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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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  1. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    Not sure who his friend might be, I would say to contact the friend and see what he offers/search him up online. If he has a solid rep/gives you a proper itinerary/focus on what you wish to see. He might be good backup if he's endorsed by Nelson.
  2. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    Not sure if he trained it since I was the one who noticed him first :D That does sound pretty appealing, those are some amazing endemics, I'm planning to bring people to Ecuador next year, but it's back to the slopes for now, the next trip will be going to the Southern part to target these...
  3. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    Hi Lisa, Glad to see the report is still useful to give people a smile of what I saw. I'm bad when writing my reports since I'm always treating them with the same excitement I had in the field. So the report excitement reflects how I felt while traveling (my upcoming trip report will be a...
  4. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    Glad it helped, I'm putting together a new trip with him next year. He's definitely a guide that's as good as you can hope for in the country/region.
  5. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    Yeah, I noticed the locality of a lot of species when answer for "do we have a chance to see this" was always "either here or nowhere". Sounds like Playa de Oro is mandatory then because the Choco has too many good targets and somehow it sounds more accessible than Canande (even if Playa also...
  6. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    Great report, much better at summarizing the experience than I ever could, it was also fun seeing what we got on similar locations. For example, I'm 99% sure the Chestnut-naped Antpitta you saw in Zuro Loma and the Tanager Finch family you saw in that roadside stop was the same pair I saw on my...
  7. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    I was reading your report and looking forward to see the difference between the two trips. Although, I'm sure you got a lot more that I missed out on due to time. Bellavista is great, but it was definitely a place I wouldn't have as fond memories if we didn't do the revenge attempt on the last...
  8. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    October 30 (Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge and Departure) The original plan for the last day was for us to visit Milpe, however, since we already visited the site earlier in the trip; Nelson said we should get a little payback on Bellavista and the road leading up to it for the many targets we...
  9. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    I can agree with that, I think the Rush-Tyrant can be seen as far North as Peru, but yeah, Southern cone is necessary for Snowy Sheathbill, Magellanic Plover, plus a few pelagic families that are relatively easier there than elsewhere in their range, and it's also the best region to connect with...
  10. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    I had to check their Facebook page after you mentioned that, and you are right, no clue when they took that photo but that's definitely us birding before the lunch break. Honestly, I was pretty 50/50 between the 2 options, especially since I'm a sucker for nocturnal birds and family listing...
  11. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    October 29 (Reserva Amagusa and Guayabillas Road) Today was our last full of birding and I can only say that the universe seemed to align to make sure we got as many mega targets as possible. As we were driving through the dark to area of Reserva Amagusa, which is within the greater Mashpi...
  12. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    Thank you all for the kind words and call me the devil's advocate, because I'm going to give you a little temptation for Ecuador on the cost side. This whole trip was only 6 days, but considering I was on my own it cost a lot less than expected, with me spending less than 2k counting a flight...
  13. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    October 28 (Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary and Milpe Bird Sanctuary) We slept in a bit today and got on the road at the late hour of 4:30AM, after a quick stop to get drinks for our boxed breakfast, we drove through the palm plantations until we eventually reached a remnant of protected forest in...
  14. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    I'll share it once I finish the trip report, want to keep a bit of the surprise, I can't say you will see all of the species I saw, since you might be targeting some sites I skipped and vice versa, but outside of the boreal migrants, you should have a good chance of seeing most of these species...
  15. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    October 27 (Refugio Paz de las Aves and Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge) Today was an early start, with us leaving around 4 towards what's likely the most popular birding hotspot in the whole of the Mindo area, Refugio Paz de las Aves. Normally, such an early rise isn't needed, but Nelson...
  16. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    I can say with confidence that this is just the start with probably the lowest species total in one day? We had multiple century days (including 2 century hotspots). Nelson was far too catering to my needs and by the end, if we counted the heard only, I saw the same number of species in 5 days...
  17. lgonz1008

    Mindo: Birding the West Slope of Ecuador

    South America is the birding continent, this is something being told by just about every birdwatcher under the sun and it is a goal destination for most. Earlier this year I visited the region for the first time with a 10-day birding trip to Guyana that can only be described as unforgettable due...
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