Ecuador

Ecuador has 1,600 recorded bird species (15% of the world’s known bird species) in its continental area and 38 more endemic in the Galápagos Islands. Its remarkable biodiversity extends to the realms of plant life, reptiles and butterflies as well. Ecuador has a constitution that recognizes the rights of nature and works to protect the nation’s biodiversity as a national priority, and, the Galápagos Islands are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Despite being on the UNESCO list, the Galápagos are endangered by a range of negative environmental effects, threatening the existence of its unique ecosystem. Images in this portfolio were obtained in 2014 and consist of selected islands of the Galapagos, and bird and landscape images of the cloud forests of the Tandayapa, Milpe and Guango regions near Quito, Ecuador. A second trip to Ecuador was completed in 2019.