DAY ONE

Fly London to Quito via Amsterdam with KLM – local airport options eg Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle, Norwich and London. Overnight at Puembo Birding garden, close to the airport.

DAY TWO

We take the road south-east from Quito into the Andes and make our first birding stop today att Papallacta, in the paramo at around 4000m elevation. The air is thin here but we use a driveable track to access some good birding spots with walking kept to a minimum, starting by searching the flowering shrubs for the near-endemic Ecuadorian Hillstar and glorious Rainbow-bearded Thornbill. There are relatively few birds at this altitude but they are good ones, and we should see Many-striped Canastero, Andean Tit-spinetail, Cinereous Conebill and Plumbeous Sierra-finch. The walk to look for the Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe is a little longer, but this will be a rare chance to see this grouse-like inhabitant of the high paramo. After a mornings birding, we start the descent to around 1500m with lunch en route, and aim to arrive at Wild Sumaco Lodge in the Andean eastern slope foothills in the afternoon. Overnight Wild Sumaco Lodge.

DAYS THREE & FOUR

We now have two full days exploring the forests around Wild Sumaco, in an area influenced by the avifauna of both the Amazon lowlands and the Andes themselves. This creates a huge diversity, and we can expect some truly spectacular birding here. Territories for Yellow-throated Spadebill and Grey-tailed Piha, two scarce and localised foothill specialists, exist within the lodge grounds while both Scarlet-breasted and Fiery-throated Fruuiteaters can be found, and antpitta feeding stations regularly attract Ochre-breasted Antpitta, and occasionally the rarer Plain-backed Antpitta. Ecuadorian Tyrannulet, Marble-faced Bristle-tyrant, Large-headed Flatbill and the stunning Black and White Tody-flycatcher head up the small flycatchers and larger fayre include Golden-collared Toucanet and Channel-billed Toucan. Furnarids are well represented in these cooler upland forests where mosses, vines and bromeliads create perfect foraging. Black-billed Treehunter, Dusky Spinetail and various foliage-gleaners might be seen. Hummingbirds are something of a speciality of Ecuador and while this trip doesn’t quite offer the numbers of our Andes tour, there are still a lot to see! Napo Sabrewing, Black-throated Brilliant, Wire-crested Thorntail, Gould’s Jewelfront, Golden-tailed Sapphire, Ecuadorian Piedtail and Gorgeted Woodstar are just some of the deliciously-named hummers of offer. Finally, Wild Sumaco is also very good for owls and we will try after dusk on both evenings for Band-bellied Owl, Tropical Screech Owl, Foothill Screech Owl and Rufescent Screech Owl.

Overnights Wild Sumaco Lodge.

DAY FIVE

Today we head further down towards the lowlands, stopping to birdwatch at a reserve en route before we reach the Amazonian gateway town of Coca. This is a private community reserve called Amarun Paccha where a lek of Andean Cock-of-Rock exists, and sometimes a Band-bellied Owl can be seen in its day roost. There are also hummingbird feeders where we have chances for some new species, plus fruit for tanagers. Grey-cowled Wood-Rail is Another possibility at this location. We then continue on to Limoncocha, where we aim to arrive for lunch before trying in the afternoon for White-lored Antpitta, which comes to a feeding station here. If time permits we can also consider a boat trip around the lagoon here for a taste of our first Amazonian lowland waterbirds, before our return to Coca for a good nights rest there ready for our departure into the Amazon tomorrow. Overnight Coca.

DAY SIX

We meet the crew from Sani lodge down at the pier on the Napo river, and join their fast, motorised canoe (with canopy cover) for a ride down the river to the lodge. The time taken depends on the water level, which varies dramatically day to day! It normally takes around two hours and we can expect to see a few common waterbirds along the journey. On arrival at Sani, we take a short walk along a boardwalk into the forest before climbing into three-man dugout canoes to be paddled slowly through the flooded varzea forest to the lagoon. Once out in the open we have the chance to see our first Hoatzins, climbing at eye level in the waterside trees and looking as though they’ve just stepped out of prehistory! The lodge is set at the edge of the lagoon in a stunning location, and we will have a short welcome meeting before finding our cabins, with oropendolas, parakeets, toucans and woodpeckers distracting us as we go! In the afternoon, we board the canoes again and glide quietly into the flooded forest to look for some very special birds – this is one of the only places where you have a realistic chance to see Cocha Antshrike, but there are Zigzag Heron and Orange-crowned Manakin here too. Black Caiman hide below the surface and as dusk falls around the lagoon, the strange Boat-billed Herons begin to emerge. Overnight Sani Lodge.

DAY SEVEN

We have a full day exploring close to the lodge today, starting with a morning birding the network of trails that radiate out into the terra firme forest nearby. Wire-tailed Manakin is one of the special birds that can be found here but Dusky-capped Greenlet, Black-faced Dacnis, Brown Jacamar, Dusky-billed Parrotlet (and we saw the super-rare Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet here in 2023!), Lettered Aracari, Black-spotted Bare-eye and Plumbeous Antbird are some of the species we might see. White-throated Toucans occasionally pop into the lodge feeding stations while Crested Oropendolas are constantly coming and going to their spectacular nests which hang in the trees all around the lodge grounds. In the afternoon we have a chance to try again for the Cocha Antshrike if we missed it yesterday, but then we head into the forest again and to a spectacular treetop viewing tower that gives us views across the rainforest canopy. Here we will spend a couple of hours in the cool of the late afternoon scanning for birds perching in the tops of the trees – Olive Oropendola, Ivory-billed Aracari and various parrots could well be expected. The tower is in the canopy of a huge capoc tree and so many birds also come to perch right in front of us such as White-necked Puffbird, Cream-coloured Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Dacnis, Opal-rumped Tanager, Pink-throated Becard, Piratic Flycatcher and White-necked Jacobin. Careful scanning of the very tops of the surrounding trees might, if we are lucky, produce a sighting of the tricky White-browed Purpletuft. We head back to the lodge via the lagoon, where we will enjoy more antics of the Hoatzins and Boat-billed Herons, kingfisher, egrets and caiman as the sun sets.

DAY EIGHT

Today is a real birding highlight as we take to the Napo River and head off to bird one of the large forested islands which amazingly are home to a number of species which are only likely to be found in such habitats. We take a small boat so we can disembark onto the sandy shore more easily, and can look out for Ringed Kingfisher, Pied Plover, Greater Yellowlegs and other waterbirds along the route. The Napo River islands are covered in a combination of fairly open bushy scrub and taller trees, but it is really the scrub which is home to most of the really special birds. We will look for Oriole Blackbird, Orange-headed Tanager, Olive-spotted Hummingbird, Grey-breasted, White-bellied and the rare Parker’s Spinetail, Fuscous Flycatcher, River Tyrannulet, Caqueta Seedeater, Spot-breasted Woodpecker and Yellow-browed Tody-flycatcher. Perhaps the highlight would be a glimpse of the elusive Castelnau’s Antshrike, a denizen of the deepest thickets of these islands and with a fragmented and restricted range. We should also see several Ladder-tailed Nightjars, which flush from the thickets as we wander through but are always tricky to spot on the ground before they see you! It’s likely to be hot and humid out on the river islands so we head back in time for lunch and a bit of time for relaxation before working some easy trails in the afternoon for any species we might have missed so far. Overnight Sani Lodge.

DAY NINE

Another special morning is in store as we visit the numerous clay licks withing this part of the Yasuni National Park. There are three accessible ones with different parrot species coming to each. The first involves waiting quietly in a large open concrete hide with bench seating, for macaws and other species to come down to the clay around a small pool deep inside the forest. Scarlet Macaws are the main attraction here but they are shy and often wait for the smaller species to come down first, such as Dusky-billed Parrotlet. Sometimes a Striated Ant-thrush territory can be in the forest close by here as well. Next we return to the river and visit a small indigenous community to visit a special tree where numerous macaws come to feed on the bark.. Blue and Yellow Macaw is the most spectacular visitor but we should also see Chestnut-bellied Macaw in good numbers too. The woodland around can produce Scarlet-crowned Barbet, Long-billed Starthroat and more chances for one or two jacamars plus maybe a raptor or two as the day warms up. Finally we return to the river for the final clay lick which is viewed from the boat. At this one hundreds of parrots such as Dusky-headed Parakeet, Mealy Amazon and Yellow-crowned Parrot jostle for position in the treetops before heading down to the cliff face for clay. All in all a very exciting morning and all before lunch! We return to the lodge and collect our gear then, before transferring further on down the Napo River to our base for the next three nights at Napo Wildlife Centre.

DAY TEN & ELEVEN

We have two full days here in the very heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon at another comfortable lodge which has some great facilities for birding. Our days will be split between various activities, such as walking some of the terra firme forest trails to search for some of the harder antbirds (Lunulated Antbird, White-plumed Antbird, Silvered Antbird and Dot-backed Antbird), climbing a canopy tower to look for birds of the upper elevations of the forest such as aracaris, barbets, cotingas and toucans, to leisurely boat rides among quiet backwaters and oxbow lakes to look for waterbirds and passerines of the aquatic fringe habitats. Collared Puffbird, Brown Nunlet, Ringed Woodpecker and Pavonine Quetzal are just some amazonian species we might expect to find at Napo, and of course we will target those species which we haven’t already connected with during our time at Sani. Mammals are also a key feature and Golden-mantled Tamarin Monkey is a speciality here, sometimes being seen from the canopy tower, while Giant Otter is often seen along the nearby river systems. We will be assigned a local guide at Napo who will know intimately which species are showing up at which locations at this particular moment – vital to help us best manage our time in this fantastic place. Overnights at Napo Wildlife Centre.

DAY TWELVE

This morning we have to leave early in order to make the long journey back down the Napo River, which can take between 3-4 hrs depending on the height of the water. We arrive back in Coca where a minibus will be waiting to take us to the airport a few minutes drive away, and here we will catch an internal flight back up to Quito. On arrival there, we will be met by another vehicle and drive to head for a couple of hours birding in the surrounding mountains, as we will have five hours before we need to be back at the airport again for the late evening flight home. This will give us a second bite at the cherry for any species we may have missed at Papallacta on day two, in particular the Ecuadorian Hillstar. We then fly overnight back to Amsterdam with KLM.

DAY THIRTEEN

Fly Amsterdam to UK local airports where the tour will conclude.

WHATS INCLUDED

Ecuador Amazon Annotated Checklist

The above is a species list from Ashley’s recce to the region in December 2023. The main tour will visit slightly different areas, but the species encountered will be broadly similar and so it gives a flavour of what to expect.