Tandayapa and that area are excellent, and combined with one of the Rio Napo lodges (e.g. La Selva, or prob. better still Sacha Lodge with its superb canopy walkway), it makes for an excellent trip. I have recent (Sept 09) experience of both, so please feel free to send me a PM if I can be of help.
Cheers, Mike P.
Tony Coatsworth said
Mon Aug 30 8:10 PM, 2010
Yes - I had a good dose of the Tanagers in Costa Rica - about 20 I think, and of course the Hummingbirds are marvellous.
Am now studying the merits of each eco-lodge - we can only afford 2 or two so we're looking at Napo and Tandayapa at the moment.
Mike Passant said
Mon Aug 30 6:49 PM, 2010
Hi Tony,
Concerning Ecuador, I should recommend the Helm Field Guide "The Birds of Ecuador" by Ridgely and Greenfield (2001). There are 2 books, but one is concerned with taxonomy, distribution and status, the other is the field guide proper. While you may want to buy both (from memory about £65), you will have enough in your rucksack in terms of weight with just the fieldguide, which covers everything you are likely to see except Foothill Elaenia (which was discovered too late to make the book). The first 2 volumes by Tudor and Ridgely (the passerines) was a wonderful publication, though "overkill",for any individual country, but nevertheless hooked me onto birding S. America in the mid 90's when I first went to Argentina and Venezuela, taking both these heavy tomes with me, as the only decent field guides then were for Columbia (where I dreaded to venture), and of course for Venezuela, (though this largely drawn from museum specimens). The pity was that not all the passerines were actually illustrated, but one look at those wonderfully depicted mouth watering "Tangara" Tanagers got me hooked on them especially, alongside a whole new assemblage of S. American Warblers, Furnariids and Antpittas!
I had a chat with Ridgely at the Bird Fair some years ago and said what a pity it was that they didn't do the full works for all S. America's birds, but he more or less said it was just impossible in one lifetime to achieve in a comprehensive manner. I think also he loved Ecuador especially, hence the collaboration at least in producing a good specific field guide.
I don't know if you've birded those parts before, but either way it's fabulous birding and I wish you a great trip!
Kind Regards, Mike P.
Tony Coatsworth said
Sun Aug 29 1:02 PM, 2010
Cheers - this was also published by Collins - currently £17.50 on Amazon which seems a bargain
Paul Heaton said
Sun Aug 29 12:31 PM, 2010
Tony, Princeton university press have published the Non-passerines book therefore putting it in the Old bird book thread.
Keep birding
Tony Coatsworth said
Sun Aug 29 11:13 AM, 2010
Seeing as we have old bird books and new bird books threads - how about future books ?
I'm planning a trip to Ecuador next year and managed to get the first 2 volumes of Ridgley & Tudors 'Birds of South America' at the Rutland Bird Fair.
These cover the Passerines and it says Non-Passerines will be covered in volumes 3 and 4. That was in 1994.
Subsequently a merged 'Helm Field Guide' based on these two volumes has been produced.
Anyone know what happened to volumes 3 and 4 - will they ever make the light of day ?
Tandayapa and that area are excellent, and combined with one of the Rio Napo lodges (e.g. La Selva, or prob. better still Sacha Lodge with its superb canopy walkway), it makes for an excellent trip. I have recent (Sept 09) experience of both, so please feel free to send me a PM if I can be of help.
Cheers,
Mike P.
Am now studying the merits of each eco-lodge - we can only afford 2 or two so we're looking at Napo and Tandayapa at the moment.
Concerning Ecuador, I should recommend the Helm Field Guide "The Birds of Ecuador" by Ridgely and Greenfield (2001). There are 2 books, but one is concerned with taxonomy, distribution and status, the other is the field guide proper. While you may want to buy both (from memory about £65), you will have enough in your rucksack in terms of weight with just the fieldguide, which covers everything you are likely to see except Foothill Elaenia (which was discovered too late to make the book).
The first 2 volumes by Tudor and Ridgely (the passerines) was a wonderful publication, though "overkill",for any individual country, but nevertheless hooked me onto birding S. America in the mid 90's when I first went to Argentina and Venezuela, taking both these heavy tomes with me, as the only decent field guides then were for Columbia (where I dreaded to venture), and of course for Venezuela, (though this largely drawn from museum specimens).
The pity was that not all the passerines were actually illustrated, but one look at those wonderfully depicted mouth watering "Tangara" Tanagers got me hooked on them especially, alongside a whole new assemblage of S. American Warblers, Furnariids and Antpittas!
I had a chat with Ridgely at the Bird Fair some years ago and said what a pity it was that they didn't do the full works for all S. America's birds, but he more or less said it was just impossible in one lifetime to achieve in a comprehensive manner.
I think also he loved Ecuador especially, hence the collaboration at least in producing a good specific field guide.
I don't know if you've birded those parts before, but either way it's fabulous birding and I wish you a great trip!
Kind Regards,
Mike P.
Keep birding