Murray Cooper, born in South Africa, has been living in the Ecuadorian cloud-forest since 1991. Murray is a wildlife photographer who specializes in birds and macro subjects. He also works in conservation of the Choco rainforest for l0 years, where he is one of the co-founders of the 21 000 acre Los Cedros Reserve.
His work is represented by International Photo Agencies and has been published on all continents; he has published four wildlife books, and is recently working on “The Birds of the Tropical Andes” with international publishers. He recently received a highly commended in the Royal Geographic Society photo competition.
BIRD WATCHING AND PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR IN MINDO VALLEY WITH MURRAY COOPER
4 Day - Itinerary
Mindo Valley
During the tour we do a mix between birds and hummingbirds, some macro of plants and insects, incredible landscapes and all of the most important Birds of the area.
Mindo valley is one of the best known birding localities in Ecuador, with an impressive bird list of 558 species in less then ten square km.
Highlights include andean cock-of-the rock, club-winged manakin, sunbittern, long watteled umbrellabird, Toucan Barbet, pale-mandibled aracari, glistening-green tanager, violet-tailed sylph, Wattled guan, Chestnut-Mandibled Toucan, Scaled Fruiteater, Nariño Tapaculo, Golden-headed Quetzal, and more than 51 species of tanagers and 49 species of hummingbirds, among others.
Mindo has become one of the most famous places for bird watching for several reasons. Primarily, its citizens have been dedicated to conserving their forest and developing tourism for more than two decades. In addition, Mindo is part of the bioregion “Chocó,” which is one of the world´s richest biogeographic areas. This area supports the largest number of restricted-range birds: over 50 endemic species, 22 northern migrants, 18 critically endangered and 8 threatened species.
Mindo Valley is surrounded by mountains which are drained by several rivers that flow into the basin. The valley lies at elevations between 1000 and 2000 meters, which is the range of elevation that is scientifically shown to contain the highest ornithological diversity in Ecuador. A variety of ecological niches exist here, in a compact area of only 10 km².
Our agency is focused on supporting the conservation process by working with local people to encourage them to keep conserving the forests and to save the habitat of the birds. Our program´s specialty is to photograph and highlight the birds while also observing the other birds which share its habitat.
Our guide for the area of Mindo beside the photographer is one of the first guides of Mindo and one of the pioneers of the conservation process and the development of tourism in the area.
Day 1 Mindo Arrive in the afternoon to Mindo Valley, we will walk looking for the beautiful Long-wattled Umbrellabird and other species such as Giant and Scaled Antpitta, Choco Toucan, Scaled Fruiteater, Tanager-Finch and Club-winged Manakin. Target birds here include Wattled and Sickle-winged Guan, Bronze-winged Parrot, Sparkling Violet-ear, Andean Emerald, Booted Racket-tail and Long-tailed Sylph. We will also investigate hummingbird feeders, which attract many of the resident hummingbirds of the Mindo region, including the rare Choco endemics Empress Brilliant and Velvet-Purple Coronet. Overnight at the Lodge.
Day 2 Mindo
After breakfast we head for the entrance road, where we expect to see toucan barbet, squirrel cuckoo, Masked Trogon, scale-crested pygmy tyrant.
Along the way to Mindo, we will be keeping an eye out for many species that we may observe from roadside flocks. Scaled Antpitta, Spillman`s Tapaculo, Little Woodstar, Tanager-finch, Black-crowned Tityra, Golden-Bellied Warbler.
After lunch, continue exploring this beautiful forest where highlights are likely to include Toucan Barbet, Sunbitern, and Cloud-forest Pygmy-owl before returning to the lodge. Overnight at the Lodge.
Day 3 Mindo
After breakfast we will walk through the different trails of Mindo-Nambillo reserve looking for more bird species such as Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Crested Quetzal, Choco Toucan, and Powerful Woodpecker. Other colorful birds we may see here include Blue-winged Mountain-tanager, Green and Black Fruiteater, and Moss-backed Tanager. Overnight at the Lodge. (B/-/D)
Day 4 Mindo
We will have the opportunity to visit the Andean Cock-of-the Rock lek, a truly amazing experience. The males produce a special sound and fly and dance like acrobats waiting for the female to choose one of them to mate with. This is truly one of the most stunning sights in the neotropics. After lunch we will continue our trip back to Quito.
NOTE: Need: long lens – minimum 300m, and Macro lens
Prices 2009:
2 pax | 4 pax | 6 pax 8 pax |
$ 2.402 | $ 1.508 | $ 1.169 $ 999 |
Tour Includes
- Accommodation in the Lodge
- Breakfast
- Private transportation
- English speaking naturalist guide
- Professional photographer guide
Tour does not Includes
- Binoculars
- Personal photography equipment
- Lunch and Dinner
- Tips
- Items not specified
