Ecuador’s Finest Bird Photography Workshop

IMPORTANT DETAILS

Day 1

Your driver will greet you at the airport upon your arrival in Quito and take you to our hotel for the night, a historic colonial building from the seventeenth century.

We’ll have a group dinner where we can get to know each other and talk about the exciting days to come. Enjoy a restful night, and get ready to start photographing in the morning!

Feel free to arrive early and join in on an optional excurion spending time exploring Quito’s city center, one of the best-preserved in the Americas. The city boasts South America’s largest market, educational tours in many languages, and plenty of opportunities to try local cuisine. Some of the best sites include:

• Plaza San Francisco and the Church and Convent of St. Francis
• Casa Gangotena (a recently restored historic mansion and boutique hotel)
• Carondelet Palace (the seat of government of the Republic of Ecuador)
• Basilica del Voto Nacional (the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas)
• The Metropolitan Cathedral (one of the oldest and largest Roman Catholic cathedrals)
• Gold leaf interior of the Church of the Society of Jesus
• Church of San Francisco, Church of El Sagrario and Church of Santo Domingo

 
Time to get some rest as we begin a very busy photography schedule starting tomorrow.

Day 2

We will meet for breakfast early and take a beautiful drive through the mountains, journeying from 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) elevation to 6,000 feet (1,800 meters). As we descend the mountain pass you will witness two ecosystems collide as the vegetation flourishes and the rainforest begins.

As we arrive at our first lodge located on a ridge in the heart of the Mindo area we will set up immediately and begin capturing beautiful images of some of the bird species that visit this lodge.

Mid-day we will move down in altitude to our next lodge for the remainder of the day. We will continue photographing birds at this location and you will notice different species due to the altitude change.

Some of the birds found at the two lodges we visit today:

As the day comes to a close, we will settle in to our homebase in the Mindo area, a private ecological reserve spanning over 120 hectares of protected Andean cloud forest, bordering the Mindo‑Nambillo Protected Forest. This is one of Ecuador’s richest regions in biodiversity, and our home for the next 6 nights.

Known as one of the world’s top birding hot spots, the reserve has logged over 320–400 bird species including dozens of hummingbird species.

Hummingbird feeders attract up to 20 species in a single day, such as the Violet‑tailed Sylph, Velvet‑purple Coronet, Booted Racket‑tail, Brown Inca, Green‑crowned Brilliant, and more while other avian highlights include Tanagers, Masked Trogon, Cloud-forest Pygmy Owl, Club‑winged Manakin, and tropical analogues like dove and motmot species.

Day 3

Today we travel from our comfortable lodge, and explore the Tandayapa cloud forest.

The Tandayapa Cloud Forest, nestled in the high Andes of northwestern Ecuador, lies within the lush Tandayapa Valley—a globally recognized hotspot for biodiversity, especially birdlife. This region offers pristine cloud-forest immersion teeming with orchids, moss-laden trees, and a symphony of hummingbirds. With over 300 bird species recorded, including iconic species like Quetzals, Toucan Barbet and large flocks of tanagers our hopes are high for a very productive day.

We will visit 3 lodges in the Tandayapa area today, and hope to photograph many of the following species:

At the end of the day, we will return to our lodge and enjoy a nice dinner and get some rest before another busy day tomororrow.

Day 4

After breakfast today, we will take a day trip to the Mashpi Amagusa Reserve, one of the best birding preserves in the world. The diversity of birds and abundance of colorful tanagers at Amagusa are absolutely unparalleled.

Mashpi Amagusa is a private reserve covering roughly 130 hectares (320 acres), situated adjacent to the official Mashpi-Pachijal Important Bird Area (IBA), and borders the better-known Mashpi Lodge area. Its elevation ranges from about 750 m to 1,700 m above sea level. Visitors regularly log over 150 species on property, including numerous Chocó endemics such as the Moss‑backed Tanager, Flame‑faced Tanager, Glistening‑green Tanager, Black‑chinned Mountain‑Tanager, Toucan Barbet, Golden‑naped Tanager, and Orange‑bellied Euphonia, among others.

Their hummingbird garden repeatedly attracts sought-after species like Empress Brilliant, Velvet‑purple Coronet, Violet‑tailed Sylph, Brown Inca, Purple‑bibbed Whitetip, and White‑whiskered Hermit.

Some of the species we hope to photograph at Amagusa:

After lunch we will visit another lodge close to Amagusa, to create some different images, and explore a few new species.

Later in the afternoon we will then photograph the Cock-of-the-Rock. Our short hike will take us to a remote lek where these shy birds can be found.

The Andean Cock-of-the-rock is one of the most iconic and flamboyant birds in Ecuador—and all of South America. Its brilliant colors, elaborate mating displays, and preference for cloud forest habitats make it a must-see for birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts visiting the Andes.

One of the most spectacular natural events in Ecuadorian birding is witnessing the Cock-of-the-rock lek—a communal display area where males gather to compete for female attention. Lekking typically happens at dawn or late afternoon in semi-open forest patches. Males perform loud calls, wing-flapping, bowing, and hopping displays. Their calls are harsh, mechanical-sounding squawks and grunts as the females visit the lek to assess potential mates.

Today is an extremely full day of photography. We will return to our home lodge for dinner, and get ready for another fun filled day tomorrow.

Day 5

Today we visit 3 different birding hot-spots in the Chocó‑Andean cloud forest.

Our first sanctuary is a renowned birding haven in Ecuador’s Chocó‑Andean foothills. This sanctuary protects 100–250 acres of primary and regenerating montane evergreen forest at 1,020–1,150 m (3,350–3,770 ft) elevation.

Signature species include Chocó Toucan, Plumbeous Forest-Falcon, Rose-faced Parrot, Esmeraldas Antbird, Yellow-green Tanager, Chocó Trogon, and Moss-backed Tanager. Within the reserve over 250 bird species have been recorded, while we typically see 30–50 species during our stay.

Our second location of the day is a beloved birding spot and nature sanctuary nestled just outside Mindo, Ecuador. This location including hummingbirds, tanagers, toucans, aracaris, and other endemic forest species. While a small preserve, we see many species in a short time.

After lunch, we will continue to our final location for the day which just openned a few years ago. Our furthest location to the northwest, this location displays different species of hummingbird, tanagers, toucans as well as parrots.

Another busy day completed, and we head back to our lodge for the the night.

Days 6 to 7

The next two days we devote to Hummingbird photography at the lodge. We will use two different techniques, Multi-flash and natural light. We wil use two advanced multi-flash setups to help us freeze these notoriously fast birds in their tracks. We will be guiding you in the cutting-edge, state-of-the-art techniques used to photograph hummingbirds. These tiny birds can flap their wings up to 80 times a second, which can present quite the challenge for a photographer.

We have perfected our hummingbird photography setup by using a series of seven to eight flashes synchronized by wireless radio transmitters. The multi-flash technique creates a strobe effect and freezes hummingbird wings in their tracks. The effect is very impressive; you will notice details in your photos which would be impossible to observe in real life.

In addition to the hummingbird photography each day, we will also spend time photographing the rare Long‑wattled Umbrellabird, which has an on‑site lek and photography hide at the lodge. This will give us the opportunite to photograph birds that tend to be secretive and prefer more seculded areas.

Day 8

This morning, we’ll leave our lodge and head south, gaining altitude as we travel to a very remote reserve. As our altitude climbs, our species list changes to include a whole new range of hummingbirds — including the famous Sword-billed hummingbird, the only bird in the world with a beak longer than its body.

As the day comes to a close, we’ll pack up our gear and head back to comfortable hotel outside of Quito for the night.

Day 9

Today we visit a site located in the Antisana Ecological Reserve region of Ecuador, about southeast of Quito. The reserve sits at a high elevation (around 3,300 meters or 10,800 feet), overlooking a scenic Andean valley.

We are here to photograph one of the most iconic and rare bird species in South America, the Andean Condor.

Our location strategically placed near cliffs where condors regularly roost in their natural habitat, giving photographers a good chance to photograph them soaring above the valley, especially in the morning.

In addition to condors, the area offers sweeping views of the Antisana Volcano as well as some other species we might see:

• Carunculated caracara
• Black-chested buzzard-eagle
• Variable hawk
• Giant hummingbird
• Andean lapwing
• Cinereous harrier
• Shining Sunbeam

The feeders near the lodge attract several hummingbird species, while the open páramo environment makes it easy to spot raptors and other high-altitude birds.

After lunch, we will continue to the Chakana Reserve, formally Antisanilla Reserve, home to rare Páramo specialists such as the Ecuadorian Hillstar (a tiny hummingbird with brilliant white chest and purple head)

• Ecuadorian Hillstar
• Shining Sunbeam
• Giant Hummingbird
• Black‑chested Buzzard‑Eagle
• Aplomado Falcon

If we are lucky, we may spot the elusive Andean bear roaming the paramo slopes.
Another full day of photography. As late afternoon comes, we will return to our comfortable hotel for the night.

Day 10

We will set out early from the hotel for a beautiful drive over Papallacta pass peaking out at 3,300m (10,800ft) in the mountains. Keep your eye out for Andean Foxes and Spectacle Bears.
 
We will descend 500m (1650ft) to our photo location for the day. Nestled at 2,700m (8,860ft) on Ecuador’s eastern Andes slopes in the cloud-forest is a top-tier destination for birding enthusiasts. The birdlife is abundant with roughly 200 species in the area.

Regular sightings include Turquoise Jay, Gray‑breasted Mountain‑Toucan, Torrent Ducks, Andean Guan, and various tanagers and finches: Lacrimose, Hooded, Buff‑breasted and Slaty Brush‑Finches.
 
We will spend the morning and afternoon here photographing the local birds.

After this long day, we will return to our hotel for the night.

Day 11

On the final day of the workshop, we will have breakfast, then we will say our goodbyes and begin the journey home — or onto the next adventure.

Many flights depart Quito at midnight, and many guests opt to get a little sleep on the night of Day 10 at the hotel, and then head to the airport for the journey home around 10pm.

If you have extra time afterwards, Ecuador offers an abundance of activities to enjoy:

• The historic center of Quito is lined with captivating architecture, including churches, chapels, monasteries, convents, museums, and colonial plazas. The Quito city center was one of the very first UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites, and remains one of the largest, best-preserved historic centers in the Americas.
• A visit to the Galapagos Islands provides exciting opportunities to walk along sandy beaches, watch sea lions and tortoises, snorkel with sharks, and explore the lush island landscapes that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
• Avid birdwatchers will enjoy the myriad colorful birds and amazing wildlife species along the Amazon River in Ecuador. In the jungle habitat of the Amazon, you can set off on birding hikes, canoe trips, and nighttime excursions, and even go fishing for piranhas!