Southern Ecuador 18 Feb - 5 March 2017 

16 days in Tumbesian Heaven. Southern Ecuador is an outstanding destination for its bountiful endemics nestled in a spectacular landscape. This tour visits 8 endemic bird areas with an excellent chance of seeing over 100 endemics, over 50 of them in Tumbesia alone, the richest Endemic Bird Area in the world. With the inclusion of the temperate and elfin forests of Cajanuma and Tapichalaca and the verdant foothills of Buenaventura and Bombuscaro, our birdlist is unbeatable!
 

This new itinerary for Southern Ecuador features the Orange-throated Tanager at Cabanas Yankuam. Formerly known from a difficult site in Northern Peru, this is now easily seen here. We also feature 3 nights at the wonderful Urraca Lodge at Jorupe reserve near the Peruvian border in SW Loja province. Named for the snappy and charismatic White-tailed Jay, a Tumbesian endemic, this lodge is located in the lower part of the 2000ha reserve. We continue to stay at the Umbrellabird Lodge at Buenaventura and at Casa Simpson at Tapichalaca reserves to allow us easy access to prime forest and bird habitat. This itinerary assures a more productive and comfortable birding experience throughout the tour in addition to contributing to the Jocotoco Foundation, the most effective bird conservation organization in Ecuador.
Copalinga lodge serves us upper Amazonian and eastern Andean endemics. We wind up with a visit to Yunguilla reserve for the Pale-headed Brush-Finch and near Cuenca for an invigorating survey of paramo specialties in Cajas. Tour starts and ends in Guayaquil. Remember, we only count birding days so the trip including international travel is 18 days total. 

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