A Tale of Two Antpittas…(NW Ecuador): August 2009

Giant Antpitta is a very rare species that in recent years, with the advent of Angel Paz’s “antpitta farm”, Paz de las Aves, has become “gettable” as he has habituated several of them there. One of the Giant Antpittas at his site has been reliable (on and off) for the last 4 years and he has named that individual Maria. Away from there however, the bird remains extremely difficult to see or even hear, and encounters are very rare.

These photos were taken on a recent short “Introtour” of northwest Ecuador, with a group of seven people based out of Tandayapa Lodge. One of the biggest surprises of the tour was when we dropped in to check out the hummingbird feeders at Bellavista Lodge (that held Collared Inca and Gorgeted Sunangel and others), just up the valley from Tandayapa Lodge, and one of the group Harvey comes to me with the question “what is this bird?” and then proceeded to show me a full frame shot of a Giant Antpitta. This does not happen everyday! I frantically asked him where he had seen the bird and pretty soon we were all gathered around the public toilets while a very bold, fearless Giant Antpitta bounced around on the path beside us. Superb, and a very nice surprise. I since found out this particular bird has been visiting the lodge every day over the past month for no apparent reason. Someone did throw some rice out for it while we were there, although unsurprisingly this insectivorous bird showed absolutely no interest in it!

The bottom bird is the Bellavista bird, photographed on August 3^rd. The top photo is “Old Faithful” Maria, Angel’s most reliable Giant Antpitta, shot at Paz de las Aves just a couple of days later on August 6.

It seems there has never been a better time to try and get this very rare species on your list.

The Long Arm of the “Antpitta Whisperer” stretches far and wide…(E Ecuador): July 29 & 30, 2009

When a farmer near Mindo (Angel Paz) begun inadvertently feeding a strange bird (the rare Giant Antpitta) that hopped along the trail with him while he was building a new trail, few birders could have seen the far reaching consequences just a few short years later. He thus began a trend of antpitta feeding throughout this rich birding country. Antpittas are ordinarily shy and downright difficult creatures to see, and Angel’s innovative methods in trying to habituate several of his own west slope birds have now been replicated at other bird reserves in Ecuador, including Tapichalaca in the south (where the ultra rare Jocotoco Antpitta is now subsequently very “gettable”), and here on the eastern side of the Andes at both Guango and San Isidro Lodges. On a short whistlestop tour of the highlands on the east side of the Andes we visited both of these quaint lodges and experienced their own antpittas coming in for the feast. At Guango we had a very confiding Chestnut-crowned Antpitta (see bottom photo), and better still at San Isidro the ultra-shy White-bellied Antpitta (see top photo) did a nice turn of its own. It’s so much easier to see them like this! Also around San Isidro we managed to see a pair of Black-chested Fruiteaters, a number of Bluish Flowerpiercers, and Handsome, Rufous-breasted and Pale-edged Flycatchers among others.

The Curious Case of the San Isidro Owl (E Ecuador): July 29, 2009

The photos above are of San Isidro’s now famous “mystery owl”. Many years back this bird was found right around the cabins at San Isidro, and one or two of them have been an almost nightly fixture ever since, often visible between the cabins and the lodge restaurant, where it can be extraordinarily confiding.

The question remains though, WHAT EXACTLY IS IT? The location and elevation add to this mystery. There are two species of Ciccaba owls in Ecuador, Black-and-white Owl, and Black-banded Owl. The former is confined to the western slope of the Andes at elevations usually lower than 1300m, while Black-banded Owl is found on the same slope of the Andes as the San Isidro Owl (east slope), although only in the lowlands and foothills, (up to around 900m elevation). Distributions of birds in the Ecuadorian Andes are often tied strongly to a particular slope, as the two parallel chains of the Andes that form the north-south spine of the country, are divided by a dry inter-Andean valley that provides a substantial barrier to bird migration. The harsh dry, semi-desert like environment of this inter-Andean valley is not readily hospitable to many bird species, and a relatively low number of birds are found there relative to the wetter, forested eastern and western slopes. So by implication the bird at San Isidro should not be a Black-and-white Owl, and is arguably more likely to be a Black-banded Owl that is at least found on the same side of the Andes. However, that species has never knowingly been recorded above much lower elevations. On top of all of that the bird appears somewhere between the two in plumage, so does not really fit either one perfectly. As the calls of both Black-banded, Black-and-white and the “mystery owl” are basically the same, this does not enlighten us any further either.

One argument is that it represents a whole new species of Ciccaba owl, and many a lister sure hopes so! The final argument is that maybe both Black-banded and Black-and-white Owls are actually one species anyway (they certainly call the same), and if you follow this argument through then the San Isidro Owl is then probably within this larger species. Who knows what it really is, but it really is one intriguing owl, and an interesting mystery. Maybe genetic studies of all the “species” will one day reveal all. Until then I will be keeping an eye out on the way to dinner for it sitting in its favored cecropia tree. Whether is a new species, an old species, or all one species it is one very smart owl all the same!

Palenque's Island Paradise (NW Ecuador): July 6, 2009

Took a visit to the forest island of Rio Palenque, a magical bit of lowland rainforest hemmed in on all sides by plantations. Despite the grim reality, Palenque is a great place to bird and provides an easy going place to go after lowland forest species. I enjoyed a day here watching a Black-headed Antthrush walk with its chicken-like gait through the leaf litter, bumping into White-whiskered Puffbirds (see photo) "hissing" at me from the forest edge, observing Red-billed Scythebills, with their absurdly curved reddish bills creeping up trunks of trees, and watching the ginger form of the rare Ochraceous Attila hanging our in a young plantation at the forest edge. Not where you would think to look for an endangered species at all, although that is excatly where it likes to be at Palenque. Best of all though I finally nailed my all time nemesis bird in Ecuador, Little Tinamou, that finally put me out of my misery by walking across an open trail. It was a long and painful wait! Other highlights included a "barrage" of trogons in one particular area where Ecuadorian Trogons tried to outcall the neighbouring White-taled and Violaceous Trogons which were all shouting at each other in a small patch of open forest. A cute Pacific Pymgy-Owl also came in to check me out, a Ruddy Foliage-gleaner provided a rare treat by uncharacteristically staying put on an open branch for a while, a group of Orange-fronted Barbets (see photo) sprayed sawdust down on me as they excavated a hole, and several Whiskered Wrens and Gray-and-gold Warblers were found creeping around the understorey. A small reserve, but one that from this day at least appears to be packed with good birds.

True Blue at Guango…(Guango Lodge, E Ecuador): June 26, 2009

A couple more shots from the tiny Andean hideaway of Guango Lodge, that lies by the rushing mountain river of Guango (hence the name). Hanging out shooting hummers in the garden can be good for other birds too, and the days theme was very blue – with this Masked Flowerpiercer and a dazzling flock of Turquoise Jays that ignored us standing there and worked their territory as they pleased irrespective of our close presence. If only all birding days could be this easy!

Panchita's Perfect 10...Guango Lodge (Eastern Ecuador): June 26, 2009

Popped into the hummingbird paradise of Guango Lodge just across the continental divide, just over the rim on the eastern side of the Andes. This little lodge sits within bromeliad laden wet temperate forest, and has a magnetic set of hummingbird feeders on their small veranda. Usually here the Sword-billed Hummingbirds with their impossibly long bills, and subsequent necessary odd feeding actions steal the show. However, although we were surrounded by Collared Incas, Tourmaline Sunangels, and a marauding pack of Masked Flowerpiercers, and even though an aquamarine troop of excellent Turquoise Jays swept through the garden, it was none of these that made the day special. It was the outrageously confiding performance of "Panchita" the Chestnut-crowned Antpitta that came in to feed on worms laid out for it that stole the headlines. In fact this bird was so habituated just throwing in a few stones would lead it to come running, so convinced was "she" that food was on its way! Excellent that this current swathe of antpitta feeding stations continues to prosper in Ecuador, giving us all a great shot at getting many of these normally furtive species up close and personal.

Cartoon Hummer... (Tandayapa, NW Ecuador): June 2009

Here are a couple of shots of the frankly ridiculous Booted Racket-tail (or Racket-tailed Puffleg if you prefer that name), a hummingbird that looks like no other. You could not make this one up!