Birdwatching Marketing
Niky Carrera y Mauricio Ossa (Colombia)
Duration: 6 hours (in two days)
Requirements for participants: none in particular.
Quota: 30 people
Dates: Thursday 26 and Friday 27
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Place: Terraces of Dana

It is a workshop created to provide participants with theoretical and practical information on the importance of marketing systems, allowing application in business and sustainable ventures in the short and long term. The aim is to understand how bird tourism works from the perspective of marketing. It is aimed at people who have products related to bird tourism: operators, lodges, organizations, guides and providers of nature tourism services.

Niky Carrera y Mauricio Ossa are publicists and photographers with studies in Advertising and Marketing, Human Rights and Citizenship Skills, and extensive experience in pedagogical strategies, information technology and communication. Mauricio has studied Marketing, Sales and Negotiation. He is currently President of the Caldas Ornithological Society. Together they created Birds Colombia, a project that works for the education and conservation of birds and their territories. They are passionate about nature photography.

Bird photography, creativity and vision of the photo
Daniel Mideros (Ecuador)
Daniel Mideros (Ecuador)
Duration: 8 hours (over two days)
Requirements for participants: camera, ideally with a telephoto or zoom lens (the size of the lenses does not matter) and tripod.
Quota: 15 people
Dates: Friday 27 and Saturday 28.
Hours: 7:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Place: Sachatamia

A photographic workshop to capture the incredible biodiversity of the Andean Chocó forests. It will not only be about learning to use a camera, but going further, training the mind, patience and the eye to capture the unforgettable moments we experience, surrounded by nature. We will try to visualize the photo before taking it, learn about the combination of the camera with the environmental conditions to take advantage of every moment in the field. The explosion of shapes and natural colors of the Andean cloud forest will turn this workshop into a fascinating experience.

Daniel Mideros Ecuadorian photographer. He graduated in Advertising Communication at the San Francisco de Quito University. In 2017, he made the decision to live off his passion, nature photography. In the same year he started his own business, Photo Wildlife Tours, in which he is dedicated to photography and conservation tourism. In 2022 he became the first Ecuadorian to win a category of Wildlife Photographer of the Year: “Animals in their environment”.

Birding I learn: birds as an educational tool
Carolina Yánez (Chile)
Duration: 4 hours (in one day)
Requirements for participants: none in particular.
Capacity: 25 people
Date: Thursday 26
Hours: 8:00 – 12:00
Location: La Roulotte

A training program in which pedagogical tools and motivational stimuli will be delivered. Anyone interested in teaching can apply the methods in their research or school activities. A low financial commitment and simple tools will be needed. Different examples will be given that the participants can use to deliver the information to their students in a friendly and fun way.

Carolina Yáñez Rismondo Marine biologist. Professor at the University of Valparaíso, in charge of the education department of Chinchimén, in charge of communications for the NGO Batiscafo. Participant in the International Committee of the South American Bird Fair and delegate of the Education Symposium. Tour guide specialized in bird watching for the company BirdsChile. Host of the children’s television series PAJAREANDO APRENDO, in Chile.

Photo Editing
Alex Boas (Ecuador)
Duration: 3 hours (in one day)
Requirements for participants: laptop with Photoshop and Lightroom (optional), paper and pencil.
Capacity: 20 people
Date: Friday 27
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Place: Butterfly

We will delve into the use of Photoshop and Lightroom and some of the most used tools for editing, plugins and external components, to get the most out of your nature photos and night photos. Learn how to manage libraries with Lightroom, perform pan, focus and move stacks, batch editing, virtual copies, hyperlapses with photos, export settings for print and social networks, developing non-destructive retouching. Edit your photos professionally.

Alex BoasAudiovisual engineer, producer and documentalist with 20 years of experience in professional photography. He has published his work in different media, nationally and internationally, and has given conferences on image, photography and lighting at different institutes and universities. For 10 years, he promoted the destination Ecuador, from the Ministry of Tourism, with advertising campaigns such as All you need is Ecuador, Discover Ecuador, Viaja Primero Ecuador. He is currently a tour guide and works leading nature-focused photography tours

The Magic of Digiscoping
Diego Calderón Franco (Colombia)
Duration: 4 hours (in one day)
Requirements for participants: smartphone, own or borrowed telescope, adapter to place the mobile phone.
Quota: 20 people.
Date: Friday 27
Hours: 6:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Location: San Lorenzo

This practical workshop seeks to improve the skills of birders in the field to locate and photograph birds with their telescopes and mobile phones. Digiscoping is an increasingly effective technique for documenting birds in the field, both with high-quality photos and video. It improves the possibilities of registration, documentation of observations, promotion of bird watching and environmental education.

Diego Calderón Franco. Franco is a Colombian biologist and ornithologist who has had the joy of birding in almost every corner of Colombia and in many neotropical countries. He has been part of ornithological expeditions in Colombia, and recently worked on a project to incorporate former guerrilla militants in an expedition to Anorí, Antioquia. He leads the operator Colombia Birding, a leader in bird tourism in his country, and is part of The Birder’s Show.

Optimal use of eBird for research
Cullen Hanks (Estados Unidos), Nicole Arcaya (Chile), Daniel Arias (Ecuador)
Duration: 2 hours (in one day)
Requirements for participants: device with internet access (cell phone, tablet or laptop), eBird and Merlin applications installed with regional packages
Quota: 30 people
Date: Saturday 28
Hours: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Place: Butterfly

Get the most out of the birders’ favorite application. Together we will explore the tricks of the app, how to plan your next trip and how to use the eBird tools in depth to improve your user experience. We will include tips on the web and the app, its relationship with Merlin and good practices for use.

Cullen Hanks

Project leader at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where he is part of the team that manage eBird, Merlin, and the Macaulay Library. He works with regional teams to support efforts to engage the birding community, improve data quality, and facilitate data access for research and conservation projects.

Daniel Arias

Passionate bird watcher, naturalist, photographer and multilingual tour guide. For over a decade, he has explored Ecuador and the Galapagos, teaching courses and inspiring birding in various locations. He also serves as a volunteer eBird reviewer. As co-founder of Aves Quito, he actively participates in the dissemination and conservation of birds, and is currently working on the UrbanOrnis project, together with Jennifer Romero. In addition, he is the national coordinator of the Urban Bird Program (PAU) and a certified Forest Therapy guide.

Nicole Arcaya

ROC Chile and eBird reviewer for Chile. Promoting the gender perspective in activities related to research and bird watching.

Bird Illustration in Watercolor
Paula Romero, Emmanuel Laverde (Colombia) y Dorian Noel (Ecuador)
Duration: 8 hours (over two days).
Requirements for participants: bond paper and watercolor paper (two A3 sheets per person, 300 g), brushes (one per person, round, size 1), pencils (1 per person), soft eraser.
Quota: 15 people.
Dates: Thursday 26 and Friday 27
Hours: 7:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Place: The Rest

In this workshop we will explore the wonderful shapes and colors of birds with watercolor techniques. Drawing and color concepts will help us to produce unique images. We will practice several exercises to refine the details and learn how to work with the textures of live fauna models.

Arte y Conservación Art and Conservation Art and Conservation is a project founded by Colombian artists Emmanuel Laverde and Paula Andrea Romero Ardila, which Dorian Noel joined a few years ago as representative in Ecuador. The objective is to diversify knowledge around natural history, scientific dissemination and the conservation of natural heritage through art.

Dorian Noel a naturalist and scientific illustrator with a background in biology, creates works in watercolor using digital techniques with the aim of promoting conservation and raising awareness about wildlife. His illustrations, which address aquatic and bird themes, are used in various media in Ecuador and internationally.

Bioacoustics: An Introduction to Bird Sound Recording
Juan Ignacio Areta (Argentina)y Jay McGowan (Estados Unidos)
Duration: 8 hours (over two days).
Requirements for participants: Binoculars, recording equipment (there will be equipment available for those who do not own it), computer to analyze recordings (optional).
Quota: 15 people.
Dates: Thursday 26 and Friday 27
Hours: 9:00 – 12:00 (day one), 5:30 – 11:30 (day two)
Place: Mariposario (Thursday 26) and Camino a Santa Rosa (Friday 27)

This workshop is an introduction for bird watchers to recording bird sounds in the field. We will provide information on the basics of equipment selection, field techniques, and file management. We’ll also discuss the importance of recording bird sounds and “best practices” to increase the value of your recordings. Our goal is to provide participants with a basic introduction to the tools, techniques, and importance of recording bird sounds.

Juan Ignacio Areta

Argentine ornithologist, author of the recent book Birds of Argentina and the south-west Atlantic (Helm Field Guides, 2020). He works for the Laboratory of Ecology, Behavior and Natural Sounds of the Institute of Bio and Geosciences of the Argentine Northwest. He is a member of the South American Committee for the Classification of Birds of the Ornithological Society of America and was president of the Neotropical Ornithological Society.

Jay McGowan

He is a Project Leader at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where he specializes in sound recording, archival curation, recording equipment, and the development of Merlin and Merlin Audio ID.

Study of Nests for Naturalists
Harold Greeney (Estados Unidos)
Duration: 6 hours (over two days)
Requirements for participants: none in particular
Quota: 15 people
Date: Friday 27 and Saturday 28
Hours: 9:00 – 12:00
Place: ​​​​​​​Mindo Lindo

This workshop includes the methods and goals for the study and monitoring of nests. We will be in the field during the workshop, searching for nests and discussing how the nests can be used for both ornithological studies and bird watching.

Harold F. Greeney. He is an entomologist and ornithologist with more than 400 publications on birds and insects, especially on neotropical species. Harold is the creator of the Yanayacu Biological Station, where he lived for 15 years. He is best known for his studies on Neotropical bird nesting, particularly Gralaria nests.