Tour Narratives
February 2011
In brief: From the dawn screeches of male Andean Cocks-of-the-rock to the gleaming color of dozens of species of hummingbirds and tanagers in the alpine forest to hand-fed Moustached and Yellow-breasted Antpittas and dizzying rainforest canopy flocks, northwest Ecuador really is a birder’s paradise. From a home base at a cloud-forest lodge we dabbled in the elfin forest below treeline, the lowland Choco rainforest and everything in between tallying more than 300 species including such gems as Sword-billed Hummingbird, tapaculos that exist like the whisper of a shadow, and to the downright flashy things like Grass-green Tanagers and Choco Toucans. It’s hard to believe so much can be seen in such a small area in such a small amount of time.
In detail: The first day began with an early departure from Quito for the high elevations of the Jocotoco Foundation’s Yanacocha Reserve situated on the slope of the Pichincha volcano. Here in the cool, thin air and elfin temperate forest a remarkable variety of birds were the group’s first introductions to Ecuadorian avifauna. We pulled over for our only Streak-throated Bush-Tyrants of the trip. Then in the reserve’s parking lot, a Tawny Antpitta singing from a fencepost was an auspicious start. Even in the clouds the hummingbirds gleamed like jewels and we marveled at the impossibly proportioned Sword-billed Hummingbird and the “big daddy” Great Sapphirewing. We returned to the van as the clouds turned to a heavy rain that eventually caused a washout and our quick ride to Mindo. The long way around wasn’t all bad news, though, because the detour found us a couple of Andean Guans and we all got to hear the oinks of an Ecuadorian Rail. We shook off the road, a little wet and tired in the comfort of the Septimo Paraiso lodge, home base for the next week.
Settling into cloud-forest birding easy the next day we began at the old, faithful Mindo Junction where hungry insectivores arrive in force at the crack of dawn to feast on a night’s worth of moths attracted to the streetlamp. A Masked Trogon nearly landed on the back of a civilian waiting for the bus. Noticing our scopes and cameras, he turned around slowly and proceeded to click a picture with his cell phone of the stunning bird perched not a meter from him. Back at the hotel we counted up a dozen hummingbird species at the feeders before we watched our first mixed flock move along the driveway. A strange sound brought our attention to the hillside where we found a Crested Guan making agitated noises at a nearby Gray-backed Hawk! That afternoon nearby on the Rio Mindo Road a Fawn-breasted Tanager preceded a Sunbittern that took turns walking and flying down the road showing off its magnificent spread wings. That evening we shuffled out of the van in the driving rain to spot two Lyre-tailed Nightjars on the dirt banks next to the road.
Dodging the weather in the rainy season in the cloud forest is always a delicate game, but we were lucky over and over again having it stop raining shortly before arriving or shortly after leaving an area (the identity of the “magic participant” is still in debate, but we have our suspicions). We had perfect weather while birding the lowland Choco rainforest at the Rio Silanche Reserve. As is often the case with rainforest birding, many of the day’s species were contained in a single floor-to-ceiling flock that was polite enough to whirl around us instead of just quickly passing by. We had scope views of Slaty-capped Shrike-Vireo at the eye of the storm as well as the Choco endemic Gray-and-gold Tanager and the striking Yellow-tufted Dacnis. And from the canopy tower, where the flock sadly never passed, possibly western Ecuador’s first recorded White-chested Swifts made some low passes.
Just like birding here in the States, sometimes the great things aren’t in a park or a reserve or in some hotspot. Sometimes they’re just on the side of the road. We left early and drove out past the small Ecuadorian town of Pacto Loma where a road passes through forest and the elevation changes from 1500 meters to 900 meters in a few kilometers. We encountered a few quality mixed flocks and marveled at a Moss-backed Tanager hopping around in the road, but the big surprise came at lunch. It’s always nice to have a pleasant picnic in the sunshine interrupted by first a Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, then an Ornate Hawk-Eagle in a display flight all the while listening to the notes from a Club-winged Manakin lek somewhere on the hillside below. That warm weather after some wet days was just perfect for soaring raptors and we kept one eye on the sky.
The next morning we experienced unforgettable, amazing, and somewhat surreal birding at the Reserva Paz de las Aves provided by the reserve’s legendary owner, Angel Paz. At the fruit feeders we enjoyed point blank looks at Toucan Barbets among other frugivores, and to Angel’s calls and snacks such notorious skulkers as Moustached Antpitta, Yellow-breasted Antpitta, and Dark-backed Woodquail presented themselves as though they were pets. Just before we left, Angel put down his cell phone and used the modern conveniences of dirt and sticks to draw us a map to a location where a Lyre-tailed Nightjar has a day roost. After our rainy expedition a couple nights before, seeing this bird in the sunshine was a real treat. We spent the afternoon at the Milpe Reserve squinting at Yellow-colored Chlorophonias in the canopy and watching the Club-winged Manakins jump and strum in their nearby lek.
This morning in the darkness before dawn we hiked up through a cow pasture to a rickety palm-leaf shelter and awaited the show. As the sun first made its presence known as a soft glow through the clouds on the horizon terrible screeches echoed through the forest and we knew we were in the right place. At least five male Andean Cocks-of-the-rock were on display at this lek and for the next thirty minutes they moved through the trees over and around us splitting the air with their harsh screams and barks. After the thoroughly impressive show put on by these big red cotingas, we walked back to the van still with a full day before us. We went up. We drove the Old Nono-Mindo Road now popularly known as the “Eco Route” to forest at higher elevation. At our first stop we encountered a few Plate-billed Mountain-Toucans. Then along the Tandayapa Ridge as the gloom gave way to sun a mixed flock moved along the road featuring such high elevation specialties as the alpine bamboo obligate Plushcap, the super-sized Hooded Mountain-Tanager, and the comic-book painted Grass-green Tanager. A few of the latter even dropped into a roadside puddle for a bath. We finished up the afternoon with lunch on the back porch of Tony and Barbara’s house as 16 species of hummingbirds swarmed their feeders including our first Green and Sparkling Violetears and Western Emeralds.
Our final day of birding we took a turn around the Septimo Paraiso grounds to catch a last look. A perched (long enough for scope views) and calling Streak-capped Treehunter was a nice treat and we got some better looks at a few birds we had only seen briefly earlier in the week, or, in the case of the Pale-mandibled Aracaris and Crimson-rumped Toucanet, we got distant scope views of birds we had seen right in front of our faces earlier in the week – just to shake things up a bit. We packed up, said goodbye to Septimo and began our way back to the big city. Our stop at the Alambi lodge was not only a good place to get out of the rain and eat lunch in front of some hummingbird feeders, it also had a tree with SIX Crested Quetzals gorging themselves on the avocados. Our last stop was north of Quito where in the dry, cool air we added a few highland scrub birds like Grassland Yellow-finches, Band-tailed Seedeaters, and Ash-breasted Sierra-Finches. The pair of Tropical Mockingbirds were a good addition as was a Merlin, like us, in the Andes for a vacation from North America. It was the end of a great week of dazzling birds and good new friends.
Jon Feenstra
July 2010
In Brief: “Maria! Venga, venga…” The story of Angel Paz “cultivating” antpittas is well-known – but it’s one thing to read about it and another to sit in disbelief as two Giant Antpittas come bounding down the trail and hop around right in front of you! And only shortly after a spell-binding dawn hour at a lek of Andean Cock-of-the-Rocks, where the bizarre screams of these burning-bright cotingas echoed through the forest. This is just a snapshot of one morning on our aptly named “A Week in Paradise” tour. Then there were 37 species of hummingbirds – from Sword-billed and Giant Hummingbirds to the dazzling Velvet-purple Coronet and Empress Brilliant, endearing Booted Racket-tails, and swarms of Green Thorntails. Not to mention almost 50 species of tanagers, including Beryl-spangled, Moss-backed, Flame-faced, Gray-and-gold and Scarlet-browed. The spectrum of innumerable other highlights ran from point-blank views of stunning Crimson-mantled Woodpeckers and Plate-billed Mountain Toucans to the understated Olvaceous Piha and Nariño Tapaculo – and all based out of a comfortable lodge with great food and hospitality. Neotropical birding doesn’t get any better that this!
In Detail: All arrived in good time for dinner and an introduction to one of the most exciting birding destinations anywhere in the world. An early start the first day found us at Yanacocha reserve on the slopes of Volcan Pichincha, with our first “official” bird being a stunning male Golden-bellied Grosbeak. At the parking lot we started with a surprise Carunculated Caracara and a confiding Tawny Antpitta before a walk amid mild weather and breath-taking views of steep, forested mountainsides dappled with wisps of swirling cloud. The hummingbirds were simply out of this world, and after the first Sword-billed, Charlie announced he “was having one.” And then there were Great Sapphirewings, Buff-winged Starfrontlets, pufflegs, sunbeams, violetears and metaltails – names bestowed in the bygone poetic era of ornithology. Fast-moving flocks included three species of colorful mountain tanager and some beautiful Turquoise Jays among the abundant flowerpiercers. After lunch we headed down through steeply forested valleys to Séptimo Paraíso, our base for the coming week. A pair of Andean Lapwings was a pleasant surprise, Denise spotted the dippers, Edwin the displaying Cock-of-the-Rocks and then we were “home” – to be greeted by more dazzling hummers and a roosting Common Potoo in the yard. Not bad for a “travel day”
Our first morning at Mindo we simply walked from the lodge, where there were more than enough birds to keep us busy (for some almost to the point of overload). Dawn sounds included a Wattled Guan and plenty of motmots, and birds seen included a confiding Sickle-winged Guan, Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Violet-tailed Sylphs and an elusive Barred Forest Falcon. After lunch and a siesta our “hummer recap” was interrupted by a stealthy Scaled Antpitta, then a stunning Velvet-purple Coronet. Afternoon birding nearby produced Choco Toucan, perched Red-billed Parrots, a “cute” Scale-crested Pygmy Tyrant and spectacular Lyre-tailed Nightjars.
An early start to the nearby Tandayapa ridge offered a slightly different suite of birds, with Plate-billed Mountain Toucan (including a pair seemingly hunting for nestling Smoke-colored Pewees!), Toucan Barbet, Spillman’s Tapaculo, Grass-green Tanager and Powerful Woodpecker. The rain set in after lunch but we were able to stay dry at Tony and Barbara’s feeders for a very pleasant afternoon getting to grips with some of the area’s many dazzling hummingbirds. An even earlier start the next day took us to the little-birded Machpe road, and more spectacular roadside forest birding. Highlights included kettling (and molting!) Swallow-tailed Kites, screaming Golden-headed Quetzals, a begging baby Violet-tailed Sylph, an intense Indigo Flowerpiercer, the stunning “trinity” of Moss-backed, Flame-faced and Glistening-green Tanagers and a surprise Olivaceous Piha well-spotted by Wendy. After a pleasant picnic lunch beside the untraveled road we headed back to the lodge by late afternoon. Another great dinner featured another great dessert approved by Darlene, and then it was time for a well-deserved sleep in preparation for our earliest departure of the trip.
After a few days of “almost overload” birding it was pleasant to spend a quiet morning in the forest – if a screaming lek of Andean Cock-of-the-Rock plus point-blank Giant and Yellow-breasted Antpittas can be called quiet. Rains and low cloud moved in by midday, but afternoon birds included Golden-headed Quetzals and a distant Long-wattled Umbrellabird, perched on a bare snag against the misty forest – a fitting end to a memorable afternoon.
The next day was a change of pace as we headed to lower elevations and a whole new suite of birds – from Choco Trogon and Gray Elaenia to White-bearded Manakin and Red-billed Scythebill. The tower at Silanche allowed us a privileged view into the forest canopy world where the progression of different flycatchers was impressive, and a stop at Milpe’s swarming hummingbird feeders on our way home was truly mind-blowing.
Our last birding/travel day we bid a fond farewell to Séptimo, to Lily and all the staff, and worked our way back to Quito via Club-winged and Golden-winged Manakins, confiding Masked Trogons, stunning Crimson-mantled Woodpeckers, the impressive Giant Hummingbird and a “cute” Tufted Tit Tyrant. All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Edwin, get in some last-minute shopping and enjoy our last dinner and sleep, before our homebound flights. Thanks to all for making this such a memorable, bird-filled and fun trip.
Steve Howell
Updated: April 2011