The Birding & Hiking Circuit in Ecuador
Trip Report
October 21 – 28, 2008
Author: Anthony Gucciardi
Tour Leader: Dr. Jorge Cruz; San Jorge Eco-Tours
The reason I decided venture to Ecuador was because of the immense number of bird species the country is home to. With Mindo setting the world record in December of 2007, and with a long history of world class birding, Ecuador was the next place to for me to migrate. Although the birds of Ecuador were my main motivation, I also wanted to experience the biodiversity throughout the country; I wanted ample opportunity to see the Amazon, the Rainforest, the high peaks of resident mountains, and also a chance to mingle with the culture. My only problem is that I didn’t know where to begin. My research prior to leaving for Ecuador brought me to a privately owned Hacienda turned Eco-Lodge called San Jorge Eco-Lodges & Botanical Reserves. I was told it was owned by a man named Dr. Jorge Cruz, a veterinarian who was now an avid bird watcher, and also very knowledgeable with Ecuadorian culture and history. I’ve listed a detailed itinerary below, with the bird list to follow.
Day 1, Oct. 21: Flying in on the plane was quite extraordinary, not only to see the Andes from such a height, but also to see cloud formations I had never come across before. As you can imagine, being in the center of the world offers a wide variety of climate conditions, especially in the month I was arriving. The rainy season was just beginning, and I was told to expect rain every day, but that I would also experience days comparable to mid-summer in Canada. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and of course, I had an inkling that I had packed too much in preparation for all these possible weather conditions. I was transported to San Jorge’s main location, located about 25 minutes from La Mariscal Sucre Aeropuerte, just outside of Quito. This Eco-lodge sits about 3000m above sea level in the hills of Pichincha Mountain, and I was glad we were driving away from the city. The traffic is horrendous! They must consider a subway system here for the future; the government run trolley bus is doing a great job, but it does not suffice for the booming local population and tourism in the city. I couldn’t see much this night, the traffic kept us from arriving to the lodge before nightfall, so I was to wait until the next day until my birding began.
Day 2, Oct. 22: The sun rises in Ecuador between 6am and 6:30am, and I was lucky, my first morning was warm and clear, which meant lots of action for my binoculars. My room was located high in the hills, so not only did I have a great view of Quito, I was also able to overlook the property I was staying on. It was beautiful, the reserve used to be a 17th century hacienda, and it really had an Ecuadorian atmosphere. There was a diverse array of flora on the property, over 200 types of plants, with beautiful datura just outside my room. The swordbilled hummingbird was the first I saw…my timing was impeccable and I was so happy to have seen this bird first….what a freak of nature! I met with Dr. Cruz at 7am, at which point we had some breakfast and began the Birding & Hiking circuit. The reserve on which the property is located is part of the 40,000 hectare Bosque Protector Pichincha National Park. We had a long hike through part of the reserve, visiting several waterfalls while talking local Pichincha history. Dr. Cruz also educated me on the ecology of the area, as over 200 native plants reside here, many used locally for their medicinal properties. Dr. Cruz has the eyes of a hawk, and is excellent with his< scope, as we were able to see many species on this first hike. After lunch, we mounted a couple of docile mustang’s resident to San<
Jorge, and took to the high barren plains above the lodge. We rode to a height of 4,000m, taking in spectacular views and stopping to bird watch along the way. After 4 hours of riding in the afternoon, we returned to the lodge for a satisfying meal of tilapia, vegetables and potatoes. Earlier that day, I was shown the organic garden in which the potatoes and vegetables were grown; I think this made the meal even more satisfying. A fire had been prepared in the fireplace in my room while I was finishing dinner, where I returned for my nights sleep.
Day 3, Oct 23: I met with Dr. Cruz once again the next morning, much earlier this time, as we were scheduled to arrive to the cloud forest of Tandayapa at 6am to begin our birding. San Jorge Eco-Lodges was in the process of building a new lodge here, which absolutely blew me away. We hiked uphill for approximately 20 minutes before arriving to a clearing where the lodge was being finished. What a fantastic retreat is; it will perfect for a romantic get-a-way, not to mention a hotspot for birders. We spent the morning on the long trails on the property, taking first a toucan trail that led us to a lower rainforest area that was excellent for those interested in the butterflies and insects of Ecuador. The birds were difficult to spot for me because of the luscious forest we were in, but with Dr. Cruz’s eyes and knowledge, the numbers I gathered here were excellent. There is a spot close to the lodge here which is excellent for hummingbirds; I must have gathered twenty new species within 30 minutes, a wonderful experience. After a lunch prepared on the barbeque (the amenities present in the Tandayapa San Jorge Lodge were very impressive…running water, electricity and gasoline), we drove to the famous nono-mindo road. At this point the rain had begun, but we were in Dr. Cruz’s car, which meant we had shelter, and could stop at the side of the road when we came across new species. The elevation in Tandayapa is lower than that just outside of Quito, so we had warmer weather and many new birds…incomparable to those I’ve seen in Canada….although we did come across a Canadian wobbler that made me so very proud! As sundown approached, we gathered our senses (you can understand how fast the time flies when spotting new birds every couple of minutes) and headed back to the Tandayapa lodge. Although construction was still underway, a room had been prepared for me and I was more than happy to sleep in a place as beautiful as the cloud forest.
Day 4, Oct 24: We rose this morning with birds, which is something I could certainly get used to. After a small twitch overlooking the cloud forest valley, Dr. Cruz and I jumped into the van to head to San Jorge’s next eco-lodge, located in the lower sub-tropical rainforest of Milpe. Milpe is located just outside of Mindo, next to a small town called San Miguel Los Bancos; you can imagine how excited I was for this area. Dr.
Cruz was almost more excited than I was, which had been a recurring theme since we had begun. He amazed me at times, with tireless explanations of the surrounding fauna and a true passion for the birds of his country. Once we arrived to Milpe, I knew I had made a good decision to stay with San Jorge, as this lodge was more beautiful then I had anticipated. My room overlooked the lower rainforest valley, and the sounds of the jungle were very welcoming. After unloading my things and a delicious breakfast in the outdoor style restaurant, Dr. Cruz and I commenced our ventures on the Birding & Hiking Circuit. We hiked down into the valley, and I was amazed by how luscious this area was in comparison to the other two locations connected with San Jorge. As we worked tirelessly with our binoculars, we came across 7 out of the 11 natural waterfalls that were resident to this property. Absolutely astounding. We had a tranquil lunch by one of the waterfalls, I think Dr. Cruz called this one San Claudio waterfalls (named after his son), before continuing on with our rainforest twitch. We came across fruits that had fallen from the canopy above which I had never seen before. With the discretion of Dr. Cruz (by this point I had complete trust in him), we tasted several of the fruits we came across, most of which were foreign to me but delicious none the less! We returned to the lodge for dinner, where we sat amongst the warm environment in the wonderful hut-like restaurant. Gustavo played us traditional northern songs on the accordion 
while Dr. Cruz told me about his life here in Ecuador. One notable event for dinner time was the sighting of Tyra’s at the banana feeders next to the restaurant. A family of three was feeding while we quietly observed. Tyra’s are small mammals; they look to be a type of weasel, but almost monkey like. Taxonomically they were very hard to place but I got some excellent photos none-the-less. I felt very fortunate to have fallen in with San Jorge, and could not wait to begin birding the next day, as we were planning to visit a hilltop observatory deck which overlooked the canopies of the whole property.
Day 5, Oct 25: I awoke to a delicious breakfast today, beginning with bananas and pineapples grown in an organic garden on the property, and followed with delicious fried eggs and a traditional oatmeal tea customary in most households in Ecuador. Dr. Cruz took me upto the observatory deck on the hilltop, where I indeed had a 360 degree view of the surrounding rainforest. From 6:30am to 9:30am, we recorded approximately 52 species of birds; it was an excellent morning for birding. On our way back, we stopped several times in some of the areas of the forest that were much more luscious than others. Dr. Cruz outlined some extremely good examples of parasitism, and emphasized the training he was giving his workers in terms of eco-conservation in the area. Although the workers don’t know very much English, I could tell the motives were genuine, maintenance of the property was their lives, and they were working not only for their lives, but for the life of the surrounding forest. Again the happiness in my decision was re-affirmed. I had the afternoon free, as it was raining which made birding slightly more difficult. It was fine though, I hadn’t realized how tired the hiking had made me, so I read Alice in Wonderland, one of the many books offered in my bedroom. That night dinner was delicious…we had yet another meal prepared by Irena, Dr. Cruz’s wife, it was as traditional as I could have asked for, and speaking with her was wonderful, as she speaks a little bit of English, but just enough to get the message across. When darkness hit, I went on a night hike with Dr. Cruz and Gustavo, observing some nocturnal creatures I had only studied in text books, and some I never knew existed. What a great experience, very different from birding, but a unique education none-the-less.
Day 6, Oct 26: After breakfast, we hopped back in Dr. Cruz’s van and ventured south-east, to the eastern slopes of the Andes. We spent the morning in Cuyuja, driving upto 4,000m. It was extremely cold at this height, but very interesting to see the flora change as we winded through the mountains. We also came across the hot springs of Papallacta. This was a treat; I put on my bathing suit and jumped right in, one of the most warming and cleansing baths I’ve ever had. I will never forget this hot bath, right in he middle of the mountains with water directly from the mountains. We birded all day, stopping at different altitudes to hike, and finally ending up in a little town called Baeza. We were scheduled to visit yet another of San Jorge’s properties in Cosanga the next day, located deep in the Amazon. In Baeza, I was introduced to several of the Doctors friends, one of which housed us for the night and brought us to a local Pizzeria owned by a Dutchman named Cous. If you are ever in Baeza, be sure to visit the local Pizzeria; it was built by the owner just two years previously, and has a unique atmosphere with pizza that will cure any ailment. We had a nice tour around the new part of Baeza that evening before bed.
Day 7, Oct 27: My last day of birding! (sniff, sniff). It was an early morning for us in Baeza; we began at 5am to arrive at Antisana ecological reserve just outside of Baeza. Here we had breakfast overlooking the Amazon during sunrise. This was one of the most beautiful sites of my trip, able to see all the way to Brazil….well not actually, but this is how far the Amazon stretches, it was breathtaking. We birded for a couple of hours through the reserve, spotting 40 new species that morning. The number isn’t as staggering from that on the hilltop in Milpe, but it was another excellent morning for birding. Along the route to San Jorge Cosanga, we came across some locals who had very large properties. For just two dollars we were able to hike through some private Amazon in these properties. I envy the lives of these people, and felt completely safe with Dr. Cruz as my guide; it was as if he had met these people before, and continued to educate me on the ecology of this area and the way it differed from the other properties. The vercality of the Andes through Ecuador offers a lot of diversity in each region. We had gone from winter jackets the day before at 4,000m to shorts and a t-shirts that afternoon.
We caught a great day in the Amazon; a very tropical experience! Arriving to Cosanga was exciting. This was the biggest of the San Jorge Eco-Tour properties, allowing us to hike until daylight came to an end. Another excellent area for birding….but I’m sure this can be said about much of Ecuador. Dr. Cruz told me about his plans for this property; he was planning to begin construction on another lodge overlooking the Amazon canopy, which meant his Birding & Hiking tour would offer professional birders the ultimate birding experience in Ecuador. From here we jumped back into the van to return back to the lodge just outside of Quito. I couldn’t help reminiscing on my trip so far, and was jealous of Dr. Cruz that Ecuador was the reality of his life.
Day 8, Oct 28: What fate I had the next morning, awaking again to a swordbilled feeding from the Datura just outside my door. Of course I was disappointed that the van was waiting to take me to the airport, but I got more out of this trip than I expected. Early morning in Quito is a beautiful site, especially when seeing it from 3,000m above sea level. Again it was the cloud formations that astounded me, as they did throughout the whole trip, especially in the cloud forests of Tandayapa. I thank San Jorge Eco-Tours & Botanical Reserves with all my heart, and hope this report will bring others to experience The Birding and Hiking Circuit in Ecuador.