2-Day Bird Photography Tour in Eastern Ecuador with Antisana

Departure is at 5:45 am as we head to the open grasslands surrounding the enormous Antisana Volcano. This is often voted the favourite site of the tour by many travellers because of its wonderful surroundings and excellent photography opportunities. The towering peak of Antisana Volcano is itself impressive, with a large snow-covered summit and dramatic rocky sides.

The páramo grassland is interspersed with rocky outcrops and scenic high Andean lakes dotted with high-altitude waterfowl. Indeed, the scenery itself may be our greatest photographic asset. Aside from these breathtaking Andean scenes, the upper páramo is carpeted with Carunculated Caracaras, a striking pied raptor that occurs here in impressive numbers. Black-faced Ibis patrol these high plains, as do Andean Lapwings and large flocks of Andean Gulls. Antisana Volcano is also home to the impressive Andean Condor.

After Antisana, we will have lunch at Tambo Condor, where some high-altitude hummingbirds will join us. From the páramo, we will drive to Quijos Valley and stay at San Isidro Andean Reserve and Lodge, known for having one of the finest cuisines of the country and as the home of the famous Mystery Owl. After dinner, we will try to get some good shots of this unique bird.

Meals included: lunch and dinner.

We begin our journey at 6 am at the bug traps, photographing tanagers, caciques, jays, hummingbirds, and flycatchers. At 7:30 am, we visit a White-bellied Antpitta feeder station, and after this visit, we will have a delicious breakfast.

Then, we will drive to La Brisa to add more hummingbirds to our gallery until about noon. Next, we go to Guango Lodge, which has a varied set of feeders that attract dozens of hummingbirds, including such extravagant species as the "cartoonesque" Sword-billed Hummingbird, the dapper black-and-white Collared Inca, the aggressive Chestnut-breasted Coronet, the tiny White-bellied Woodstar, and the sublime Tourmaline Sunangel.

The hummingbird feeders are also a target for other local birds, most notably the indigo-blue Masked Flowerpiercer, which will make a tempting subject for our cameras. The temperate forest that overhangs this comfortable Andean lodge also attracts passing flocks of birds, some of which can be remarkably confiding and photogenic, including the cerulean-blue Turquoise Jay. We will enjoy lunch here at Guango.

After lunch, we will drive to Quito, where we will arrive at about 5 pm.

Meals included: breakfast and lunch.