This is posted with permission of the list service administrator. I am receiving no financial gain from this notice, it is merely to help ABA and the flow of funds that should accrue to local conservation efforts in Ecuador.
The 2007 ABA International Conference will be held in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, in September. The company handling this conference for the ABA is Tropical Birding, which is based in Quito. We (Tom and I) have had excellent experience with this company and can say that attendees should expect a first class operation. The attendance limit is 230 people. Elizabeth Bell on Grey Cloud Island 5868 Pioneer Road South Saint Paul Park MN 55071-1143 651 459-4150 2007 ABA International Conference, Quito, Ecuador To quote from the organizers: "This is the first time this event will take place in South America. Everyone will stay at the same hotel in Quito (the Dann Carlton, very nice), while taking day trips each day to various sites in the Andes. The day trips will be: Antisana (dry high-elevation plateau with condors), Papallacta (eastern temperate forest and moist paramo with seedsnipe), Yanacocha (temperate forest west of Quito, think mountain-tanagers), Tandayapa (out-of-control hummer feeders in the western subtropics), and Milpe (super diverse Choco foothill forest). Because some of the birding will be on forest trails, the groups will be small, with about 8 people to each leader. The guides are world-class, and hopefully all participants will get the experience of a short birding tour, but with the added bonus of top-notch speakers each night. There is also a non-birding track, with cultural day trips for non-birding companions and spouses. Non-birders will visit Tandayapa and Antisana as well. Could this be the perfect birding conference? There is a big conservation connection that we're very excited about too. A portion of each registration fee will go toward local conservation, supporting land purchase around the existing Milpe Bird Sanctuary (Mindo Cloudforest Foundation) and Yanacocha Reserve (Jocotoco Foundation). Both of these are locations we will visit on day trips during the conference, so everyone can see the areas they are supporting. Swarovski has made an up-front commitment of support, and the event should generate over $50,000 in total for local conservation. Awesome! Here's the website you can check out for more information and registration forms: http://www.americanbirding.org/mtgs/conferences/2007quito/. The conference registration is actually going very well, and we've already got around 140 people."
