WILD PARROTS UP CLOSE
WATCHING PARROTS IN THEIR NATURAL HABITATS

ECUADOR - AMAZON AND CLOUD FOREST
FEBRUARY 2008

On this trip our first stop will be at the Mindo area of Ecuador staying at Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve in the Tandayapa Valley moving into the Amazon to stay at the Napo Wildlife Centre in the Yasuni National Park.

Two very different areas both with very good bird counts (320 species at Bellavista and 568 at Napo with 7 and 19 species of parrot respectively and only 1 parrot species common to both sites).

Cloud forests cloak the steep slopes of the Andes with high biodiversity and a profusion of wildlife. Bellavista is at the southern edge of the Choco/Andean Rain Forest at an elevation of 1650 to 2350 metres with plunging valleys and tall trees festooned with orchids and bromeliads.

The Amazon basin is famous for its wildlife but not for its creature comforts-at Napo you get the best of both. You can see thousands of parrots on the two local clay licks, giant otters in the lake,eleven species of monkeys in the trees and over 55 species of birds in the forest.
PARROTS AND MACAWS
NAPO  
Blue-and-yellow Macaw     Ara ararauna
Scarlet Macaw               Ara macao
Red-and-green Macaw     Ara chloroptera
Chestnut-fronted Macaw     Ara severa
Red-bellied Macaw               Orthopsittaca manilata
White-eyed Parakeet     Aratinga leucophthalmus
Dusky-headed Parakeet     Aratinga weddellii
Maroon-tailed Parakeet     Pyrrhura melanura
Blue-winged Parrotlet     Forpus xanthopterygius
Dusky-billed Parrotlet     Forpus sclateri
Cobalt-winged Parakeet     Brotogeris cyanoptera
Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet     Touit huetii
Black-headed Parrot               Pionites melanocephala
Orange-cheeked Parrot     Pionopsitta barrabandi
Blue-headed Parrot               Pionus menstruus
Festive Amazon Parrot     Amazona festiva
Yellow-crowned Amazon Parrot     Amazona ochrocephala
Orange-winged Amazon Parrot     Amazona amazonica
Mealy Amazon Parrot     Amazona farinosa

BELLAVISTA   
Maroon-tailed Parakeet     Pyrrhura melanura
Barred Parakeet               Bolborhynchus lineola
Blue-fronted Parrotlet     Touit dilectissima
Rose-faced Parrot               Pionopsitta pulchra
Red-billed parrot               Pionus sordidus
White-capped Parrot               Pionus senilis
Scaly-naped Amazon     Amazona mercenari

TOUR EXTENSION
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

Although there are no parrots on the Galapagos Islands it is an ideal location for some really close up encounters with extraordinary wildlife. We would be staying on a yacht and travelling between islands having ample time to take some exceptional photographs with our own guides and crew so we just need to sit back, relax and enjoy.
There would be time to do some snorkelling to see the underwater reefs and marine life.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
CONTACT
Steve Brookes
http://www.wildparrotsupclose.co.uk
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