Ecuador - Cloud Forest - Hummingbird Capital of South America

Danny Catt — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 15:51:13 -0700

Purple-throated Woodstar

If you like hummingbirds then you absolutely must visit the cloud forest of Ecuador. There are over three hundred species of hummingbird in the world and almost half of them are found with the boundaries of the little country on the Equator, Ecuador. In all of Canada there are only about ten species!!

Collared Inca

Not all hummingbirds are called hummingbirds though. They in fact have a great variety of names such as emeralds, woodstars, mangos, woodnymphs and fairies. They are a unique group of birds with some amazing characteristics. Did you know that hummingbirds are the only birds in the world that can fly backwards? Or that hummingbirds have the fastest wing beats of any bird? (they can flap their wings at almost 80 beats per second!).

Buff-tailed Coronet

Many eco-lodges in the cloud forests of Ecuador set up hummingbird feeders to attract the different species and I spent hours watching and photographing as many species as I could. It is easier said than done though (they fly so fast!) and I unfortunately didn't capture as many species as I would have liked. I did get some nice photos and I have included a few for your perusal.

Green Violetear (Hummingbird)

Ecuador - Cloud Forest

Danny Catt — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 09:50:29 -0700

Ecuador - Cloud Forest

From Argentina I hopped skipped and jumped my way up to Quito, Ecuador. I was met by a fabulous naturalist who works in the Galapagos Islands and on occasion in the Amazon region of Ecuador.

Why is Ecuador so special? Ecuador, per unit area, is the most biologically rich country in South America. Other countries have more species in total (Colombia has more bird species for example) but Ecuador is a small nation and within its boundaries are an incredibly diverse range of plants and animals. In fact Ecuador has over 1600 species of birds (compare that to the less than 700 species that you will find in North America (north of Mexico!).

Andean Toucan, Ecuador Cloud Forest

My first stop in Ecuador was the Cloud Forest not far from the capital city of Quito. In fact, in about an hour or two you can be out of the city and into a rich tropical forest filled with hundreds of bird species ranging from resident toucans and hummingbirds to warblers that migrate all the way from North America. I had the opportunity to see and photograph a Blackburnian Warbler, a species of songbird that you can see in eastern North America during the summer. It is a long flight from its breeding grounds to Ecuador but the Blackburnian Warbler makes this long distance flight twice each year.

Blackburnian Warbler, migrant from North America

Clouds forests are not unique to Ecuador. In fact there are cloud forests in many parts of the world (Asia, South America, Central America) including both temperate and tropical regions. They are typically found at higher elevations in areas with extensive cloud cover. The mountains around Quito certainly have a lot of moisture so there are pockets of rich cloud forest within easy reach of hte nation's capital.

The trees in cloud forest are often covered in epiphytes - lichens, mosses, orchids and bromeliads. Epiphytes are simply plants that live on other plants. They are not parasites and they don't have roots that reach the soil... instead, epiphytes get their water from the moist air (provided by both the rain and the clouds) and they gain their energy through the process of photosynthesis. There are thousands of species of orchids in tropical forests of South American and a large percentage of them are epiphytes.

Orchid in the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest

Bromeliads are also common in the cloud forest. If you don't know what a bromeliad is you may be surprised to know that you have likely eaten one on many occasions. The pineapple is a bromeliad but is one that grows on the ground. The bromeliads of the cloud forest grow on the outstretched branches of the trees and they benefit by being higher in the canopy and getting more light (which of course is needed for photosynthesis).

Bromeliad on a branch in the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest

Although my time in the cloud forest of Ecuador was short I learned a lot simply by walking about on the trails with a knowledgeable local guide. Good local guides can be such an important and valuable part of your experience in a new environment.

If you get to Ecuador... make sure you give yourself a day or two in the cloud forest! It is an amazing environment very worthwhile exploring.

Catt-Trax 2 - Cloud Forest

Ecuador - Cloud Forest - Hummingbird Capital of South America

Ecuador - Cloud Forest