The Amazon basin has perhaps the greatest diversity of life forms on Earth, and the opportunity to stay for a week at a place like Sacha Lodge in Ecuador’s Amazonian rainforest really brings us face-to-face with that diversity.  On our last morning there on my recent summer tour, for instance, we canoed out across the cocha, then walked the boardwalk to the finca, just as we’d done a bunch of times already.  And yet we still added more than half-a-dozen new species to our birdlist!  I even got a lifer (Black-banded Crake!), despite having walked that boardwalk 50-plus times on my numerous past visits.

We had great views of the beautiful and distinctive Rufous-bellied Euphonia at point blank range from the wooden tower. (Photo by guide Dan Lane)

Birding from the canopy tower. (Photo by guide Jan Pierson)

On the metal observation towers—of which there are three connected by a walkway—there was a steady stream our first morning of great canopy birds including, among the 50 or so species we saw, Black-headed Parrot, Maroon-tailed Parakeet, Golden-collared Toucanet, Lettered Aracari, Plum-throated and Spangled cotingas, and Flame-crested, Turquoise, Masked, and Opal-crowned tanagers.  On our second visit a big canopy flock passed by at eye level, getting us up close and personal views of a great mix of birds: Purplish Jacamar, Red-stained Woodpecker, Chestnut-winged Hookbill, Moustached Antwren, Elegant Woodcreeper, Pink-throated and Black-capped becards, and Green-and-gold Tanagers among them.  Species that are difficult to see from the forest floor like Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher, Dwarf Tyrant-Manakin, and Pygmy Antwren showed up just a few feet away from us in the canopy, and stunners like Ringed Woodpecker, White-browed Purpletuft, and Paradise Tanagers made our climb to the top more than worthwhile!

Of the many other sightings we enjoyed during our week-long stay, I will also just mention our wonderful views of Chestnut-headed Crake, a shy and skulking species that is rarely seen so well.  That was just one of a trio of incredible crake encounters, as we also had amazing views of both Gray-breasted Crake and the Black-banded mentioned above—for a rare hat trick of difficult crakes!

We saw hundreds of these Cobalt-winged Parakeets at Sacha's interior parrot lick. (Photo by guide Dan Lane)

Dates for our 2011 tours to Sacha include two winter and two summer tours. To read more, visit our Amazonian Ecuador: Sacha Lodge tour page.   From there you can see a fun slideshow of great Sacha birds and places by clicking on the photo mosaic on the left side of the page.  And you can check out the upcoming tour schedules for our Sacha guides by clicking on their photos in the right-hand column of the tour page.