Bellavista, Tandapaya
BELLAVISTA, TANDAPAYA
Cloud forest
BELLAVISTA, TANDAPAYA
Cloud forest
Richard, who established the Bellavista Reserve (the first privately owned protected area in Ecuador) thirty-odd years ago, is the reason I made this trip. I met him at the International Bird Fair held in Rutland in summer 2022 and it sounded like my kind of country. Located high on the old Nono-Tandayapa-Mindo road, it's considered one of the best birding areas in Ecuador. It even won the Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the highest number of bird species seen in one day.
His extraordinary reserve is a founding member of the Network of Protected Private Forests of Ecuador and collaborates with local conservation organisations. Richard has more than 400 hectares (4 square km) of property and helps protect another 300 hectares in this core zone of the Chocó Andino de Pichincha Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO).
The extensive trail system (10 km) kept me fit; the climbs up and down the rough paths with a great guide called Wade (a young South African who grew up on a game reserve and is travelling around the world to extend his wildlife knowledge) were steep. During my five-day stay I wasn't lucky with either the weather (little sunshine) or potential mammal sightings (Spectacled Bear, the Olinguito which was only discovered in 2013) but the Giant Earth Worm was an eye-opener, and I just missed photographing an impressive Tarantula as she scuttled back into her bank hole.
The Plate-billed Mountain Toucans travelled in small noisy groups and the hummingbirds were always busy around the feeders. I saw two elusive Ocellated Tapaculos scoot across a path, a new Golden Quetzal nest (no parents) and heard White-faced Nunbirds.
On Christmas Eve, Richard provided a huge festive meal of roast turkey with Ecuadorian side dishes for a full house of guests. Christmas day passed very enjoyably with no tinsel or tat - just a lot of walking in the rain!
Bigger and better
The lush habitat and abundance of food promotes super growth. This Giant Earth Worm was over a metre long when extended and about 3cm in diameter.
Equally big were the amazing moths, bugs and spiders. There was particularly nasty Spider Hawk Wasp; about 5cm long, it catches a large spider (Tarantula etc) and lays an egg inside it for its larvae to feed on. Apparently the sting pain level of this wasp is 11/10!
