10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2013

If you are planning a birding trip to 2013 maybe you should consider Ecuador, my home country! Even if you are not a birder, you will find Ecuador to be a top notch destination for all sorts of people. Click here for the first set , or here for the second set , and here for the third set of posts about bird watching in Ecuador.

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Ecuador 2013 Birds Experiments 164

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2019

To paraphrase Keith Barnes, who wrote on world birding in 2008 ABA’s Birding magazine, if you can afford only one big tropical bird tour, let it be Ecuador. The new Helm field guide to the Birds of (mainland) Ecuador by Freile and Restall covers 1630 species in a single volume, has 656 pages and isn’t exactly lightweight.

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Ecuador South America 2006 Venezuela 176

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2012

Ecuador was made for birdwatchers! A tiny country filled with biodiversity which can be easily reached in a short drive… Well, maybe that is a little exaggeration but in comparison to other countries like Colombia, Peru and the giant Brazil, our Ecuador seems tiny.

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Ecuador Colombia Brazil Peru 200

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2011

Bird Photography in Ecuador is fun. There are so many beautiful birds that every time I go birding a new exilarating photo is captured.

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Ecuador Falcons Birds 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

The south of Ecuador presents some very interesting opportunities for birdwatchers that have already visited the north-east and north-west slopes near Quito. On a recent tour we were pleasantly surprised by the high degree of endemism and the beauty of the birds that make the south such a special place.

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Ecuador Birds 160

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2017

Wildlife of Ecuador: A Photographic Field Guide to Birds, Mammals, Reptiles, and Amphibians is the all-in-one nature guide for the generalist nature traveler. Sword-billed Hummingbird, one of the “star” birds of Ecuador, prefers the long-tubed red Datura flowers and Purple Passionflower. And, heavy.).

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Ecuador Wildlife Reptiles Mammals 188

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2013

Also known as Black-backed Bush Finch is only found in the montane forests of Ecuador and Colombia. Come to Ecuador and enjoy the birds, our food, our culture, and help us support the local economy and conservation efforts. Black-backed Bush Tanager.

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Ecuador Colombia Birds 150

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2012

If you are interested in seeing some Tumbesian Endemics, very close to the Guayaquil Airport in Ecuador, then you must visit Bosque Protector Cerro Blanco. This tropical dry forest is being protected by Fundacion Pro Bosque to conserve the 6078 hectars (15,000 acres) of this fragile ecosystem which boasts amazing life and many endemic birds.

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Ecuador Protection Birds 143

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

Ecuador is one of the world’s leading destinations for birdwatchers, and no wonder: with more then 1,600 bird species found throughout the small country, Ecuador has the world’s highest density of bird species found per acre. In fact, 1,600 different bird species accounts for almost 20% of the species known to exist in the world.

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Ecuador Birds 2019 Cattle 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

This bird, of the Turdus family, can be found on the western slopes of Ecuador and Colombia. Another great reason to visit the 23 de Junio besides the Long-wattled Umbrellabird is the Black Solitare ( Entomodestes coracinus ).

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Ecuador Colombia Humane Family 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Hello all from Las Terrazas de Dana Boutique Lodge & Spa in Mindo Cloud Forest, Ecuador. Julia Patiño has 20+ years of experience guiding in birding tours and is one of the first women guides in Ecuador! She proceeded to take the necessary birding and English courses and has since been in demand for guiding in Ecuador.

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Ecuador Spain Cows 2018 212

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2011

This last week I had to take someone to Otavalo, so I took advantage of the trip and drove to a little secluded and out-of-the-way town called Oyacachi. I had never been there before, but I heard that they have some nice hot springs for relaxation and that the place is very small and special.

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Ecuador Farming Abandon Abandoning 187

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2011

This is the story of the nectar wars from Tandayapa Lodge in north-west Ecuador. Nestled in cloud forest at 6000 feet on the western slope of northern Ecuador, this place is a true birding lodge with comfortable accommodations, excellent birding leaders and great tasting coffee. Collecting nectar is not a random occurrence.

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Ecuador Giraffes ALA Species 250

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

I photographed this amazing bird yesterday at Utuana Reserve in the South of Ecuador. Too busy to write more.

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Ecuador Birds 213

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2023

During my trip to Peru (where I almost got lost in the jungle trying to locate a rumoured Andean C**k-of-the-rock lek), my rambles in South-east Asia and also this last trip to Ecuador, I realised that this is more than possible because compared to the forests in these regions our European ones seem like a walk in the park.

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Solomon Islands Ecuador Colombia Rats 242

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2019

Ecuador or Botswana, respectively). 17%: Ecuador, Peru. While Peru was seen as the best country for “birds and ancient sites”, Ecuador was seen as “much safer” and best for its size and easiness of getting around. If I were answering those same questions, my answers would probably be Ecuador, Uganda and Thailand.

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Papua New Guinea America Costa Rica Sri Lanka 214

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2011

On a recent filming trip with Tropical Birding in Ecuador I had the awesome experience of getting up close and personal with two bizarre manakin species. This bird is a Choco endemic found only in northwest Ecuador and southwest Colombia. What’s the deal with manakins? Are they for real? Take the Club-winged Manakin for example.

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Ecuador Colombia Research Birds 250

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2013

studied how Plain-tailed Wrens and Rufous Antpittas in Ecuador reacted to audio playback of their songs versus playback of general background noise. News Bird Call Playback Ecuador Plain-tailed Wrens Rufous Antpittas' Researchers from Princeton University and the University of the South (both in the U.S.)

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Ecuador Endangered Species Birds Research 216

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2015

Currently endemic to a single valley system in the Andes of Ecuador, this species escaped detection from researchers for thirty years until the rediscovery of a few pairs in November 1998 by Dr. Neils Krabbe. In November 2010, I backpacked for fifty days via the reasonably good bus system in Ecuador.

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California Condor Ecuador Blackbirds Parrots 225

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2011

In fact this is not true, and if you are a little adventurous you could bypass the foreign-own boat-tours that do not benefit Ecuador, bypass the travel agencies that sell you preconceived dreams, and bypass the sea sickening trips that take you to the most distant Islands.

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Ecuador Transported Birds Industry 175

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2011

Fortunately, a pair of fellow Queens birders who will be known to those who read my posts about going to Ecuador, Karlo and Alison Mirth, witnessed a Tufted Titmouse taking hair from a Raccoon in Forest Park, Queens, recently and Alison got some pictures that she agreed to let me share here on 10,000 Birds.

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Raccoons Woodchucks Opossums Squirrels 251

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2011

There are not many places in Ecuador, or for that matter in the world, where you can see these all these birds in the same area. The funny thing is that this great place is not even mentioned on the latest National Plan for Development of Birdwatching Tourism in Ecuador.

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Ecuador Birds Farming Industry 168

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2012

The Chestnut-crowned Antpitta is one of the most beautiful in the family The endemic Brown-banded Antpitta is rather drab but far from common The uncommon Chestnut-naped Antpitta is only found in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia The vulnerable Bi-colored Antpitta was only discovered in 1999 in Ecuador.

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Colombia Ecuador South America North America 260

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2013

The north-western slopes of Ecuador are home of many Choco Endemics such as Choco Warbler, Stripped-billed Aracari, Black-tipped Cotinga, Emerald Tanager, Scarlet-browed Tanager, Scarlet-and-white-Tanager, Gray-mantled-Wren, and many other. Most of these birds can only be seen in this northern region of Ecuador. Emerald Tanager.

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Ecuador Colombia Protection Birds 176

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2024

Black-tailed Trogon ( Trogon melanurus) Mainly a species of the Amazonian lowlands (two other disjunct populations exist from central Panama to northern Colombia and in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru) they are heard more often than seen as they tend to remain well above the ground, favoring the forest canopy to subcanopy.

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Ecuador Colombia Panama Peru 208

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2019

In such a case, you might opt to book an eastbound flight, or a series of flights, from Lisbon to Sao Tome and Principe, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, then Sri Lanka, Thailand, Borneo, PNG, Tahiti, Ecuador, Guyana and finally to Costa Rica…. Sacha Lodge, Amazonian lowlands, Ecuador. The best season is October to November.

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Costa Rica Sri Lanka Rwanda Papua New Guinea 203

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2011

Isla Corazon was formed by sediment deposition of the Rio Chone on its way out to the ocean to the central coast of Ecuador. As a supporter of conservation and eco-tourism we have been there multiple times and found their conservation work impressive and deserving of more press.

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Ecuador Farming Birds Protection 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2012

The most important of these is the Buff-fronted Owl which is considered very rare in Ecuador and has been spotted by Juan Carlos Calvache an reputable Ecuadorian guide. This amazing collection of Owls is very representative of the highland owls found in Ecuador and confirms the uniqueness of this crater and the reasons for its conservation.

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Owls Barn Owls Ecuador Collecting 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2012

In Ecuador it is found mostly in the tropical and sub-tropical forest of the east and west slopes. The place of this Bird Love action is the Sumaco National Bioreserve located on the east slope of the Ecuador in the legendary Loreto Road. Here is my contribution to Bird Love Week from the tropics.

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Ecuador South America Parrots America 158

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2013

Nick Athanas, Iain Campbell, Paul Coopmans, and Richard White set the record back in March of 2002 in Ecuador and I can find no record of someone having topped that mark since. That made me wonder – what is the single day record for seeing the most species of hummingbird? The answer, apparently, is a whopping 41 species !

Costa Rica 189

Costa Rica 2002 Ecuador Species 189

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2012

If you are thinking about visiting the Amazon, and enjoying great birds, a bit of luxury, relaxation, and good food, then you should consider coming to Ecuador and gliding over the Napo River on the Manatee Amazon Explorer. They offer multiple packages and we took a five day trip that took us right down to the border with Peru.

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Ecuador Peru Parrots Birds 195

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2014

the Caribbean islands, and Ecuador and Peru. Scientists who attached tracking devices to 10 of the birds in 2012 were shocked to discover that one had flown west across the Atlantic Ocean, and eventually settled down on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in South America. It then reversed this migration, logging roughly 16,000 miles in total.

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Iceland Stray Ecuador South America 214

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

Actively birding in Costa Rica as well as Nicaragua and Panama as well as the USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Organization committee for the Arenal Annual Bird Count. Volunteer reviewer for eBird in Costa Rica. I also share the enthusiasm that I have for conservation and encourage people to do the same.

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Costa Rica Experience Experiments Nicaragua 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2012

The Crimson-rumped Toucanets ( Aulacorhynchus haematopygus ) I was privileged to observe at Refugio Paz de Las Aves in Ecuador were absolute cripplers, as the parlance goes. Actually, the toucanets I’ve may be even better than the toucans, since some of them have offered better views. Is this a beautiful bird or what?

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Kansas Ecuador 2010 Species 191

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2015

Photo: Golden-crowned Tanager , Iridosornis rufivertex , in Andean Ecuador © David J.

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Sparrows North America South America Blackbirds 274

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2021

Arenal Observatory Lodge and Spa. Macaw Lodge. Birding Experiences. InkaNatura Travel. Bird Uganda Safaris. Birding Expeditions. Capture Africa Safaris. Puembo Birding Garden. Las Terrazas de Dana Boutique Lodge and Spa. Jaguarundi Travel. Aruacana Lodge. Cave Creek Ranch. Limneo Lodge. Malimbe Tours.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Uganda Greece Ghana 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

Derek Kverno has already created epic blog travelogues of his stints in Ecuador and Tanzania. Now he’s moved to Brazil , which means we get to vicariously explore the avifauna of another bird-rich country.

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Brazil Tanzania Ecuador Birds 160