Date: 9/1/26 2:10 pm From: Toby Ross via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Bird Ecuador
Hi Janine,
It looks like Bird Ecuador grew out of two well-known Ecuadorian birding lodges, San Isidro Lodge and Guango Lodge. Earlier this year I led an Alight Tours group to Guango, and I visited San Isidro on a previous trip. Both are excellent lodges in wonderful birding locations, so I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend staying at either.
For organizing a trip around Ecuador, though, I would also strongly recommend Neblina Forest. They are an Ecuadorian-owned, family-run company that has been operating birding and wildlife tours for more than 30 years and is also used as the local operator by a number of international birding companies. Naturalist Journeys, which Jim Betz mentioned, is one example.
I worked with Neblina Forest for my Alight Tours trip to Ecuador earlier this year and had an excellent experience with them. They have outstanding local guides, know the country extremely well, and can put together trips throughout Ecuador rather than being tied to particular lodges. They regularly use both Guango and San Isidro, along with many of Ecuador's other excellent birding lodges and reserves.
One of the reasons I particularly like working with Neblina Forest is that their approach to tourism and conservation aligns closely with what I try to do through Alight Tours. They actively support conservation and locally based ecotourism, including private reserves and community initiatives, and a percentage of the income from their tours goes toward conservation efforts. For me, choosing a local partner isn't just about finding birds - it's also about making sure that some of the economic benefit of birding tourism stays in the country and supports the people and habitats that make these trips possible.
Ecuador really is an extraordinary country for birding. For such a relatively small country, the variety of habitats and birds is remarkable. You should definitely go!
In fact, I enjoyed our trip there so much that I'm planning another Alight Tours trip to Ecuador within the next couple of years. So, if you'd rather have someone else do all the organizing, keep me in mind!
Good luck with the planning, and I'm happy to answer any questions about Neblina Forest or the places I've visited there.
Toby -- *Toby Ross* Owner/Operator *Alight Tours* Seattle, Washington USA
