Aviturismo de Ecuador

Last weekend I attended a “Bird Observation and Identification Workshop” at La Reserva Ecológica Manglares Churute, the Reserve I work with. We spent all Saturday sitting through charlas given by a local guide who clearly has an affinity for avian. We went over the anatomy of birds, their scientific names, and the art of bird-watching. Yes, art of bird-watching. Now, when I think of ‘bird-watching’ I picture an older couple who look like they just stepped out of their Floridian condo armed with binoculars, sandals with knee-high socks, a wide-brimmed visor, and a fanny pack ready to get a quick glimpse of their sought-after bird. Not exactly my idea of a good time but to each his or her own. That night we went on a dark trek into the Reserve to get a feel for listening to birds. Unfortunately all we heard were bats (wannabe birds) as we maneuvered our way through the dark paths with our flashlights. We made it back to our tents and I attempted to go to bed early because we had to wake up at 5:00am the next morning.

It took a great effort to get out of my tent before the sun came up because I was unable to sleep due to the sound of the Panamericana traffic and obnoxious laughter from a few of the men who decided to drink Pilsner until 2:00 in the morning. We headed out away from the Panamericana into the Reserve to do some early morning bird-watching because it is the best time of the day to do so. The guide took us through the forest stopping every few feet, perking his ears to the sound of the birds and identifying them simply from hearing their call. He knew the specific bird instantly and was able to tell me a majority of their common names in English. We slowly walked behind him as he held his professional microphone in the air recording the symphony of bird songs and getting excited. His ebullience was contagious. Despite him being quite chuchaqui he was happy as a lark to share his enthusiasm of bird-observation with us.

I do think birds are interesting creatures and their diversity is mind-boggling but what I find most interesting about bird-watching is the bird-watching industry. Ecuadorian institutions such as the Ministerio del Turismo are working toward enticing foreigners from countries such as the U.S. to visit Ecuador by directing their advertisements toward birding enthusiasts. Ecuador is working to be the “Centro de Aviturismo Mundial” which would certainly bring hoards of visitors to not only to partake in the great diversity of avian but also the myriad of flora and fauna that call this tiny country home. Ecuador’s tourism initiative is putting the spotlight more on mainland Ecuador rather than the prized Galapagos Islands. The Coast, Sierra and Amazon regions offer just as much wildlife to gawk at for a fraction of the cost and tourists will also be able to enjoy Ecuador’s cultural diversity while trekking through the country’s many ecological reserves and national parks.

Although ‘birders’ are a niche market for the tourism industry it is a gold mine. Americans love birds. I never stopped to think about this statement as being fact until I began working with tourism in Ecuador. I was told this during an Eco-tourism workshop I attended with fellow NRC eco-turismo volunteers in August and I was told this again during the bird-watching workshop at the Reserve I work with. I decided to do a little investigation using good ol’ trusty Google and I found this to actually be true. The most recent statistics conducted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2006, birdwatchers contributed $36 billion to the US economy and one fifth (20%) of all Americans are identified as birdwatchers. Americans buy birding books, birding equipment, bird-feeders, and birding tours. We participate in bird-watching competitions, we gloat our ‘observed birds’ online, and we’ve created special bird-watching clubs and organizations. We have bleeding heart for birds; what is the emblematic animal of freedom for our country? Americans will be happy to know that Ecuador offers 1,559 different species of birds, 50 of which are endangered and Ecuador will be happy to know that Americans are willing to spend the money and time to observe them.

So for those of us you who are working or hope to work with tourism initiatives in your communities perhaps Aviturismo is something your community would like to look into.

Wikipedia: Bird watching

Aviturismo de Ecuador

World Tourism Organization

Birds of Ecuador and Birding in Ecuador

Expats Birding in Ecuador

Photos and Info of Ecua-birds