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 5 – Lunchtime
- My Ecuador Species Count including the visit to El Retiro and San Roque jumps up to: 185 (130 lifers)
- Primary eBird Public Hotspot: Sani Lodge
Our return to Sani Lodge was briefly delayed by a fallen tree blocking the narrow waterway back to the lagoon—a side effect of the recent downpours. Carlos and Vladimir made quick work of it with their machetes, and soon we were gliding back toward the lodge for an afternoon break.
Of course, I wasn’t one to sit idle. I wandered the grounds photographing whatever rainforest creatures presented themselves: the Orion Cecropian with its bold eye spots, the Ruddy Daggerwing with its warm coppery tones, the Many‑banded Daggerwing with its intricate striped wings, and the luminous Sunset Daggerwing, glowing like embers in the soft light.
A cluster of day‑roosting Proboscis Bats clung beneath a sheltered beam, their long snouts and compact bodies arranged in a neat, orderly row.
Eventually I found a few minutes to stop by the bar, where a small bowl of fresh popcorn made the perfect companion to the steady hum of life around the lodge—simple, salty, and delicious.
Soon, Liron gathered our cozy group and led us back along the forest path to check whether the Crested Owls were still roosting in their hidden alcove. The trail had grown considerably muddier, but with the rain finally stopped and the light filtering softly through the canopy, the forest felt renewed. Even with the improved conditions, photographing the owls was no easy task—tangles of branches and looping vines formed a natural curtain around them.
But when we finally found the pair, they were breathtaking. Their tall, sweeping ear tufts, deep chestnut facial discs, and solemn, heavy‑lidded expressions gave them an almost mythical presence, as if carved from the forest itself. A spectacular pair indeed.
NEXT UP: EB#33 “A Quiet Afternoon Spent Shooting on the Sani Lodge Grounds“
Additional Photographs and Video
Previous Ecuador Birding Blog Posts:
- EB72 – Drawn to the Flame: Photographing New Birds at Tandayapa’s Moth Light
At dawn beneath the moth lights at Tandayapa Lodge, we shifted from the previous night’s flash‑photography lessons into a challenging but magical low‑light session that revealed a Three‑striped Warbler and a quartet of Funariidae woodcreepers and treehunters. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with birds and nature. - EB71 – Freezing Wings in Mid‑Air: An Afternoon Flash Photography Class
Our late afternoon at Tandayapa Lodge transformed into a masterclass in high‑speed flash photography, where we learned to freeze hummingbirds in mid‑air and reveal details the human eye could never catch on its own. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with birds and nature. - EB70 – Behind the Scenes: My Photo Processing Process — From Download to Gallery Display
This behind‑the‑scenes look walks through my complete post‑processing workflow—from organized hard‑drive folders and Lightroom edits to eBird documentation and SmugMug gallery uploads—showing how each image travels from field capture to final presentation. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with birds and nature. - EB69 – Illuminating the Iridescence: Hummingbirds of Tandayapa Lodge Through Forest Light
A late‑afternoon return to Tandayapa Lodge offered the perfect chance to capture hummingbirds in their natural light—iridescence glowing, wings blurring, and the cloud‑forest atmosphere turning every moment into a fleeting spark of color. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with birds and nature. - EB68 – More Colorful Songbirds at Guaycapi
As the hummingbirds faded into the background, a fresh wave of brilliantly colored tanagers swept through Guaycapi Lodge, setting the stage for an afternoon of dazzling forest jewels This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with birds and nature. - EB67 – Brilliants, Woodstars, Coronets and More: A Hummingbird Spectacle at Guaycapi
A late‑morning surge of iridescent wings transformed Guaycapi Lodge into a living kaleidoscope, as a vibrant wave of hummingbirds swept in to claim the stage just moments after the tanagers faded into the canopy. 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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