Ecuador Birds with Bob Harvey

Did you know that 1 out of every 5 bird species lives in or passes through Ecuador (which is slightly larger than Colorado)?  It is the fourth highest nation in the world for bird diversity, with over 1,500 species.  And, Ecuador hosts a quarter of the world’s cloud forests.

Years ago, we knew all of that, but didn’t take any photography groups to photograph birds.  Then, the conservation community, local landowners, and birders joined to embrace tourism to conserve critical habitat.  Landowners leave the forest intact while setting up feeding stations under the guidance of conservation.  Birders and photographers come to see these birds (which had previously been hiding in the forests) and make great images.  The money we leave behind supports the landowners and builds a supportive local tourism economy.  It’s like magic!

So, what’s all the fuss about?  Cock-of-the-rock, golden tanager, golden naped tanager, flame faced tanager, black chinned mountain tanager, beryl-spangled tanager, moss-backed tanager, glistening green tanager, cinnamon flycatcher, Choco toucan, crimsom-rumped toucanet, plate-billed mountain toucan, rufouse-crowned antpitta, golden-headed quetzal, masked trogon, and my personal favorite, the toucan barbet!  And, of course, many more!

And, that’s before the hummingbirds!  So many kinds, so many sizes, so many shapes.  And great names like shining sunbeam, violet-tailed sylph, buff-tailed coronet, sword-billed hummingbird and booted racket-tailed hummingbird!  Do use the link to go to our website and see so many colorful images – and we just posted a few of what you will get to photograph!

Oh, and we have a full flash setup opportunity to photograph hummingbirds in a very controlled situation – we provide the flashes and setup.  There are also reflection pools with feeders hidden at the far end.

We also have a date with some Ecuadorian butterflies, and a number of chances to photograph the cloud forests and their fauna!  And we’ll go see how chocolate is made (yes you can taste).

You will come home with a huge selection of images – some that your friends will think you “embellished” in Photoshop!  You will have learned a lot about cloud forest photography.  And you’ll have a renewed awe for the diversity of nature and the importance of protecting habitat!