra 1-2 days beyond the standard package is never going to be wasted. In 5 full days we saw 270 species, 146 new for trip, 114 lifers!...We certainly enjoyed [Galapagos], the slowed pace and the mixed activities, and it provided a good break. The Darwin was a good boat with friendly attentive crew, good mix of passengers, and the guide…made an effort with the birds..We were on our own for seabirds and I was pleased with Elliot’s, Wedge-rumped and a dark-rumped (likely Madeira, photo to check) storm petrels, as well as dark–rumped petrels on the Santiago Island area of the trip. … All in all a very pleasant time with about 50 species, half lifers. …Together with Sacha the [East Slope ] really was our favourite part of the trip. There was the amazing variety, contrasts and beauty of the undeveloped country, wonderful and numerous birds, and a very enthusiastic and excellent guide in Edison. We found the timing and pace good and Edison has an excellent ear and eye and certainly did his best to call out some of the more reticent birds; some of which (e.g, Ocellated tapaculo) we saw very well. Accommodations were varied in what they offered but all were good, provided excellent food and warm welcome. For those not going further downstream, an extra day at Gareno might be very worthwhile…306 species, 217 lifers. On the West slope We saw a good number of birds- We stayed in some wonderful places (e.g. Bellavista, your house and property, Septimo Paraiso, Tinalandia), had some great experiences (e.g. Cock of the Rock) and were well cared for…So, Jane, all in all just a great trip in a beautiful country and organized by a true professional. Thank you. For the record (unofficial and by hand count at present) we saw 667 species of which 480 were lifers on the mainland, with an additional 45 species not seen on the mainland on Galapagos, of which 25 and perhaps 26 (photo to see) were lifers. Actually there could be 27 depending upon speciation of the Yellow Warbler…"  30 Sept – 4 Nov, 2005, A&HH, Canada
  • “ I’ve been printing our pictures from the Ecuador/Galapagos trip and re-living all the sights, sounds, laughter and good fellowship. It was a wonderful trip. We loved Las Gralarias and it is my dream to someday come back and just stay there for a week (or longer), feet up, watching hummingbirds. Believe me, of all the places we went, yours was the best of all…Thanks for your great hospitality.” 1-17 October 2005, SE, Webster, WI, USA.
  • “ Albeit late we still wanted to thank you for the great trip we had last september. Despite that the trip is already about 2 months behind us now we still think a lot about the great time we had and the beautiful birds we saw. We rarely had a trip that went so smoothly and hassle free. Great lodges, great food, great sceneries, great guide and beautiful birds. We really loved your place and you really gave us the feeling of being at home. Our total triplist ended up at 543 species with an additional 43 heard only. A really amazing number of birds which is to our opinion only possible to achieve in Ecuador. It is very hard to tell what the highlights were because all the places were very special. As far as bird numbers is concerned Loreto Road and PVM were top. The combination of great birds with beautiful scenery made Yanacocha and the western slope cloud forests the best places.Thank's again for the unforgettable trip which will be in our memories for ever!!” 2-19 September 2005, J&WW, Netherlands, RH, Germany
  • “Just a note to say thank you for organising our recent trip, the second leg went with clockwork precision down to La Selva and back. You might want to know we eventually saw 515 different species over the 3 weeks.This breaks down to 337 on the Mindo leg, a further 160 down in La Selva where we had the excellent Jose guiding us…The balance we saw ourselves back in Quito/Pichincha…The highlight was the very last bird of the holiday…the Andean Condor. Other highlights were the Violet Bellied Hummingbird, whose alternate name is Julie's Hummingbird, she was pleased with that ! We got 3 Amazonian Umbrellabirds on Rio Napo and I was pleased at last to see Sunbittern on Rio Nambillo…, also Sungrebe at La Selva and the Limpkin at Rio Palenque. With 38 new hummingbirds and 48 new tanagers I was pleased to just top my life list out at 3002 birds on the trip..” 8-27 October, B&JK, UK
  • “ We were very pleased with the trip--organization, leadership, places visited, and birds. Have not heard any complaints!! It was GREAT…The NAPO section also was good. No complaints there, either…We are still delighting in telling about the many interesting facets of our trip. This will go on for months!! Thanks again for a job well done…Great trip, and enjoyed meeting you and spending time with you after all those emails.” 24-31 October 2005, DC, Kentucky
  • “Great birds, nice places and very well organized. The routing was good – never drove too much..Thanks”. 24-31 October 2005, group comments, private tour, USA.
  • “ [We] really enjoyed this trip …We want to come back…We are looking forward to the Amazon and a different aspect of this very pretty country…Can’t wait to come back, I wicked loved it. Thanks for all the wonderful birds!” 24-31 October 2005, DC & LT, New Hampshire and Maine, USA.
  • “ We just wanted to say how much we enjoyed the birding trip you arranged for us with Diego. He was a great guide and had boundless enthusiasm and considerable skill in locating birds - even when to us, all was quiet. Thanks so much too for your excellent hospitality at Las Gralarias - it is always good to meet the people in person - and we really enjoyed our time with you… Very many thanks again for one of the best trips we have had for ages.” 16-20 September 2005, PA&SC, New Zealand
  • " Thank you for the great time at Las Gralarias and arranging our birding trip in Ecuador so well. We really felt like at home." 6-19 September 2005, J&WW and RH, Holland and Germany.
  • “ Fabulous place, wonderful birds, great trails, fantastic food and company – Thanks for a wonderful time!” 9-15 September 2005, MBS, San Diego, CA, USA
  • "Thanks for the lovely stay... you have a beautiful property! Will definitely be back for more birding and travelling." 9-15 August 2005, DK, Washington, D.C., USA
  • " Wow, what can I say about our stay with you in Mindo? Your place was pretty special indeed and our living quarters could not have been any better. It was such fun to finally meet you after almost a year's correspondence about visiting Ecuador, the cloud forest and the Amazonia area. I had expectations but nothing really came close to what I had envisioned our trip would be like once there. Thank you so much for your hospitality and the wonderful food! I absolutely loved the hummingbirds! I haven't seen that many species in the same place, anywhere. Seeing those gyrating wonders everywhere was special! Thank you again for all you did for us. Our hikes on your property and the birds we saw were great. Your food and staff were excellent. You have a special place there, I'm sure you know. Thank you for making all the arrangements for our trip plus Juan Carlos picking us up and delivering us safely." 29 July - 6 August 2005, MC, Paris, Texas, USA
  • " Thank you again & again for making this trip to Gralarias one we´ll always remember - such a wonderful place - a true gift for everyone and you´re such a gracious host...What delicious meals! Incredible trails!...We look forward to our next visit! Thank you again!" 17-31 July 2005, C&WH, Austin, Texas, USA
  • " Thank you Jane for arranging this wonderful introduction to Ecuador birding. Staying at Las Gralarias was very special. Sorry we cannot stay longer - maybe next time!" 7 July-5 August 2005, AB-W & DW, Hawaii, USA.
  • “ Wonderful place, very good service, top!” 10-12 May 2005, RR, Curaçao, Netherland Antilles
  • “ Wonderful! Thanks!” 10-12 May 2005, HG, Edam, Netherlands
  • “ Beautiful place! Giant Antpitta!! Thanks! Rooms luxury, good service, top location, we’ll send all the Dutch!” 10-12 May 2005, AN & RdH, Almere, Netherlands
  • " We had a fine trip (read more than fine..:-) ). Everything was well organized and with Pancho and Jorge we got along really well. Only complaints were in some places that the rooms were so big that you could get lost in them... With birds this trip was a huge success. We managed to see and hear + 660 species... It was my fourth visit to Ecuador and I still managed to see about 25 lifers and extended my Ecuador list to 1060 +. We had a lot of good sightings...Gareno was a really nice place. We had fantastic views of Rufous Potoo (there was also Nocturnal Curassows howling - while we were at sleep) and the general birding was really nice for example stunning views of singing Dugand's antwren..." 21 July - 7 August, 2005, TS, Helsinki, Finland
  • "After 4 wonderful days, it's hard to tear ourselves away. Everything is more than perfect here [at Las Gralarias]." 23 June 2005, B&C Jaggers, Fontainebleau, France
  • " Heavenly food, birds and company." 21 June 2005, ND, Austin, TX USA
  • "Thanks for great birding, splendid hospitality and especially for helping to save biodiversity. La Selva was excellent. Jose is truly impressive, and I greatly enjoyed my time with him. I added about 200 species to my trip list, just as you predicted. Highlights included Thrushlike Antpitta, Salvin's Curassow (!!)(great view), Agami Heron (fantastic view; tried hard for Zigzag but no luck), Sungrebe, Chestnut-belted Gnateater, Rufous-belted Tapaculo, all the possible Aracaris, Umbrellabird, Bare-necked Fruitcrow, Wire-tailed Manakin... Many of these were on my wish list. Thank you very much for arranging a very fine birding trip for me, and for your solicitude and care about the details. I hope to return to Ecuador before too long to add another 500 species or so :) and I'll certainly recommend to people that they contact you..." 27 March - 23 June 2005, DF, Stony Brook, NY, USA
  • "I just wanted to let you know that both Steve and I really enjoyed ourselves, and got to see a part of Ecuador that will surely stay in our memories. Steve was delighted with your guest facilities at Las Gralarias, in that he could get from bedroom to breakfast table in his stocking feet - you certainly made us feel at home. The hummingbirds were spectacular, and the other specialties like antbirds, toucans, quetzals, fruiteaters, all the colorful tanagers, woodcreepers and on and on were a marvel to see. Your organization and execution of the logistics went flawlessly, even when my arrival was delayed, and the Hotel Quito was a very satisfactory place to start and finish the tour. Edison was great - he is a good driver and didn't bounce us around on the bad roads, speaks English well, and sensed our abilities so that we didn't totally exhaust ourselves. Well, maybe we did, but it was fun doing it! .I ended up with over 150 new birds among the 375 species we saw or heard, so my personal objective of getting my world list to 3000 was easily achieved in the first few days. When you asked if there was anything I really wanted to see, I listed a few hummingbirds, Torrent Duck and Sunbittern. We got the hummers, except for the Sicklebill; were spectacularly successful, after a couple of tries, with the Torrent Ducks; and missed the Sunbittern. So that leaves a reason to come back. Thanks again for all your efforts in helping us have a successful trip." 18-30 March 2005, BL, Berkeley, CA, USA
  • "Just wanted to say thanks for a great trip. Everything went smoothly getting out of Quito yesterday, and the entire trip went without a hitch. Both guides were great. Of the 3 lodges we stayed at, I enjoyed yours the most. Your company, your insights, and your food were all very enjoyable." 18-15 March 2005, SL, San Ramon, CA, USA
  • "We do indeed have fond memories of Ecuador. It is one of the best birding trips we have taken. I am still tallying and recollecting all the birds we saw and going over the pictures we took. We saw a total of over 366 species, and I think about 350 of these were new to us (final tally pending). The tour was an outstanding experience from the first day to the last. The montane hummingbirds on the Yanacocha trail and at Loma Linda, mountain-tanagers at Bellavista, the exceptional rare encounters with the Giant Antpitta and White-faced Nunbird at your Reserva Las Gralarias, the large variety of tanagers around Mindo and Los Bancos., the deep forest trails and exceptional birds of Felipe's Finca and Septimo Paraiso Lodge, the open birding in the Pedro Vicente Maldonado area, all provided huge variety of habitat and an endless series of new birds for us, too numerous to list here. All of this was thanks to the unceasing efforts of our exceptional guide Edison Buenaño, whose good nature and friendliness was very much appreciated. We particularly enjoyed walking the forest trails of Las Gralarias, especially the steep hillside across the road from your lodge and thank you for preserving this lovely area from development..The day at Cotopaxi provided contrasting habitat and beautiful views in the high open paramo. We saw the local Ecuadorian Hillstar and other new birds..The Sacha trip was another rare experience which we enjoyed very much. After the first day we two were the only serious birders, with two excellent guides all to ourselves. Oscar Tapuey was indefatigable and persistent in showing us secretive birds and Pablo Hualinga provided sharp eyes and quick telescope set-up to give us almost impossible looks at birds hidden deep in the forest. Our favorite was a long steady look at the beautiful Collared Puffbird. Our final encounter with a Crested Owl, seeing its fearsome "eyebrows" and hearing its deep grunts, was an unforgettable experience. All of this pleasant, rewarding and trouble-free trip we owe to your careful and thorough arrangements! It was so nice to be assured of every pick-up and destination and the very best locations and guides for birding. Thank you! We hope someday to make another trip to S. America under your guidance.
    We are still going through pictures and will send some to you and also to Edison and to Oscar. I have attached one of your favorites here. I am also scheduled to write an article for our Newsletter for May-- will send you a copy." 18 Feb-4 Mar 2005, N&VM, Ithaca, NY, USA
  • “We all arrived home safely and very satisfied. The exact total number of species, seen and heard, is 670!! ..We had many highlights, for example a sighting of 2 Giant Antpittas …2 Sunbitterns …a Long-tailed Potoo within 5 metres form the trail in La Selva and many more….
    So, once again many thanks for your excellent service (and your patience!) and hope to see you in the near future in Ecuador.” 11-26 Feb 2005, HG, Netherlands
  • “First of all I must say that my wife and I were very happy with the trip. The Galapagos section of the trip was excellent. Your advice about a small boat was spot on. The Aida Maria was very good…For myself I saw 19 of the possible 21 endemics, the missing two being Large Tree Finch and Galapagos Crake....[On the mainland] In seven days I saw more species (236) than on a non-guided 10 days on the west side last year (201), and just as many new to me…We were lucky to see 5 Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe at the top of the antenna road…” 7-23 Jan 2005, DB, Warrington,UK.
  • “ Wonderful trip! …just wanted to drop you a note saying how much fun I had, at the Galapagos, it was like walking around in a National Geographic special! Total: 107 species of birds, 76 of which were lifers (including 8 of the 13 species of Darwin's finches) Thanks for all of your help, I look forward to making it back down…” 1-10 Jan 2005, CD, Austin, TX USA
  • “Many thanks for all your help and assistance in Ecuador. Thoroughly enjoyed my time at Las Gralarias and elsewhere in Ecuador… my trip to Papallacta with Pancho was very enjoyable, 11 new species of bird for me yesterday, but no Condors, drat! … Totalled up my trip list, 406 species in total , 166 new ones. Yesterday’s Sword billed Hummers at the Guango Feeders, though not new for me, were superb as the views were better than Peru, managed to video them from 4 feet away!! also videoed the Rufous bellied SeedSnipes. the weather was clear and sunny all day…Many thanks again, hope to return to Ecuador within 3 years and will contact you to arrange guides, travel arrangements etc when I get a "posse" of birding friends together to come there, shouldn’t be too difficult if I show them my video of the birds and scenery!!!” 24 Nov- 20 Dec 2005, SH, Southampton, UK
  • ”Just a note to tell you what a great time I had at your beautiful lodge, and how much I enjoyed meeting you. Did enjoy all …the birds I saw, especially the hummers, the quetzal, and my totem bird the powerful woodpecker… ” 18-21 Nov 2004, JR, New Hampshire, USA
  • “ We have all become big "pr" people for Ecuador and the islands. Your ears might be burning at times because your name has become a big part of the travel information that we spiel out to everyone we come in contact with. No words seem to adequately describe how much we enjoyed our time with you and your adopted country. I can tell you that the trip has definitely instilled the need to go back and see more. The time at your lodge was definitely a highlight... I felt completely at home with you and with Edison, who is a phenomenal guide. I take it back, it was nothing like home. I never felt so pampered. I wish you continued success with your lodge. It's gorgeous. Between Mike and Rich they took about 5,000 pictures, during the trip…” 4-20 Oct 2004, M,P & RK., Missouri and Texas, USA.
  • "I wanted to thank you for the great job you did in setting up our trip to Ecuador. You were very personable and knowledgeable to deal with. It was a great trip with wonderful memories...and lots of bird species seen and photographed. Eddy (Edison) was an absolute gem and we want him to guide us again in southern Ecuador and/or Peru. Everything was well taken care of including transportation, lodging and meals. It all went off perfectly and we never had to worry about a thing. That made the trip enjoyable and along with the birds - a wonderful birding adventure. I am busy going through 28 rolls of slides and all the digital photos I took. What a job to scan the slides and fix things up for printing and presentation. I am very pleased with some of the hummingbird photos. And thanks for guaranteeing the Velvet-purple Coronet. It was a beautiful bird but I think my favorite bird(s) of the trip ended up being the 2 sylphs... Thanks again for the great job and getting to meet you (you have a wonderful place to stay and bird). I look forward to dealing with you again for future trips." 2-19 Nov 2004, A&SH, Oregon, USA.
  • “The trip was fantastic, I enjoyed it very much. The total of 261 different species was the number we wound up with. Laurie saw the Little Tinamou, and I saw the Blue Dacnis, so we saw the same total of bird species. I want very much to come back, and see more Antpittas. In particular the Giant Antpitta, that has become the goal bird in my life. I would go on any trip with Edison, he was quite brilliant. The way the trip was set up I found fascinating, three different climates in one week….I could get very used to being in a place like Ecuador, and see those birds everyday…When I get set up for another trip, I will contact you and see what you have. Thank you for providing us with a fabulous time.“ 24-30 Oct 2004, JW, Boston, Mass, USA.
  • “Many thanks indeed for your kind hospitality on our last day in Ecuador. You have a very nice place … and our couple of hours birding in the morning added quite a few birds to our tally. (about 475 sp for the 12 days)…” 30 Oct 2004, NS, UK
  • “Thanks for organizing such an excellent trip, everything went smoothly and I had a fantastic time! The birds were incredible and in a few areas we virtually cleaned up (my trip total including time I spent near San Isidro before beginning the trip with Ron and Susan was 575 species!). I especially enjoyed the morning we spent on your property near Mindo.. a wonderful area (great for fruiteaters!). I would also like to add a recommendation for the guide we had at La Selva… He is almost undoubtedly the best guide I have ever birded with (and I have been in the field with a number of very well known ornithologists). …Thanks again for making the trip so enjoyable!” 30 July- 13 August 2004, JM, Boston, MA, USA
  • “Thank you again for all your many efforts in making our trip go so smoothly… I will most certainly recommend you to any/all friends wanting to visit Ecuador.” 27 June-8 July 2004, WD Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • “Guess you are on to another tour with someone else by now, but just wanted to e-mail you and let you know again how much we enjoyed birding with you last week. . .We had a great time with you, and really enjoyed both birding and getting to know you a little. You were right on about the total number of species we saw/heard, which was 209 (figured it out on the way home)! We thought that was great considering how quiet and motionless the birds were post-breeding this time of the year. We were VERY pleased to get the Black-breasted Puffleg, and the White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant, as those have been on our "want list" for a while now, as we told you. We got 20 lifers, including two "heard-only" species (Andean Pygmy-Owl, and Brown Wood-Rail) and had 33 species of hummers and 35 species of tanagers (and of course, we weren't really trying to get large numbers of birds, just trying to get some lifers. . .) …Again, was great to work with you, and we hope to again come to Ecuador in the coming years. Next time our "want" list will be just that much shorter!...Have a great "summer" there in Ecuador. We are still lamenting the fact our time was so short there on the west slope, but grateful for the time we did have. Ecuador is a wonderful country, and SO different than here in Ohio. . .” 29-31 July 2004, J&KS, Dayton, Ohio, USA
  • “We had a fine time the six of us and enjoyed the trip immensely. It was cold and frustrating on the east side, especially being rained out on the lowland ride on Saturday, but Edison worked diligently and constantly and, thanks to his efforts, we saw quite a bit in spite of the weather challenge. The hummingbird list alone was amazing to all of us, to say nothing of how well we saw each of the species. The seedsnipe could not have been more obliging, awaiting us in the parking area (probably hoping we’d let it hitch a ride with us to a more clement ecosystem). And, yes, it was very considerate of an Andean condor to fly in as our final tick on a very satisfying list. It was good to meet you and I am pleased that you could join us on the giant antpitta search. The image of that bird, like so many others Edison coaxed out, stays with me quite vividly.” 5-18 July 2004, JK, Boston, MA, USA
  • "Jane, I have been most appreciative of your promptness of response to our questions and to the quality and volume of information that you have so willingly provided. Your level of service has been outstanding. If the rest of the organization performs as you have we are in for an incredible experience!” 5-18 July 2004, TEM, Roswell, GA, USA.
  • “Thanks again for everything. We had our annual meeting of the local Audubon Society last night, and we told lots of people about the great time we had, and showed them pictures. I am enclosing below what I just sent out to our state birders' forum email list.” 19 March-4 April 2004, D. & E. D., Kansas City, MO, USA
  • ECUADOR TRIP REPORT TO MOBIRDS.....MARCH 19 - APRIL 4, 2004

    Ellie and I returned last week from two weeks including the equinox on the equator--where it's always equinox and always summer. We were delighted to find we hadn't missed the flowering bulbs and trees of spring in mid-America; down there there's the whole year to spread out the flowers.

    The first week was with a Carleton College alumni group and an Oregon Nature Conservancy group, based on the Lindblad ship Polaris, visiting seven of the islands with 44 bird species including 29 lifers including 6 of the 13 Darwin's finches (you may recall Darwin himself did not identify his specimens as to islands, since he did not yet realize the later evolutionary importance of the isolated islands. Everybody knows about the Galapagos and what to expect, and it does not disappoint. It is true that you have to be careful not to accidentally step on sea lions or iguanas, and may have to back up to get the bird photos you want. Most people also know Lindblad sets the standard for ecotourism, and the contribute 15% to conservation on the islands which has included nearly wiping out the feral goats on Santiago Island over the past ten years (with the result that new plant species are being discovered that previously had not had the chance to grow up to be recognizable). Three percent of the land of the islands is open to residential and farm uses; 97% is protected national park, and of that only 1% is open to tourists in carefully monitored walks led by licensed naturalist/guides. Recently the islands have also been closed to nearly all immigration from mainland Ecuador, and new training and certification for guides is now limited to legal island residents, giving an impetus to the kids to pay attention to classes in ecology and conservation so they can become interpretive naturalists for visitors.

    However, I am not sending this out to talk about the Galapagos, but to suggest while you are there to spend time birding on the mainland. We looked in Birding and other magazines, searched some websites, and contacted Mindo Bird Tours (www.mindobirds.com.ec,) operated by former Texan Dr. Jane Lyons (jlyons@ecnet.ec), which offered custom tours anywhere or everywhere in Ecuador, whenever desired-we wanted about a week following the Galapagos tour. Jane immediately replied with an example of an itinerary with pickup at the international airport in Quito from our return flight from the islands, and day-trips out from a lodge in the cloud forests above the town of Mindo, listing different bird specialties for each day. She sets up tours for from two to six people, including private vehicle, lodging, all meals and entry fees to private reserves. We replied that we'd also like to get into the highlands, hopefully see condors, and she said that would be fine, and assigned us one of the great young (27) birders, Edison Buenano, to pick us up and be our personal guide for the week. Edison's life list now includes about 1200 of the 1600 species in Ecuador, and he guides anywhere from the Amazon up and over the Andes and down to the western coast and on to the Galapagos, and he knows everywhere to go and what to expect at each stop, comes equipped with CD's of the calls to use in bringing out the specialties, and is great fun to travel with. We recommend MindoBirds wholeheartedly along with Edison---Jane contracts with about 5 other guides, and Edison also leads tours for another group but his first allegiance is to Jane's folks. While we did not get to see condors on our initial excursion up into the Andean highlands paramo and east slope due to clouds shrouding Mt. Antisana (when clear, Edison said he can set up his scope and there are always condors flying around the peak)---we drove through rain and sleet on our way to the lodge where we spent the first night, including relaxing in the hot springs. Then we went down into the Andean foothills forests, cloudforest, subtropical montane forest, and into the agricultural areas for the rest of the week, with nights at the excellent Sachatamiya lodge which has its own private forest reserve and a great chef. For our last day Ellie wanted to go to the famous native market in Otavalo, and Edison was happy to oblige; we had an early morning flight (6:30) out of Quito, so Jane arranged for him to take us to an excellent hotel, and for a driver to pick us up to take us to the airport the next morning---any arrangements we wanted. Our final list for seven days came to 191 species (plus 39 that Edison identified by sight or voice but we didn't get a good enough look at to count), of which 182 were lifers for one or both of us. In the past five year, a number of sites have built hummingbird gardens with feeders, so instead of just occasional sightings at flowering trees, we had 37 hummers at 5 sites including our lodge. There were also 35 tanagers and allies. Although we had previously been in Costa Rica (from Monteverde to both coasts), and in Peru (Lima, Cuzco, valley down to Machu Picchu, and Tahuayou river Amazon tributary near Iquitos), there was very little overlap in species from those sites. There were a few homies---turkey vultures and now house wrens are residents, and while the Swainson's thrushes and most species that come up here for a few months to raise babies had left the previous week, we did still have Blackburnians around. To me the highlight was the result of getting up at 3:45 for a flashlight climb up a steep switch-back trail over treeroots and rocks to what is described as one of the most accessible leks for the spectacular Cock-of-the-Rocks. About 8 males began calling in the dark before 6 am, and became visible from the primitive shelter as light began to filter through the trees. For the next hour they called, postured, knocked each other off perches, as they do every morning it's not raining so hard that no one climbs up to check. The girls show up in June or July, but the guys have dawn scrimmages year-round to keep in shape.

    So if you are going to the Galapagos, be sure to add on a week or two on the mainland, and contact Mindo Bird Tours with your desires. If your Galapagos excursion offers an extension to Cuzco and Machu Picchu, take that and then add on an Ecuador trip that Jane Lyons will be happy to arrange. The birds you see there won't be redundant of those in Peru. You'll probably want to get a copy of at least Volume II of The Birds of Ecuador by Robert Ridgely and Paul Greenfield (he was at Sachatamia lodge our first night there), although your guide will also have a copy, and you may want to take it to Kinko's to have the color plates removed and spiral-bound for ease in the field. Incidentally, I don't know how it is other seasons, but we saw few mosquitoes and slept with our screenless windows open in the lodge to the sounds of the frogs. If you have a chance to bird with Edison Buenano (there's one of those little squiggly Spanish things over the second "n" but I don't know how to get the computer to do that-it's Espanol for "GoodYear") you won't be disappointed. This trip puts me in sight of hitting 1000, and already makes 2004's list bigger than any other single year's, including the 158 I had after my first year of birding with Burroughs Audubon in 1949.
    --Dick Dawson
    5804 Charlotte
    Kansas City, MO 64110-3019
    816-361-9141
    dick_yodar_dawson@hotmail.com
 
  • “We would like to thank you for the smooth organisation and the perfect guide, Edison! Not only was he a very good birder, he was good company too. With him we saw around 410 species and there were many goodies like Greater Scythebill, Giant Antpitta, lots of Tanagers and Hummingbirds. La Selva was also exceptional. We saw 239 species there, with Black Hawk-Eagle, Zigzag Heron, Cocha Antshrike, 5 species of Kingfishers, several Antbirds, Antthrushes, Antwrens, Red-billed Scythebill, Pearl Kite. A total of 602 species was seen or heard by us, plus 4 species only seen by Edison and another two by Rodrigo, our other excellent guide at La Selva. We did not encounter any problems, delays or other nasties. It was a perfect holiday!” “My favourites were Giant Antpitta, Greater Scythebill, Zigzag Heron, Cocha Antshrike plus every Hummingbird, Tanager and every bird beginning with Ant! Hope to see you on a future trip (e.g. southern Ecuador, north-west, Kapawi Lodge).” 5-20 Feb 2004, JVdL & CH, Netherlands
  • “The trip was excellent. Things couldn't have gone much better. The Galapagos was everything we had hoped for….I think my favorite day was the last day with Diego. He was a lot of fun to be around…The afternoon at Tony's (hummingbirds) was very interesting…Thanks a lot for pulling all this together…you did a great job for us. I have a webpage related to birding and do trip notes when I get back from a trip like this. I'll put a link to your webpage…” 8-15 Feb 2004, TP, White Lake, MI, U.S.A.
  • “It was great seeing you again. We had a wonderful trip. We had 290 species, combined, with Pancho adding a few more heard-onlys. For a study list of about 600, that's not too bad. We each had 62 lifers, though not all the same birds. I have just finished adding to our database - we now have just over 500 species for Ecuador - that's after a total of about 25 days birding over the 3 years…I think the highlight of the trip was the ant swarm we encountered on the last day as it was our first ever. A really great experience. I also really liked coming across the Ochre-breasted Antpitta. Getting both Swallow-tailed and Lyre-tailed Nightjars was good too. On looking at the target bird list Paul had made, we got just under 50% of them….Overall, we were very happy with our trip and are certainly looking forward to our next one...” 29 Jan-8 Feb 2004, P&MM, Ottawa, Canada
  • “I have been planning to write you to tell you how much enjoyment we got from our trip to Ecuador. Our experiences were uniformly positive. Edison was a wonderful guide and an interesting person. With him, we identified many species (I am still tabulating them) including at least 31 species of hummingbirds---a highlight for us all. We had wonderful views of the Baudó Guan and were entertained by the call of the umbrellabird although we never got a glimpse of it. The lodge was lovely and the food good---no complaints at all. We'd love to go back and, hopefully, we will.” 28-29 Jan 2004, NC, Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
  • “Just a note to say that we got safely back to the US and to thank you and Robert for a wonderful trip. I have to say that the highlights were not on the Galapagos but during our tours with Robert. The hummingbirds (34 species) and the cock-of-the-rock lek were incredible. I hope that we will have another opportunity soon to travel with Mindo Bird Tours.” 18-20 Jan 2004, IT, College Station, Texas, U.S.A.
  • "Our tour itinerary was excellent and gave us great opportunities to experience a variety of bird habitats and species...Edison and Robert provided us with excellent information during the tour and were conscientious about ensuring that we both got to see the birds...Sites visited were excellent... So overall conclusion is that this was another fabulous trip and we now have seen more than 25% of Ecuador's birds! I am sure we'll be back." 10-17 Jan, 2004, SM&BS, Toronto, Canada
  • “We do have fond memories of Ecuador and will definitely be back…Thank you for all the great work you did to ensure that we had a great and unforgettable trip! The food was great and most of the accommodations were very good; the stairs at Sachatamia notwithstanding! However, Edison was one of the best parts of the trip. He is very personable and funny and enjoyed joking with us. He also knew plants and some insects well which we appreciated. He knew about the topography and all the volcanos. He also knew the history of his country well which we enjoyed...” 12 Oct-2 Nov 2003, TD, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
  • “Edison is the best guide I’ve encountered. He has incredible vision and hearing skills. His enthusiasm for his work is amazing. He makes sure that every person sees the bird. His knowledge of plants was very impressive…I wouldn’t hesitate in the least to recommend him to anyone seeking a guide…Thanks for all your suggestions and for taking care of things for us!” 12 Nov-27 Oct 2003, CH, Portland, Oregon, USA
  • “We had a great time on the trip. Thanks to you and Edison. It was a wonderful time that we will always treasure. Thank you for all that you did in making suggestions, reservations, organizing, logistics, and the whole vision of the trip. We all thought Edison just made the trip a delight. He was everything we could have hoped for..” 12 Nov-27 Oct 2003, VJ, Portland, Oregon, USA
  • "I'm now back to the 'real' world after a truly excellent trip. Thanks for all your arrangements. After weeding out those observations of which I was not totally confident, my final trip tally was 319. My best birds were probably the 2 Red-ruffed Fruitcrows...I could happily leave tomorrow and do the whole trip over again." 20 Dec-3 Jan 2004, RM, Toronto, Canada.
  • ”We had a wonderful time - loved every moment of it. I still haven't finished my final bird list…We saw approx 480 sp in Ecuador and a further 50 in Galapagos. I didn't see everything I had hoped to - but when do you ever? I was a bit disappointed with the birds at Sacha - we struggled to find many birds even with Oscar and Carlos guiding us. (And I still haven't seen Sungrebe.) I don't know whether it was the weather or perhaps not the best season - certainly others have seen rather more species than we managed in the 4 days we were there. However, the Mindo region was fantastic and we really enjoyed the birding there. In particular we loved your private reserve especially as we had amazing views of Giant Antpitta and Scaled Fruiteater there…The lodge of course was wonderful.” 6-27 Sept 2003, C&FI, Essex, UK.
  • " Our total trip count was 576 different species, 62 of which were hummingbirds! ... Again, thanks so much for our trip. It was really perfect, it's hard coming back to the realities of life. ...You did such an excellent job for us, please don't hesitate to use us as references in the future." 22 July-17 August 2003, CJ&WJ, Austin, TX USA
  • "We had a wonderful time and I can't wait to get back there... I don't know our exact count, I had counted them at Jocotoco and we had over 560, with about 85 lifers for me. I was very happy with the counts... we had killer looks at the Jocotoco Antpitta, that was great, and on a nice sunny day....Thanks for a great trip..." 22 July-17 August 2003, KG&JW, Mission, TX,USA .
  • "I had a wonderful time and saw many great birds [at Yarina and Yuturi]... Jaimie was a great guide [at Yuturi] and ...my guide at Yarina was Jaimie's brother, Teofil.. Among many other birds, Teo found a long-tailed potoo I would have walked by. He also liked to do some bushwhacking at times, without the benefit of a machete, and that was fun too. Both men were excellent canoeists, and the Yarina folks let me buy one of those wonderful Indian paddles for a modest price and I got Teo to carve his name in it....The highlight for me was getting excellent looks at paradise tanagers from the tower at Yarina and seeing an army ant-bird swarm at Yuturi with Jaimie, something I've read about all these years and have wanted very much to see - got excellent looks at lunlulated antbird (both sexes), white-plumed ab, bicolored ab, sooty ab, and several plain brown woodcreepers. Also got 9 minutes worth of recordings of a y.r. cacique vocalizing/displaying 20 feet away on a limb at the top of the Yarina tower...The staff at both lodges was great and the beer was even better (heads up at Yarina, where it was colder). The Hotel Quito was also excellent and the grounds beautiful...Juan Carlos was an excellent driver (didn't scare the hell out of me like those Peruvian taxi drivers), helpful and punctual getting me back and forth from the airport....I guess my new species trip list is around 100; not bad since I've been to the tropical lowlands before and not counting travel between locations, had about 51/2 days of total birding. No doubt the list would be higher if I had stayed longer at Yuturi since it seemed birdier with more varied habitats than Yarina, but that's American Airlines problem, not yours....I would love to come back...I would love to see more of those wonderful tanagers...Thanks again for all of your help and a great trip." 19-26 Aug 2003, J.C., Columbia, S.C., USA
  • " We had a terrific trip. Thank-you for all you did, I couldn't have improved on it at all (except for a little more sleep!) ... We had a great last day at Antisana, getting ALL the birds up there. The Condor was the last one, we saved the best for last. Although I can't really say just yet what was my favorite. I had 268 lifers. We saw 347 and heard an additional 25, giving us a total of 372. I had no clue it was going to be THAT good. " 30 June - 11 July 2003, RD & MG, NY, USA
  • “ Mark and I had a great time... I hope we didn't run Pancho ragged -- he was very patient with us and indulgent of our enthusiasm....we also saw some nice birds at [Las Gralarias]..., including a stunning male Orange-breasted Fruiteater that just about made Mark faint. All in all it was quite a wonderful trip, and I hope to be able to return some day ...Thanks so much for putting the trip together -- for a relatively quick trip we were able to see a lot of neat stuff, birds, bugs, scenery, and vegetation included. Please also thank Pancho again for us. He was quite helpful and I'm sure his car took a bit of a beating.” 23-28 May 2003, PS & ML, Austin, TX, USA
  • TR: Ecuador, 23-28 May 2003
    Paul Sunby and I recently made a short trip to the west slope of the Andes starting in Quito. We birded at Yanacocha, the Tandayapa Valley, the Mindo area, and two places near Pedro Vicente Maldonado. This was my fourth visit to this region, but it was the first for Paul. We made most of our arrangements through Jane Lyons (Mindo Bird Tours - http://www.mindobirds.com.ec/). We hired a guide (through Jane) to increase the areas we would visit as well as to gain access to some areas I had not been to before. The guide's name was Pancho Enriquez. Below is a brief description of our activities and a few of the highlights.
 

23 May
We had arrived in Quito the day before, so this was the first day of birding. Pancho picked us up at the Alston Inn (http://www.angelfire.com/de/alston/) at 6:00 AM and we headed for Yanacocha. Since my last visit, the Jocotoco Foundation has purchased the excellent elfin Polylepis forest found here. In addition to hiring a warden, they also have put up hummingbird feeders. We had an excellent morning or birding with the highlight being a pair of the very rare Black-breasted Pufflegs coming to one of the feeders. For me the other highlight of the morning was getting excellent views of Ocellated Tapaculo. Other species we observed included: Variable Hawk, Shining Sunbeam, Great Sapphirewing, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Golden-breasted Puffleg, Bar-bellied Woodpecker, Stout-billed and Bar-winged Cinclodes, Red-crested Cotinga, Rufous and Grass Wrens, Golden-crowned Tanager, and Black-chested and Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanagers.

We then continued down the old Non-Mindo Road to Tandayapa. The birding was rather slow along the way, but we did see a few nice birds such as White-capped Dipper, Turquoise Jay, Hooded Mountain-Tanager, and a Scarlet-rumped Cacique. We arrived at the Tandayapa Lodge just in time to witness the hummingbird spectacular that occurs every evening lust before dark. There were 16 species of hummingbirds and certainly well over 100 individuals vying for space at the feeders. This is one of the highlights of staying at Tandayapa Lodge. Not only are there large numbers of the more common species, but some of the more uncommon hummingbirds (Empress Brilliant, Purple-bibbed Whitetip, Green-fronted Lancebill) frequently visit the feeders as well.
   
 

24 May
We spent a little time around the Lodge before catching a ride to the upper part of the Tandayapa Valley. We spend the rest of the day working our way back down to the Lodge. The birding was excellent until 10:00 and rather slow afterwards. Certainly one of the best birds of the walk was a Common Potoo that was roosting on a favored perch near the entrance to the Bellavista Lodge. Other species seen along the walk down the valley included: Green-fronted Lancebill, Brown Inca, Gorgeted Sunangel, Toucan Barbet, Rusty-winged Barbtail, Striped Treehunter, Chestnut-crowned Antpitta (great looks), Spillmann's Tapaculo, Black-and-green Fruiteater, Black-crested and Russet-crowned Warblers, Western (Black-eared) Hemispingus, and Grass-green Tanager.
   
 

25 May
We spent the morning and early afternoon birding the grounds and trails around Tandayapa Lodge. The forest here is very nice and the bird life at this elevation is rather different from higher in the Valley, such as at Bellavista. The highlights of the day were three male Andean Cock-of-the-Rocks and a very cooperative Rufous-breasted Antthrush. Other species observed (or heard) along the trails included: Sickle-winged Guan, Dark-backed Wood-Quail (HO), Masked Trogon, Red-headed Barbet, Moustached Antpitta (HO), Streak-capped Treehunter, Bronze-olive Pygmy-Tyrant, Golden-winged Manakin, and White-winged Brush-Finch.

In the late afternoon we birded the upper Tandayapa Valley on our way to the Mindo area. We were specifically looking for Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, which we had heard but not seen. We heard more toucans, but again missed them. We did flush a Band-winged Nightjar off its day roost and came across a couple of nice flocks in the effort however. We spend the night (and the next two) at Sachatamia Lodge.
 

26 May
This morning we were off to a Cock-of-the-Rock lek near Sachatamia. Unfortunately, the birds did not cooperate, however we did have some very nice birds in the forest around the lek. The highlight was a Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, a bird we had all but given up on for the trip. We also saw Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Long-tailed Antbird, Sepia-brown Wren, and a small flock of Black-chinned Mountain-Tanagers. We then visited the Las Grallarias Reserve, which is owned by Jane Lyons. There are several fairly rare birds known to occur on this property and we were lucky enough to find one of the most spectacular - the Orange-breasted Fruiteater. While wandering the trails were also encountered White-throated Quail-Dove, Maroon-tailed and Barred Parakeets, and Crimson-mantled, Smoky-brown and Powerful Woodpeckers. In the afternoon we birded around Mindo, primarily along the road that leads to the turn-off for Carmelo's (south of town). This was very productive and some of the best birds included: Broad-billed and Rufous Motmots, Pale-mandibled Aracari, Uniform Treehunter, Ecuadorian Thrush, Orange-crowned Euphonia, and Yellow-tufted Dacnis. We also visited a restaurant called Las Colibri where there are hummingbird feeders which attracted White-whiskered Hermit, White-necked Jacobin, and Green-crowned Woodnymph. At dusk Pancho took us to a place where Lyre-tailed Nightjars roosted. This forested cliff face was along the road we birded earlier in the afternoon. Two males nightjars would occasionally fly out of the forest out into the open sky. Quite a sight!
 

27 May
We birded at lower elevations on this day. The first stop was a private primary forest reserve near Pedro Vicente Maldonado arranged by Jane Lyons. The forest here was spectacular and we did see some very nice birds, but overall the number of individuals we saw was low. The highlights were: Band-tailed Barbthroat, Purple-chested Hummingbird, a pair of Crimson-bellied Woodpeckers, Western (Striped) Woodhaunter, Ruddy Foliage-gleaner, Spot-crowned Antvireo, White-throated Spadebill, Orange-crested Flycatcher, Green Manakin, Thrush-like Schiffornis, Tawny-faced Gnatwren, Choco (Golden-bellied) Warbler, and Emerald Tanager.

We made a brief stop at the Hotel Arasha on the way to the well known road just past Pedro Vicente Maldonado (PVM). Here we saw Purple-crowned Fairly, White-thighed Swallow and Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet. We arrived at PVM in the mid-afternoon, but it proved to be a successful visit. Birds observed included: Pallid Dove, Little Cuckoo, Olivaceous Piculet, Black-headed Antthrush, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Masked Water-Tyrant, Long-tailed Tyrant, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, and Gray-and-gold and Guira Tanagers.
 

28 May
This morning was spent birding in the Mindo area in the morning and then working our way back to Quito. We headed south past Mindo into the Rio Cinto Valley. The forest here was excellent and we were rewarded with several good birds. The highlights were excellent views of a Sunbittern and a Barred Puffbird. Other "good" birds included: Barred Hawk, Red-headed Barbet, Pale-mandibled Aracari, Choco Toucan, Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant, Tawny-breasted Flycatcher, Olive-crowned Yellowthroat, and Yellow-throated Bush-Tanager. We spent some time on the Sachatamia Lodge grounds at noon. As with several other places we visited, Sachatamia has hummingbird feeders. The star of the show here is the Velvet-purple Coronet. We saw as many as six at one time here during our stay. Other species that visited the feeders included Empress Brilliant and Brown Violet-ear.

We made a couple of stops on the way to Quito, the first was an orchid garden called La Pahuma. They have hummingbirds feeders as well and two White-tailed Hillstars came while we were there. The only other notable birds seen during the brief stop was an adult and juv. Slaty-backed Chat-Tyrant. As we crested the west slope of the Andes near Quito we stopped to try for the White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant, but were unsuccessful. We did see Black-tailed Trainbearer, Ash-breasted Sierra-Finch, Golden-rumped Euphonia, and Hooded Siskin in the area however.

This was my first visit to the west slope in May and although the diversity was excellent, I would say that the birding overall was rather slow. Early mornings (before 10:00) were by far the best. If you would like an annotated list of the birds we observed, send me an email. This trip report (including the annotated list) will be placed on Blake Maybank's site <http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/ns/maybank/Trips.htm> at some point.


Mark Lockwood
Alpine, Texas
  • "Meant to write sooner as you asked me to let you know what our total was. It was 186. We missed some good ones... but it was not for lack of trying. We had a lot of rain which kept us from birding a few times, but gave Bob an opportunity to photograph hummingbirds which he enjoyed. The hummingbirds (34 species) and the tanagers (38 species) and the toucans (3 species) and the antpittas (3 species) and tapaculos (2 species) were fantastic as were the parrots and woodpeckers. Pancho was very quick with the tapes and scope...Sachatamia Lodge was very nice and the food was delicious. It was a great trip." 8-13 Feb 2003, B&JW, Phoenix, AZ, USA
  • "Our trip to Ecuador was very good. It was a wonderful experience... The trip was well organized and we found all of the lodges to be very good...Overall the trip was very good and we enjoyed the birds of Ecuador very much." 15-28 Jan 2003, S&LC, Baltimore, MD, USA
  • "I was very happy with how you managed to pull things together on such short notice. Everything worked out well. While I certainly regretted having to cancel the Venezuela trip...I am fortunate that such a fine alternative was available... I got 155 lifers...plus a larger than expected number of mammals." 5-21 Jan 2003, PC, Boston, MA, USA
  • "What a wonderful time we had! Thanks to your fine choices for our itinerary, we got to see a good variety of birds and landscapes. The lodgings you chose for us were very comfortable and we can't believe how good the food was..... We really enjoyed having Edison as our guide. He was always considerate, helpful and friendly. We had many good laughs together. He is an excellent birder and was always patient with us... We managed to see approx 450 bird species..... Thanks once again for making our first trip to Ecuador run 'like clockwork', it made our visit very enjoyable due to your well organized planning. We won't hesitate to recommend "Mindo Bird Tours" to others. Lucille says that our Ecuador birding vacation was our best vacation ever and I agree. Thank you for that." 24 Dec 2002 - Jan 11, 2003. B. & L. G, Calgary, Canada
  • "Our ground arrangements were made entirely by Mindo Bird Tours, a very efficient and professional (whilst remaining extremely friendly and amenable) bird-tour outfit... We sent an outline of our plans/requirements, and they sorted out the whole itinerary for us...We were delighted with all aspects of our trip...Accommodation was excellent throughout...Our overall costs were very competitive, and much less than for a tour of similar length and quality run by [other international tour agencies]...We recorded 575 species in Ecuador during our 18 full days birding there. It was a remarkable and exciting trip in many ways, but the birding especially was among the very best we have ever experienced...With so many highlights, it is impossible to do justice to every site and every bird...but 56 spp of hummingbird, 45 spp of 'antbird', 13 spp of toucan, 17 spp of parrot and 71 spp of tanager speaks for itself. Ecuador proved to be a truly memorable birding, natural history and travel experience..." Ecuador, July 27th-August 15th, 2002, Trip Report by Steve & Judith Riley, UK.
  • "Overall I had a great time. Edison is a terrific guide, and I am already considering a future trip with him as my guide to the San Isidro area. I think the volcano dampened the bird activity, as there just seemed to be so few birds around most days. I managed to see almost everything I set out to see, although the Torrent Duck was nowhere to be found." 2-9 Nov 2002, PF, NY, USA
  • "Jane, Very many thanks once again for all your hard work in arranging our highly successful and enjoyable tour to Ecuador. We loved all of it and are already developing plans for a return visit next summer (to include Galapagos), and we will contact you about this part and a further mainland tour in due course. We are already missing Ecuador..., and look forward very much to seeing you again soon." 29 July-13 Aug 2002, S&J R, Manchester, UK
  • "We so enjoyed our Ecuador adventure. Thanks for everything. Here are the numbers for the trip- 542 species seen, 34 heard but not seen, 11 seen w/ naked eye, not bino'd (so not counted). AND-!!!!!!- 368 lifers." 9-25 May 2002, D&KW, South Padre Island, Texas, USA.
  • "Paul and I just wanted to say thank-you again. This was our best birding trip ever and we will definitely be going back to Ecuador. Edison was a great guide. We arrived back to -20 C weather but it made us appreciate Ecuador all the more." 24 Jan-3 Feb 2002, P& M M, Ottawa, Canada.
  • "Thanks for the great week. My preliminary count of birds for the trip is 257...More important than the numbers, though, are the experiences we had.... Thank you so much for all your efforts on our behalf. We now have a wealth of indelible images in our minds and hearts from the past week, most of them directly attributable to your talents and labors." 10-15 Mar 2002, ML & PD-L, PA, USA.
  • "I had a wonderful time, not the least of which was that you treated us in a warm and friendly manner like we were part of your family." 6 December 2001, MR, Guelph, Canada
  • "It has been a great trip. Thanks to Vinicio and Jane for finding new/rare birds for us...You are going beyond doing an excellent job conservation-wise not only buying pieces of land and leaving them to restore but also monitoring changes! Excellent food as well..." 2 December 2001, BP & IC, Panama
  • "Thanks for an excellent ten days of birding. In all respects - species seen, arrangements, food - the visit met and exceeded expectations." 19 November 2001, KC, Washington, DC, USA
  • "Excellent birding trips and great folks to be with. Thanks for a fantastic time!" 8 August 2001, KW, CA, USA
  • "Our second visit in 10 days - it was like coming home again, so friendly and hospitable it is. Great birding, excellent food, comfortable rooms - I couldn’t ask for more." 11-12 August 2001, TM, Norfolk, UK
  • "Fantastic birds!!! Excellent hosts and great food. Thank you very much for a wonderful time." 12 Mar 2001, DH, South Africa
  • "Thanks for 4 great days of birding! Each day’s trip was well run and very productive. Excellent guiding! The food was excellent, the staff friendly and very capable. A wonderful 4 days!" 26 Apr 2001, BD, Visalia,CA, USA
  • "Thank you Jane and Vinicio for an incredible 11 days. I’ll never forget the antpittas. I had a wonderful time." 3 May 2001, JC, Elsa, TX, USA
  • "Jane, thank you for your great guiding and hospitality. Our trip to Mindo was very special." 28 July 2001, SR, New York City, NY, USA
  • "Thanks for taking such good care of us! We appreciate your flexibility, sharing your expertise and friends and meeting our rather demanding needs. I hope this is the start of many more visits, conversations and bird/botany experiences!" 22 Feb 2001, DL, Ajax, Ontario, Canada.
  • "What a wonderful introduction to birding in Ecuador! Thank you so much for finding great birds - both the specialties and the old friends. We found it extremely comfortable...!" 9 Feb 2001, PG and VW, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
  • "Many thanks for a wonderful 5 days - many great birds and excellent food and lodging." 3 Feb 2001. DW, Jersey, UK.
  • "You provide a first-class service; excellent guiding; delicious food; clean - comfortable rooms; and most of all, wonderful company. I’ll recommend you to anyone traveling this way." 20 Jan 2001, JT, Peoria, AZ, USA:
  • "Could not ask for better birding or service." 20 Jan 2001. TJ, New Mexico, USA.
  • "Thank you for taking such good care of us. The food was delicious. Everyone was so congenial and helpful and courteous. The birdwatching was superb..." 11 Jan 2001 DS, Oregon, USA
  • "Many thanks for 5 super days of birding and photography. What more can I say: excellent photos of Rufescent Screech-Owl, Cloud-forest Pygmy-Owl, Black-and-white Owl and Mottled Owl!! Enough said!!" 22 Dec 2000, JF, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • "Thanks for the wonderful 5 days of good food, excellent birding and great company. Your efforts to preserve cloud forest habitat are greatly appreciated and I wish you the best of success." 26 Dec 2000 TH, Ottawa, Canada.
  • "The lek was great and the birding on the way was fantastic - thanks for the much-needed extra help with id’s. I look forward to my next visit." 11 Nov 2000 EBJ, UK.
  • "Great fantastic experience, being introduced thoroughly to Chocó endemics and the abundance of all sorts of colorful birds. Housing perfect, very comfortable."  2-5 Oct 2000, TM, Bavaria, Germany
  • "What a stunning morning - went to see the Cock-of-the-rock lek, but ended up with so much more. The tropics need more private reserves and motivated people like these. Thanks very much."  17 July 2000, JP & KG, Cambridge, UK
  • "Even in the rain, we had a great time.  Good food, hospitality and great bird guiding.  Thanks for the Cock-of-the-rock lek visit!  Thanks for a wonderful time during the Christmas holiday of 1999."  31 Dec 1999. G.K and L.W., Michigan, USA
  • "Thanks so much for the wonderful time that you provided in Ecuador. Your hospitality was great, and we really loved all the birds you both showed us.  BK ended up with 93 new birds and I with 46, out of 336 different species seen in 11 days of birding.  The quality was super -- BK had 14 lifer hummingbirds and 5 lifer antpittas.  Great job."  14 January 2000, P & B.K. S., New York, USA
  • " Mindo area indeed was worth its reputation as excellent birding site.   Special thanks to Jane for superb guidance!"  2-18 Feb 2000, TL, Finland.
  • "To greet the dawn amidst a lek of Andean Cock-of-the-rock is indeed a wonderful experience; perhaps one of the best at least on par with Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda or Bengal Tigers in Chitwan." NM and CG, Victoria, BC, Canada Dec. 4, 1994
  • "Two great days in the Mindo area birding...culminating in stunning views of Giant Antpitta. Great to be in the company of excellent birders and extremely gracious hosts..." RB and JH, UK. 13-14 Sept, 1997
  • "Up at 3 to see the Andean Cock-of-the rock. Wow! What a treat! Wonderful day. I've never seen so many hummingbirds and tanagers. This is my 4th visit to Mindo but my first with a guide and it was well worth it. We had a great day! Thank you! " JA, Calgary, Canada, Nov. 21, 1997
  • "Spectacular Cock-of-the-rock lek, almost overwhelming, well worth the exercise getting to the spot. Very knowledgeable and patient guiding made it all the more memorable. Thanks so much." RK, Seattle, WA, USA. July 14, 1999
  • "I think that was the most incredible natural phenomenon I have seen, an amazing creature [Cock-of-the-rock]..A wonderful way to spend our last day in Ecuador and a memory I'll treasure forever. I definitely plan to suggest your hospitality to others. Thank you." VI, NY, USA


Common Potoo
at day roost