Napo, Ecuador

We started our birding expedition in Ecuador with Cheepers, Birding on a Budget. We have been on many birding trips with Jim and Cindy Beckman and they always have wonderful birding expeditions to some really great places. Their guides are all top notch, lodges are clean, comfortable and well appointed for our needs and the prices are the best. Of course, when your tour company is led by a former 7th grade science teacher, you can be assured that every I is dotted and T is crossed.

Getting to the Amazon Basin

We had been traveling around Ecuador for a couple weeks before we headed into the Amazon. From our last stay at Wild Sumaco Lodge, we had a 3+ hour bus ride to the riverside town of Coca.

We then boarded the long speed boat for a two hour ride down the Rio Napo. Our next stop was the Añangu Boat Stop in the Parque National Yasuni. At this point, we disembarked our fast boat, walked through the forest to make the last leg of our trip. While in the National Park, we cannot use motorized transportation, we step into long canoes that are paddled down the Añangu stream for 2 hours until we reach our eco lodge located on the edge of Añangu Lake.

The Napo Wildlife Eco Lodge is run by the Kichwa Añangu people who strive to employ a sustainable eco-tourism model. All proceeds are re-invested into community projects such as renewable energy, education, and health care. What they have done to support their community thru nature is truly remarkable.

By setting their own course, they have not become a slave to the gas and oil industry that is taking over a large section of this area of the Amazon Basin.

A Great Time of Adventure

Our days generally began around 4:00 am when we would board the boats and would be paddled to our location for the day.

To the Top of the Trees

While we spent most of our time on the ground or on the river looking for birds and mammals, we sometimes have an opportunity to head to the tree tops.

Early one morning we paddled across the lake, hiked a trail and then climbed up to a platform 150’ in the air. At this point, we were looking across the tops of the trees and into the top canopy. It’s amazing how active it is up in the sky.

While the adventure to the platform was quite exciting, nothing prepared me for the shock and squeal I would produce when a giant tarantula sauntered across my foot. I jumped, yelled “tarantula” and ran to the opposite corner of the platform as everyone else ran (with cameras raised) to the corner where I was be trampled on by the giant arachnid.

Sadly, our guide gently pushed it off the edge onto the tree tops. So sorry, no spider pics today!

Clay Licks at Breakfast

One of the highlights was leaving the lodge early one morning to view two different clay mineral licks that the Macaws and Parrots visit on a daily basis.

Up at 4 am and into the boats for an 1.5 hour paddle down the river to the speed boats. We then pulled out into the Napo River and headed upstream to wait for the birds to arrive.

The noise is so loud as the birds are in the trees checking to see if the area is safe. Then one by one they start to arrive and soon the side of the hillside is covered with four types of parrots. It’s truly an amazing sight.

Once the parrots finished getting their morning minerals, we headed back to shore where we hiked about 1.5 miles to the macaw clay lick. Here, we waited in the hide for the macaws to come in and start eating.

It took some time and then they started flying back and forth and finally landing. You just don’t realize how large these birds are until they are flying right in front of you.

Links:

Napo Wildlife Eco Lodge: https://www.napowildlifecenter.com

Cheepers, Birding on a Budget: http://www.cheepersbirding.com