Heading south for the winter...ECUADOR (11 Jan)

After meeting a group of birding friends from Texas, (a group from the Houston Audubon Society no less), in Ecuador's big southern city, Guayaquil, we were soon on the road. The marshes surrounding Guayaquil were packed with birds: Snail Kites adorned many posts, Wattled Jacanas, Roseate Spoonbills, and White Ibis foraged in the ditches, Mangrove Warblers fed in the, ahem, mangroves, and some White-cheeked Pintails dabbled in the ponds. However, frankly, we were not there for them, fun as they were. We moved on to Manglares Churute, where their famous mangroves were avoided for the dry woodlands, which yielded Jet Antbirds aplenty, and a princely pair of Pacific Royal Flycatchers. While we feasted on the flycatchers, a troop of howler monkeys entertained us with their noisy vocals and comic antics too. After picking up some rather massive Horned Screamers and a Gray-capped Cuckoo en-route we were on our way to El Oro province to the south.

Next up was Buenaventura reserve, and the intriguingly named Umbrellabird Lodge....