Bird watching in Mindo Cloud forest & Quito Ecuador, the complete guide for bird watching in Mindo Cloud fores in Ecuador, Mindo Cloud forest lodges for Bird watching tours in Ecuador, Quito is the right place to start your bird watching tour in Quito.

If you go in a walk around the Historic Center, you could find beautiful urban birds like pigeons, turtledoves and blackbirds around the San Francisco Plaza and on the roofs of the buildings around. But Ecuador has much more to offer with more than 1800 bird species, being the forth country in the world in bird diversity. The hummingbirds are the biggest variety, the condor will impress you with its size and flight and hundred of small birds of different colors.

What is Bird Watching in Mindo Ecuador?

It consists in finding a place away from any noise from the city, where you can watch birds without disturbing the ecosystem.

Gear

To practice this simple but beautiful activity you need:

• Binoculars
• Camera
• A lot of patience and calmness

The best season to practice this activity is during the summer (July - September), because the weather is warm and there are clear days, which a perfect conditions for bird watching.

Representative Species

Hummingbird: Ecuador has 131 hummingbird species, which is the country with the most diversity of hummingbird species in the world. Its beauty and peculiar flight makes them unique among birds and are admired by scientists and photographers. The smaller ones are less than 5cm long.

Andean Condor: It's the biggest bird of the Ecuadorian Paramos. The hunting and destruction of its habitat have made them in danger of extinction. The Andean Condor is a carnivorous bird.

Harpy Eagle: is the biggest hunting bird in South America. It is on the top of the food chain in the tropical forests were it is possible to find it. Because of the destruction of its natural habitat is on the list of species in danger of extinction

Bird watching Places around Quito

Yanacocha

It is located on the skirts of the Pichincha Volcano. The weather is of a cloud forest. You can find tangaraes, the famous tandayapa and the most incredible varieties of hummingbirds.

Tandayapa

The high and low valleys of Tandayapa and the famous Tandayapa Bird Lodge, are ideal places for bird watching specially hummingbirds, tangaraes, toucans and other amazing species.

Mindo (Northwest from Quito, 1 hour and 45 minutes by bus)

The village of Mindo is located in a remote valley surrounded by a cloud forest. It is also known as "the valley of the eternal spring" and is one the best places for bird watching activities with more than 400 species of birds, including the cock of the rock and hundreds of hummingbirds.

San Isidro Cabins

One and a half hour from Quito we find this farm that includes lodging and delicious food. In its surroundings you can do bird watching were you can see tangaraes and other birds from the area.

Read more related articles about Ecuadorian birds:

www.vnu.org.ec/ ecuador .ht
www.prodiversitas.bioetica.org/biologica.htm
www.prodiversitas.bioetica.org/biologica.htm
http://www.colibri.ws/forum_colibri/
http://www.cecia.org/
www.tropicalbirding.com