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We had a wonderful time at Sacha Lodge during our stay, which included looks at some gorgeous birds like this cooperative male Wire-tailed Manakin. Photo by guide Willy Perez.

This year once again our Sacha Lodge tour was special. Using one of the most fantastic lodges in the Ecuadorian Amazon allowed us to be comfortable and to experience the magic of the Amazon Rainforest for a whole week. I am sure that a lot of people think that one week in the same place is far too long, but let me tell you something, there are so many different habitats to explore around the lodge that you can get to by foot or by canoe. And we managed to get to every possible place for the different birds. But the most exciting visits were to the canopy towers, where you can come face to face with species that you will never see from the ground. Accommodation, food, trails and even weather was superb and most importantly, the birds were wonderful. During our week we came across a big variety of wildlife and here are some of the most exciting ones.

-We saw all the members possible in the Cotinga group that we could see on this trip, from Purple-throated Fruitcrows to the colorful Spangled and Plum-Throated Cotingas, followed by the amazing and bizarre looking Amazonian Umbrellabird.

-The delightful family of Crested Owls in their roosting spot were a treat.

-A full scope view of the Great-billed Hermit in full display showing the red under his big bill, it was quite something!

-The Scarlet Macaws that came to drink from the clay lick, because of its mineral properties. It's almost like a scene from a TV program.

-A very friendly male Wire-tailed Manakin was very much appreciated by everyone, especially when we got some incredible photos.

-We got many close looks at the Toucans, but the birds that came out on top were the Many-banded and Ivory-billed Aracaris as they were very close. Those towers allowed us to see incredible things.

-We didn't see many raptors, but a Harpy Eagle was enough to please everyones desires.

Many other animals beside birds were around especially monkeys. Seven species were seen, including the smallest monkey in the world, the Pygmy Marmoset. The sloth also was wonderful but for some people, the non-bird winner was the Ecuadorian flag poison dart frog (Ameerega bilinguis) that we found.

Writing all of this, I came to the conclusion that this tour was full of excitement. And everything happened because you all came and joined me in this trip. I would like to say thank you to all of you for coming to experience the rain forest. I really hope you enjoyed it!

Finally, I want to thank Oscar and Miguel, our super local guides, they were sharp us usual.

Enjoy reading the rest of the list.

Keep birding,

Willy.

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

We not only got a great view of this Laughing Falcon, we also got to hear it! Photo by participant Chip Francke.

From the Kapok tower, we were able to watch a male Rufous-bellied Euphonia eating fruit from a bromeliad. Photo by participant Tracy McLellan.

Another bonus of the Kapok Tower is the up-close views we got of birds like this amazing Many-Banded Aracari. You can see almost all of its bands! Photo by guide Willy Perez.

Spot-winged Antshrikes can be difficult to see, but we had great views of this one that came to look at us when we were up on the tower. Photo by participant Chip Francke.

From this photo, it's easy to see why this one is called the Long-billed Woodcreeper. Photo by guide Willy Perez.

Macaws and other parrots visiting the clay lick are one of the major highlights of a visit to Sacha. Participant Tracy McLellan got this beautiful photo of one of the Scarlet Macaws as it came in to drink. What a stunning bird!

This Greater Ani posed with a really nice background for participant Chip Francke. We saw several groups of these big cuckoos near the lodge and on the Napo River.

Another cuckoo we saw well was this Squirrel Cuckoo. They are common tropical residents, but how often do we get to appreciate those red eyes! Photo by participant Tracy McLellan.

Guide Willy Perez captured a nice shot of the Purplish Jacamar we saw feeding when we visited the Kapok tower. It looks quite pleased with the large dragonfly it caught.

A Pygmy Antwren came to look at us, and participant Tracy McLellan caught it in this nice image.

This Purple-throated Fruitcrow looks curious. We had great views of these large cotingas, as well as several smaller species, and Amazonian Umbrellabird. Photo by guide Willy Perez.

We saw the cute little Cobalt-winged Parakeet at the clay lick, and also at the towers. It's difficult to see them in the trees; they blend in so well with the foliage! Photo by participant Tracy McLellan.

This family of Crested Owls didn't seem to mind us looking at them when we found their roosting spot. Photo by guide Willy Perez.

Birding from the canoe was another highlight of the tour. Photo by participant Chip Francke.

We watched this Golden-collared Toucanet from the tower as it fed on fruits below us. Photo by participant Tracy McLellan.

Here is the group on the Kapok Tower, where we saw so many wonderful birds. Photo by guide Willy Perez.

In addition to the amazing birds, we saw some other really interesting things, like this colorful Ecuador Poison Frog. Photo by guide Willy Perez.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Sacha is also a great place for other unique wildlife like:

-Yellow-spotted River Turtle that we saw almost daily

-Flat-headed Bromeliad Treefrog (Osteocephalus planiceps)

-Ecuador Poison Frog (Ameerega bilinguis)

-Crested Forest Toad (Rhinella margaritifera)

-Tarantula

Totals for the tour: 273 bird taxa and 10 mammal taxa