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Ecuador - Western: Chocó Specialities

© Banded Ground Cuckoo by Jonathan Rossouw
Ecuador - Western: Chocó Specialities 2026

10 Oct 2026 - 25 Oct 2026 (16 days)

USD6,295 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Lisle Gwynn

Tour price (Per person): USD6,295 * GBP5,097 * EUR6,044 * AUD10,020

Single Supplement: USD770 * GBP624 * EUR739 * AUD1,226

Our new Chocó Specialities birding tour completes our tour coverage of this incredibly diverse country. Long ignored and historically tricky to reach, the lowland Chocó forests of Northwest Ecuador and the coastal littoral now make for a very appealing tour. The Chocó is an eco-region and biodiversity hotspot that holds the largest number of restricted-range birds of any Endemic Bird Area in the Americas, with 62 species being endemic to the area. Habitats are typically characterised by tropical humid lowland forests and wet cloud-forests. Unfortunately, the Chocó region is also one of the most threatened areas in South America. Deforestation rates are accelerating and habitat destruction has been most severe in the lowlands, especially the coastal plains and foothills. Departing Quito we are introduced to the Andean region of the Chocó with a bevy of normally difficult species including Moss-backed Tanager, the Indigo Flowerpiercer, Beautiful Jay, Orange-breasted Fruiteater, Chocó Vireo, Pacific Tuftedcheek, Black Solitaire, Star-chested Treerunner, and Purplish-mantled and Glistening-green Tanagers. We also make a chance to see a few enigmatic antpitta species like Giant Antpitta, Yellow-breasted Antpitta, Ochre-breasted Antpitta and Moustached Antpitta. As we move into the Chocó lowlands, we target Long-wattled Umbrellabird, Brown Wood-Rail, Banded Ground Cuckoo (if it is showing), Ocellated and Stub-tailed Antbirds, Scarlet-breasted Dacnis, and Scarlet-and-white, Blue-whiskered and Lemon-spectacled Tanagers. Five-colored Barbet, Black-tipped Cotinga, Lita and Chocó Woodpeckers, Yellow-green Bush and Golden-chested Tanagers provide the supporting cast to the drab but monotypic Sapayoa and the exceedingly tricky Rufous-crowned Antpitta.

Top Birds

Long-wattled Umbrellabird; Sapayoa; Baudo Guan; Rufous-crowned Antpitta (rare); Brown Wood & Ecuadorian Rails; Dark-backed Wood Quail; Berlepsch's Tinamou; Rose-faced Parrot; Chocó Trogon; Five-colored, Orange-fronted & Toucan Barbets; Black-breasted & Barred Puffbirds; Plate-billed Mountain Toucan; Black-tipped & Blue Cotingas; Red-capped Manakin; Orange-breasted Fruiteater; Guayaquil, Lita & Chocó Woodpeckers; Ochraceous Attila; Jet, Spotted, Esmeralda’s, Ocellated & Stub-tailed Antbirds; Giant, Yellow-breasted, Moustached & Streak-chested Antpittas; Chocó Poorwill; Chocó Screech Owl,; Cloud-forest Pygmy Owl; Beautiful Jay; Chocó Vireo; Short-tailed Woodstar; Humboldt Sapphire; Tooth-billed Hummingbird; Velvet-purple Coronet; Violet-tailed Sylph; Hoary Puffleg; Empress Brilliant; Pacific Tuftedcheek; Star-chested Treerunner; Black Solitaire; Dagua Thrush; Stripe-throated Wren; Chocó & Nariño Tapaculos; Subtropical Doradito; Pacific Flatbill; Rufous Mourner; Rufous Piha; Scarlet-breasted Dacnis; Moss-backed, Golden-chested, Purplish-mantled, White-winged, Scarlet-and-white, Blue-whiskered, Lemon-spectacled, Glistening-green & Grey-and-gold Tanagers; Indigo Flowerpiercer; chances for Banded Ground Cuckoo (very rare).

Top Mammals

Brown-headed Spider Monkey; Mantled Howler Monkey; White-fronted Capuchin.

Habitats Covered

Chocó tropical lowland forest, Chocó cloud-forest, Tumbesian dry forest, highland lakes

Expected Climate

Warm to hot and humid

Max Group Size

8 with 1 Rockjumper leader & local birding leader

Tour Pace & Walking

DIFFICULT: This is a high-intensity “mega” tour designed for passionate listers and serious birders who enjoy a fast-paced schedule. Due to its demanding nature, it’s not recommended for avid photographers, inexperienced birders, or anyone with mobility or health limitations.

This is a moderate to difficult tour. You should have a VERY GOOD level of fitness and stamina & be in VERY GOOD health. Not suitable for dedicated or avid photographers; inexperienced birders; or anyone with mobility or health challenges. Our Mega tours are very fast-paced birding adventures designed for the dedicated lister and serious birder. The focus of the tour is to see as many of the endemics and area specials as possible in our given time. In order to cover the necessary route to maximise the species list we tend to spend a single night at most sites and travel large distances. There is very little down time aside from that spent driving from one site to the next. These tours are not suitable for dedicated or avid photographers; inexperienced or new birders; as well as anyone with serious mobility or health challenges.

Accommodation

Varies from basic to very comfortable.

Ease of Birding

Moderate to demanding. Bird density is low, many visuals are high in the canopy.

Number of Species Expected

400+

Photographic Opportunities

Reasonable, typical rain forest conditions of variable light and frequent rain.

What our clients say about us

Dušan Brinkhuizen
CM, Ecuador 2018

The tour was very good and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dušan Brinkhuizen is an excellent guide, a superb birder whose enthusiasm is infectious. We had members of our group with differing levels of birding skills, fitness and expectations. Dušan showed a high level of professionalism and went out of his way to meet everyone's expectations of the trip.

Dušan Brinkhuizen
JK, Ecuador 2018

Dušan Brinkhuizen is an awesome guide. Very knowledgeable, patient, never got tired and made sure everyone got the bird. You are fortunate to have a guide like Dušan.

Dušan Brinkhuizen
CR - Ecuador 2019

I have just finished a very successful snipe day with Dusan. I got all three species I was after, which was a result of some excellent guiding by Dušan Brinkhuizen. I cannot commend him highly enough. He can fill you in on the detail but looking for an Andean Snipe in the rain and cold wind at 4300m takes some effort!  I will certainly need my rest day tomorrow.

Dušan Brinkhuizen
DD, Ecuador 2018

[To Dušan Brinkhuizen] Truly, it was the very best birding trip I have ever been on, including several other Rockjumper trips which have all been great. As I think back on it, I can only marvel at your amazing ability to hear and identify the "chips" and "tsits" of birds calling or singing from deep in the understorey or high in the canopy of mature cloud forest while walking with a noisy group of folks or, even more unbelievable, from a moving vehicle.  And if this wasn't amazing enough, you would then expertly call the desired individual bird into view and, with incredible calm and patience, succeed in making sure that everyone of us on the tour got a crippling look (and maybe even a spectacular photo) of the target bird -- that as often as not -- was not only beautiful but also both rare and furtive.  And to further blow our minds, you often would pull out your vegetation clippers and create a setting and stage on which the bird would perform for us -- even sometimes, like some magician, telling us on which perch it would sit!!  As a measure of your expertise as a trip leader, let me tell you that on the two back-to-back trips with you I "got" 110 life birds (101 seen and 9 heard) and only missed 1 species that would have been a life bird for me (Blue-mantled Thornbill).  Never on any trip before in my life had I experienced such a high rate of success!! But above and beyond all of the uncanny skill and expertise that you exhibited, was the kindness, friendship, and humanity that you showed to each us.  For this I am so very grateful. Thank you!!!  Moreover, I'm sure everyone on the trip felt this way and I'm sure it created a safe and happy feeling among all of us that made the trip even more enjoyable.  I truly hope that I can go with you on another trip sometime. And finally thank you also for the wonderfully detailed and beautifully illustrated trip report you sent.  I remain amazed at how you could remember so clearly all the details of the trip.

Lev Frid
SL, Ecuador 2024

Both Lev (rockjumper guide) and Andres (local guide) were excellent. Both were extremely patient, always upbeat, interacted well with the tour participants, were great birders, and answered any questions put to them. A very unique way to explore the archipelago, could not recommend it enough.

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