TOP 10 SPECIES
Top 10 lists are voted upon by the participants at the completion of
each tour.
ECUADOR TRIP REPORT
by Mike Haldeman, Tour Leader
7-21 January 2002
Bird Treks' premier Ecuador Tour went to humid Amazonian lowlands, barren and windswept paramo near two of Ecuador's largest volcanoes, and subtropical and foothill forest on the west slope of the Andes. Nearly 500 species were recorded but the most impressive aspect of this tour was the incredible views we had of so many spectacular birds.
During our first full day in the country, one day prior to the official beginning of the tour, we arranged a trip to Antisana. Antisana is one of Ecuador's largest volcanoes and provides a roosting site for several of the country's Andean Condors. It did not take long for us to spot one of these truly majestic soaring birds as we entered the vast expanse of paramo that surrounds the volcano. We would later see five more soaring condors, including three at one time at very close range, as well as Black-chested Buzzard- Eagle and Variable Hawk. On the paramo itself we had well over one hundred Carunculated Caracaras apparently searching for insects among the bunch grasses. We also found two groups of three Black-faced Ibis, an extremely rare species in Ecuador. There was a flock of Black-winged Ground-Doves by a small stream, while Andean Lapwings with small chicks scampered away from our van. On Laguna Mica in the Antisana Reserve many Silvery Grebes were found among the Yellow-billed Pintail and other high Andean waterfowl. We also found nests of both species of cinclodes, all of this among some of the most spectacular scenery in the country.
On January 9th we made our descent to Sacha Lodge in the Amazonian lowlands. The trip down the Rio Napo gave us looks at Black and Yellow-headed Caracaras, and the walk to the lodge produced a group of Red Howler Monkeys, perched Great and Common Potoos, Brown Jacamar, Black-fronted Nunbird, and Scarlet-crowned Barbet. The REAL fun came the next morning on Sacha's canopy tower. From 42 meters up in an emergent Kapok tree we had a commanding view of the surrounding terra firme (upland) and varzea (flooded) forests. This is one of my most favorite spots on the planet and it did not disappoint us. A pair of Blue-and-yellow Macaws flew by at close range, an amazingly blue male Plum-throated Cotinga spent a few minutes perched thirty feet from the tower, a Golden-collared Toucanet perched and called in plain view, and several rare Red-rumped Caciques flew almost directly beneath us. Woodpeckers put on a good show with the beautiful Cream-colored and Scaly-breasted making several appearances. We had prolonged looks at a pair of Lafresnaye's Piculets working on a dead branch at close range. The local tanager flock made several visits to the tower tree giving us many, many close looks at a pair of amazingly colorful Paradise Tanagers. We also saw the rare Yellow-bellied Tanager among the common Opal-rumped, Opal-crowned, and Green-and-gold Tanagers. We returned for lunch via canoe in the forested Orchidea Channel and had good looks at the near-endemic Orange-crowned Manakin and a White-chinned Jacamar, and a not-quite-so-good look at the rare Short-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant high above. On our afternoon walk on the Pantano Trail we found White-fronted and Yellow-billed Nunbirds (all three Amazonian nunbirds already!), Golden-headed Manakins, and a Chestnut-winged Hookbill. Returning to the lodge by canoe with a beautiful sunset on the lake, we found a group of Hoatzins noisily moving through the lake-edge vegetation and a White-throated Toucan calling from atop a nearby tree. That night we tried a little owling behind the lodge. We had no luck with the owls but from the dark forest Marbled Wood-Quails began their loud, raucous calling. Immediately, Carlos, our native guide, took off through the brush. He then called for us and when we finally caught up with him he had two of the wood-quail in his spotlight perched ten feet up in a tree.
Our second full day at Sacha was spent on the trails in the forest. The birds were not as numerous or easy to see, but we managed a nice start to our antbird list. A pair of Sooty Antbirds made several close passes around us responding to Oscar's tape. We also managed looks at Spot-winged, Plain-winged, and Dusky-throated Antshrikes, Pygmy Antwren, and Black-faced Antbird. We found a Lined Forest-Falcon, a Brown Nunlet, a Chestnut-belted Gnateater, and male Wire-tailed Manakins, but the Striated Antthrush and Collared Puffbirds that we called in close did not want to come out of their cover. At one point on the trail we were surrounded by the loud cries of male Screaming Pihas on a lek. We stopped long enough to study one male as he violently cocked his head back to belt out the loud "scream". A view of a Night Monkey peering at us from his roost in a tree cavity rounded out our day among the vines and huge buttress roots of this amazing forest.
On our next day at Sacha we arranged a box lunch and headed for the Rio Napo. We started our birding on one of the river islands. Several species of birds are found only on islands in the Amazon River system. We found Lesser Hornero, Castlenau's Antshrike, and Black-and-white Antbird, along with a group of Oriole-Blackbirds that frequents this constantly regenerating habitat. After the island, we visited a pair of clay licks. While parrots were not landing on the clay due to rain the night before, we still saw hundreds of Dusky-headed Parakeets, and Blue-headed and Yellow-crowned Parrots with a few of the larger Mealy Parrots. Upon landing on the other side of the river, we were greeted by Chestnut-eared Aracari (our fourth aracari) and Chestnut-crowned and White-winged Becards. From here a trail led us into the hilly terra firme forest of the Napo's south side where our antbird list continued to grow. Mouse-colored Antshrike was seen well by all, and a mixed flock containing Short-billed, Gray, Rufous-tailed, and White-flanked Antwrens and a Rufous-rumped Foliage-Gleaner gave everyone looks at some difficult birds and a bad case of antwren neck. Extreme patience and stillness among the tour participants finally gave the entire group a look at the elusive Thrushlike Antpitta, while three Scarlet Macaws and hundreds of Cobalt-winged Parakeets adorned the trees above our lunch spot.
On our last full day at Sacha we returned to the canopy tower. The tanagers, including a Masked, were still around, but many new birds were seen. Among these, Great and Purplish Jacamars at close range, a more distant view of a male Spangled Cotinga, a pair of White-browed Purpletufts, and a Blue-crowned Trogon and Channel-billed Toucan calling above us in the tower tree. A Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth spent the early hours of the morning drying at the top of a neighboring tree. Before we even left for the tower we had a black and orange striped juvenile Rufescent Tiger-Heron in the spotlight near the lodge and Agami Heron and an American Pygmy Kingfisher in the Orchidea Channel leading to the tower. Pygmy Marmosets, the world's smallest monkey, were the highlight of our last afternoon, and even as we left the lowlands the following day we found a few new birds including Black-tailed Trogon (our fifth trogon at Sacha), White-eared Jacamar, and great looks at a Plumbeous Antbird.
The next morning Vinicio Perez picked us up at our Quito hotel. We made our way down the old Nono-Mindo Road stopping first at Yanacocha. This was an incredibly beautiful walk in the shadow of the snow-capped Pichincha Volcano and, although the Black-breasted Puffleg did not show, we found a perched Andean Pygmy-Owl and had Mountain Velvetbreast and Great Sapphirewing to start our west slope experience. The descent to Mindo also produced a pair of amazing Crimson-mantled Woodpeckers and a flock of Turquoise Jays. The next day started at the top of the entrance road to Mindo where a street lamp brings in hundreds of colorful moths and other insects, which in turn bring the birds. From this single spot we saw Masked Trogon, an amazingly close pair of Toucan Barbets, Uniform Antshrike, and about forty other species. The tanagers included Black-capped, Golden, Beryl-spangled, and Golden-naped. From there we climbed into the Tandayapa Valley visiting the Tandayapa Birding Lodge and Tony Nunnery's home to watch the constant activity at their many hummingbird feeders. Among the seventeen species of hummers we saw at these feeders, favorites included Booted Rackettail, Collared Inca, and Violet-tailed Sylph. Farther up the road we added Gorgeted Sunangel to the hummingbird list as well as adding Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan and Grass-green Tanager to the list of spectacular birds seen well by all.
On our next day based out of Vinicio's Mindo Birdwatcher's House, we headed for the western lowlands to search for Choco specialties along the Pedro Vicente Maldonado Road. Unfortunately, the forests of the western lowlands are disappearing quickly, but the patches we birded still produced some great birds. From our first stop we spent over an hour without moving, just looking at the birds around us. Gray-and-gold Tanager was one of the first birds seen from the van. It was followed by Choco and Red-rumped Woodpeckers, Choco and Chestnut-mandibled Toucans, White-thighed Swallow, and Guira, Blue-necked, and Golden-hooded Tanagers, among many others. The Chestnut-mandibled Toucan grabbed a male Green Honeycreeper in its bill and flew away with it! Later in the day we came across a flock of small birds which included the rare Double-banded Graytail, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, and a Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant. A flyover Black-tipped Cotinga, a nesting pair of Gray Hawks, and great looks at a Choco Trogon were also highlights of our day in the western foothills.
On January 18th Vinicio took us to Las Gralarias Reserve. The hummingbird feeders here gave us better looks at Empress Brilliant than we previously had, but the stars of the show were the abundant Velvet-purple Coronets. With never less than three visible at one time, these remarkable turquoise and violet hummingbirds belligerently kept many of the other hummers from enjoying the never-ending supply of food. After a short walk down one of the trails, Vinicio stopped us all and began playing a tape of the rare and mythical Giant Antpitta. By this point everyone knew the antpitta drill and was also painfully aware of the antpitta success rate. But we persevered and after about fifteen minutes a large football on two skinny legs hopped up onto a log within twenty feet of us. We all had excellent looks but this incredible bird was not finished. He came around behind us and perched a few feet off the ground only 10 feet away and continued calling! After fifteen minutes of watching this bird at incredibly close range (and hopefully some incredible photos for Peter), we walked away with large smiles on all our faces. It was hard to get this experience out of our minds despite the best efforts of the coronets and a Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager. That night along the entrance road to Mindo another amazing bird captivated us. After the group sat quietly for half an hour, a male Lyre-tailed Nightjar came gliding out of the forest to perch close by. Watching him fly in the spotlight with those two-foot tail streamers was definitely worth the wait.
The following morning we made what turned into an arduous trudge through a saturated pasture only to find ourselves at the bottom of a steep trail. Upon climbing this trail for nearly half of an hour, we reached a flat area where we all sat and waited. Eventually strange noises began emanating from the forest and it wasn't long before we had our first great looks at a male Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. Although we could not see the actual lekking grounds clearly through the brush, these strange birds made several close appearances. While all this was happening, we also managed quick looks at Tawny-throated Leaftosser and Esmeraldas Antbird before descending to the muddy pasture. After cleaning up and a big lunch at the Birdwatcher's House we drove back to Quito where we left Bob, Barbara, and Peter to begin their Galapagos adventure, and continued on to the historical Hosteria La Cienega. The following morning after breakfast, a Giant Hummingbird, and some Blue-and-yellow Tanagers, we headed for Cotopaxi National Park. Ecuador's second highest mountain and the highest active volcano in the world, Cotopaxi also supports vast areas of paramo. The sky was incredibly clear giving us wonderful views of the mountain all morning. Many of the birds we saw were overlap with our impromptu day at Antisana, but we managed several good looks at Tawny Antpitta this time. Other new birds included Shining Sunbeam, Andean Tit-Spinetail, Many-striped Canastero, and Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant.
Our first trip to Ecuador was a tremendous success! We will be making a few changes and doing some fine-tuning for next year. Stay tuned for the new itinerary for January 2003.