ECUADOR

San Jorge Eco-Lodges: The Magic Birding Circuit Tour

&

Sani Jungle Lodge

July 16 - August 6, 2011

by

Elise Faike

www.surfbirds.com

Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Yanacocha Reserve

¡BIENVENIDOS A ECUADOR!

Ecuador is a good destination any time of year, but the dry season lasts from June through September in the highlands and includes August in the Amazon region, so, July and August is a good time to visit for a birding trip. With this in mind, my husband Dave arranged a guided tour in Ecuador with San Jorge Eco-Lodges combined with a Sani Jungle Lodge Extension. We went birding all around northern and eastern Ecuador for three weeks, from July 16 to August 6, 2011.

ECUADOR

Only the size of Nevada or Colorado, Ecuador boasts the second largest bird list in the world, after Colombia, hovering around 1,640 species. About 80 are either endemic only to Ecuador (14 land, 28 Galapagos Islands) or considered “Choco endemics”, a region which includes areas of northern Ecuador, southern Panama and Colombia. About 35 of these occur on San Jorge properties. Ecuador also has 317 species of mammals, about 350 reptiles, 479 amphibians, 800 fish, thousands of insects including 4,500 butterflies, and around 25,000 plants, 20% of which are endemic and 4,000 are orchid species.

Climate

Though the dry season in Ecuador is relatively hot and drier than the rainy season, rain can occur at any time. On our trip in July and August we experienced rain often, sometimes coming in heavy deluges of relatively short duration, and even returned one evening to SJ Quito in a hail storm! Temperatures in Quito felt cold and clammy when we arrived, but later warmed up to more comfortable levels. During one rainstorm at Papallacta Pass it was freezing, windy and blowing rain. We always kept our rain gear handy, and for higher elevations brought warm jackets, gloves and hats. But, it was also t-shirts and shorts weather in the Amazon and hot enough for a refreshing swim in a lagoon.

LOGISTICS

Local Tours

San Jorge Eco-Lodges and Botanical Reserves, Magic Birding and Hiking Circuit, Quito, Ecuador: www.hostsanjorge.com.ec,

Sani Jungle Lodge, Rio Napo Ecuador Amazon: www.sanilodge.com.

This trip was different from an independent one. Manager Jose and his San Jorge Quito staff expertly took care of all logistics within Ecuador for us, including all domestic transportation, lodging, meals, guiding, trip extensions and extra hotel nights. They conveniently have an agent in the U.S. who you can contact directly with any questions and for help with arrangements:

Cheryl Korowotny, Director of International Sales, (877) 565-2596 USA & Canada Toll Free, Email: birdwatching@eco-lodgesanjorge.com.

San Jorge is unique in that it owns four private birding reserves and three birding eco-lodges and natural sanctuaries that span six different ecosystems throughout northern Ecuador. So, for our 15-day Magic Birding Circuit tour we were with the same tour company for that portion of our trip and again at the end, and a different company for Sani Lodge.

To make logistics simpler, we booked everything through San Jorge, including Sani. Most associated basic tour fees were included in one price. We only had to arrange international air transportation to/from Ecuador and pay occasional park entrance fees or for optional activities. Our Magic Birding Circuit tour along with the Sani Lodge extension covered many birding highlights of Ecuador and a good variety of habitats, birds and culture. For much more information, including 1 to 15-day itineraries and tour and habitat descriptions, go to the San Jorge website (above).

Our Guides

Dr. Jorge Cruz, San Jorge’s owner, namesake, and our guide for half of the Magic Birding Circuit (Quito, Yanacocha, Nono-Mindo, Tandayapa, Milpe, Pedro Vicente Maldonado, Cala Cali, Otovalo, Jerusalem), is a former emergency veterinarian and an enthusiastic and knowledgable birder, botanist and artist with sharp eyes and a keen ear. He has a personal list of over 1200 bird species in Ecuador, so we were all especially delighted when we found the White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant at Cala Cali, a Lifer both for him and us! Jorge’s birding style includes hanging out at one spot to watch what comes in, a successful strategy: we saw over 300 species on the Magic Birding Circuit.

At Tandayapa Stalin Gordillo, a birding guide, all around handyman and our waiter, aptly assisted Jorge on our birding walks, and showed us birds and helped us ID hummers whenever we hung out in the restaurant/hummingbird sanctuary and on the grounds.

Pablo Caiza, a young guide-in-training who works for San Jorge, guided us on the eastern Andes portion of the tour (Papallacta, El Ollin, Antisana Reserve, Cosanga) where he’s from. He knows his birds and will become a good guide with more experience.

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On our trip to Antisana National Park on Day 11 Danny Jumbo from Mindo was our excellent guide. His brother Norberto Jumbo, who took us back to Yanacocha on Day 14, was good. Both Danny and Norberto are independent contractors.

Carlos Hualinga, also a good birder, was our guide at Sani. Along with his brother Jimmy, who served as our boatman and Carlo’s assistant, we found about 180 species in 3 1/2 days, including some new ones for the Sani list.

Transportation

Local transportation we used included San Jorge’s private van, taxis they arranged for us, two domestic charter airline flights to/from Quito/Cana for the Amazon, a Napo River boat and Sani’s canoes.

We found international airfares to/from Ecuador for about $850 from LAX through Panama City to Quito on Copa Airlines. Departure taxes are now included in the price of a ticket, so you no longer need to worry about correct change when you leave a foreign country.

We minimized luggage and took one small carry-on daypack each as our personal item and checked our bigger equipaje. Visit www.tsa.gov to see what’s allowable in luggage.

Entry and Exit Requirements

A valid passport is needed to enter Ecuador, but visas are not required for many countries, including the US. Travelers from the US are issued embarkation cards from the airline on inbound flights.

Lodging, Food and Drink

As mentioned above, all lodging and meals were included while we were on tour. We stayed at lodges or hostels in five different areas. All were clean, comfortable and rustic. All had private bathrooms and showers, but not always hot water. All except the hostel had extensive trail systems onsite.

San Jorge Eco-Lodges

We spent our first, last and extra nights at San Jorge Eco-Lodge, Quito, a renovated hacienda once owned by an Ecuadorian president located in a 200 acre botanical enclave above the city in the Pichincha foothills at an elevation of 9,870 feet. Habitats are high barren plains and highland rainforest. Wifi is available in some rooms. Everywhere there are watercolors of birds and Ecuadorian scenes all painted by Dr. Cruz.

Meals were served in a small restaurant down a steep path from our room and offered traditional Ecuadorian cuisine, as do all the SJ lodges. This usually consisted of a 3 or 4 course breakfast including fresh fruit, a daily variety of fruit juices, coffee, coca tea (always available for the altitude), eggs and sometimes granola or pancakes, and 4 or 5 course lunches and dinners that each began with an appetizer, followed by soup, a main course with chicken, beef, fish or pork, fresh veggies, dessert, and coffee or tea. Bar drinks cost extra, but a quart of local Pilsener beer was only $2. Each meal was different and tasty, came with flower decorations on the plates, and offered way too much food! Bottled water was provided in our rooms and was available in the lobby to fill water bottles, as the water in Ecuador is unsafe to drink.

On day trips to Otavalo, El Ollin and Antisana National Park we were treated to lunch at local restaurants which also featured good, traditional Ecuadorian cuisine. A couple of times in the field we were served good box lunches.

San Jorge de Tandayapa Hummingbird Sanctuary, in a cloud forest at 5,800 feet on 150 acres, has a comfortable new lodge and an open air dining area with hummingbird feeders you

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can watch while you try to eat. Fruit feeders have been set up below the outdoor dining room/hummer sanctuary that attract many more bird species. Upon arriving you hike for about 20 minutes up to the lodge on a jungle trail with your daypack. Stalin brings your bigger luggage to your room via the “luggage cart” mule. This was one of the buggiest areas we visited.

San Jorge de Milpe Orchid and Bird Reserve is located in tropical rainforest on 260 acres with 11 waterfalls and an observation hill. Originally scheduled for the old lodge set in the forest that required a short hike in, we were instead rescheduled to the new lodge near the road where our outdoor dining room was the driveway.

Almost anywhere at Milpe seemed good for birds; we spent one afternoon sitting in camp chairs in the front yard outside our room observing a myriad of birds coming into a tree, including tanagers, flycatchers, parrots and hummers. From there we walked back to the old lodge to watch for specific birds coming into feeders or took trails down to the waterfalls.

San Jorge doesn’t yet have a lodge on its property at Cosanga, so we were taken to stay at Hostal Alexandra, a kayakers’ hostel in the town of Borja, where we ate our meals at a local restaurant. While the room was clean, it lacked any kind of amenities, even a dresser or chair to put our things on, we were told not to leave the compound after dark, and we suspected it cost $10 or $20 a night! The restaurant was adequate, if you like hamburgers and fries. The Cosanga reserve is on 330 acres.

Sani Lodge

Sani Lodge is located in the Amazon Rainforest on a 90,000 acre reserve owned and operated by the Kichwa Sani community whose main goal is conservation. It offers both individual thatch-roofed cabins, with private baths and cold water, and camping. Windows are screened and mosquito netting is provided around the beds. Electricity is produced by generators which run from about 6:00 to 10:00 pm. And wifi is available. It’s cool to email friends from the middle of the Amazon Rainforest!

To get there, we took a short flight from Quito to Coca, met the group, took a large transport boat down the Napo River for about three hours, hiked through the jungle on a wooden walkway for 20 minutes, then climbed into a canoe to paddle to Challuacocha Lagoon where the lodge sits.

All meals were included, and eaten in the open air dining room at group tables assigned according to your activity preference. Because we were the only two guests who declared “Hardcore Birding” as our preferred activity, we were assigned our guide and expected to eat all of our meals with him alone. It would’ve been more fun at mealtimes with a larger group, especially since our guide often chose not to eat and we were left by ourselves. Food here was also tasty traditional Ecuadorian similar to meals at San Jorge, but served banquet style.

Bar drinks were charged separately and were relatively expensive: a quart of Pilsener was $5. We declined to try chicha, the local traditional alcoholic brew made by women who masticate yucca to begin the fermentation process with their enzymes. It smells something like rancid dairy products!

Rx and Other Advice

Malaria, yellow fever and typhoid should be considered in trip planning. We chose to take malaria prophylactics and update our routine immunizations; we already had yellow fever and Hepatitis A shots. We brought plenty of sunblock.

Other possible scary diseases include dengue fever and Chagas disease, for which there are no immunizations, and there’s always the chance of encountering dangerous mammals or

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poisonous snakes, spiders, bees, wasps, scorpions or plants. To protect yourself from these, common sense should prevail. If you don’t have other health insurance that covers you in foreign countries, travel insurance that covers trip interruption, lost luggage and medical evacuations can be a good idea.

It’s always good to avoid being bitten by mosquitos, which can carry malaria and other diseases. For facts about bug vectors, diseases and prevention visit the CDC (Centers for Disease Control, Traveler’s Health) and IAMAT (International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers) websites: www.cdc.gov, www.iamat.org. Whenever needed, lodges will usually provide mosquito netting in your room. There are also accessories and bug clothing available to ward them off (see Equipment). We also brought Cutter Mosquito Wipes repellent.

Currency

The official currency is the U.S. dollar, which is widely accepted all over Ecuador. Traveler’s Checks are not easy to use everywhere and credit cards will tack on 10% user fees, so it’s best to use cash. Ecuador has its own coins, but we also received US coins in change.

EQUIPMENT

Because we minimized our luggage, whatever we brought had to be as versatile and compact as possible. For example, we took space-saving high-tech nylon clothes that fold to nothing flat and wash out and dry overnight (although having laundry done in the lodges was inexpensive).

Luggage

We brought one medium-sized Eagle Creek duffel and one Eagle Creek Tarmac 22, a rolly luggage bag, www.eaglecreek.com. Both pieces are small enough to qualify as carry-ons, but we checked them.

Our Eagle Creek luggage was abused by transportation handlers, but held up well. It has very substantial hardware - zippers, buckles, handles. It also seemed that wherever we went it got rained on or totally splashed. While the duffel could have benefitted from being placed inside garbage bags or lining it with them, the Tarmac was fairly water repellant. With its compartments, it’s also easy to organize, and rolling luggage is much more fun than carrying it!

We used our favorite JanSport and Eagle Creek daypacks for carry-on luggage and lodge pack-ins, www.jansport.com, and brought smaller fanny packs for hiking.

Clothing

We usually bring some old "one-way" clothes, but our standard "uniform" for birding and traveling is high-tech nylon shirts and zip-off pants from ExOfficio and Cabela’s, www.exofficio.com, www.cabelas.com. (Ideally, cotton should be worn for safety when flying – in case of a fire in an accident it doesn’t melt onto your skin like synthetics will.)

Long pants and long sleeved shirts are good on forested trails and in the sun, but legs can be unzipped and vented or sleeves rolled up and "locked" into place if it gets too hot. All of these clothes are comfortable, lightweight, breathable, moisture-wicking, antimicrobial, wash and dry quickly wrinkle-free and have sunblock SPF 30+ built into the fabric.

Besides all that, ExOfficio’s new BugsAway Insect Shield Apparel does an excellent job of warding off mosquitos, ticks, chiggers and other annoying bugs and insects. This clothing bonds man-made Permethrin (like natural repellent found in chrysanthemums) to garments in a special treatment process, putting it on clothes you wear, not on your skin. The BugsAway Insect Shield formula is the same one used in their first generation Buzz Off Insect Repellent Apparel, but ExO says new research done by the EPA confirms that, rather than 25, the effectiveness of both will last for 70 to 90 washings, or essentially the life of the garment. There was also a name change due to copyright issues.

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For our Ecuador trip we field tested new ExO BugsAway Ziwa Convertible Pants and a BugsAway Halo Long-sleeved Shirt. Both were comfortable, fun to wear and performed superbly. We didn’t mind accidentally brushing up against vegetation and could relax and enjoy the jungle more.

For good measure, we brought all of our older ExO Buzz Off clothing too - I like wearing my crew shirt as a pj top in suspect sleeping quarters! We also treated our hats with Repel Permanone, and I threw in some mesh Bug Socks from BuzzOff Outdoor Wear, www.buzzoffoutdoorwear.com. All of this clothing gave us peace of mind and freedom from bug bites.

Underwear, Outerwear, Headwear, Footwear

You actually could take an entire trip with just two pairs of ExOfficio’s antimicrobial, lightweight, breathable, moisture-wicking, speed-drying nylon underwear and socks. If you wanted.

To take the chill off at higher elevations we wore fleece and PrimaLoft jackets, and brought rain jackets for boat rides and in case of sudden showers www.thenorthface.com, www.llbean.com.

Hats are essential in Ecuador, and Outdoor Research is known for its hats. Their sunproof (UPF 50) sombreros, hats and caps are all great fun to wear www.orgear.com. I also had my Idaho Bird Observatory cap, www.idahobirdobservatory.org, and Dave wore his Cabela’s cap. We brought wool and Turtle Fur caps and wool gloves for the mountains.

On the trails I wore my LL Bean lowcut hikers and Dave wore his Cabela’s Mountain Hikers. We brought old flip flops for showers and walking around in our room. I also brought my Chaco Z/1 Sandals with Vibram soles. They’re sturdy and comfortable and feel wonderful when you want to unlock your feet at the end of a long hot tropical jungle day, www.chaco.com.

Optics, Etc.

Whatever optics you choose, it’s wise to have at least one backup pair of binoculars, even if it’s only a compact, for your family or group in case of accidents or unforeseen problems with your primary ones.

Besides various binocs, we brought a small 20-60x spotting scope, which came in quite handy when we birded on our own or our guide’s wasn’t available, along with a lightweight carbon fiber tripod with a magnesium ball head from One Source Network, www.osnusa.com. (With the head removed, this lightweight tripod folds down nicely to onboard luggage length if need be.) We also used a TriPak to easily cart our tripod and scope around, www.wanderingtattler.com.

Otro Equipo

Rite in the Rain Notebooks and All-Weather Clicker Pens are standard items for all our birding trips. Even if it doesn’t rain much, they’re durable, convenient and fun to use. The Notebooks come in many varieties, formats and sizes. The Pens write smoothly upside down, through water and over dirt, whether it’s cold or hot. The metal barrels are tough and the black tactical pens are stealthy. Don’t leave home without them! www.RiteintheRain.com.

Chums eyewear retainers are also essential. They come in comfortable stretchy elastic and quick-drying materials with fun tropical colors and patterns. Chums Hat Clips make sure your favorite hat doesn’t blow away in the wind, www.chums.com.

Nikon Micro Fiber Cleaning Cloths and Lenspens helped keep our sunglasses and binocs clean, www.shop.nikonhunting.com.

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Your choice of headlamps and flashlights also comes in handy on a trip like this. I brought my little Petzl Tikka headlamp, www.petzl.com, and a couple of pocket-sized generic LED flashlights. (We used to bring our big 4D MagLite for owling, but TSA kept it last time we went through - it counted as a weapon!) Most of these use garden variety AA or AAA batteries. Never shine your headlamp in anyone’s eyes, including your dog’s.

I brought my Apple iPod Touch instead of a laptop. For as often as I needed to or could access my inbox, it was convenient and much more compact.

REFERENCES

San Jorge’s website is a good place to find background information on the Magic Birding Circuit, www.eco-lodgesanjorge.com and the Sani site is good for their birding and tour info, www.sanilodge.com.

Visit www.hostsanjorge.com.ec or http://www.eco-lodgesanjorge.com/birding_list.shtml for a San Jorge checklist that codes the birds according to where you can find them on the Magic Birding Circuit. Using the chart with columns allows you to color code the areas while studying up and to use for quick reference in the field. Cheryl provided us a Sani checklist, birdwatching@eco-lodgesanjorge.com.

For more bird checklists, specialties, endemics and other information Birding Hot Spots is another good site: http://www.camacdonald.com/birding/saecuador.htm, and Bird Life International has plenty of links: http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/links/links.jsp?page=l_sam_ec.

Books we used for logistics and information about Ecuador include Lonely Planet’s Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands by Regis St Louis (8th edition, 08/09) www.lonelyplanet.com and the Ecuador & The Galapagos Islands Moon Handbook by Julian Smith and Jean Brown (4th edition, 03/09), www.moon.com. The maps in both books show good detail of the various areas we visited, but an excellent map of the entire country is International Travel Maps’ Ecuador Map, www.itmb.com.

To identify birds, besides taking advantage of our guides’ expertise, we used The Birds of Ecuador Volume II Field Guide, by Robert S. Ridgely and Paul J. Greenfield (2001). If you want the illustrated plates, be sure to get this book and not Volume I, which contains Birds of Ecuador Status, Distribution, and Taxonomy.

Because the Guide to the Birds of Ecuador is so unwieldy, we took it to a local print shop where they chopped the plates from the tome, refastened them together into a smaller book for easier use in the field, and rebound the text which we left at home.

We also had a copy of Lonely Planet’s Latin American Spanish Phrasebook (5th edition, September 2008), but didn’t really need it because most people we met spoke English.

BIRDING ECUADOR

One reason Ecuador has so many birds is because it’s located in the middle of the world in the heart of the tropics. It has constant temperatures, two seasons, all the climate steps of the world, and two hot spots: places that weren’t destroyed in the ice ages. Creatures ran and flew there to survive.

Although deforestation is Ecuador’s most severe environmental problem - it has the highest deforestation rate and worst environmental record in South America - there is still a rich and wide variety of habitats. Those we visited ranged from lowland Amazon tropical rainforest to foothills, and middle elevation rainforest to high altitude Andean dry forest, Andean cloud forest, high barren plains and paramo, lakes, lagoons and rivers. We birded reserves, parks and roads throughout these habitats.

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Like other areas in Central and South America, Ecuador birding is frequently brutal forest or jungle birding so at times it’s challenging to find or see birds. They’re often in the canopy or thick understory, and flit around and hide. Lighting can be poor on overcast days or harsh on sunny days. Indeed, weather can be a key factor for any given day’s bird list: too much rain or sun can affect the number of species who choose to make an appearance. Birds with so many similar varieties (flycatchers, hummers, woodcreepers, antbirds, tanagers, etc!) are difficult to tell apart quickly. Knowing vocalizations is an advantage, but short-time visitors have little chance to learn them well. When available our guides sometimes used birdJam iPod apps, www.birdjam.com, to lure out reluctant skulkers like crakes and antbirds. Despite all these "hardships", birding in Ecuador can be rewarding.

BIRDING AREAS

Our three-week Ecuador tour began and ended in Quito, and covered several of northern Ecuador’s birding hotspots. When we arrived we birded the grounds at San Jorge, Quito. Our first official birding excursion was on the SJ Quito lodge grounds with Jorge the next morning, and later that afternoon he took us to Yanacocha Reserve (2 nights Quito). The next day we birded the Nono-Mindo Road on the way to Tandayapa Lodge (3 nights), followed by Milpe Lodge (3 nights). From Milpe we birded a road near Pedro Vicente Maldonado in the lowland tropical rainforests before going to Cala Cali and returning to SJ Quito (2 nights). Except for two days to bird these places “on our own”, we birded with Jorge.

Next we basically took a day off from birding to visit the Otavalo craft market, stopping briefly to check out waterfowl on San Pablo Lake and things at Jerusalem Reserve on the way back to Quito. Then we went over Papallacta Pass to bird the eastern side of the Andes at El Ollin, San Jorge de Cosanga-Yanayuca Wildlife Reserve and Antisana Ecological Reserve for three days (2 nights). After returning to Quito we spent the following day going to the west side of Antisana Reserve, and half the next day back at Yanacocha, staying again at SJ Quito (2 nights) before flying out to Coca for our Sani Lodge extension (4 nights).

Cumulatively, Dave and I saw or heard 463 species of birds (slightly more than 1/4 of those possible in Ecuador). These included 14 species of macaws and parrots, 50 different hummingbirds, 11 toucans, 60 kinds of flycatchers and 69 tanagers, plus Andean Cocks-of-the-Rock, Hoatzins, and Sunbitterns!

Even visiting the Amazon, we only encountered 7 mammal species, plus Tapir, Agouti, Capybara, Jaguarundi, Ocelot, Armadillo and Anaconda tracks, 7 reptiles and amphibians, and countless intriguing insects and butterflies, spiders and plants. Mammals included Red-tailed Squirrel, White-tailed Deer, 3 kinds of monkeys and Long-nosed Bats. The best sighting of the entire trip was the Andean Wolf at Antisana National Park.

Note: In the following accounts I mention highlights and some common birds, but not every bird we saw in an area or each time we saw it. For more information on possible species, please check the San Jorge and Sani websites and checklists. H = Heard, for when a bird was heard, but not seen.

San Jorge Eco-Lodge & Botanical Reserve, Quito

Birds we found on the grounds at SJ Quito (High Barren Plains and Highland Rainforest, 9,870–13,200 feet, 200 acres) included Variable Hawk, Band-tailed Pigeon, Eared Dove, Ash-colored Tapaculo, various flycatchers, flowerpiercers and tanagers, Red-crested Cotinga, Great Thrush, Brown-bellied Swallow, Southern Yellow Grosbeak, Paramo Seedeater, Rufous-naped and Stripe-headed Brush-Finches, Rufous-collared and Yellow-browed Sparrows and Hooded Siskin. Hummers here included a nesting Sparkling Violetear, Shining Sunbeam, Sword-billed Hummer, Black-tailed and Green-tailed Trainbearers, Tyrian Metaltail and White-bellied Woodstar. Other species are possible, and various birds are attracted to hummingbird and fruit feeders on the grounds. Listen for Band-winged Nightjar after dark.

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Yanacocha Reserve

Yanacocha Reserve (Highland Cloud Forest) is a private Jocotoco Conservation Foundation hummingbird reserve located on the backside of the Pichincha Mountains about an hour from SJ Quito, www.fjocotoco.org. Our first visit there with Jorge unfortunately was in a late afternoon cloud forest rainstorm and relatively few birds seemed to be out except hummers, so we enjoyed the clear weather when we returned with Norberto Jumbo on Day 15.

This reserve is believed to contain the entire range of the Black-breasted Puffleg, a rare endemic hummer easier observed between April and June. Several other hummers are more common here: Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Great Saphirewing, Saphire-vented Puffleg, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Sparkling Violetear, Mountain Velvetbreast, Shining Sunbeam, Tyrian Metaltail, Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, and Golden-breasted Puffleg. Flowerpiercers, Mountain and other tanagers, various flycatchers, antpittas, tapaculos and the Andean Guan are also possible here.

Nono-Mindo Road

Nono-Mindo Road

The Nono-Mindo Road (Highland Rainforest, Cloud Forest) is a famous Ecuadorian birding route that’s fun to take. We stopped often to get out and walk, seeing what we could see. Our first stop was the Nono town square to look for Tropical Mockingbirds, where we also saw our first swallows (Blue-and-white, Brown-bellied) and TK: Tropical Kingbird. Along the way we found Andean Guan, Collared Inca, Speckled Hummer, Crimson-Mantled Woodpecker, Azara’s Spinetail, various tanagers, and many other species. We took a side road to Verde Cocha where we watched Cinnamon Flycatchers, several warblers, H Plain-tailed Wren, mountain-tanagers and Turquoise Jays. On the main road again we chased a White-capped Dipper along the Rio Alambi where we also glimpsed a Torrent Duck, before stopping for lunch and finding a female Andean Cock-of-the-Rock close to her mud nest under a bridge.

Highlights included watching an Andean Cock-of-the-Rock lek, followed by a Golden-headed Quetzal. It seemed odd to find the screeching brilliant red Cocks-of-the-Rock in trees on a forested hillside on a slope rather than a flat plain, as we’re used to in the US with Sage Grouse, or like Central American manakins.

After the Quetzal, Jorge showed us his GPS reading: 00° 00´ 00¨! “We’re on the Equator in the Middle of the World!”

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San Jorge de Tandayapa Eco-Lodge & Hummingbird Sanctuary

SJ Tandayapa (Cloud Forest, 5,800 feet, 150 acres, 40 orchid species) is part of the Choco Endemic bird area of Northwest Ecuador and one of the most pleasant places we visited. Upon our late afternoon arrival, we found a Black Phoebe and a Buff-tailed Coronet, the first of 20 hummingbirds we logged here. Next day we hung out on our own and attempted to identify hummers and other birds coming to the feeders and along the trails.

Perhaps the most spectacular hummer we saw here is the male Booted Racket-tail, a puffleg whose long split tail has shafts that end with rackets. Other hummers include White-necked Jacobin, woodstars, Tawney-bellied Hermit, Purple-bibbed Whitetip, Fawn-breasted, Empress and Green-crowned Brilliants, Green-crowned Woodnymph, Brown and Green Violetears, Andean and Western Emeralds, Blue-chested Hummer, and Hoary Puffleg. The Rufous-tailed Hummer was a favorite because it was easy to tell apart by its unique reddish bill.

Booted Racket-tail and White-necked Jacobin

In the early morning there were Montane and Strong-billed Woodcreepers and other birds going for moths near the lights along the paths near the buildings. The fruit feeders provided good views of a Rufous Motmot, Red-headed Barbets, White-throated Quail-Doves and various tanagers: Golden, Palm, Blue-gray, Beryl-spangled, Golden-naped, Lemon-rumped, Black-capped, Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager and Bronze-green, Orange-bellied and Fulvous-vented Euphonias. Stalin showed us a Masked Trogon in the field next to the restaurant. On and above the trails we found Slate-throated Whitestarts, Turkey and Black Vultures, swifts, flocks of Red-billed Parrots and a Red-tailed Squirrel.

After porch birding and breakfast the following day, and also on our last morning at Tandayapa, we walked the trails with Jorge and Stalin. Some of the birds we found include White-winged Brush-Finch, Red-eyed and Brown-capped Vireos, White-winged Becard, Gray-breasted Wood-Wren, H Toucan Barbet, Scale-breasted Pygmy-Tyrant, Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Three-striped Warbler nestlings, Uniform Antshrike, Squirrel Cuckoo, Andean Solitaire, Golden-headed Quetzal, Sickle-winged Guan, H an endangered Wattled Guan, H Golden-olive Woodpecker, H Ash Colored Tapaculo, Dark-backed Wood-Quail, a pair of Slaty Antwrens, H Russet-backed Oropendola, and Buff-fronted and Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaners. We glimpsed an Andean Cock-of-the-Rock in the forest. And we found a Blue-and-white Swallow stuck inside our room! Dave carefully caught it and let it back out the open window.

San Jorge de Milpe Eco-Lodge - Orchid & Bird Reserve

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SJ Milpe (Upper Foothills Tropical Rainforest, 3,000 feet, 260 acres, 300 orchid species) was good for plenty of birds. On our way into the reserve we saw a Pale-Mandibled Aracari, Ruddy Pigeon, Cattle Egrets, a Green Thorntail and a pair of Choco Toucans. When we arrived we walked near the caretaker’s cabin to bird the feeders and check the grounds, turning up, among other birds, White-whiskered and Stripe-throated Hermits, Bay Wren, Choco Warbler, Russet Antshrike and Blue Morpho butterflies. We didn’t see much on the trail to the old lodge, which is set in the forest and has a nice balcony with hammocks overlooking the forest.

After settling into our rooms at the new lodge, our afternoon “walk” turned into a sit: the big tree in back of the building was a hotspot! We ended up sitting in camp chairs watching the show as a Masked Water-Tyrant ran around us hunting insects and Blue Morphos swarmed near the banana feeders. We saw a mystery hummer that turned out to be what we think was a juvenile Long-billed Starthroat. There was confusion because that aged bird isn’t illustrated in the book and Jorge hadn’t seen one before.

We also observed Tropical Parula, Maroon-tailed Parakeet, a Bronze-winged Parrot flyover, Social Flycatcher, Cinnamon and One-colored Becards, Banaquit, and various tanagers: Bay-headed, White-lined, Silver-throated, Swallow, and Purple and Green Honeycreepers and Blue Dacnis. We next took a stroll with Jorge on the trail in back of the lodge with our chairs to sit on a hill overlooking the area, immediately locating a pair of Rose-faced Parrots, a Choco endemic, feeding on a banana tree. From the overview we saw Slate-colored Grosbeak, Variable Seedeater, Scarlet-rumped Cacique, Choco Toucan, and more tanagers: Blue-necked, Flame-faced, Rufous-throated, Ochre-breasted, Dusky Bush- and a pair of Yellow-tufted Dacnis.

Unlike our owl prowl at Tandayapa which resulted only in seeing the adult Three-striped Warbler at its nest, this evening’s walk at Milpe turned up a Paraque and several owl calls from the Crested, Mottled and an unidentified Screech.

Next morning we went early with Jorge back to the caretaker’s cabin where we found an Immaculate Antbird pair, Chestnut-backed Antbird, H Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Wedge-billed, Spotted and Plain-brown Woodcreepers, Buff-rumped Warbler, Tawny-breasted and other Flycatchers, Red-faced Spinetail, Glistening Green and other tanagers, Orange-billed Sparrow, Gray-rumped Swift, Ecuadorian Thrush (Choco endemic), and heard the odd call of the Little Woodstar. Except for Smooth-billed Ani, a mid-morning walk down the road in front of the lodge was hot and not very productive.

On our afternoon walk we found several birds in the grasses on the way to the trails: Yellow-bellied Seedeaters, Dull-colored Grassquit and Black-striped Sparrow. From the Observation Hill we scoped a Bronze-winged Parrot and a Maroon-tailed Parakeet, and watched a kettle of Swallow-tailed Kites flying around near White-collared and Gray-rumped Swifts and a Short-tailed Hawk. Back at the old lodge we sat and watched seed feeders as an Indigo-crowned Quail-Dove and a Rufous-fronted Wood-Quail came in to feed, both beautiful Choco endemics.

On our day off at Milpe we hiked down to swim at some of the waterfalls, but the water was freezing so we didn’t stay in very long. The best birds of the day were a flock of Crimson-rumped Toucanets that flew into the trees above and around us and a glimpse of the elusive Little Woodstar. We went down the muddy new trail a ways where we saw a set of small cat tracks. There are also feeders in back of the rooms so you can relax and watch hummers from your room.

Pedro Vicente Maldonado

Pedro Vicente Maldonado (Lowland Tropical Rainforest, 1,650 feet) is an area near the town of that name located on the western slopes of the Andes. The climate is warm and humid. We went there from and returned to Milpe for lunch. The strategy was to bird along the way, park and walk down a road to an opening with overviews and stop to see what came into the trees. The longer we watched, the more birds arrived.

Those we saw included Black-winged Saltator, Pallid Dove (Choco endemic), Pacific Hornero, Shiny Cowbird, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Bright-rumped Attila and Pale-vented Thrush on the way there. When walking and watching the trees we saw Plumbeous Pigeon, Masked Tityra, Buff-throated Saltator, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Piratic Flycatcher, Roadside Hawk,

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snapping White-bearded Manakins, Dot-winged Antwren, Yellow-bellied Siskin, Violet-bellied Hummer, Purple-crowned Fairy, H a Little Tinamou whistle, Slaty Becard, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tyrant, Lesser Greenlet, White-shouldered, White-winged and other Tanagers, H Barred Puffbird, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Orange-fronted Barbet, Streak-headed Woodcreeper and a Red-tailed Squirrel.

Just as we left Milpe after lunch we spotted a Laughing Falcon perched in a tree along the road.

Cala Cali

The birding spot near the town of Cala Cali on the way back to Quito from Milpe is an abandoned, half-built racetrack. At first it didn’t appear to have many interesting birds and we missed the Southern Lapwing here. After some Ash-breasted Sierra-Finches and Common Ground-Doves, we scoped several 6.5” Giant Hummers frequenting flowers on a distant hillside. While milling around we found what at first Jorge called a mockingbird, but soon turned into his and our lifer White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant, the bird of the day!

Otavalo

Though not a birding area, the colorful craft market in Otavalo is a classic one that we enjoyed strolling through. (We didn’t go on a Saturday!) There’s everything from woven textiles, rugs,

hats and belts, carved gourds, serpentine figures and masks, paintings and embroidered tablecloths. Photography is allowed. Oddly enough, only Jorge bought anything.

On our way there we stopped at Mitad del Mundo, a sundial monument on the real equator in the Middle of the World. On our return we found Common Gallinules, Andean Coots, Andean Ruddy Ducks, a Pied-billed Grebe and Yellow-billed Pintails on San Pablo Lake. We saw most of them again later at Papallacta Lake and Antisana.

We also stopped briefly on the way back at Jerusalem Forest Reserve (Andean Dry Forest) where we saw Vermilion Flycatcher, Streaked Saltator, and Scrub Tanager. Jorge called out an Andean Wolf disappearing into the brush. We didn’t see it but he described it

as a small brownish dog or foxlike animal with a very bushy tail, sometimes called a fox, a description which later came in handy.

Papallacta Pass, El Ollin, Antisana Ecological Reserve and San Jorge de Cosanga-Yanayacu Wildlife ReserveFor our next three days we visited these areas with Pablo and Jose searching for birds on the subtropical eastern slopes of the Andes. The weather was very cold and rainy much of the time and we often needed all of our warm and wet weather gear. It affected our birding, as fewer birds were out and it was harder to find or watch them in the rain.

Approaching Papallacta Pass (High Barren Plains, 13,400+ feet) we passed a field being plowed that was full of Carunculated Caracaras of all ages, and across the road a flock of Andean Gulls. On the way into Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve at the pass we watched a White-tailed Deer heading over a hill into Spectacled Bear country. This was our first chance to bird the paramo. We didn’t spend much time out in the weather, but scared up a Stout-billed Cinclodes, Tawny Antpitta, Plumbeous Sierra-Finches, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant and a Paramo Ground-Tyrant. At this elevation, the plants are stunted and quite interesting to look at.

At Papallacta Lake we found Andean Teal, Pied-billed Grebe and Andean Coots.

El Ollin (Middle Amazon Rainforest) was an area we birded by driving or walking along the highways looking for birds. The first day we glimpsed Long-tailed Sylph and Black-capped Hemispingus. We birded along some pastures near Baeza and found Speckled Hummingbird, Pale-edged Flycatcher, Inca (or Green) Jays, Black-billed Thrush, Southern House Wren, a Mountain Wren building a nest in a broken tree, a singing Tropical Parula, Golden-rumped and

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Orange-bellied Euphonias, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Chestnut-bellied Seedeater, Yellow-browed Sparrow, Russet-backed Oropendola and Olivaceous Siskin.

The next morning it was raining again. We drove and birded the highway to Antisana Reserve, stopping at a bridge and finding a Torrent Tyrannulet and a Torrent Duck working the torrents in the river below, with a Bat Falcon perched in a snag high above.

Continuing on, we walked the highway again, finding among other birds Golden-eyed and Masked Flowerpiercers, Magpie, Silver-beaked and Eastern Blue-necked Tanagers, watching a Crimson-crested Woodpecker excavating a hole, White-throated Toucan, Golden-collared Toucanet, Chestnut-eared Aracari, Fiery-throated Fruiteater, Cliff Flycatcher and a Black Caracara, plus a mystery hawk. We saw large spiders in webs on a bridge on our way to a restaurant with hummingbird feeders and pet parrots, Blue-winged Parrotlet and Orange-winged Amazon, that we later saw elsewhere on the hoof. White-tailed Hillstars were the prized hummers at Susanita’s feeders. We also enjoyed seeing the red, white and black “Eighty-eight” Butterflies with the number on their wings and observing the waterfall on the property.

Later in the afternoon we hiked the trail for a ways in the Antisana Ecological Reserve (Cloud Forest, 300,000 acres). Here we saw Long-tailed Sylph, an up close Collared Inca, Rufous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant, Northern Mountain-Cacique, Olive-backed Woodcreeper and heard a Barred Becard whistle and White-capped Parrots fly by before heading back to the parking lot. From the overlook we found a Common Bush-Tanager calling and a Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater in the trees below us.

On our way to Cosanga the last morning here we found an injured Oilbird on the roadside that Pablo decided to take to a wildlife rehab center in the next town, an interesting side trip. On display were various animal skins such as Spectacled Bears, Jaguars and snakes, plus bird beaks, feathers, butterflies and other insects.

Next we visited San Jorge de Cosanga-Yanayacu Wildlife Reserve (High Amazon Forest/Andean Cloud Forest, 6000-6600 feet, 330 acres) adjoining Antisana Reserve. We walked down the dirt road a short way finding butterflies and a Beryl-spangled Tanager, then hiked the trail in the reserve to an overlook, as Jose and Pablo cleared plant debris from the storm ahead of us. Here we had closer views of a Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, a flyover Broad-winged Hawk at the overlook, heard Unicolored Tapaculo, and saw a Black-eared Hemispingus and another Red-tailed Squirrel.

Returning to Quito after lunch the weather was the same on Papallacta Pass as on our first day so we didn’t stop there again to bird the paramo.

Antisana Ecological Reserve

For our last official section of the Magic Birding Circuit we took a day trip with Danny Jumbo to the west side of Antisana Ecological Reserve, one of our favorite places on our Ecuador adventure. This part of the reserve is located in the high foothills of Antisana Volcano on a working farm grazed by sheep. Following the road to a lake was as far as we went, along the way finding various paramo birds and animals. This time the weather was a little more cooperative; it didn’t rain much until we got to the lake.

At our first stop we found Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, a closer Giant Hummer and met some other birders parked ahead of us, who soon called, “Do you see the fox on the road?” Spotting it, I realized immediately it was an Andean Wolf, up close! It walked around the vehicles and up onto and along the slope in front of us. Nothing tops that!

Further up into the hills we found Bar-winged Cinclodes, Plain-colored Seedeater, Carunculated Caracaras and several Andean Condors who sailed right over us. Looking down at a river below we saw a female Torrent Duck on a rock in the water, and a Stout-billed Cinclodes on a hillside. Proceeding up the road we passed several Black-winged Ground-Doves before reaching a plain where there were many Andean Lapwings, Plumbeous Sierra-Finches, a clearer view of a

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Paramo Ground-Tyrant and Black-faced Ibises. Reaching the lake we found several repeat birds like Andean Teal, Andean Ruddy Ducks, Andean Coots and Yellow-billed Pintail, plus Silvery Grebe and Chestnut-collared Swifts.

On our way back down the mountains we stopped at an X Danny knew of where Ecuadorian Hillstars were frequenting specific reddish bushes downslope. And in a smaller town near Quito we were treated to a traditional Ecuadorian lunch replete with three or four kinds of corn dishes, two kinds of pork and a three or four gallon bottle of Coke. We didn’t clean our plates!

Sani LodgeWhen we arrived at Sani Lodge (Lowland Tropical Rainforest) in late afternoon we birded the dock area. One of the first birds we saw was a turkey-like Hoatzin sailing over the lagoon to its perch in a nearby tree. We also found a Violaceous Jay, Great Kiskadee, White-winged Swallows and Ringed Kingfisher. We were shown our room and introduced to our guide Carlos, then birded with him from the open air bar which overlooks the lagoon. Among other birds were a Yellow-rumped Cacique, Black-fronted Nunbird, Black-faced Dacnis, Masked Crimson Tanager, Cobalt-winged Parakeet and a Capped Heron that we scoped. We also heard a Green Kingfisher and a Scarlet-crowned Barbet.

To get an early start the next morning Carlos requested breakfast at 5:00 am. Up at 4:30 we made our way to the dining hall where we listened to several owls: a Tropical Screech-Owl at its roost next to the building, Spectacled Owl, Tawny-bellied Screech and Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, plus a Paraque, Common Potoo and Cocoi Heron.

We took a short canoe ride across the lagoon to the trail to the observation tower. On the way there we heard a Least Bittern, Cinnamon-throated Woodcreeper and Red Howler Monkeys. We saw a Striated Heron, Black-capped Donacobius (a wren), Orange-winged Amazon, Gray-capped Flycatcher, Cinnamon Attila, Crested Oropendola, Anhinga and Blue-and-Yellow and Chestnut-fronted Macaws. On our return our sightings included a Snail Kite, Greater Ani and an inconspicuous Common Potoo blending into a tree.

After a short hike, we climbed 205 metal steps to the top of the tower in a sturdy kapok, or ceiba, tree where we set up our scope and settled in to watch the show, steering clear of a huge mean Bullet Ant. The tower was our favorite place at Sani. From there we could look for miles out over the canopy and follow the cries of Red Howler Monkeys and White-faced Capuchins, hoping for a glimpse. We stayed there all morning until the birding tapered off.

Our Sani Tower bird list includes Cocoi Heron (a black and white version of North America’s GBH), Greater Yellow-headed Vulture, Double-toothed Kite, Bat Falcon, Common Piping-Guan, a distant flying Scarlet Macaw, a closer Cobalt-winged Parakeet, Black-headed Parrot, Amazonian White-tailed Trogon, Pied Puffbird, Many-banded, Ivory-billed and Lettered Aracaris, Channel-billed (calling) and White-throated Toucans, Gilded Barbet, a group of 4 foraging Yellow-tufted Woodpeckers on the same tree, Orange-fronted Plushcrown, Slender-footed Tyrannulet, Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher, a calling Gray-crowned Flatbill, Bright-rumped Attila, a Crowned Slaty Flycatcher in migration from Argentina, Sulphury Flycatcher (only seen in the canopy), Plumb-throated Cotinga, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Violaceous Jay, Blue Dacnis, a pair of Yellow-bellied Dacnis, a rare White-bellied Dacnis, a Rufous-bellied Euphonia pair, and Turquoise and Opal-rumped Tanagers. Many of these birds came right into our tree at very close range.

That afternoon we paddled across the lagoon again to take the trail from the camping area around through the forest and back to the lodge. After spotting a racer snake on the trail, our first stop was the roost tree of the Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl, a small dark bird with conspicuous ear-tufts wedged into a slit in a hollow. Next we came across a small iridescent “Eighty-eight” Butterfly and some Tapir tracks in mud. We heard a Broad-billed Motmot and Spix’s Woodcreeper. We observed a Laughing Falcon, Ruddy Pigeon, Citron-bellied Attila, Wedge-billed and Plain-brown Woodcreepers, White-fronted Nunbird, Green Honeycreepers, Orange-bellied Euphonia, Opal-crowned, Paradise, Green-and-Gold, and Gray-headed Tanagers, glimpsed a female Wire-tailed Manakin, viewed a Mealy Amazon fly over and watched a Squirrel

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Monkey move through the trees. Further along, two Blue-and-yellow Macaws were perched atop a high snag near a footbridge, and we stopped to watch leaf-cutter ants carrying flower petals and leaves to their colony. A Boat-billed Flycatcher was perched near the lodge when we got back.

On the following morning breakfast was not until 5:30 and our hike on what Carlos called the “Line Trail” started at 6:00 am. In the thick forest we heard a Thrush-like Wren and a Cream-colored Woodpecker as it zinged past us making us wish for a better look. We saw a male Amazonian White-tailed Trogon, a male Wire-tailed Manakin’s head and body, White-necked Thrush, various skulking antshrikes, antwrens and antbirds, and a group of calling Screaming Pihas. We found a Common South American Toad in the leaf litter and large Blue Morpho butterflies along the way. Two Straight-billed Hermits separately presented themselves briefly. In a very dark thicket it was difficult to pick out features of the Lafresnaye’s Piculets, but a Plain Xenops and the large billed Amazonian Barred-Woodcreeper were slightly easier. Several people can hide among the gigantic buttressed trees here which can also be used for drumming long-distance messages. Among other birds, there were also Flame-crested Tanagers, Olive-backed Foliage-gleaners, Pink-throated Becards, a White-fronted Nunbird, Buff-throated Woodcreeper, Grayish and Cinereous Mourners, Wing-barred Piprites, Blue-crowned Manakin, Long-billed Gnatwrens, and furtive Moriche’s Orioles in a palm tree near the Blue-and-yellow Macaw snag. This time there was a whole troop of Squirrel Monkeys moving through the canopy, and the Leaf-cutter Ants were still carrying leaves and flowers down the trail.

We returned in time for another refreshing swim in the lagoon before lunch, trusting that no Black Caimans would show up just then. But a few small muddy turtles with neon orange spots on their heads were swimming around the dock.

Our afternoon activity promised to be a wet boat ride up the exit channel because, darn, it was raining in the rainforest! But it quit soon after our departure and we enjoyed swamp birding. Kingfishers were out en force and we saw Ringed, Amazon and American Pygmys. We saw a Cattle Egret, Speckled Chachalaca, Collard Trogon, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, a juvenile Rufescent Tiger-Heron, a Pygmy Antwren silhouette, a fishing Silvered Antbird and glimpsed an elusive Sunbittern as it zinged quickly past the Antbird into the underbrush. We learned its beautiful two-note whistle song and then noticed them singing all the way up and down the channel.

Back on the lagoon with a view of the sky again, we could see Orange-winged Parrots, Crested Oropendolas and Pale-rumped and Short-tailed Swifts flying over us. We glimpsed a Sungrebe before it dove and heard the whoop of a South American Bullfrog. There were small brown Long-nosed Bats resting on a snag in the middle of the water. Back in our cabin we found a tiny Gecko in the bathroom, and out in the compound a pretty Rainbow Boa was perched on a branch in a tree.

On our last full day at Sani we had breakfast at 5:00 am again, before the owls were up. Donning our rubber boots once more we loaded into the canoe to paddle back up the exit channel and walk the boardwalk to the Rio Napo. Along the way we saw a Paraque, White-banded Swallows and a Chestnut-eared Aracari. We switched canoes to head upriver towards the parrot clay licks in Yasuni National Park.

Our first stop was Sani Island where we found Giant Cowbirds, a Peregrine Falcon, Capybara and Anaconda tracks in the sand, Mottle-backed Elaenia, Spotted Sandpiper, Brown-chested Martin, a Caqueta Seedeater (from Columbia), an endemic Fuscous Flycatcher, Spotted Tody-Flycatcher, Rufous-breasted Hermit, Dark-breasted Spinetail, Oriole Blackbird, Blue-winged Parrotlet, tanagers and sparrows.

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Continuing our paddle to the parrot clay licks we passed a Great Egret, Black Caracaras and Black Skimmers on a sandbar. The first parrot lick is actually located on a cliff right on the Rio Napo, where we brought the boat fairly close. Here we only found Dusky-headed Parakeets, but also a Drab Water-Tyrant and a pair of dimorphic Ladder-tailed Nightjars. Park rangers doing a boat patrol surprised us by coming up alongside our canoe and asking Dave and I to pay $2 apiece for looking at the clay lick. Even though we were just on the border, we were still using Yasuni National Park! We paid up and asked them about the other clay lick at a blind inside the park proper, reached after a 20 minute hike and requiring a $25 entrance fee per person. Two or three species are usually present there, including Cobalt-winged Parakeets and Orange-cheeked Parrots and another guest at Sani had shown us photos of “swarms of green parrots” from the day before. The rangers said the only birds there at the time, a little late in the morning, were the Dusky-headed Parakeets we’d just viewed, so we opted out and got a relative bargain.

Next we stopped at another island we named Isla Carlos. Here we found a Pectoral Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, River Tyrannulet, and White-bellied Spinetail. We hunted for an Olive-spotted Hummingbird, Gray-breasted Crake, which we heard and glimpsed, and the endemic Black-and-white Antbird who finally popped into view.

On the way to the Sani Community for another forest hike we saw a Brown Jacamar and Swallow-winged Puffbirds along the river. As we walked into the community there were a Streaked Flycatcher, the Great Potoo in its roost tree, Plumbeous Kites flying above the soccer field and a pair of perched Black-crowned Tityras high in a bare tree. In the forest we saw Dusky-capped Greenlet, Jaguarundi tracks, flushed a Great Tinamou for a brief glimpse, found a Fulvous Shrike-Tanager, a male Flame-crested Tanager, and a Long-winged Antwren. A Great-billed Hermit flared its tail and showed its orange curved beak. On our return through the forest we saw the prize of the day: a very rare White-eyed Attila (not even on the iPod!), a new bird for the Sani checklist as well as Carlos, Jimmy and us.

We spent our lunch hours on the bleachers of the community soccer field. It was very hot and humid, and time seemed to stop. Some of the local kids came over to visit. Except for Oriole

Blackbirds and Orange-backed Troupials there wasn’t much birding activity. Afterwards we took a short afternoon walk near community buildings, stopping to visit Carlos’s uncle to learn something about the Sani cacao industry. We looked in back of the buildings and found a calling Spot-breasted Woodpecker and squawking Magpie Tanagers, a Lineated Woodpecker on a snag (it has parallel white stripes on its back, not a V like the Crimson-crested) and Gray-breasted Martins, then stopped off to investigate chicha before leaving for Sani Lodge.

Back on the boardwalk to the channel to the lagoon we noticed Ocelot and Armadillo tracks in the mud below our path. On our canoe trip through the channel we encountered a Broad-billed Motmot and male and female Green-and-rufous Kingfishers, a target bird for us. Out on the lagoon there was a pair of Common Gallinules, actually uncommon for Sani and not yet on the checklist.

We were hoping to canoe on the lagoon again that evening to look for the Black Caiman, which we hadn’t done yet because of our usual o-dark-thirty departures, but our plans were precluded by one of the biggest downpours we’ve ever experienced. This time it was really raining hard in the rainforest! It was nicer to watch from the comfort of the open air bar!

After dinner one of the guides brought in a Smokey Jungle Tree Frog to show everyone. These large frogs sound like cats calling.

The next morning we canoed back across the lagoon and up the exit channel, passing Hoatzins in a tree and the young Rufescent Tiger-Heron on its X and listening to the Sunbitterns

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calling from their swampy abode. We walked the boardwalk to the Rio Napo for our last time and loaded up on the large boat to head back to Coca and civilization.

Along the river we noted some of our stops and birds from the previous day, and found our last new birds for the trip atop a riverbank: Southern Lapwings.

Postscript: The Streets of Coca

While riding on the bus through Coca from the docks to the airport we looked out the window and saw the strangest site: a kid riding a unicycle down a busy side street juggling swords!

¡ADIOS ECUADOR!

All photos / jpegs by Elise and David Faike.

This Trip Report is dedicated to Ruth Yakupzack who would have enjoyed reading it.

Hoatzins

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