Wildsumaco Lodge – Ecuador

About

Wildsumaco Lodge is located on a ridge in the Andes’ Eastern Foothills in Ecuador. It is a top destination for birding where people come from all over the world. In fact, it was made by birders, for birders. This reserve area is a prime spot for needing bird conservation efforts, as its rainforest area is being converted into farmland. Seeing as this lodge is home to about 524 bird species, bird conservation is critical right now. This number is impressive, considering there are around 1600 types of birds in Ecuador. The lodge’s owners are determined to save what forest is left of this area. The lodge is highly focused on being nature-centered, as there are few luxury amenities and no wi-fi, leaving visitors to purely focus on seeing the wildlife. There are only 10 bedrooms that fit 2 people each, making it an intimate experience. Most visitors are amateur and advanced birders, photographers, and bird conservationists. Birds can be found at nearly every corner of the reserve area, and the lodge itself even has some bird books to help visitors with identification. There are all sorts of habitat types here, from grasslands to primary forest to old second-growth forest, and different kinds of birds live in different types of habitats. Wildsumaco Lodge is a hummingbird paradise and is home to many vibrantly-colored ones, including the Many-spotted Hummingbird, Peruvian Racket-tail, Wire-crested Thorntail, Sparkling Violetear, and Gould’s Jewelfront. You can also see other colorful birds like the Paradise Tanager and Blackburnian Warbler. Owen traveled to Wildsumaco Lodge in February 2013.