This week on The Lookfar Podcast: Voices from the Wild, we visit with Third Millennium Alliance (TMA) at the Jama-Coaque Reserve in the Manabí Province of Ecuador. Joining us is TMA CEO Ryan Lynch and TMA’s Director of Research Mike Ellis, plus a quick visit with TMA biologist Moisés Tenorio and TMA co-founder Jerry Toth, who shares TMA’s vision for the future of the Pacific Forest of Ecuador -- one of the world’s most endangered forest ecosystems.

But our focus is with Mike, an ornithologist, and Ryan, a herpetologist -- the first time both a “birder” and a “herper” have been on the podcast together. Mike and Ryan talk about the extraordinary biodiversity of the Pacific Forest and the many species of birds, reptiles, and amphibians they’ve observed and recorded as part of their work at the Jama-Coaque Reserve. They also share a few of the challenges of living in close quarters in TMA’s remote research station -- with the herper always out late and the birder always up early. Good thing they’re such good friends, or there might’ve been trouble!