Aviturismo in the Mangroves Churute
In the Gulf of Guayaquil (Ecuador) is formed the largest estuary of the Pacific coast of South America, where also the largest expanse of mangroves in Ecuador. Within this region, Mangroves Churute is located, the first protected mangrove area of the Ecuadorian continental coast.
The Manglares Ecological Reserve is in the International Convention of Ramsar because it is one of the most important wetlands in the world, especially as a waterfowl habitat.
The reserve is a refuge for many species of fauna, some of them threatened as the canclon, an aquatic aquatic that lives in the lagoon of the same name, and the crocodile of the coast, that already has disappeared in other zones of the coast.
One of the activities that can be done and observes these wetlands is aviturismo, a practice that consists mainly in the search, observation and identification of birds while enjoying nature in the habitat where it is located.
In Manglares Churute, it is a species that protects an extensive area of wetlands, there is a great diversity of fish, molluscs, crustaceans and mainly birds.
There are more than 300 species, including waterbirds such as herons, cormorants and ibis, as well as migratory birds such as caterpillars and plovers which, during the winter and cold season of the northern hemisphere, reach an area where food and shelter are easier to obtain. They are also representative of the reserve of dry forest birds, some of the species have limited distribution to this ecosystem.
The tour of the estuary can be done by renting a motor boat, which can take a three-hour flight and you can do bird watching like white egret, pink and brown heron, pelicans, frigates, kingfisher and osprey.
But another element that can not fail to mention about this reserve is that the main ecosystem that protects is the mangrove, which covers 60% of the territory. In the reserve there are five of the seven mangrove species reported in the country: red mangrove, white mangrove, black mangrove, jelí mangrove and mangrove colorado or crawling.