Amazing Andes in Search of Hummingbirds, Speaker: Lucy Uncu – Feb 24, 2026

In March 2025, long time birders, Lucy and Suleyman Uncu, took their first exclusively “birding trip” with Tropical Birding to the Ecuadorian Andes. Although they had birded for many years both in the US and while living and traveling abroad, overseas adventures had never been specifically focused on birds. This trip was a revelation. For 21 days, their group of four plus guide and driver visited both sides of the Andes in search of hummingbirds and other birds among the 1,600 plus species in Ecuador. They learned about Jocotoco, an NGO focused on acquiring critical habitats and stayed at a number of their lodges during the tour. The tour is billed as a Hummingbird Extravaganza and is in 3 parts of which they took 2. Each segment had a different guide and driver. Overall they added more than 600 species to their life list and saw an incredible 65 species of hummingbird. One major takeaway from this trip was be flexible! Washed out roads changed the itinerary more than once, but the guides always managed workarounds. They highly recommend Tropical Birding Tours for anyone interested in Ecuadorian birding.