Amazonian Ecuador: Sacha Lodge

Over the last decade, Sacha (a native Quechua Indian word for rainforest) has become known as one of the most comfortable and best-run lodges in upper Amazonia, and it encompasses a wide variety of rich Amazonian habitats. This tour offers a full week-long stay at a single site, affording the time necessary to probe the challenges of Amazonian forest birding while providing excellent chances to encounter some genuine rarities of considerable allure–Zigzag Heron, Harpy and Crested eagles, Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet, Lanceolated Monklet, Collared Puffbird, Rufous-headed Woodpecker, Short-billed and Black-tailed leaftossers, Dot-backed Antbird, and Orange-crowned Manakin, to name a few.

Situated along the north bank of the giant Rio Napo, one of the three major tributaries that combine to form the upper Amazon, Sacha Lodge is located only two hours down-river from the Amazonian frontier town of Coca, accessible from Quito in a 30-minute flight over the crest of the eastern Andes (spectacular if clear). The broad meander plain between the Napo and the Aguarico River to the north is low-lying and filled with a number of blackwater inlets and classic Amazonian oxbow lakes (called cochas in the native Quechua dialect), overlooking one of which sits Sacha. Sacha is reached from the banks of the Napo by a thirty-minute walk along the riverbank and then on an elevated boardwalk through palm-rich swamp forest, followed by a twenty-minute ride in locally crafted dugout canoes along a narrow inlet that opens onto picturesque Pilchicocha. On the opposite bank stands the lodge itself, our base for exploring the many habitats of Amazonia. A network of trails from the lodge offers easy (if sometimes muddy!) access to a wonderful expanse of seasonally flooded forest (varzea) and to one of the finest canopy platforms we have encountered anywhere, opening a whole new dimension to formerly earth-bound birders.

Even on the north bank, pockets of well-drained soil on somewhat higher ground support taller forest and a few species normally associated with terra firme (upland) forest, the richest and most complex single habitat in the world. An immense expanse of undisturbed terra firme lies across the Napo from Sacha in Yasuni National Park, a vast reservoir of wilderness. We will make at least one day-trip to the rich south bank of the Napo for a sampling of terra firme specialties, as well as to visit two wonderful parrot licks, one of the premier attractions of the region.

But Sacha’s strengths are twofold: its canopy towers and its easy access to virtually a full range of river-created habitats, from lake margin, Mauritia palm swamp, river margin, and sandbars, to river-created islands, young and old. The “Orquidea trail,” actually a blackwater stream that drains Pilchicocha, is one of the most enchanting canoe trails we’ve seen. It is narrow and perfectly reflective of the overhanging spiny palms and dark-green forest. It is hushed quiet punctuated by the occasional outburst of a Red Howler Monkey or the insistent calling of a territorial Dot-backed Antbird. We plan this tour to play to Sacha’s strengths.

Sacha’s bird list approaches 600 species and boasts such regularly occurring Amazonian bird highlights as Great Tinamou and Marbled Wood-Quail (both sometimes seen at roosts!), Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Slender-billed Kite, Lined Forest-Falcon, Hoatzin, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Crested Owl, Great and Common potoos (sometimes at day roosts), Great-billed Hermit, Green-and-rufous and American Pygmy kingfishers, White-eared, Yellow-billed, White-chinned, Purplish, and Great jacamars, Chestnut-capped, Collared, and White-chested puffbirds, Yellow-billed Nunbird, Scarlet-crowned, Gilded, and Lemon-throated barbets, four species of aracaris, two big toucans, Golden-collared Toucanet, Lafresnaye’s Piculet, Chestnut, Cream-colored, and Rufous-headed woodpeckers, White-bellied and Parker’s spinetails (river island specialists), Short-billed and Black-tailed leaftossers, Long-billed Woodcreeper, Castelnau’s Antshrike and Black-and-white Antbird (both on river islands), Dugand’s Antwren (a regular visitor to the canopy near one of the platforms), White-shouldered, Sooty, Spot-backed, Dot-backed, and Common Scale-backed antbirds, Rusty-belted Tapaculo, White-browed Purpletuft, Plum-throated and Spangled cotingas, displaying Wire-tailed and Golden-headed manakins, Gray Elaenia and Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher (both regulars to the canopy tower tree), Mottle-backed Elaenia, Ringed Antpipit, Rufous-tailed Flatbill, Cinnamon Attila, White-winged, Black-capped, and Pink-throated becards, Black-capped Donacobius, Scaly-breasted Wren, Lawrence’s Thrush (a great mimic), Wing-barred Seedeater (a split from Variable), and a dazzling array of tanagers, many of which can be seen eye-to-eye from the canopy towers, including Masked Crimson, Turquoise, Paradise, Green-and-gold, Yellow-bellied, Masked, Opal-rumped, Opal-crowned, as well as three dacnises (and we even had brushes with the rare White bellied recently!) and three honeycreepers. Additional but less predictable lures are Agami Heron, Harpy and Crested eagles, Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, Black-banded Crake, Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet (across the Napo), Long-tailed Potoo, Gould’s Jewelfront, Black-bellied Thorntail, Lanceolated Monklet, Orange-fronted Plushcrown, Fulvous Antshrike, Banded, Yellow-browed, and White-plumed antbirds, Black-spotted Bare-eye, Orange-eyed Flycatcher, Purple-throated Cotinga, Amazonian Umbrellabird (we’ve seen it displaying from the canopy platform!), Striolated Manakin, Large-billed Seed-Finch, and Yellow-shouldered Grosbeak, all of which we have encountered during past tours. We’re sure to see an impressive array of fascinating birds and scenery. Combining the tour checklist with Ridgely and Greenfield’s The Birds of Ecuador makes preparation for the most likely species easy.