Ecuador the Southern endemics

At your arrival to Guayaquil your guide will be waiting for you to meet and transfer you to your hotel, overnight.

Hostel Macaw
Mansion del Río
Wyndham Hotel Guayaquil

Early departure to Manglares Churute Reserve where you can find the only known population of Horned Screamer in western Ecuador. This National Reserve has 49.984 hectares distributed from 0 to 700 msnm. It is formed by an extensive network of channels and islands that combined with a dense mangrove forest and vestiges of tropical dry forest is the house of a considerable biodiversity. Here it is possible to find 270 bird species such us Pacific Royal Flycatcher, Ecuadorian Ground-dove, Red-masked Parakeet, Pacific Parrotlet and others. Besides if you are lucky you can see some mammals like the white-fronted capuchin and mantled howler monkeys, along with the occasional agouti, tigrillo, and armadillo.

Box Lunch en route and then you will continue your trip to Piñas stopping in some strategic points to observe some of the shore birds and also some specialists of the area such as Baron´s Hermit, Ecuadorian Trogon, Jet Antbird, Superciliated Wren, Orange-Crowned Euphonia, Peruvian Meadowlark. Arrive to Buenaventura reserve place where you will have dinner and overnight.

Umbrella Bird Lodge

(B.BL.D)

After breakfast you will have full day to explore Buenaventura reserve and its surroundings, this reserve supports an extremely diverse birdlife (46 species registered) including many endemics like El Oro Parakeet, Emerald-billed Woodnymph, Pacitic Tuftedcheeck, Club-Winged Manakin, Royal Flycatcher, Long Wattled Umbrella bird and El Oro Tapaculo. This day you will spend most of the time walking along the reserve looking for these species and other great birds such us the Andean Tinamou, Gray-cheeked Parakeet (endangered), Rose Face parrot and line-cheeked spinetail. Return to the lodge to diner and overnight.

(B.L.D)

After breakfast you will have full morning to look for El Oro Parakeet, other bird species and if you are lucky mammals, after lunch you will continue with your trip to Jorupe, another Jocotoco Foundation Reserve located close to Macará.

En route you will stop in some strategic points like Velacruz – Catacocha to look for the species of the area.

Late afternoon you will arrive to Urraca lodge, located a few km north east of the town of Macara, which is near the Ecuador and Peru border.

Urraca Lodge

(B.BL.D)

During this day you will be in the middle of the Tumbesian forest that is a dry habitat ecosystem which extends from south west Ecuador into northern Peru, it is dominated by statuesque Ceiba trees. It is a conservation priority because much of it is already cleared or badly degraded.

You will have full day to explore Jorupe reserve and its surroundings.  Jorupe supports many endemic and rare species of plants and animals, including populations of numerous globally threatened birds (40 species) like the Henna-Hooded foliage-Gleaner, Blackish Headed spinetail, Slaty Becard, Line Cheeked Spinetail, Loja Tyranulet.

Also we try to look and listen for skulkers like Pale-browed Tinamou, Watkins’s Antpitta and Ochrebellied Dove, Scarlet-backed and Goldenolive, Ecuadorian Piculet.

Other interesting species that you will hopefully see include Speckle-breasted Wren, Shorttailed Swift, White-tailed Jay, Black- capped Sparrow, Grey-breasted Flycatcher, Tumbes Pewee, Black-and-white Tanager, Grey-and-gold Warbler and more.

Nightbirds are a must at Jorupe and you will try to search for more owls including West Peruvian Screech Owl.  Dinner and overnight.

(B.L.D)

Early in the morning after a cup of hot coffee you will depart to Utuana (Jocotoco Reserve) where you can find a Montane Scrub and woodland, a great place to search for Black-Crested Tit-Tyrants, Piura Hemispungus, Gray Headed Antbird, Chapman Antshrike, Rainbow Starfrontlet and others.

Box lunch en route and in the afternoon you will depart to Vilcabamba stopping in some strategic points like Catamayo airport to look for some of the Tumbesian species and others like the Tumbes Sparrow, Band-tailed Sierra Finch, Drab Seedeater. Arrival to Vilcabamba valley where you will diner and overnight.

Hosteria El Descanso del Toro

(B.BL.D)

Early in the morning you will visit Cajanuma, part of Podocarpus National Park where you will look for some spectacular birds like Red-Hooded Tanager, Bearded Guan, Gray Brested Mountain Toucan, Plumbeus Rail, Golden-plumed parakeet, White-Browed Spinetail, Elegant Crescent-Chest, Chusquea Tapaculo, Three Banded Warbler, Barred Fruiteater, Golden Crown Tanager and others.

Podocarpus National Park is located in the South of Ecuador near the Peruvian border and spanning 360,000 acres, Podocarpus National Park includes cloud forests, high-altitude grasslands, and a series of small Andean lakes.

This reserve has one of the largest concentrations of bird species in Ecuador, with more than 500 registered species, although some experts believe that number could be as high as 800. Some of the most threatened birds in Ecuador have healthy populations in and around the park, such as coppery-chested jacamar, bearded guan, Equatorial graytail and Peruvian antpitta.

Also more than 40 mammal species occur in the area, including the jaguar, wooly monkey, tapir, Andean bear, pudú (the smallest deer in the world), giant armadillo and Neotropical otter.

Box lunch en route and depart to Tapichalaca, this the first reserve created by Jocotoco Foundation. At our arrival we will have time to enjoy of the hummingbirds that fly around the feeders of this lodge like Flame Throated Sunangel, Ocellated Tapaculo, Rufous-Capped thornbill, Chesnut Breasted Coronet and Long Tail Sylph. Dinner and overnight.

Casa Simpson

(B.BL.D)

You will spend full days in Tapichalaca in order to try to find most of the species of this place and its surroundings. Jocotoco Foundation bought the land of this reserve in order to protect the habitat of the Jocotoco Antpitta, specie that was found in this area for the first time and also known that most of the world’s population of this specie occurs in this reserve. The major highlight of this area are: Dusky Headed Parakeet, White Capped Parrot, Swallow tail nightjar, Gray Breasted Mountain Toucan, Ash-Browed Spinetail, Chesnut-naped Antpitta, Rufous tail Tyrant, Yellow Cheeked Becard, Black faced Tanager, White Capped Tanager. Dinner and overnight in Tapichalaca Lodge.

Large mammals like the Mountain Tapir (globally Endangered) and Spectacled Bear (Vulnerable) are present in the reserve. About 140 endemic plants have been recorded, of which 1 is Critically Endangered, 25 are considered endangered and 95 vulnerable. Over 30 species of orchid are known only from the area of the reserve.

(B.L.D) 

After breakfast you will continue your expedition to Zamora Province, en route you can find great places to search for spectacular species such as Crimson Bellied Woodpecker, Tumbesian Tyrannulet, Tawny Crowned Pygmy Tyrant, White Capped Dipper. Box lunch en route and in the afternoon arrival to Copalinga Lodge located next to the south east entrance of Podocarpus National Park, in the afternoon you will have the opportunity to walk through the trails of this cozy lodge looking for local species including Coppery-crested jacamar Ecuadorian Piedtail, White Breasted Parakeet, Chesnut Crowned Gnateater, Green Hermit, Spangled Coquette, Black Streaked Puffbird, Chesnut Tipped Toucanet, Blue Rumped Manakin and others.  Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Copalinga Lodge

(B.L.D)

During these two days you will walk through the trails of Podocarpus National Park and Copalinga lodge looking for local species including Coppery-crested jacamar Ecuadorian Piedtail, White Breasted Parakeet, Chesnut Crowned Gnateater, Green Hermit, Spangled Coquette, Black Streaked Puffbird, Chesnut Tipped Toucanet,  Blue Rumped Manakin.

The Bombuscaro entrance to Podocarpus National park is at 6.8 km from the town of Zamora.  This area has an elevation of approximately 900 meters above sea level and has been classified as upper tropical rainforest.  The Bombuscaro area has four different trails, ranging from 200 m to 3 km in length.  These trails lead to waterfalls as well as to a nice swimming area at the Bombuscaro River. In this area over than 230 bird species have been identified.

(B.L.D)

After breakfast you will have the last opportunity to search for the specialties of this area, like the Ecuadorian Tyrannulet, Lined Antshrike, Foothill Elaenia, Andean Cock of the Rock, Blue-Browed Tanager, Chesnut-Vented Conebill.

Return to Catamayo where you will drive around the airport to look for the Tumbesian birds that we have not seen arrival to the airport to catch your flight back to Quito. In the exit of the airport our local driver will be waiting for you in order to transfer you to your hotel where you will overnight.

Quinta La Constanza
San José de Puembo
La Palma Polo Club

(B.BL)

After you have gotten a wonderful list of endemic birds of the Tumbesian region in this unforgettable expedition in Ecuador you will be transferred to the airport to catch your international flight home.

(B)