Carnaval in Jorupe...(S Ecuador): 14 Feb 2010

It was carnaval time in Macara, the Ecuadorian border town that we were staying in on this custom tour. What this meant for us was a painful night of extremely loud, pumping dance music right up until dawn at which time we left for our days birding. It was with some relief when dawn finally came around and we could leave the town and music behind, and enjoy the peace, tranquility and birds of Jorupe reserve.

We were treated to a barrage of new birds in the humid woods within this exciting reserve. On the way into the reserve we bumped into first a pack of noisy White-tailed Jays (a fantastic opener right at the gate), and then one of the local wardens, who led us straight to a pair of Blackish-headed Spinetails. It does not sound like much, but it is a localized, endangered endemic so I was well happy to get it so promptly. The morning unfolded in a similar fashion from there with target bird after target bird coming our way with relative ease. It was just one of those days where everything fell into place. Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaners were typically slippery before one finally gave us an eyeful, Black-capped Sparrow rose out of the underbrush to investigate our tape, a tiny, tiny Ecuadorian Piculet was seen pecking away at a thin Liana, and a small party of Gray-cheeked Parakeets perched high in a ceiba tree. The huge ceiba trees, related to the dramatic huge kapok trees of the Amazon are a wonderful feature of this reserve, and one of these massive trees played host to three species of becard in it's limbs, including the rare and endangered Slaty Becard. Other Tumbesian birds that crept onto our list included a pair of Collared Antshrikes, a vocal Pacific Elaenia, and even a nesting pair of Gray-breasted Flycatchers (middle photo), that had recently been found nesting in a small hollow right beside the lodge by the "master nest finder", Harold Greeney. Thanks Harold!

Having worked the track as much as we could we ventured onto a narrow trail weaving its way through the woodland to try and find our last few targets. One of which proved tricky, despite the fact it was calling all around. Finally, we all bit the bullet and went bushwhacking off trail, when we finally found the constantly calling Watkins's Antpitta calling from high in the brush. Aside for a pair of excitable Rufous-necked Foliage-gleaners that showed intriguing signs of nesting in the area, the other highlight was a Pacific Pygmy-Owl (top photo) that was being battered by a mobbing pair of aggressive Rufous-browed Peppershrikes . The after saw us climb a little higher in the Andes, watching the few remaining Chestnut-collared Swallows that were nesting in the tiny town of Sabiango, and then we finished off with an exquisite Elegant Crescentchest (bottom photo) calling in the scope. Next up was a venture into the southwestern highlands and the bamboo-choked slopes of Utuana...

Buenaventura one more time...(S Ecuador): 12 - 13 Feb 2010

Two days were spent in the misty foothills on the west slope of the Andes in Buenaventura reserve, before we continued our journey south out of El Oro province into the southern province of Loja. In Buenaventura deep mooing calls after dawn had us peering into the treetops for large black shapes. A sudden substantial movement overhead caught our eyes and there in all its considerable glory was a hulking Long-wattled Umbrellabird. A little later we homed in on another more impressive individual that had its strange wattle stretched out to full effect, all 30+cm of it! As that is not enough with this oversized cotinga, its also sports a punk hair cut. The other main highlight from Buenaventura was the endemic El Oro Parakeet, a species only first described as recently 1988, and an endangered Ecuadorian endemic that perhaps numbers as few as 250 birds in the world. This reserve is their stronghold, with some 200 or so birds estimated from here. In spite of all of this you would think it would be a little tricky to find. However, we walked up into a muddy pasture and checked on a few wooden nest boxes, striking gold (El Oro means gold in Spanish), at the third attempt when we found five lined up on the lid of the nest box. We then stood transfixed as these approachable parrots flew into the tree we were standing next to and played amongst themselves while we watched on (and cursed the fact our cameras were sitting pointlessly on the front seat of the vehicle!)

Other highlights from the reserve included Red-masked Parakeet, screeching Gray-backed Hawks, Brownish Twistwing, Choco & Chestnut-mandibled Toucans, displaying Club-winged Manakins (top photo), and a hulking female Guayaquil Woodpecker. However, one of the other attractions of this Andean reserve is the buzzing hummer feeders, which were typically crowded with hummingbirds of all shapes and sizes, and at least 16 hummingbird species were seen by us in the reserve over our two days. The dry humid woods of Jorupe were up next...

Back down South...(S Ecuador): 10 - 11 Feb 2010

After just a couple of days to renew my acquaintance with my Quito apartment, I was hopping on a plane down south to Guayaquil to start another (this time shorter) circuit of the south of Ecuador. A brief stop at Cerro Blanco, in the Chongon Hills on the outskirts of Guayaquil, produced just a few birds during a period of heavy rains. We did manage to find our first noisy Fasciated Wrens, a fine male Ecuadorian Trogon, and a buzzing male Crimson-breasted Finch, before we pointed our vehicle south. After waving to another Horned Screamer as we passed through Manglares Charute (along with literally masses of Snail Kites lining the highway), we proceeded to Buenaventura reserve again. As we ascended into the foothills of the Andes the clouds gathered ominously again, and our arrival in this Jocotoco Conservation Foundation reserve was greeted with another heavy tropical downpour. This caused us to retreat to the busy hummingbird feeders at the lodge, where we also picked up the resident pack of Rufous-headed Chachalacas (see video from previous tour of this group, when they were easier to find in much drier conditions)

Even More from Rio Ayampe: Esmeraldas vs. Little Woodstar...(Ecuador): 4 - 6 Feb 2010

One of the standout birds on this years southern Ecuador tour was the Esmeraldas Woodstar. This tiny hummingbird is listed as endangered, with a population estimate possibly as low as a mere 250 birds. This little hummer is confined to southern Ecuador, and although is reasonably reliable in the early part of the year in this Ayampe area, it is seldom numerous, and after this period promptly vanishes, to where no one really knows. So in short it is a rare endemic that is shrouded in mystery, all of which make it an interesting subject.

Although I was fairly confident we would find one, I was not expecting to run into at least nine different individuals during our time there, of both males and females (an unusually high total.) .The female remains poorly illustrated in the guides, and perhaps as a result are sometimes misleadingly identified as Little Woodstars (that are also present in this area). For this reason I have included a photo of a female and a summary of what I personally think is best to look for in order to separate female Esmeraldas Woodstars from Little Woodstars:

Female Esmeraldas are not as white underneath as all the book plates indicate. Indeed they can have a strong rufous wash, much as Little Woodstars do too. Two main areas should be looked at, the FACE (especially the throat and supercilium), and the TAIL. Most illustrations indicate Esmeraldas have all white UNDERPARTS, which I think is often not true (bottom three photos). The other thing to look for on an Esmeraldas is that the broad supercilium and throat appear whitish, compared with deep rufous on a Little. Furthermore, the TAIL should be looked at. On a Little the TAIL will be generally all bright rufous with a broad, dark horizontal band across the center. On an Esmeraldas female the TAIL will be dark with a pale tip (that may appear rufous)...

Anyway these are my preliminary thoughts on the subject. During this time I observed a number of female and male Esmeraldas Woodstars feeding side by side. Above is a photo of a female Esmeraldas (top), another photo of a male for the hell of it (second), along with picture of the flowers that so many of them were frequenting during this rich time for them at Ayampe (third).

More from Rio Ayampe...(Ecuador): 4 - 6 Feb 2010

During all of our three visits to Ayampe there was the constant background noise of this Gray Hawk, that continually screamed from its favored cecropia tree. Occasionally it would drift off into the wooded hills, only to return and call anew again a short time later. Something tells me it was in the mood to breed!

Rio Ayampe & Machalilla NP...(Ecuador): 4 - 6 Feb. 2010

Several visits were made to the humid woods that flank the Rio Ayampe. These woods are almost in sight of the Pacific Ocean so that you have the strange experience of regularly seeing Magnificent Frigatebirds overfly the woods. However, the real reason for coming here was a very, very rare hummingbird, the Esmeraldas Woodstar (top photo), an endangered hummingbird that spends just a few months here each year, then disappears to who knows where for the remainder of the year. We experienced unusually high numbers this year with at least nine birds seen including several gorgeous males, one of which was found by one of the group perched outside his room at Mantaraya Lodge! Indeed Mantaraya Lodge was fantastic this year with Anthony's Nightjar, Slaty Becard (middle photo), and Scarlet-backed Woodpecker all found within the grounds in addition to the super rare hummer. Other cool Ayampe birds included the endangered Ochraceous Attila, the recently split Ecuadorian Trogon, glowing Saffron Siskins, and a number of Crimson-breasted Finches.

A side visit to Machalilla NP bought us the odd experience of a very confiding Pale-browed Tinamou that even allowed us to digiscope it (bottom photo). This bought this south trip to a close, although just a few days later I was southbound from Quito again for a highly successful short custom tour in these parts again...

Santa Elena Peninsula...(Ecuador): 4 February 2010

In complete contrast to the high altitude, chilly paramo grasslands visited the day before, we spent a morning on the hot, sweltering Santa Elena Peninsula, right at sea level. Here the vegetation had clearly not seen wet weather for some time as much of it was tinder dry. This coastal scrub holds a bunch of local species, that can often be conveniently easy to come by, the simply use of a pygmy-owl call bringing in many of them to mob the "false" intruder. Pretty quickly we picked up a number of mobbing hordes of Parrot-billed Seedeaters, so named for their strange swollen parrot-like beaks, one of the commonest passerines on this dry peninsula. Other birds within these frenzied mobbing parties included the "horny" Gray-and-white Tyrannulet, that sports a shaggy white crest, several Collared Antshrikes (top photo), a pair of Superciliated Wrens, several mousey Tumbesian Tyrannulets, a few Necklaced Spinetails, a single odd Short-tailed Field-Tyrant, a number of sharp-dressed Collared Warbling-Finches, while the occasional West Peruvian Dove overflew us too. The only colorful vegetation on the peninsula seemed to be several small clumps of scarlet flowers, one of which attracted a lone Short-tailed Woodstar. Once the morning heated up, activity began to die (and frankly we ran out of species to look for), we hit the coastal strip and checked the coastal lagoons of Ecuasal where a pack of Chilean Flamingos (bottom photo) stood out from the surrounding packs of wintering North American waders and shorebirds that included hundreds of Wilson's Phalaropes, and many sandpipers, dowitchers, plovers, terns and gulls.

In the afternoon (after a seafood spread in Salinas) we headed for Mantaraya Lodge and the woods that line the Rio Ayampe...