Introduction: New Managers 2025 Jan
We are your new managers: Danielle, Joshua and Parker!
Danielle is our hospitality guru while we are here. She has over 10 years of experience running commercial kitchens, 2+ years in Operations, 7 years working for non-profits in Utah, USA and a year as a Chef/General Manger where she learned her Marketing skills. She enjoys waking up to the sound of the birds in the morning and ensures the birds (and humans) are well-fed. She will be covering our social media a few times per week, keep an eye out for updates!
Joshua is our scientist and adventurer. With a degree in Zoology with Minors in Botany and Spanish, he is prepared for the ins and outs of everything Reserva Las Tangaras. Joshua has been to all 7 continents and visited dozens of countries during his time in the U.S. Navy. He has his work cut out for him getting his two city-folk companions into wilderness-living! Joshua is excited about all of the exploring and research opportunities our time at RLT will provide. He hopes to find a position doing field-research in the near future.
Parker is our 11 year-old adventure guide! He is becoming increasingly curious about everything at the Reserve down to the smallest insect. He is in the 5th grade, conducting homeschool from the Reserve for a few hours each day. He has grown up in Salt Lake City and is quickly adjusting to our new life at the Reserve. He is very excited to meet other kids and show them around the grounds!
We had a rough beginning with some car troubles heading to Mindo from Quito, found a large tree blocking the road to the Reserve and some replacements were needed with our water source to prevent future problems. They say things like these come in threes and We-Three were ready to hit the ground running!
Things were a bit behind on trail maintenance so we immediately started working on them. Now guests can enjoy clear paths for their exploration of the grounds.
We hosted several overnight guests this month who enjoyed vegetarian faire while we work out ways to introduce more meat, chicken and fish dishes for guests.
Our first event of 2025 will be 14 & 15 Feb. We can’t wait!
Ciao!
Our time here is coming to an end sadly, so we’re going to keep this last one short and sweet since we’d rather be enjoying our final days here outside than typing on a computer.
Yes, we have amazing nature hikes and big adventures you can do around the reserve, as you saw in our last blogpost (consult your guide before embarking on any of these adventures). But what else do we do outside of these adventures when you’re resting your aching muscles or sore back from tubing down jolting rapids of the Rio Nambillo all day? First, we’ll take an adventure into the cabana. Kick off your shoes and step onto the porch and stretch out those knots with a relaxing yoga session with the relaxing sounds of hummingbirds rapidly flapping their wings and the river flowing in the background. After you found your vinyasana flow and are feeling nice and relaxed, hit the library and pick up the plants de Mindo book. Try your hand at identifying some edible plants around the yard. One of our favorites is called the Cana Adria or Costaceae Costus, which you can suck the sap of the red fruit as a refreshing drink.
Now we’ll take an adventure into the town of Mindo. Here we are greeted by familiar smiling faces of our friends we’ve made over the last 6 months. And of course we stop by Guillermo’s place Babylonia Pizzeria for the best pizza and to hangout with his family and practice our Spanish. If you remember we worked together to build the new camp structure a few months back and we’ve been great friends ever since. We have him down to the reserve to work with us whenever we can and practice a lot of Spanish, hopefully we get our diplomas soon. What really makes Mindo so special is the people. Any interaction we have in town, like asking someone for directions or going to our favorite restaurant, someone is always trying to have a conversation. And sure enough, since it’s a small town, you’re bound to see them again and get hit with a buenos dias and a genuine smile. This has really put the cherry on top for us since gaining new perspectives from people abroad is the best thing to do while traveling and it leaves a lasting impression for both you and the other person.
Ok, bye for now and maybe forever! It’s been great showing you all of our adventures and we hope it inspires you to visit Reserva Las Tangaras, or just take a break from all of your busy daily lives.
Your Reserve Managers, Matt and Arthur
Las Tangaras Adventure Menu
Disclaimer* Do not attempt without first consulting your Guide
Fuente Falls
Hybrid Forest/Aquatic
The trail to the reserve’s dry season water source is not for the faint of heart, but if you’re willing to push yourself a few turns up the river further, the reward is always worth the work. There are two routes one can take to the famed waterfall we’ve dubbed fuente falls, after the river that it calls home.
The first option is to take the tres tazas trail to the fuente river, and climb up for some time from there. The second involves a bit of a shortcut on the trail we use for the water line, which drops you off at the fuente a little higher up. From there, you take the well worn route of past managers climbing over rocks, up waterfalls, and rope-climbing up cliffs until you reach the beautiful waterfall that our water source sits atop. At this point, you are usually soaked to at least your chest if you didn’t bite the bullet and dunk under in your clothes and boots as soon as you got to the fuente.
From there, its more of the same past two more really nice falls. Extra points if you shimmy up the fallen tree to get up the last one. The wind coming off the falls hits you first. It would be a disservice to try to describe it with words, so a low-quality gopro photo will have to do.
Bubble Baths
Aquatic
Bubble baths is a river adventure into untouched areas of the Nambillo. Water shoes recommended.
You start at the gorge, a breathtaking hallway of flowing water off the end of Momotos. From there you’ll swim/trudge your way up towards the confluence, a big waterfall at the end of Sanctuario.
You push forward, fighting the current for a few more turns of beautiful river and cool geology. This is where you find bubble baths, a uniquely oriented set of falls that come together to churn the water into a wonderfully disorienting sea of white foamy bubbles. Who needs a jacuzzi.
For the extremely brave, again, do not attempt sans-guide, you can climb your way up the gut of one of these falls to the calm, expansive pool directly above bubble baths. Squarely in the middle of this pool, in the deepest section, is a huge boulder perfect for practicing your cannonball.
The real treat about bubble baths is that you can float most of the way back (at least when the river is low). Just make sure to keep those feet pointed downstream.
Buena Vista
Forest
Buena Vista is a Forest adventure best undertaken before first light. Bring snacks, water, and binoculars.
This excursion begins before sunrise with a trek up to the Andean Cock of the Rock lek. As the sun rises, you get to sit here and enjoy the welcome respite from the uphill hiking while watching some of the most interesting birds the Reserve has to offer.
As the lekking dies down, you saddle back up for a trek into the deepest and highest parts of the reserve. Keep an eye out for the Ecuadorian Capuchin, which likes to hang out up here. You notice the subtle change of the flora and fauna as you feel the air getting more crisp on your neck. Not long after passing the “giant’s throne” tree, you’ll find yourself at the sign telling you “Ruta no matienen mas alla de aqui”.
Do not despair, my friend, we’re just getting started. You’ll let your machete guide you up to the top of the ridge, which is always just one section of near-vertical woody shrubs further. When you decide to turn around, take 3 steps forward and you’ll find yourself looking at one of the best views in the Choco-Andean.
Sanctuario XTreme
Hybrid Forest/Aquatic
If you’re looking for the waterpark, look no further. We’ve got the best slide in the rainforest.
The Hike to Sanctuario is great any way you slice it on its own. You’ve got beautiful jungle trails culminating in an oasis so pretty you’d think it was cliché if you saw it in a movie.
For the curious adventurer, however, it gets even better. Swim through the pool and climb the waterfall to find a world of smooth stone harboring luges of clear water. Keep going to find friendly cascades that are great for practicing your climbing skills without consequence.
After a few twists and turns, you’ll catch a glimpse of the biggest cascade yet, with a well placed rope waiting for you to scale the side. After checking the depth and finding it to your liking, you will climb said rope, feeling like quite the adventurer, position yourself above this waterfall, and push yourself down the slide that ends in a 6 foot dropoff. Repeat as needed.
The creatures of Reserve Las Tangaras
Sometimes you hear strange noises living in the rainforest; actually you always hear strange noises living in the rainforest. Most of the time we can try and guess and make ourselves feel safe by assuring, “oh it’s just a branch falling.” However, that could just be a lie, and a big jungle cat is waiting to eat you. With the coverage of the night many creatures become active and some of these are venomous and dangerous, but some can be as cute as a nine banded armadillo. Besides noises you will also wake up to many small holes in the ground in the yard, or the tail of a small cat running into the bushes. As we know, the birds are the main attraction at Reserve Las Tangaras with the Golden-headed Quetzal, all the beautiful hummingbirds and of course the magnificent Andean Cock of the Rock. However, there are also many magnificent mammals, reptiles and amphibians. This installment is a dedication to them, the creatures living in this Chocolate-Andean Rainforest paradise.
Here we have the Margay. A small jungle cat that likes to hang at the road into the reserve. They can run down trees headfirst and their ankles can rotate 180 degrees to accommodate hanging from branches and being super agile. They can eat birds and bird eggs (sorry fellow birders) as well as reptiles and fruit. These animals are mainly active at night, we luckily encountered this special cat at 5am as many nightjars led us up the road, flying away and landing as our headlamps reflected off of them. These cats used to be heavily exploited for their very soft fur, so they are classified as near threatened. Margays are monogamous and form pairs for mating as well as copulate in the tree tops, in true jungle cat fashion.
Next, we have the culprit of the hundred little holes in the yard. The nine banded armadillo. With its long nose it searches for grubs and insects in these little 1 inch wide and deep holes. Their shells are very unique since they are the only mammal with a shell, this is made of thick, hard skin and bony plates. For the nerds like me, his shell can withstand 20 Mega pascals which is 2900 PSI! He isn’t great for the lawn, but he’s got a special place in our hearts. How could you be mad at the face!
While walking the trail up to the Cock of the rock Lek, I saw movement under a leaf pile. I investigated with a long stick, knowing it could be an aggressive snake. However, this snake was friendly and small. I later identified as a halloween snake, Pliocercus Euryzonus. We haven’t seen many snakes so far, never mind an aggressive snake. However, our herpetologist friends at Mindo night walk showed us a large poisonous viper that they have been rehabilitating. We are happy we don’t have to encounter this at our reserve and it is just in captivity. We also have the Red Brocket deer here at the reserve which we had a long encounter with. Its eyes feel like its staring through your soul but also blushing while doing so. This deer can swim across rivers and are extremely agile to avoid predators. This deer reminds us of the white tailed deer which we have in New Jersey. However, the red brocket have much larger ears and have the beautiful under eye patches that add a lot more complexity to this special mammal.
Next, we saw the western Basilisk, run across water like Jesus! Which was something we have both wanted to see since seeing the National Geographic documentaries on them as kids. Later on the small river beach which we saw the Basilisk on we were trying to relax on the beach and soak in some afternoon sun. We started to uncover some large rocks to make a nice spot on the sand. We then saw about 6 white, similarly, looking rocks and realized we accidentally uncovered a clutch of eggs. We believe they are basilisk eggs, but a bit more circular than other photos we saw. If anyone knows about lizard or reptile eggs leave us a comment and let us know.
More on the river sector, we have been fishing a bit and having some luck. Our biggest competitor for fishing isn’t other fishermen, like in the states, but it is the river otter. These apex predators love to hunt for fish and can hold their breath for up to 8 minutes! Enjoy the photo of a true jungle fish, with extremely sharp teeth (which we of course ate and thoroughly enjoyed).
Lastly, we have the most common visitor at Reserva Las Tangaras, the Agouti. This little rodent is always making trouble around the yard but we love to watch him scurry around the yard curiously looking for food to eat. These animals are great seed spreaders so they are known as jungle gardeners.
New Camp Shelter Project
There is no alarm clock quite like the loud “OJO!” of a 74 year old Ecuadorian man at 6:30 in the morning, knowing he was up over an hour ago and he’d walked all the way from town.
Once Guillermo “Vaca” hits you with a “buenas tardes”, realizing you’d just woken up, he’ll ask what’s for breakfast.
By the third day of this, he’s in the kitchen making sure breakfast is up to his liking, because he can’t trust the gringos to put enough salt in anything. Rice with peanut butter-onion sauce and bananas became the winning breakfast in the end, and its actually really really good.
After some smack talk and coffee over breakfast, it’s time to get down to business. We spent the day building a new camp shelter, hauling wood and hammering nails. If we start getting on Guillermo’s nerves with our endless questions and adjustments, he starts asking for almuerzo. It’s gotta have meat, it can’t have mayo, and the rice can’t be too “duro”.
At this point you can usually distract him with a banana or a handful of raisins in order to hold him over until lunch. If he catches you walking towards the house in this time frame, you are likely to hear a “Mas Chorizo” yelled over the saw.
We met Guillermo in town, sitting in an insanely beautiful restaurant/house made entirely of wood. Our friend said that his dad built it, and pointed to the man chopping wood outside. We were looking for a carpenter and so we talked to him.
Turns out Guillermo is 74 and is still doing construction and trail building weekly. He says work is “Buen por salud.” We also learned that he built all of the trails at the reserve over 20 years ago. He is a wealth of knowledge of everything at the reserve; some things are just meant to be.
He told us that he’d be at the reserve at 8:30 the next day, and that he had no phone. We heard our first OJO at 7:00 the next morning, and the rest is history.
We spent the back half of August working with Guillermo to build the camp shelter. Our days went like this: OJO, Breakfast, work, lunch, more work.
When we weren’t grabbing hot sauce, salt, or sugar, we were grabbing nails and other tools, and never hammering in exactly the place he wanted. The afternoons were a chorus of “Clave! Empujar!” and lots of other words that we don’t know the real meaning of, but we know what part of wood to hit when he says it. If you messed up, you’d get the glare. After a few days, though, we learned that you could counter the glare with a “Mal ayudante!”
It was a really great experience for three reasons. One, the floor we built looks really awesome, like artsy airbnb level awesome. Two, we learned a ton about carpentry and woodworking from an absolute expert. We were even saying that we would have paid for the experience we were gaining. Third, we’ve gained a great friend in Guillermo. We would spend the whole day working but also laughing and joking in Spanish, learning a lot of words and phrases that will not be included in this blogpost.
Now, when we go into town we stop in at Guillermo’s and spend some time with him and his family. We have sweet bread and a fresh cup of a tea-oatmeal thing that isn’t quite either, but it’s delicious.
A Day at the reserve
We like to hit the ground running every morning at the reserve, yet some mornings are admittedly slower than others, sipping hot tea on the porch with a beanie and sweatshirt on while monitoring hummingbirds for an hour. This day in particular, was not a tea sipping morning for us. It started with the weekly Andean Cock of the Rock Lek monitoring. This is a magnificent bird, and one of the coolest ones we have on the reserve, in our opinion. Their display in search of a mate is a daily grind for them, which we have the honor of monitoring and collecting data. Believe me when I say it these birds are for lust, and not love. When a male asserts dominance, he will mate with as many females as they can.
Andean Cock of the Rock
A monitoring day entails waking up at 5am and hiking up the bosque trail with our headlamps to arrive by 5:45. I’ll spare you the long description as you have heard it in past manager’s blogposts, but it is a harrowing experience not knowing if the stick you are stepping on is a snake just hiding in the shadows of the early morning. Once we got to the Lek, we monitored these birds putting on their daily display. We also get cell service at the Lek, of course we have to text our parents/ girlfriends we haven’t talked to in a week.
We continued hiking up the bosque trail machetes in hand, backpacks stocked with hammocks, peanut butter, our fresh reserve grown bananas and last night’s rice stir fry. What can we say? We get hungry up there and we know how to relax, sue us. Food aside, we were clearing the upper part of bosque trail, which had been reclaimed by the jungle. Bosque is our favorite trail since it takes you as deep and as high as possible into the cloud forest at the reserve. Noticing new flora and fauna appear as we hike is also one of the best aspects of the trail. We continued hiking on for about 25 minutes past the lek and encountered our first tree fall. We hacked away with our machetes clearing the small branches and vines first to reach the main log. After, one of us would hack away at the log, until they got tired and would tag in the other to start unleashing whatever anger they had pent up over the last 10 years. Macheting really is great therapy.
On the Bosque trail
We continued for another few hours, losing the trail and finding it again, and taking in the old growth trees and the out of this world bugs that comprise the beautiful Andean cloud forest. Bit by bit we continued clearing away more and more trail. Until we heard a distinct and strangely cute sound in the trees above us. We began to scan canopy above us with our binoculars searching for the perpetrator of the sound. Arthur then proclaimed he saw a monkey! It took Matt a second to decipher the small fuzzy creature about 75 ft above them perched in a tree. We walked the trail keeping our eyes on the creature to find a good viewpoint. As we walked, we saw 2, 3 and eventually 8 monkeys running and jumping across trees! We began watching them in awe, groom and communicate with each other.
Capuchin Monkeys (via phone through binoculars)
We realized these are Ecuadorian capuchin monkeys. They are critically endangered due to habitat loss and hunting. Over 90% of their habitat has been destroyed and places like Reserva las Tangaras are the last frontiers for these magnificent creatures. They are also known to be one of the smartest species of monkey, employing tools like leaves as cups to drink water. However, their behaviors are not very well studied, since they are rare and usually very elusive. We hungout with the monkeys for a while and took a bunch of pictures, as one does when they see an endangered monkey deep in the Ecuadorian cloud forest.
Hammock Break
The next part of the day was not quite as Tranquil. After moving on from watching the monkeys, we came to a sign in the trail that let us know “Ruta no matienen mas alla de aqui” Not until now it isn’t. It was a bad day to be a treefall blocking what we thought could maybe at some point have been a trail to the top of the ridge.
End of Trail Sign
We spent hours walking, climbing, and crawling up the ridge with our machetes leading the way. Often, we would look down and realize we were standing on fallen branches and logs which were 8 feet in the air and not on the ground. At a certain point anything that remotely resembled a trail was completely gone, and we’d catch ourselves yelling “found it” and start hacking away if we could see the ground at all. Now this was proper bush whacking. It was awesome.
I’d never really considered the accuracy of the term bushwhacking until right now. Because that’s almost exactly what it felt like we spent the rest of that morning doing. Whacking bushes and trees in an upward push to the top of a ridge that seemed to be getting further and further away. Once you were finally birthed out of the bramble at what you originally thought was the top, you’d see that there was a higher point just a bit off, and we wouldn’t settle for second best after coming this far. Maybe that area was a bramble free oasis ringed with Verbena flowers we thought.
When we finally did reach the top, that wasn’t the case, but the view made up for it tenfold. Describing it won’t do it justice, so we’ll just drop a picture of it below. This view combined with last night’s stir fry, well earned, was a match made in heaven.
The top of Bosque
Introductions- the new managers
Hola a todos! We’re Arthur and Matt, the new managers here at Reserva Las Tangaras. We’d like to open our first blog post by thanking Jason and Tasia for being such wonderful hosts, teachers, and friends.
Their hard work has set us up for success. The Reserve is in great shape, and we’re planning on continuing to improve off of the great foundation they’ve laid. We learned more than we thought possible in a three day period, shared lots of laughs, and surprisingly had one of the best cheeseburgers of our lives in the middle of the Andean Cloud Forest. Jason and Tasia, you rock.
Moving on to a quick introduction. We are lifelong friends who grew up as neighbors on the Jersey Shore. We have a shared love of nature, problem solving and adventure, and have lots of experience traveling and working together.
Arthur has a background in biology, as well as wilderness guiding and first aid. His favorite food is banana cream pie. Matt has experience in engineering, construction management and renewable energies. His favorite food is mac and cheese, with a lot of parmesan.
We’re beyond excited to have the opportunity to protect and maintain this beautiful forest. Everything’s so green! We love being greeted in the morning by familiar hummingbirds, and spending the day surrounded by thriving biodiversity. Reserva Las Tangaras is a true gem for birdwatching and nature lovers alike.
The dry season is starting to show its buds, with more sunny days as the weeks go on. We are prioritizing clearing out the trails to and around swimming holes on the property for guests to enjoy and soak up the incoming sunshine. We of course make sure to test each swimming hole and cascade for swimmability after clearing the trails.
Every day so far has been an adventure. Finding new beautiful corners of the reserve, spotting new birds, plants or insects and identifying them using the lodge’s library, or coming up with creative ways to solve problems unique to remote cloud forest living.
We officially feel like experts on gravity-fed water systems, after an arduous battle setting up and maintaining the dry season water source. The time spent hiking and climbing soaking wet was worth it though. Poland Spring couldn’t hold a candle to what we’ve got going over here.
Also: Birding is awesome! We came into this with an appreciation for nature and wildlife, but not specifically birding. We’re hooked. We find ourselves getting into arguments about bird identification, gluing ourselves to the hummingbird feeders and freaking out if we see a new bird. We have already learned to identify all of the hummingbirds that visit the feeders, thanks to the handy guidebook at the lodge, and it is great share the excitement of discovering rare or new birds that come to feed with a good friend! We’re excited to be in the perfect place to continue to cultivate this new passion and share it with guests and researchers alike.
All for now! We’ll check back in after another month of green, birds, and most likely wrestling with the water line. Hasta Pronto!
Celebrating Transitions at Tangaras
The conclusion of our tenure as co-manager’s here at Reserva Las Tangaras feels suddenly upon us. Over our 5 months here, our daily and weekly rhythms have recalibrated to the even tempo of living remotely in this equatorial cloudforest.
Waking at 6am to the predictability of day-break’s first light and the cacophony of bird song–and likewise retiring to night-fall’s lightening bugs sparkling the forest around the Lodge like a disco dancefloor–sets our diurnal rhythm, punctuated by afternoon and evening rain cycles that over time have gained a familiar feel.
Spending the daylight hours monitoring birds, occasionally hosting guests, laboring on a satisfying range of improvement projects throughout the Reserve and seldom—if ever—hearing the machinery of humanity punctuate the sound-stream of nature has become our steady state of being. As darkness sets in, some impressively-presented and decidedly delicious meal emerges from Anastasia’s Cabana kitchen. Whether we’re sharing it with guests or enjoying it ourselves by candle light, the deep darkness ensures it won’t be long before retiring to sleep to the nocturnal sounds of river flow, frog song and insect calls. This has become a nice way to be living.
It’s not been awesome all the time, but it sure has felt nourishing—if not restoratively healing—to sink deeply into “Tangaras Time” out here on the wild side of the Nambillo River. In fact, just as this experience was starting to take on a quality of timelessness, we looked at the calendar and noticed that June is upon us and it’s time to snap into “transition mode”, to prepare the Reserve for the new managers arriving in a couple of weeks for training, and to ready ourselves for our next chapter after Ecuador.
So, soon, we will join the ranks of the “alumni” of long-term volunteers at Reserva Las Tangaras. As we’ve spent dimly-lit nights reading through the old “manager’s journals” or computer files of monthly reports, we’re reminded that for the roughly 20 year history of the Reserve, this adds up to scores and scores of dedicated people who came before us! We’ve read some of their names in the helpful ecology reference books they’ve donated, or in notes that credit them for completing some significant construction project or new system for organizing the operations here at the Reserve. One thing for sure, we’ve benefited from all the contributions of previous volunteers—and most centrally the vision, initiative, dedication and leadership of our Director Dr. Dusti Becker and her colleagues at LifeNet Nature—and for that we’re appreciative.
For our part, we hope that future resident-stewards, volunteers and guests at RLT will enjoy the results of our efforts to build upon the legacy of avian conservation and research at this unique place. Some of our projects were modest and immediate in their impacts, such as installing gutters above the entrance stairs (and thus eliminating the arrival ritual of passing under a curtain of water). Other projects were implemented with an eye toward the future, such as improving the food-growing area for residents, liberating the corridors of banana trees from the tangle of pioneering forest vines (the new managers should have 8 racks of bananas to harvest shortly after arrival), and propagating perennial shrubs favored by hummingbirds throughout the yard area. Even in a climate with such a stable temperature, plants take time to mature, yet as we prepare to leave we feel really good about the botanical beauty and bounty that now encircles the Lodge, and it should get even better with time and continued care.
As for the birds, they seem to approve of our efforts to augment habitat and foraging plants, and we realize that we’ve grown quite fond of our feathered neighbors. It seems like the feeling is mutually shared. There’s a great variety of birds—individuals spanning across roughly twenty species—that greet us in the morning as Anastasia gives her whistle and places the hummingbird feeders throughout the grounds and loads bananas onto the four fruit-feeding stations we’ve built around the lodge. To the White-necked Jacobins and Purple-bibbed Whitetips that buzz our faces as we step out into the morning (they have a different notion of respecting “personal space”) and to the Red-faced Barbet couple, the injured Euphonia and his shy partner, the pairs of Golden and Silver-throated Tanagers that chirp and hang from nearby branches as we set out cut bananas, we thank you for your joyful companionship. We will miss you and we wish you well.
And for the “big birds”, too, we appreciate the trust that has grown between us. The mother Wattled Guan with her two youngsters that graced us the first week we arrived has retreated to deeper and quieter parts of the forest and is seldom seen. Yet others have gotten increasingly comfortable in our proximity, and it’s not uncommon for the large cecropia tree in the backyard to host the full suite of toucan-type birds (Choco Toucan, Yellow-throated Toucan, Crimson-rumped Toucanet, and Collared Aracari), Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Masked Trogon and two species of Motmots. Often, on an afternoon of attentive birdwatching, we can see all these birds parade through the branches of our backyard trees. We’re confident that they’ll be just as friendly and delightful to the new volunteer managers.
As for the two of us, we’ll leave RLT with confidence that we’ll return to visit this forest and its inhabitants. We’ll rush off to lead a couple of week-long tours in Colombia in July, return to California briefly to visit family and friends, and then re-establish ourselves in a place called Jardin, our favorite little town in the western Cordillera of Colombia’s Andes mountains. From there, with unnumerable relevant experiences from our time here at Tangaras, we’ll return to our other birdy-enterprises—a little travel company called Tranquilo Birding, managing a small guest house in the hills above Jardin, and pursuing opportunities to contribute to avian conservation and supporting young birders and bird-guides. We’ll be plenty proximate to keep tabs on RLT and arrange for return visits to this 50ha cloudforest paradise, which has served as a most-memorable “home” to us.
Transitions of any kind can bring forth a range of feelings. For us, this feels like one to celebrate—there’s much we’ve gained from this experience, and we hope there’s a bit of continued goodness we’ve provided to the Reserve. We’re excited to meet the new Managers (we’ll let them introduce themselves next month), pass the proverbial baton (the Reserve cell phone and long-blade machete will stand in as the ceremonial objects in the transition of responsibility), and celebrate the continuum of care that has gone into turning a former cattle ranch into a haven for birds and bird-watchers in this wild and remote corner of cloudforest above the town of Mindo.
With gratitude,
Jason & Anastasia
Wild Waters
Water is, naturally, an element with a strong presence here in the rainforest at Reserva Las Tangaras. Whether rising as morning vapor misting up from the creek canyon, flowing in sheets across the broad yard a heavy downpour, or rushing down ever-incising channels to join other rivulets until they become something we might call a creek or river, water is everywhere. At least that’s how it’s been feeling this time of year, nearing the end of an “El Nin~o-year, Wet-Season.”
For sure, the rains have been strong and steady throughout the month of April, with occasional gloriously sunny mornings that give witness to transpiration in action: “steam” rising from plants into the atmosphere all around you. We closely monitor daily precipitation here at the Reserve, and roughly one-out-of-three days has dropped more than an inch of rain. A few days ago, we had a daily record for 2024, with over 4 inches (110cm) falling in less than 12hrs.
All this moisture, on these steep mountainous slopes, can wreak havoc on human logistics. The main road between Mindo and the capitol has been closed down several times due to mudslides, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days. Twice now, returning to Mindo on errands requiring visits to bigger towns, Anastasia and I have encountered stopped-dead traffic in both directions, and ultimately needed to disembark the bus, walk past a mile-long train of cars and trucks, encounter the mass of mud and rock spilled across the roadway, and join the intrepid others who, like ants, have mucked a pathway through the safest way to traverse the mudslide on foot. From there, it didn’t take too long to find a driver that was ready to give up on the wait, turn their vehicle around to give us a lift back to town.
On the Reserve, more rain means more trees coming crashing to the ground. On a recent phone call with my brother in northern California, he asked what causes all the tree fall. He lives in the pine forests of the Sierra Nevada and is accustomed to cleaning up downed timber, so the question came as one keen on the details of forest dynamics. In his California climate context, extended drought has weakened the conifers and they will fall from high cold winds snapping the weak and freezing trees half-way up the trunk. Or, a sudden downpour of rain in autumn will inundate the rootballs of trees on slopes that haven’t received a drop of water for half a year, and down they’ll tumble in a slurry of soil.
Here on the equator, treefall happens because of the optimal growing conditions for plant life, the steepness of the terrain, and all that water. Lightness and dark share the day equally—11 and half to 12 and a half hours of sunlight regardless of the month, although that sunlight is often dispersed by cloud cover. The temperature is (nearly) always somewhere between 60 and 80 degrees, day or night, January or June. Add water daily, in small or large doses from the ever-giving sky, and you’ve got ridiculous plant productivity. Trees can grow tall quickly, and many will readily play host to mosses and epiphytic plants that hold moisture and grow heavy.
In the dense forest, top-heavy trees will stretch out wide in the competition for sunlight until the slope of the terrain, the heft of the hangers-on—massive bromeliads out on branches, vertical carpets of orchids up the trunk, a tangle of fig vines dropping down the tree—the slow rot within the trunks, and soil saturation levels are all factors that conspire to topple trees almost daily in this environment. As a roadless Reserve, the extra water this month has kept us busy with clearing our all-important trails, which serve as the pathways for our guests’ enjoyment, access to our water source, the route to bird monitoring stations, and the way we re-visit with the outside world.
Indeed, water abounds on this landscape and—like this blog—eventually seeps or cascades down to its flowing purpose: the Nambillo River and two of her tributaries.
The Nambillo serves as a boundary to this fifty-hectare nature reserve, and two perennial creeks frame two other borders. (The fourth boundary line that closes the rectangular property is along the primary forest ridgetop, which drains this land.)
I have a strong affinity for flowing water, probably instilled from early childhood on the South Yuba River (in California) and deeply distilled during a career where I was known as “the river guy.” I worked with various organizations and social movements–employing a range of strategies, in river basins from California to Zimbabwe–all in service of the protection of free-flowing rivers, the biodiversity they support, and the ecological functions they play. So I can’t help but be interested in all manner of questions about the river that rushes below the front balcony of the lodge at Tangaras. Alas, limited bandwidth (meaning access to the internet, as well as available time for pet research projects) hasn’t allowed me to deeply investigate the Nambillo River, but I can share what I observe…and what you as a visitor can experience along the banks of our river and creeks.
The Nambillo is what my fluvial geomorphologist friends might call a “flashy” river system. While I wish there was a flow gauge that monitored the changes of velocity and volume of the river, you don’t need a measurement to witness how dramatically the river rises during a rainstorm. Within an hour, a clear river of smooth riffles and runs can turn into a roiling brown torrent of jarring power–very exhilarating when crossing the footbridge! In really big storms, from the lodge we can hear, and feel in the floor boards, the river carrying large boulders thunderously downstream. The river flows through a very steep and deep gorge when it enters the Reserve property When the rains stop, give it a half-day and river velocity seems to drop by orders of magnitude, the deep brown turbidity clears, and one can almost feel tempted to wade into the shallows or take a dip in one of the several “pools” along our stretch of the Nambillo.
As for our two tributaries, one is the (locally) famed “Cascade Creek”. The series of waterfalls is popular not so much because of the great heights of the falls, but the pure beauty and clarity of the water and the azure swim holes that are formed in the plunge pools. As one of Mindo’s most popular attractions, 99.5% of visitors (I’d estimate) reach the “cascadas” by taking a cable car across the Nambillo and hiking down to the waterfalls. However, we share the waterfalls as a boundary line with our neighbors, and we are able to guide guests on a hiking tour to these cascades.
The other tributary, roughly on our eastern border, is very remote and generally inaccessible. We call it “Fountain Creek”, because it serves as the fount for our water source—crystal clear water that we pipe down to lodge. We have one trail (called Tres Tazas) that leads visitors to the creek’s confluence with the Nambillo, where our own private series of cascades and plunge pools cut through beautiful bedrock. The upper reaches of the creek are equally stunning. Because of the difficulty of reaching this area, and the sensitive of the area for our drinking supply, we only take our volunteers there on occasion. It’s spectacularly beautiful, and another reason to consider a longer stay at the Reserve as a Volunteer.
Finally, a word about the wildlife a visitor can encounter in the riparian zones—the unique forested river edges of the creeks and rivers. The birds are special: we regularly see Torrent Tyrannulet, Buff-tailed Warble, and White-capped Dipper (whose cousin, the American Dipper is a denizen of my home rivers in California). Rufous-gaped Hillstar and Green-fronted Lancebill are hummingbirds that clearly prefer the habitats along the Nambillo River and (at least at this time of year) we see them sallying from the handrail of our bridge. And my favorite reptile of the Reserve can also be seen basking on a warm boulder near the bridge—the Western Basilisk. This is the creature you might have seen on a nature documentary, in a slow-motion clip of a 2-foot-long lizard rising to its hind legs and running across the surface of the river (in my imagination, to the tune of the Violent Femmes song, “Jesus Walking on the Water”).
We also have many records of river otter plying the Nambillo, but we have yet to see one in our four months here. This sleek playful mammal is a bit of a totem-animal for me, so I’m confident we’ll spot one before our time at Reserva Las Tangaras conclude. Meanwhile, we keep our eyes on the river to discover the unexpected and wonderous. We invite you to join us and do the same. We’ll work to keep the trails clear for you, rain or shine!
Wild waters,
Jason (co-manager/volunteer steward)
?Que Actividades?
The question arrived about the only way a message can be received out at the Lodge at Reserva Las Tangaras–by a WhatsApp text to +593 99 058 7084—and was short, direct and in Spanish: Que actividades tu tienes?
As Anastasia and I arrive at the mid-point of our 6-month tenure as co-managers at RLT, it’s clear that the birds–and the conservation science mission and the protection of this unique piece of an equatorial neo-tropical montane forest—drive our enthusiasm for hosting visitors here at Las Tangaras. And, when the day’s work is done, the pure joy of just soaking in the natural beauty and fecundity of this forest seems like the thing to do. So, when asked without formalities, “What Activities do you have?”, I will admit feeling sour for an initial moment. “Activities?!?”, I thought to myself. “As in floating for 5 minutes down a boulder-strewn river in a bramble of inner tubes? Or harnessing-in and pedaling a “bike” [so “sustainable”!] along a zipline cable over the forest? If that’s what you’re after, cool, but that’s not us.”
But I quickly pulled myself back from the misplaced sarcasm: While it often feels that “adventure tourism” here in Mindo (such as roaring through forested roads on Quads rented by the hour; or whizzing along a sky-tram on a network of cables over the forest canopy) has overtaken this community’s well-earned reputation as a pioneer in locally-led, conservation-based, birding and eco-tourism (see in-depth article here), the question about what one might DO when visiting Las Tangaras Reserve was a sincere and genuine inquiry. And while it often feels to me as though the things to “do” in this particular 120-acre hotspot of global biodiversity are nearly limitless, let’s organize some of our favorite activities and things to do with visitors and volunteers, and have a little fun dreaming up some snappy labels for what you can do in a visit to this verdant and vibrant wonderland!
“Top 15 Activities @ Reserva Las Tangaras—the 2024 Unofficial List”
The Blockbuster Basics
#1 – Adventure to the Wild Side of the Nambillo River!
Reaching our remote Reserve, is an Activity in itself. Call it walking, hiking or birdwatching, the Reserve is reached by a 2km nature trail that we share with our neighbor “Sendero de las Aves” (for their clients, this IS the Activity). The 40-45 minute walk passes through several eco-types and the birding is good, so keep your binoculars at hand. Reach out to us via WhatsApp, and we’ll send you some of our bird-list highlights and favorite vista points and big heritage trees to look out for while you hike in. Oh, and 2-minutes before you reach our Lodge, you cross over to the “Wild Side” of the Nambillo River on our jungle-ready suspension footbridge. It’s exhilarating. Stay focused and don’t look down at the rushing water below!
#2 -See the Lekking of the Dawn!
Take a guided hike to see one of nature’s oddest displays of the macho-ego! The “lekking” of male Andean Cocks-of-the-Rock. A football-sized bird, with a fire-engine-red head shaped like you-know-what, the males posture, re-position, and thrust their caps at competitors in this age-old mating ritual, slurring and slinging raucous insults at each other (my interpretations, not necessarily those of our avian researchers). With about 20 of these guys going at it for over an hour…Things get violent, the ladies show up and copulations happen, and it goes down at dawn every day on the ridge above the Lodge, for at least the past 80 years. Reserve your spot & see what all the commotion is about. Overnighting at our Lodge the night before is highly-recommended for this Activity, which sets out at 5:15am!
For those with an Appetite and Half-a-Day
#3 – Reserve your place on our Viewing Deck for our Breakfast and Hummingbirds Special
For early-risers…Arrive at the Lodge between 7am and 9am, and enjoy coffee, tea, and an American-style breakfast on our deck above the Nambillo River. While enjoying the flavors from Anastasia’s kitchen, we’ll observe up to 15 species of hummingbirds and talk about RLT’s long-standing Choco-Andino Hummingbird monitoring project. [check out the promo on our Instagram account.]
#4 – Join us for an afternoon Lek & Lunch– Although not as well-attended, nor as raucous as the Lekking of the Dawn (see #1 above), many of the males of our population of Andean Cocks-of-the-Rock do assemble for a “Late-afternoon Lek.” We’ll enjoy a hearty lunch that Anastasia will serve up at 1:30pm on our deck above the Nambillo River. After lunch, enjoy tea or coffee and an informal talk and Q&A about the Andean Cocks-of-the-Rock and our 15+ years of research here at RLT. At 3pm, we’ll gather for a 30 minute uphill walk to the Lekking site. We’ll all return to the Lodge by 5pm, which will allow guests to get back to the main road/Las Tongas Restaurant before 6pm and dusk. More details and reservations on our Instagram page.
For those looking to “Connect with Nature” while in Mindo
#5 – Hike our Reserve’s “back-country” Trails.
We have over 20km of backcountry trails on our 50-hectare nature reserve, including secondary and primary forests from ~1250m to 1600m that adjoin the expansive Mindo-Nambillo Bosque Protector Reserve. Trails can be rough, steep and sometimes slick with mud, but they take you to places you can’t find elsewhere in Mindo. Birds abound of course—Toucans, Motmots and Tanagers—but just immersing yourself in this unique equatorial rainforest –in all its botanical abundance in full florescence–is a most enjoyable activity in itself.
#6 – Track the mammals that are at home in Las Tangaras
Evidence of the cool cats and charmed Spectacled Bear can be found throughout the Reserve. With our lightly used trails, and rain almost every night, this makes for places near the lodge where fresh animal tracks can be found most every morning. Use our animal track reference guides, or ask us to show you places where tracks of Margay, Ocelot, Oncilla and—perhaps—Puma can be found. You can also discover evidence of our bears (teeth marks on discarded bromeliad leaves), find footprints (and see) agoutis and Red Brocket Deer and the markings of armadillos rooting around in the sandy parts of our trails. Or maybe you’ll look up and see a troupe of monkeys (3 species here), an anteater, a coati or the sleek Tayra, a large member of the weasel family. It’s wild fun out here!
#7 Do the Blue Morpho Dance
The shockingly large Blue Morpho butterfly –with its wildly geometricly “designed” under-wings and iridescent blue upper wings—is a regular visitor at our banana feeders. If you wear the right shade of bright blue shirt (or borrow one from your hosts) and there’s a little sunshine, there’s a good chance the butterfly will ask you to dance. Don’t be a wallflower…get out there and show us your flutter!
#8 Go “Orchid hunting” with your friends and discover stunning flowering plants
There are thousands of known orchid species in Ecuador, and a lot of them are here at RLT. Walk our trails and make a “collection” (with photos only!). Who can find the smallest orchid flower (size of a pin-head), or the plant producing the most flowers, or the most spectacular flower structure? Getting tired of hunting orchids? Do the same for the Bromeliads…or see who can count the number of distinctive epiphytic plants on a single tree (more than 20, or 50 or one hundred?!?).
For those inclined to enjoy Passive and Nocturnal Activities
#9 Do yoga.
We have an incredible yoga deck on the loft of the Lodge, with sounds the river below chanting the mantras. Bring a yoga mat (we only have one!). There’s no guru to discover here, but we’ll lead you in some stretches, if desired. Try to keep that tree-pose, while gazing into the forest canopy with hummingbirds buzzing your head!
#10 Watch the River Flow
After Yoga, head down to the Nambillo River to one of our “beaches” to meditate. New to meditation? This is a fine place to begin your practice: just find a patch of sand or a driftwood log to sit on, rest comfortably and pay attention to the flow of your breath. Observe gently what happens around you, and within you. Repeat. Yeah, wow, “connecting with nature”, right?!?
#11 Join the Band
We’ve got a guitar, ukulele and number of song books here at the Lodge. Yes, pick up an instrument and learn a new song, or let’s just jam!
#12 Learn the ultimate “birders” board game: Wingspan
From now until June…come learn how to play this somewhat complicated but super-fun game called “Wingspan”. We have the base edition (North American birds) and the “Asian Birds” expansion pack…while we wait for them to create the “South American Birds” expansion pack. Be forewarned though: Anastasia’s pretty serious about winning! This activity is best suited for an overnight stay.
#13. Read a book for fun, or prep for doing a Master’s Degree in neo-tropical ecology.
We have an excellent little English-language library here. Two shelves of novels for good old fashioned “book swapping” (this was a big thing last millennium, before the internet: travelers the world-over swapping out reading books at backpacker hostels). Or, stay with us awhile and work through the volumes of books on tropical ecology, conservation planning, field research methods, and of course field guides to plants, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians and dozens of books on the birds of Ecuador.
#14. Take a night hike to see frogs, reptiles and nocturnal birds
If you’re serious about nocturnal reptiles and frogs, we recommend you contact our friends down the road at Ecuador Reptile Adventures—they bring their clients to our Reserve, because the frogs are better and more abundant on this roadless wild side of the Nambillo. They are experts, but in a pinch we could lead overnight guests on some amateur “herping” when night falls here at the Reserve. Maybe we’ll also see owls, or sleeping birds perched motionless in the trees.
#15. Get your groove on at the Sunday Fun-Day Dance party.
Those who enjoy Irie Island music know that most anywhere in the world, reggae fans gather on Sundays for music and dance…if they can find the local venue. Here in 2024, Reserva Las Tangaras seems to be “the place” for Sunday Fun-Day in Mindo. (Who would have guessed?) With a live DJ and light show, join your RLT hosts and get your jungle groove going strong. Don’t worry, we play all styles (eg. Roots reggae, Dancehall, Reggaetón, and Rock Steady…we’ll even play Ska and Dub Step upon request) so there’s a groove for everyone! The party starts when you arrive on any Sunday from now ‘til June (the resident DJ’s contract ends mid-June, so catch this Activity while you can).
As you can see…we have Activities at Reserva Las Tangaras! And we’ve observed that each of these activities seem to be appreciated (or ignored) by our feathered and four-legged residents…so come visit us before, after or instead of getting your adrenaline racing with Mindo’s popular “adventure” activities. Send us a WhatsApp, and let’s figure out something awesome for you and your group to do out here at the Reserve!
~You co-hosts at RLT, Jason & Anastasia.
Reserva Las Tangaras 