Hummer Quest...ECUADOR (17 Jan)

After moving on from the west of the Andes, we crossed over to the east side of the Andes, where not only the geography would be different, but the habitat, and subsequently the avian life there. A whole suite of new birds awaited myself and the group from Texas. We arrived the evening before and bedded down in the "Sacred Valley" of Vilcabamba in southern Ecuador, famed for it's high number of people aged over 100 that live there (is there something in the water? you might ask-well they think so as they have a brand called "Sacred Valley" to take full advantage of their local fame!) Our original plan had been to visit the Cajanuma sector of Podocarpus National Park, near the city of Loja. However, in the evening I got twitchy-I knew there was a high altitude hummer within reach of us, which we could NOT find at Cajanuma, but could find closer to our hotel, if only we could aquire several 4 x 4 vehicles to get up to Cerro Toledo. With the help of my co-guide for the trip, Ecuadorian Pablo Cervantes, we rustled up 3 pick-up trucks to help us with our revised plan. 

An ungodly hour saw us having a similarly ungodly breakfast (not what was required for our trip into the chill of the high Andes), and then headed south, through the village of Yangana (which was still sleeping), and once we'd all moved into the pick-ups, turned west up Cerro Toledo. The road was not as rough as feared, and clearly had not experienced too much rain recently. I expected little traffic at all, along this remote road which serves merely a couple of farms, and a set of radio antennas  However, after first getting out of the trucks, (and conveniently finding our only Bearded Guan of the tour), and being forced onto the road side by three consecutive vehicles I wondered what must be going on. However, the remainder of the morning we were blissfully alone, just as as masses of cloudforest and Elfin forest. Reaching the foggy and windy edge of the Elfin forest, just before it gave way to a different habitat altogether, the high Andean paramo grasslands, we jumped out, braced against the wind in our faces, and set about trying to find the bird we had ventured here for: Nebina Metaltail. This dingy bird has a small range, just covering a small area of southern Ecuador, and into Peru, where it is also local and confined to the north of the country. Unfortunately I had lost my GPS points for where I had usually seen it, and could not find the exact spot, although the habitat looked good so I pressed play on the I-Pod, at which point a hummer almost immediately appeared next to us, which turned and revealed it's red throat: NEBLINA METALTAIL! It really was that easy. Three were seen by the morning's end, along with a handful of other temperate species, although generally the road was quiet. A brief flyover Red-faced Parrot represented the rarest bird of the morning. It typically flew over low and kept quiet, so almost got past us unnoticed. A feeding flock there also yielded our first Citrine Warblers, Golden-crowned Tanagers (a real looker, decked out in deep, indigo, gold, black and rust), and a beady-eyed Black-headed Hemispingus.

After this scenic morning on the east side of the Andes we headed further south, heading as if in a beeline for Peru, although stopping just north of the town of Valladolid, at the most famous Fundacion Jocotoco reserve of all: Tapichalaca; where the infamous Jocotoco Antpitta was discovered in the 90s, and remains there today.

Next update from Tapichalaca to come soon...

More from Jorupe ECUADOR (13 Jan)

After the breathtaking opening to the day with the procession of cool birds coming in to feed around Urraca Lodge (which means "Jay Lodge" after the beautiful White-tailed Jay which roams the reserve), we went on a morning long hike through the reserve. Starting in the parking lot we quickly located a couple of our targets right there: male Slaty Becard and a gaudy White-edged Oriole. However, the hoped-for Watkins's Antpitta would not play ball, a pattern which would continue right until the late afternoon, when, finally, we got crackerjack looks at this dry country antpitta. That morning I experienced some of the toughest birding I had ever experienced in Jorupe, although by the end of the day we still managed to find all but one of the usual targets there, but it was a sluggish process getting them. Blackish-headed Spinetails were calling everywhere, and toyed with us for the entire morning, just showing properly just prior to lunchtime, to some relief all around. Similarly, the Henna-hooded Foliage-Gleaners remained firmly hidden all morning, and one bird did not give itself up until mid-afternoon, when at the death it lingered on an open branch, and we were all glad to see the back of it after all the effort we had put in! Gray-breasted Flycatchers were more co-operative, showing up as planned, and even posing for this photo I took during the lunch recess, when we also had this handsome Whooping Motmot, and when the feeders were again visited by Scrub Blackbird, Black-capped Sparrow and Plumbeous-backed Thrush. 

Our attempt at seeing a trio of roosting Spectacled Owls ended in disaster, when each one of them flew off deeper into the woods before everyone could get them in the 'scope, and we decided to return to that one later. Other notable birds in the morning included Speckle-breasted Wren, Gray-cheeked Parakeets perched by the lodge, Collared Antshrike, Tumbes Pewee (which proved remarkably elusive for a bird that has a reputation for perching prominently), Ecuadorian Piculet, and a furtive Red-billed Scythebill that hugged the back of a tree for an age, frustrating us for quite some time. Around the lodge an Amazilia Hummingbird stood guard by the feeder, and even battled with a Long-billed Starthroat at one point that tried to sneak in unnoticed. 

So it had been hard work but the long list of targets was found bar one (Rufous-naped Foliage-Gleaner, which we were to try for the following day again elsewhere)...so it was not all bad, and once we got the killer looks at the antpitta in the afternoon smiles returned all round!

More from Southern Ecuador to come as we moved on to the wet slopes of the eastern Andes...

Avian Procession...ECUADOR (14 Jan)

After our red letter arrival with the owl night before, it was hard to see how this can be topped right? Wrong; very wrong. The feeders at the Fundacion Jocotoco Jorupe reserve were on fire, and provided the perfect start to our day within this reserve. After a pre-dawn breakfast, myself, Pablo Cervantes (co-guiding with me), and the Houston Audubon Society group pulled up a chair, and watched the electric action unfold. Of course, one of the first birds to wander casually in was the abundant White-tipped Dove, of which 10 or so graced the feeding station. A Whooping Motmot was not far behind and glowed as he wolfed down the freshly laid out papaya. 

However, it was then the real stars showed up: the rare and normally shy Pale-browed Tinamou brazenly strolled out in the open, like tinamous are NOT supposed to do. It still showed signs of furtiveness whipping in and out of the surrounding forest to pick up corn. The procession of doves continued (white-tipped), when suddenly a couple of duller ones were in the midst and another shy rarity was on view: Ochre-bellied Dove, of which four turned up eventually, with a backdrop of Guayaquil Squirrels munching on corn. 

Others to show their faces at the feeders were a noisy mob of marauding Red-masked Parakeets, which were most amusing when they settled on the ground, begun munching corn and the clicking could be heard as their beaks cracked open the husks. All the while they were deadly silent bar this strange sound. 

Occasionally the rusty form of the Pacific Horneo homed into view, one of the most pleasantly common birds of southwest Ecuador.

There were even squabbles among the birds with a parakeet taking offence at a motmot that was perched on its favored fruits!  Arguably though the best looked in this choice crowd was a group of White-tailed Jays that came in for a while-resplendent in blue, white and black.

After the feeder frenzy had slowed, we took off into the woods for the morning to seek yet more birds special to this Tumbesian region, one of the most endemic-rich regions in South America...

Into the Tumbesian region...ECUADOR (13 Jan)

We arrived at the Fundacion Jocotoco reserve of Jorupe, just as dusk was falling on the reserve, and so got little in the way of diurnal birds. However, after a fine dinner, at this wonderful new reserve, we went on the hunt for the Peruvian Screech-Owl which we were told was hanging around cabin 1 (ironically named "Peruvian Screech-owl"!). Unfortunately, though, despite hearing a few low purring calls from the owl, it remained unseen, and the tired group I was with from Houston Audubon, decided to retire to bed. I was still smarting from hearing this tiny owl so close and not being able to find it, that I lingered on a little longer, then finally decided it had beaten me and began walking back to my nearby cabin (number 2 - named "Red-billed Scythebill"), at which point I inadvertently flushed the owl which must have been sitting quietly closeby the track. I quickly scanned around for it, and my spotlight fell on this rusty bird sitting on an open branch, and glaring back at me with those angry looking owls, and that fierce stare that seems to be unique to owls. I was entranced with it for a moment, then quickly realised the members of the group were likely still up and awake. I ran to each cabin, reassembled the group, and again found this diminutive owl sitting quietly on its chosen branch, where it remained to ogle at length.

The next day we were to spend the whole day exploring the Jorupe reserve, which comes complete with a unique set of bird feeders, attracting species found at no other feeders in the country...

LIFE HUMMER...Ecuador (12-13 Jan)

Could not, not post a photo of the wonderful White-vented Plumeleteer, and my lifer plumeleteer, from Zaruma in the "Gold Country" of southern Ecuador...After leaving with this hummer, umbrellabird, attila, and the parakeet in the bag, we travelled south towards the frontier with Peru. Here we stopped in at El Empalme (which seems to be little more than an intimidating looking military checkpoint), to pick up some Tumbesian birds, most notable among them being White-headed Brush-Finch, Tumbes Sparrow, and this Tumbes Hummingbird which took fierce objection to my playing a tape of Pacific Pygmy-Owl in its presence!

Next stop the Fundacion Jocotoco reserve of Jorupe, near the border/party town of Macara...

Buenaventura...ECUADOR (12-13 Jan)

After stopping off near the coast in Guayaquil and getting a taste of the Tumbesian realm (a bioregion in Ecuador filled with endemic birds), we headed up into the wet foothills of the Andes, and the fine Fundacion Jocotoco reserve of Buenaventura. Our first stop of the morning, (after a night which had yielded a Black-and-white Owl hunting by the lodge-my long-time bogey bird/nemesis), was, of course for the bird for which the lodge is named, the umbrellabird. We started down the trail just after dawn had lit up the forest, if only slightly, and as we descended our ears were greeted by the low mooing sound of the Long-wattled Umbrellabird; they were lekking (displaying for females). On arrival at "the spot" there it was, sat at eye level with a huge wattle dangled to full length and spread-eagled to full width, every so often he would dip his head and emit the low mooing sound that drew us towards him. Fantastic. Next up was Ochraceous Attila, a ginger flycatcher, which flew in right on cue. Then a visit to an unspectacular looking next box brought us spectacular views of a group of 8 El Oro Parakeets attending the nest. This was followed by a visit to a town for lunch, but not just any lunch. Lunch with a plumeleteer, White-vented Plumeleteer, which clearly seemed to enjoy the attention. We finished off with further views of the rowdy mob of Rufous-headed Chachalacas that hang around the lodge and entertain listers hungry for this on their precious world lists! What a day.

More photos from Buenaventura to come...

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....