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.
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!
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.
End of the line, turn back!
I didn’t get that many photos but here’s a few random birds.
For me, the highlight was this beautiful Bronze-winged Parrot who was fairly close.
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.
A beautiful Collared Trogon
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.
Green-crowned Brilliant
Green-crowned Woodnymph 
Velvet Purple Coronet 
White-necked Jacobin 
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird 
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. 
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!
The Chestnut-tipped Toucanets ruled the roost. When they were eating the smaller birds stayed away.
When the Tocanets left, smaller birds like these Blue-grey Tanagers moved in.
Flame-faced Tanager 
Orange-bellied Euphonia 
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)!
