In these days we organized a small surprise for Beverly from Bill because of their 25th anniversary…

And the next day, we received this surprise……………

Thanks a lot Beverly and Bill! we hope to see you soon in Mindo Ecuador. We are starting to listen Friday´s Veil :D

We are very happy in Las Terrazas de Dana :)

Here is an example of what motivates us to improve and do it better everyday so our guest have a pleasant (and we hope they remember), stay in Mindo Ecuador.

Thanks a lot Dharm and Feruza!!!

Cock-of-the-rock are only found the Andean mountain range and in Ecuador including Mindo. It is about 30 cm high, very colorful and easily recognized by the ridge that runs from the base of the beak to top of the head. Its diet is basically fruit; although they also hunt insects, spending much time on the forest floor. As seeds are not destroyed by their digestive system, they still germinate when defecated, making it an important for spreading seeds.

Adult males spend most of their time in groups called leks, where defending view locations on the ground or places to perch. These males groups like to exhibit like showing the plumage, shaking their head, jumping on their perches and shaking the wings. The female then choose partners and build their nests in rocky walls, which where they are usually put 2 eggs.

The wings and tail of the male birds are black and colored the extended wing-coverts light gray. The most striking feature is the curved spring ridge that extends from the back of the head to the beak and almost obscured the beak. The female has a smaller hood.

The Choco toucan (Ramphastos brevis) is a species of bird in the family of toucans. It occurs only in the north of South America. Unlike, for example, the yolk or the Green-billed toucan, Choco toucan is rarely shown in zoological gardens.

The Choco toucan is still described in some regions of Ecuador as often.  It has a body length of 48-55 centimeters and a wing length of 18.2 to 21.4 centimeters. The beak length of the males is 12.7 to 16.3 centimeters that of the females is 11.4 to 13.9 centimeters with somewhat lower. The weight varies from 365 to 482 grams. A striking sexual dimorphism does not exist; females tend to be slightly smaller and slightly shorter.
Adult birds are feathered black on the body top. From the forehead to the middle of the back, the individual feathers are on a deep red-brown top. The lower back is black to the hull; upper tail-coverts are white. The tail is glossy blue-black. The chin, the feathered parts of the face and throat are bright yellow. At the transition from the throat to the chest is narrow red band. The under tail ceiling is red; the rest of the body bottom is black, with chest up belly over wash dark reddish brown.

Juveniles are colored somewhat duller. Especially the yellow on the breast is less vivid red plumage-parts show an orange tint.

The Crimson-rumped toucanet (Aulacorhynchus haematopygus) is a species of bird in the family of toucans. It occurs only in the north of South America. There are two subspecies. It is still considered relatively common.

The body length of adult birds is 40 to 45 centimeters. The males have a wing length of 12.9 to 14.4 centimeters; the tail length is 13.2 to 15.9 centimeters. The females are slightly smaller than the males. However, the only striking sexual dimorphism is much smaller beak. In females, the nominate beak length is 6.6 to 7.7 centimeters.

Adult Crimson-rumped toucanet has a deep green plumage. The body top is usually slightly darker and has a bronze shimmer, the tail is slightly bluish, and the four middle tail feathers have reddish brown on the tips. The body bottom is slightly lighter green. The hull is bright red; the feathers of the upper tail ceiling are at the end of greenish yellow. The eyes are dark red to brown. The feet and legs are yellowish green or gray-green.

The Crimson-rumped toucanet is a species of mountain forest regions of the north of South America. The distribution extends from the western and central Andes in northern Colombia and Venezuela as far as southern Colombia and northern Ecuador and in the west Ecuador. In Ecuador, it still occurs at altitudes of 2750 meters. Its habitat is tropical and subtropical evergreen forests. Sometimes its habitat extends to the transition to temperate forests.

The King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) is a New World vulture species and the only living species of its genus. He received his name because he dominates over other vultures.

King Vulture is colored eye-catching with naked red head at the apex, red neck and red around the eyes, while the lower part of the neck is black. The front is white gray. These vultures are up to 85 cm long, 4, 5 kg heavy and have a wingspan of about 2 m.
This bird is not very sociable, but lives in pairs and sleep at night in communities. During the day they sail for hours without moving their wings, and looking for food. They avoid the high mountains and stay mainly in rainforests and savannas. It has a good sense of smell and sharp eyes. Their diet consists besides fish, small mammals and snakes mainly from carrion.
King Vulture nests every two years and does not build a nest, but lay eggs either in rotting tree stumps or in crotches and crevices, which are often located at altitudes of 20-30 m. In most cases, the female lays only one white-yellowish, reddish brown speckled egg, but sometimes it also happens that the hatching includes three eggs.

This activity includes the study of the behavior of many species of birds, monitoring of protected species individuals, population monitoring and migration. If bird watching is a university science, the weight of the fans in this area remains important since there is a network of observers which often brings significant success.

Birding is an activity that can be done during the whole year. To practice this hobby you will need essential binoculars and guide recognition. Bird watching embodies much knowledge: distinguish singing, to recognize the shape of the bird in flight or posed, have notions about its behavior and its biology. A phenomenon that allows observing the most unusual species is migrating. Many birds are moving to breed, to look for food and to win harsh environment. Thanks to this it is possible to observe, in addition to migratory birds (which do not migrate), the migration, ie the species that are migrating and which are located in that area only in passing.

The Cock-of-the-rock or cliff birds (Rupicola) are a genus of the family of jewelry birds (Cotingidae), found in Mindo.  Rock roosters have a squat figure and extremely sturdy feet. The males have a very bright plumage with a broad fan-shaped tuft which extends over the head and beak almost completely covered. The female birds are less conspicuously colored, the cropping is much smaller.

In the males of the Toucan Barbet (Semnornis ramphastinus) the top of the head and neck are shimmering black. Black background vertices from extended spring are contrasting with a white eye stripe. In females, the elongated feathers are missing. The sides of the head, chest and throat are blue-gray. The top has a dark brown and the rump is yellowish. The wings are dark bluish gray and brown. The underside is yellowish gray and reddish discoloration on the chest and abdomen. The short tail is blue-gray. The beak is bright yellow with a dark tip. The legs are green, red-brown eyes. Your reputation that couples usually perform a duet is antiphonal (alternating vocals).

The Swainson’s Toucan or Chestnut-mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos swainsonii), is an indigenous to Central and South America from the family of toucans. He belongs to the genus Ramphastos and was first described in 1833 by John Gould. It owes its name to the English ornithologist William Swainson.

The Violet-tailed sylph (Aglaiocercus coelestis) is amazingly beautiful species of hummingbirds (Trochilidae family) present in Mindo, Ecuador.

So if you are an experienced birder or just an amateur contact us for lodging in Las Terrazas de Dana. We can organize your birding tours with the best bird guides of Mindo and other activities separately or in a complete package.

Mindo is an amazing place that is especially worth of visit and you will miss a lot if you don’t visit it. It’s a place full of life and water for which scientists say that is one of the best places in the world for bird watching and a place of extraordionary biodiversity full of wildlife. There are not many places in the world where you can discover and experience such fullness and diversity of life like in Mindo.

Mindo is a biodiversity hotspot region, in which occur a large number of endemic plants and animal species, especially birds and their nature is particularly precious. Most of such regions are distributed around the equator. The countries where there are hot spots covers less than 10 percent of the Earth’s surface, but are home to 70 percent of the world fullness of life (the creatures). The concept of biodiversity hotspots was developed by biologists Russell Mitter Meier and Norman Myers in the late 1980s. The trigger was perceived as a dilemma question of which areas have the greatest importance for the conservation of species. Mindo is one such place of biodiversity.

One of the most interesting things in Mindo is the cloud forest. Cloud forests are often tropical mountain forests, wetlands and located between 1000 and 3000 meters above sea level, bathed in frequent mist almost permanent.

These forests are characterized by:
– heavy rainfall, much greater than that of the lowland rain forests (from 2 000 to 8000 mm annual with altitude);
– a highly buffered temperature, that is to say, with few peaks hot or cold, especially in the tropics to the ground or in burrows (where the temperature is almost constant). The temperature, however, varies and regularly with altitude, dropping 0.6 ° C per 100 m of elevation gain, which creates multiple stages, each characterized by a different biodiversity;
– abundant layers of mist that cause air saturation in water, but also a reduction in direct and indirect light decreased ranspiration, promoting the development of mosses and epiphytes (orchids, bromeliads, ferns, lichens …) particularly exuberant manner;

– Diffusion of sound and smells (flower fragrances, hormones, odorants markings territories) characteristic of constant humidity and raised in environments that allows animals to communicate over longer distances.

These ecosystems are often considered among the richest in the world.

So, don´t wait any more and make a reservation in a hotel in Mindo Ecuador!!!