A Visit To The Anangu Community Near Napo Wildlife Center

Posted on September 3, 2016 by Tara

One of the best things about the Napo Wildlife Center is that the whole project is run by the local community and all the profits are retained in the local area. This is the best outcome for eco-tourism as it provides a good income for people who might otherwise be tempted by the wild bird trade. The village where these people live is right near the parrot clay licks and we had a nice visit there for lunch and a quick visit around the village and the craft market.

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Restrooms DSCN2053

Restaurant where traditional food was served. My husband had fish and I had the vegetarian option as I don’t eat fish. The carved tables and chairs are gorgeous! DSCN2052 DSCN2054 DSCN2055 DSCN2056 DSCN2057

The craft shop was awesome! The carved birds were of excellent quality and very realistic. Once I found out I could charge my purchases to my room and pay by credit card, I went nuts! DSCN2058 DSCN2059 DSCN2060

You have to see them in person to appreciate them. The birds range in price around $10-20 depending on size and detail so were well worth it! DSCN2060a DSCN2061

Of course one of these cute Cobalt-winged parakeets came home with me! DSCN2061a DSCN2062 DSCN2063 DSCN2064

I also bought a Paradise Tanager, Hoatzin, White-throated Toucan, Dusky-headed Parakeet & Black-headed Parrot which are all decorating my bedroom wall. DSCN2065

T-shirts were on the small side. DSCN2066

After being dragged out of the craft shop, we saw some pretty cool birds! Here’s a Spot-breasted Woodpecker. DSCN2069

My blurry photo doesn’t do justice to this beautiful Violaceous Jay. DSCN2070a DSCN2071

Our guide Vladimir and 2 of his kids. DSCN2072

I think this village also has accommodation so it’s a good option that would be cheaper than staying at Napo Wildlife Center but still a sister property and you could spend more time learning about the culture.

Small Parrot Clay Lick Near Napo Wildlife Center

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Tara

The smaller parrot clay lick at Napo Wildlife Center is located down a short trail near the Anangu Kichwa Village. It’s not visible from the river like the large clay lick so you need a guide from one of the lodges. The visit fee is included if you are staying at Napo Wildlife Center or by paying $15 if you are at one of the other lodges.

Keep an eye out for river birds such as the Roseate Spoonbill IMG_4385a IMG_4395a IMG_4398a

Limpkin DSCN2080a

Yellow-headed Caracara

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Pied Lapwing IMG_4413a

Hoatzin DSCN2078 DSCN2077

Green Kingfisher DSCN2073

Landing dock for the clay lick

Well-maintained trail DSCN2043

Crested Owls IMG_4421a

Although we began the trip with several tourists and 2 guides, the weather wasn’t looking good for the 2nd clay lick so one guide took us down the trail and the other guide took the other tourists to the village. This was our only chance to see the 3 parrot species that are known to visit this clay lick – Cobalt-winged Parakeet, Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet & Orange-cheeked Parrot. I knew we had to be patient and wait, so wait we did. There were lots of butterflies but they were hard to photograph.

Finally a few Cobalt-winged Parakeets gathered in the trees but didn’t come down to the clay lick. In good weather, there can be hundreds of parrots crowding the clay lick so we were disappointed not to see the numbers but at least we saw the birds! IMG_4432a DSCN2040 DSCN2040a IMG_4442a

The Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlets & Orange-cheeked Parrots never showed up. I didn’t give up easily but finally had to admit defeat when the last Cobalt-winged Parakeet flew off and the surrounding forest grew quiet.

eBird Checklist

An Afternoon On The Lake – Napo Wildlife Center

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Tara

After an awesome experience at the Canopy Tower in the morning, the afternoon was a more relaxed experience. While we were at lunch, our guide called us over to one side of the restaurant and pointed out a beautiful Golden-mantled Tamarin sitting on a tree nearby.

After some time to rest up, we were back in the paddleboats for a short trip around the lake area. First off the bat were some bats!

White-winged Swallow IMG_3912a

Red-capped Cardinal IMG_3911a

Straited Heron

Tropical Kingbird

A tiny frog DSCN1890 DSCN1891 DSCN1889

Anhinga DSCN1888

Giant River Otters who clearly weren’t happy to see us! DSCN1880 DSCN1882 DSCN1883 DSCN1886 DSCN1885

And a sunset to finish off the day!

COMPLETE BIRD CHECKLIST DSCN1894

Napo Wildlife Center – Getting There Is Half The Fun

Posted on August 18, 2016 by Tara

Visiting the eco-lodges in the Ecuadorian Amazon & Yasuni National Park involves a journey of several hours down the Napo River. You begin at Coca and the first part is on a wide section of the river so you don’t see any wildlife but it’s still an interesting trip. The guides give a safety briefing and point out the sights along the way. Our bilingual naturalist guide was Lena and she did a fantastic job of spotting wildlife.

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We encountered a storm about an hour into the trip and plastic covers were lowered to protect us from the rain. DSCN1620

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Everyone gets a small pouch with a few snacks inside. DSCN1617 DSCN1618 DSCN1624 DSCN1625 DSCN1626

This is the transit area where you change from the motorized boats to the smaller paddleboats. There are restrooms and you can stretch you legs. From here, it’s about 90 minutes-ish to Napo Wildlife Center depending on how many stops along the way to see wildlife. DSCN1627 DSCN1628 DSCN1629 DSCN1631 DSCN1632

Paddleboats DSCN1633 DSCN1634 DSCN1635

We saw lots of spider monkeys along the way. DSCN1639 DSCN1645 IMG_3850a

Lots of birds too! My bird checklist on eBird. IMG_3887a IMG_3895a IMG_3899a

Here you can see the “black water” of the Anangu Creek. DSCN1651

Caiman lying in wait! DSCN1648

I was really excited to see Hoatzins! These cool-looking birds are called “stinky chickens” by the locals which doesn’t do justice to these awesome birds. DSCN1655 DSCN1654 DSCN1656 DSCN1666 IMG_3891a

Double-toothed Kite DSCN1669

A lizard, well-spotted by our guide. DSCN1662

Even though the journey was interesting, we were happy to see Napo Wildlife Center come into view, the seats in the paddleboats aren’t the most comfortable. DSCN1667 DSCN1668

Planning A Birding Trip To Yasuni National Park, Ecuador

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Tara

For any birder, the Yasuni National Park is a MUST when you visit Ecuador for it’s amazing biodiversity and stunning parrot clay licks. The good news – you will see lots of birds! The bad news – it won’t be cheap! The main birding lodges are only accessible by river and each lodge has its own boat so you need a package that includes your accommodation, transfers and full board as there is no where else to eat out there. You can’t get to any of the lodges my road or by public transport. You may see cheaper “backpacker” packages advertised but they won’t be to the Yasuni National Park and you won’t see as many birds nor visit the clay licks. Those packages are more for people who just want a “jungle experience”. First you need to get to Coca, the gateway to the Ecuadorian Amazon.

There is a nice map and overview on Birds in Ecuador website. I have highlighted the lodge we stayed at – Napo Wildlife Center and the approximate location of the clay licks.

Yasuni

There is one way to save a bit of money. You can use Avianca Lifemiles to pay for the flight from Quito to Coca which is a bargain at only 3000 miles. Most lodges and tour operators will quote a package including this flight so be sure to ask for the price without the flights. I also recommend going back to Quito by bus and stopping at some other lodges like WildSumaco, Cabanas San Isidro and Guango Lodge so in that case just redeem your one way flight. I’ll be reviewing those lodges in turn as this report progresses.

CHOOSING A LODGE

You really can’t go wrong with the ones that are near the parrot clay licks. There isn’t a huge difference in price between them and bear in mind that only Napo Wildlife Center includes both parrot clay licks in the price of their package although other lodges can go there with an entry fee of $15 per person (2016). You can use travel agents to compare costs and see if there are any special deals going on but note that the clay licks are far less active in the rainy season. Here is an example of a travel agency I found by Googling. They have packages to all the lodges and you can see the different prices. The ones that are cheaper aren’t in the Yasuni National Park where you can visit the clay licks.

This is probably going to be the most expensive part of your trip to Ecuador unless you also do a Galapagos cruise so I suggest taking a lot of time and doing your homework. Look at each lodge’s website and email them to see if they have any specials going on. Check travel agencies too. Also make sure they quote without the Quito-Coca flights if you are using miles. Make sure you can pay with a credit card, it’s a lot of points as a travel related charge on a Citi Thank You Premier or a Chase Sapphire Preferred!

Napo Wildlife Center

Yasuni Kichwa Ecolodge Tour – this is a sister lodge to NWC and is located in the Anangu village. We visited the village for lunch on the parrot clay lick day and I found out that they have accommodation that is cheaper than NWC and you are actually closer to the clay licks. I recommend trying to get a package that gives you a couple days in each location as NWC is closer to the canopy tower so you can have the best of both worlds!

Sacha Lodge

La Selva

Sani Lodge

The main things you want to know besides the price is to make sure they will give you a naturalist guide who knows the birds very well and it’s a good idea to make sure the guide will have a scope. Our guide had one and it made a huge difference to seeing some species in the distance while on top of the canopy tower.

If you are a single or couple, you will be grouped with the other people who arrive with you that same day and assigned a guide. This worked out well for us as we had excellent guides who found lots of birds and mammals. It could have gone wrong if there had been small kids in the group who would make noise and scare the birds. I did see a family with 2 small kids on the dock as we were boarding and I was hugely relieved when they got onto another boat!

If your finances allow, the lodges can also arrange a private guide that will concentrate on what you want to see. This could come in handy if the other people get bored with birds and want to move on before you have finished watching the birds. You would be able to spend as much time with the birds you want to watch.

Whatever you do, just GO to the Ecuadorian Amazon, it will be a highlight of your trip!

Coca – Gateway To The Ecuadorian Amazon

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Tara

A trip to the Ecuadorian Amazon will be one of the highlights of any birder’s trip to Ecuador! Since Ecuador is a relatively small country, it is especially easy to get to. Most package tourists will have flights from Quito to Coca built in to their Amazon package but you can save a couple hundred dollars if you use miles for this route. Avianca Lifemiles only charges 3000 Lifemiles each way which is a fantastic deal! You can also reach Coca by bus, its about a 6 hour journey straight through but there are interesting stops along the way. In the map below, Coca is in the middle, the purple line on the right indicates where the eco-lodges are in Yasuni National Park like Napo Wildlife Center. You can also see my recommended stops for the journey back – Wawa Sumaco for Wildsumaco, Cosanga for Cabanas San Isidro and that purple dot indicating Guango Lodge which is on the highway but not near a town.

Ecuadorian Amazon

The Aerogal plane which is what you will be on if you use Lifemiles is a small one but it’s only a 35-40 minute flight.

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We didn’t have checked bags but if you do, they are brought to this window. DSCN1602

If you are being picked up by your tour operator, they will have a sign with your name on it. Otherwise, just get a $3 taxi to the La Mision Hotel. DSCN1603

Driving through the town of Coca. Not really much here to look at so we didn’t jump out anywhere. DSCN1604 DSCN2105 DSCN2104 DSCN2103 DSCN1605 DSCN1606

Some nice bird art on a building. DSCN1607 DSCN2102

This is the car park of La Mision Hotel and where you get the river boats that take you to your lodge. DSCN1609 DSCN1610 DSCN1611

If you are on the early flight, I suggest getting breakfast here and asking for the wifi password to kill time. Some lodges do have wifi but it isn’t cheap so be prepared to be unplugged for your adventure! Let the hotel staff know which lodge you are booked with, everyone knows everyone and they will tell your guide that you are waiting in the restaurant when he/she arrives. They start arriving around 9:30ish. DSCN1612

Typical river boat that the lodges use. DSCN1613 DSCN1614

View of the La Mision Hotel as our boat pulled away from the pier. DSCN1615 DSCN1616

When you are ready to leave Coca, get a taxi to the bus station on the outskirts of town. If you are going to Wildsumaco, you can use a bus that is headed to either Quito or Tena.

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For Wildsumaco Lodge, have the driver let you out at the road to Pacto Sumaco and call them so they know when to pick you up. It’s a long walk up hill so you do need a ride. Details will be in my report on Wildsumaco Lodge. We didn’t have a phone but a kindly fellow passenger made the call for us to let them know which bus we were on. DSCN2111

Visit The Equator Between Mindo & Quito

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Tara

If you are traveling between the Mindo area and Quito, the road goes right past Mitad del Mundo, the monument of the equator so why not jump out and have a look? Sure it’s uber-touristy but we all need our touristy moments, even in Ecuador!

We were still having bad weather when we arrived.

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Tickets are $3 just to enter the park or around $8 to go into the planetarium and to the top of the monument. We just went for the entry as we had our backpacks on and just wanted to see the line. DSCN1547

The park is laid out well with several posters giving information. DSCN1548

As we walked through the park, we saw lots of really nice hummingbird statues. DSCN1549 DSCN1550 DSCN1551 DSCN1552 DSCN1553 DSCN1554 DSCN1558

So here is one variation of the silly tourist photo. One person usually stands straddling the line or two people can be on opposite hemispheres as we did here. DSCN1563 DSCN1565 DSCN1568

We had a quick look at the shops but didn’t buy anything. DSCN1566 DSCN1567 DSCN1569 DSCN1570

Across the street was a small shopping centre with a bank that didn’t like my ATM card and a Subway sandwich shop that took credit cards so we bought a couple sandwiches. DSCN1571

Back to the taxi rank in front of the monument we bargained with a driver to take us to our hotel near the airport for $25. I had heard it was $20 to the city and the airport was a bit further. DSCN1572

An Afternoon At Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Tara

We left the Mirador Restaurant around 2pm-ish and decided to keep heading down the same road to Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary as we were still targeting Rose-faced Parrots and Blue-fronted Parrotlets. Some Maroon-tailed Parakeets would be nice too!

As we left the main road to the access road for the reserve we saw some Bronze-winged Parrots in a tree.

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Continuing on, the road is pretty well marked if you are self-driving. Of course Alex, our guide has been here many times and knows it well. DSCN1425 DSCN1426 DSCN1427

We were there pretty late and the staff had closed up. We were still able to get inside but there was no one there to charge the fees. DSCN1442 DSCN1428 DSCN1441 DSCN1440

We walked down a short trail to the canopy tower. DSCN1439 DSCN1438

There are beautiful views over the rainforest but not too many birds around. Maybe the weather was still causing trouble. DSCN1431

A pair of Choco Toucans showed up. DSCN1430 DSCN1435

I’m having trouble with some of these as they may be female tanagers which look completely different from the males! DSCN1436 DSCN1437

Grey-and-gold Tanager DSCN1432 DSCN1433 DSCN1433a DSCN1434

It was looking like rain again so we left after less than an hour at the canopy tower. DSCN1443

Female Black-cheeked Woodpecker

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Guayaquil Woodpecker DSCN1446

Complete Bird List

We later found out that another guide had been here in the morning and seen a huge flock of Maroon-tailed Parakeets!

If you would like to visit this reserve along with other reserves around Mindo, I can highly recommend Alex Luna who can be reached by email. ayalu_82@hotmail.com

Milpe Bird Sanctuary

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Tara

Milpe Bird Sanctuary is about 15 km from Mindo and can easily be added to any birding itinerary. The entrance is well marked and there is a public road for about 5-6 km that is very birdy.

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On the map below, I highlighted in red where we saw the Bronze-winged Parrots. We were also hoping for Blue-fronted Parrotlet but dipped. I have the worst luck with Parrotlets in general!

Milpe

The red line is a public road and you can drive or walk there for free. If you want to enter the sanctuary (you can see the trails on the map) there is a charge of $7. We started by driving down the road. It’s pretty bumpy so you need an SUV or 4×4.

My bird list which includes both roadside and hummingbird feeders.

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End of the line, turn back! DSCN1302

I didn’t get that many photos but here’s a few random birds. IMG_3299a

For me, the highlight was this beautiful Bronze-winged Parrot who was fairly close. IMG_3327a IMG_3332a DSCN1304 IMG_3377a

We headed back to the actual sanctuary where I got caught up in souvenir shopping. One thing you should definitely buy here is the birding guide book for $5 which has a complete checklist and nice pictures of the birds in Milpe & Rio Silanche. There are some nice handicrafts here too.

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A beautiful Collared Trogon DSCN1328

Then it started raining pretty hard so we took shelter at the cafe area and watched the hummingbirds. I decided to practice photographing hummingbirds in flight. DSCN1339

Green-crowned Brilliant DSCN1338

Green-crowned Woodnymph DSCN1333

Velvet Purple Coronet DSCN1342 DSCN1346 DSCN1349 DSCN1355 DSCN1360

White-necked Jacobin DSCN1364

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird DSCN1374 DSCN1377 IMG_3392a

Green-crowned Woodnymph

When the rain let up the feeding table got more active.

Pale-mandibled Aracari – the one on the right is a juvenile being fed by the parent. DSCN1383 DSCN1381 DSCN1340

It was around noon so we went to the Mirador Restaurant (marked on the map above). They don’t take credit cards so we didn’t eat too much but the view and the birds were awesome!

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The Chestnut-tipped Toucanets ruled the roost. When they were eating the smaller birds stayed away. DSCN1398 DSCN1401a

When the Tocanets left, smaller birds like these Blue-grey Tanagers moved in. DSCN1406

Flame-faced Tanager IMG_3462a

Orange-bellied Euphonia IMG_3465a IMG_3467a

We visited Milpe Bird Sanctuary with Alex Luna, one of Mindo’s top birding guides. You can contact him by email ayalu_82@hotmail.com if you would like to organize a trip with him. He speaks English very well, knows all the birds and if you have target birds, he will do all he can to make sure you see them (though he can’t do anything about the weather)!

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Mindo’s Waterfall Trail

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Tara

The road that goes up into the hills is actually called San Lorenzo Road but it is also called the Waterfall Trail because of the hikes in the area to various waterfalls. There is also a zipline company operating here. You can walk from Mindo town if you are fit and keen, otherwise a taxi can drop you at the birding place and you can walk down the hill. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of the drop off place but there is a fork from the side of the road about 2-3km up the hill leading to a farm.

We birded this area twice. The first day was with one of the best bird guides in Mindo – Alex Luna. The second day we went back on our own as Alex was booked that day to try again for Rose-faced Parrots.

The weather plays a huge part in how lucky you will get. So you can imagine I wasn’t thrilled with this kind of fog!

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This is the entrance to San Lorenzo Road. Keep driving a few km, look for a fork leading to a farm on your right, then jump out and start birding. DSCN1287 DSCN1289 DSCN1290

Here’s some shots from Day 1. Alex tried his best but the weather was working against us. We did get some Red-billed Parrots, Bronze-winged Parrots, Collared Aracari, Choco Toucan and some beautiful Tanagers but the photos didn’t come out.

Day 1 Bird List

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Here’s some shots from Day 2. This time the weather was slightly better, the fog lifted earlier and we hung around until 9:30. The Rose-faced Parrots finally did show up but it was closer to 9am when they did and they hung around quite a while so we got to spend some quality time watching them. We also saw Red-billed Parrots, a quick fly-by of Maroon-tailed Parakeets and a lot more! I tried to keep the photos together but we were using 2 cameras – a Canon 60D & a Nikon Coolpix P900 (the one with 83x zoom).

Day 2 Bird List

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This is Alex Luna, the wonderful birding guide in Mindo. You can contact him by email ayalu_82@hotmail.com if you would like to organize a trip with him. He speaks English very well, knows all the birds and if you have target birds, he will do all he can to make sure you see them (though he can’t do anything about the weather)!