We had an amazing 5 days of birding and photography in Mindo and the Tandayapa Valley, Ecuador. Located in a transitional area, it is one of the most biologically diverse regions of the planet. It is part of the Choco biogeographic region that starts in Panama and continues into Colombia and then into northern Ecuador. The area is home to approximately 70 Choco endemic species and in our short time here we had seen about 2 dozen of them. One of the targeted birds that had eluded us was the Pale-mandibled Aracari. Our final stop was for lunch at the Restaurante Mirador Los Bancos before our drive back to Quito. To our surprise and delight, nine of these aracaris flew in to dine just outside our table window! We were very happy to add this beauty to our life lists. I was able to get quite a few photos with various groups at the banana feeders, but I liked this portrait of one solitary aracari best.

Cindy Cone, Cindy Cone Photography

Ecuador | Photography with Cindy Cone