(gallery under construction)
In November/December 2011 I went on the Tropical Birding Andes Introtour. This was a tour designed for those new to Ecuadorian and/or South American birding which suited me very well as this was my first trip to mainland South America following on from my Galapagos Cruise tour.
The tour was based around the Tandayapa Bird Lodge, which is only a short drive from Quito, from where various day excursions were made. The lodge is set in a marvellous position overlooking the Tandayapa Valley and the terrace is constantly buzzing with hummingbirds. We also visited the Yanacocha Reserve near Quito and finally a couple of days to the higher areas of the Antisana Reserve and the Papallacta Pass.
After the Galapagos the birding here was more difficult and photographically less rewarding. The Tandayapa Valley and the Mindo areas are in what are termed 'cloud forests' and they certainly lived up to their name. The forests were dark, damp and misty and sometimes the visibility was awful. Often the birding was disappointing - you knew there were some stunning, beautiful, colourful birds there to be seen but the views were too often dark, brief and partly concealed. The Yanacocha and Antisana areas were much more open and easier to work. Heavy rain spoiled the days at Antisana and Papallacta. Nevertheless, we saw some great birds got a few decent photographs and generally had a good time in excellent company. The highlight of the trip was the morning at the Paz de las Aves where we saw the leking Andean Cock-of-the-rocks displaying and watched in amazement as Angel called in three species of Antpitta.
Many thanks to Andres Vasquez of Tropical Birding for his skill and patience. See http://www.tropicalbirding.com/2011/12/22/trip-report-ecuador-the-andes-introtour-nov-2011-by-tropical-birding/ for the trip report.