A Reflections of the Natural World Blog Post Series by Jim Gain
Ecuador Birding – Where Every Feather Tells a Story
From October 26, 2025 through November 8, 2025 I joined 5 other adventurers and an outstanding photographer and birding guide (Liron Gertsman) with Eagle-Eye Tours to Ecuador. This blog series highlights the animals (mostly birds), people and locations we encountered over the 14 full days in this beautiful land.
DAY 3 – Afternoon
- My Ecuador Species Count up to and including the Sani Isla Community jumps up to: 125 (85 lifers)
- Primary eBird Public Hotspots: Random Spots
On our cruise back from the Sani Isla community, we made several stops along the river, picking up a handful of new species as the afternoon light softened over the Napo. At scattered sandbars and pale river beaches, we found more PIED PLOVERS, their clean white underparts and soft gray backs giving them a delicate, almost porcelain look as they darted along the shoreline. Nearby, COLLARED PLOVERS patrolled the sand with their crisp black breastbands and warm cinnamon tones, moving with quick, purposeful steps. A lone SPOTTED SANDPIPER bobbed its tail in the shallows, its speckled flanks and teetering gait unmistakable even from a distance.
The herons added their own elegance to the scene. A towering GREAT EGRET stood in luminous white, its long neck curved like a question of light against the riverbank. A CAPPED HERON glowed with creamy plumage and a powder‑blue face, looking almost ethereal as it hunted quietly along the water’s edge. And a STRIATED HERON, smaller and more compact, perched low over the water, its slate‑green feathers blending beautifully with the tangled roots and shadows.
After transferring back into the canoes, we slipped once more into the blackwater channels, the forest closing in around us like a living cathedral. WHITE-WINGED SWALLOWS skimmed low over the surface, their dark bodies flashing bright white patches each time their wings caught the fading light. A CREAM-COLORED WOODPECKER appeared briefly on a mossy trunk, its pale buff plumage and bold black markings giving it a striking, almost sculptural presence against the deep greens of the forest.
As we continued silently, the forest canopy above us suddenly came alive with movement. A lively troupe of ECUADORIAN SQUIRREL MONKEYS scampered through the branches, their small, expressive faces and quick, darting leaps giving them an almost playful curiosity as they peered down at us. Mixed among them were BROWN-HEADED CAPUCHINS, far bolder and more acrobatic, swinging effortlessly from vine to vine and pausing only long enough to inspect fruits or investigate one another’s antics. Their combined energy turned the treetops into a bustling aerial stage.
From deeper in the forest came the deep, resonant roars of Red Howler Monkeys, their voices rolling across the canopy like distant thunder. Though they remained hidden from view, their calls added a wild, primeval soundtrack to our slow glide through the shaded waterway.
NEXT UP: EB#24 “Drenched but Undeterred: Exploring Sani Lodge After the Rain“
Additional Photographs and Video
Previous Ecuador Birding blog posts will be linked below.
- DP-4 — White-necked Jacobin
Daily Photo 4. A familiar White-necked Jacobin provides a reminder that even common birds can be extraordinary photographic subjects. - DP-2 — Pale-vented Pigeon
Daily Photo 2. A long-awaited photograph of a Pale-vented Pigeon, finally captured just after a tropical downpour at Saní Lodge in Ecuador. - The Velvet‑purple Coronet and the Science of Color: A Field Photographer’s Reflection
A quiet Gray Fox along the Stanislaus River offered a moment of Zen‑like stillness, blending natural history, resilience, and the calm grace of wildness moving at its own pace. - EB100 – Epilogue – Full of Wonder and Gratitude
This epilogue looks beyond the individual bird highlights to the deeper meaning of the journey, capturing the wonder, gratitude, and renewed perspective that Ecuador left within me. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with birds and nature. - EB99 – Ecuador – Favorite Images from the West Andes
This epilogue looks beyond the individual bird highlights to the deeper meaning of the journey, capturing the wonder, gratitude, and renewed perspective that Ecuador left within me. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with birds and nature. - EB98 – Ecuador – Favorite Images from the High Andes Páramo
A visual tribute to the páramo, where the Andes reveal their rawest beauty and every moment feels carved from wind and light. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with birds and nature.
>>Ecuador Birding Blog Home Page Link https://reflectionsofthenaturalworld.com/ecuador-birding/
*This Ecuador Birding blog post was shaped and polished with the assistance of Microsoft Copilot, helping bring clarity and a consistent flow to my field notes and dictated memories.
**Unless otherwise indicated in the image caption, all photographs (>99%) are mine.
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