Wing tips: Bird-watching adventures high in the Andes Mountains
Wing tips: Bird-watching adventures high in the Andes Mountains
By Will Ford May 21
During the summer in Cambridge, Mass., my father lies in a hammock, gin and tonic in hand, waiting for hummingbirds. He has often struggled to attract them to the back yard. Tapichalaca Reserve, in southern Ecuador, would be heaven for him.
In the cloud forest here, armies of hummingbirds dart between feeders and the woods next to a nature lodge. Their beating wings are so loud they sound more like bees. When they zoom past my ears, I can feel the wind, and, in the mornings before theyve been fed, theyll land on your outstretched arms or search for nectar inside your nose.
The scene resembles my fathers hummingbird utopia, although he might not like the cold, damp weather. But the patio has a roof, and inside theres a fireplace and a cozy living room where lodge guests congregate after hiking through the cloud forest.
The lodge belongs to the Jocotoco Foundation, named after the rare Jocotoco antpitta, a bird whose discovery in the late 90s inspired the organizations creation. The foundation acted quickly, purchasing land to protect threatened species found in what is now Tapichalaca, one of four Jocotoco-managed areas with a tourist lodge.
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A dazzling Green-crowned brilliant, a type of hummingbird, pauses momentarily at a Buenaventura Reserve feeder. (Jessie Williamson)
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More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/wing-tips-bird-watching-adventures-high-in-the-andes-mountains/2015/05/21/825b535a-ea8f-11e4-aae1-d642717d8afa_story.html
Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/112785934