Why Ecuador
The idea for this workshop came up during our Arizona Hummingbird Workshop. The group had so much fun that they asked us to create another workshop to photograph different types of hummingbirds. We decided to explore the best place in the world for hummingbirds: the Mindo Cloud Forest in Ecuador!
This new workshop is the perfect follow-up for anyone who has used multi-flash set-ups with hummingbirds in Arizona or anyone who enjoyed our Texas Birds Workshops. The photography involves minimal walking, because the birds come right to the feeders near us.
For our scouting trip we flew into Quito, Ecuador and spent the night in a hotel by the airport. Our first stop, after a 5:30 am pickup was at the Zuroloma Bird reserve. At 10,000 ft this was our highest destination.
We photographed birds at this location in natural light as the clouds rolled through. Colorful flowers and feeders attracted exotic birds like the Sword-billed hummingbird and the Black-tailed Trainbearer.
We photographed one of our favorite birds of the trip at Zuroloma, the reclusive Equatorial Antpitta. Our local guide put down worms so that it would land in the perfect spot, a branch filled with bromeliads.
While we were photographing at Zuroloma, two different types of Flower Piercers showed up and chased away the hummers. These tenacious birds jumped on the perches and were also a delight to photograph.
In the meantime tanagers and brush finches landed on a nearby perching area right near the hummingbird set-ups.
San Tadeo Reserve & Equipment
Our next stop was the San Tadeo Bird Reserve. Like most of the places we visited there were plenty of chairs, fresh hot coffee and even local bananas for guests to use while photographing. There are also clean bathrooms at our stops. Fortunately, all of the bird stops have a covered area in case of rain. We scouted this trip during the rainy season, yet managed to stay dry the entire trip. We have timed our workshops for the drier months of June and July.
Cree focused on photographing hummingbirds at San Tadeo while Tom worked on capturing several types of tanagers and the beautiful Crimson-rumped Toucanet. Almost all of our photography for the trip was on a tripod with a longer lens. A 100-400 mm lens will work perfectly for hummingbirds. For the forest birds like tanagers and toucans, Tom used a 600 f4 and Cree used a 400mm f2.8. When the clouds roll in the light level goes down. We both used the Nikon Z9 for camera bodies and found the eye tracking to be very helpful in capturing sharp bird photos.
Multi-flash Set-Ups
We love using flash to capture the wings of hummingbirds. Our set ups use 4 speedlights on stands and a neutral backdrop to keep the light from falling off. This system makes it possible to photograph birds in very low light conditions, even in the rain.
During our workshops we will have 4 flash set-ups so that half the group can work at a flash station at a time. Using a remote trigger made it even easier to capture the birds with flash.
Our lodge is know for its large population of Raquettails. Check out the video to see what the feeders look like most hours of the day.
Tandayapa Birds
Tandayapa Lodge is surrounded by cloud forest. Fruiting trees growing near the lodge bring in all kinds of tropical birds like the Toucan Barbet (large photo) and colorful tanagers.
Macro Flowers
Almost all of our stops had plenty of opportunities for flower photography. If flowers are your thing, a macro lens and a Lume cube would be perfect for this trip. Our lodge for the last two nights of the workshop has its own orchid garden.
Milpe Bird Reserve
Milpe was special for its family of Collared Aracari (next page) and the ability to get very close to hummingbirds like the White-necked Jacobin and the Green Thorntail. The feeders were covered with a variety of metallic birds big and small.
Tanagers
Most of the Bird Reserves have separate areas for hummingbirds and tanagers/toucans. The birds are drawn in by local fruit like bananas and land on mossy perches with no distractions in the background.
Birdwatcher's House
This was our final stop for our scouting trip and it may be that they saved the best for last. We photographed in natural light under an awning of translucent visqueen. The diffuse quality of the light was perfect for capturing the irridescent feathers of the hummingbirds.
This birding locations also has two water features which should be very active with tanagers during the drier season in July.
Our highlight of the visit was photographing a family of Plate-billed Mountain Toucans that flew in twice while we were there.
Lodging and Difficulty
Our primary lodge for the workshop is the Tandayapa Bird Lodge. The building is rustic and simple, not a luxury resort. There is a dining area, seating area, a dozen rooms and two exceptional bird viewing platforms. Bedrooms are small, clean and comfortable. We will also be staying at the Guango Lodge which is smaller and more rustic.
Meals at Tandayapa are also simple and plentiful. Some highlights are homemade vegetable soups, fresh blended tropical fruit waters, and fried fish. Wine, beer and soda are available for sale at the lodge.
This workshop is rated Moderate on our workshop scale. Walking will be very short distances, less than a mile per day. However, the walking is at higher altitude, up to 10,000 ft and the cloud forest can be very wet and slippery. To get to Tandayapa there is a staircase (shown below) of 25 large, wet stairs. Participants should be able to walk up and down these steps daily and carry their own camera gear and tripod.
We think our Ecuador Cloud Forest Workshop will be one of our best bird photography workshops yet. We have spaces on our June 2024 Ecuador Workshop, read more
Interested in tropical mammals, flowers, macro and birds? We have space on our 2024 Costa Rica Rainforest Workshop, read more
Credits:
Cree Bol and Tom Bol