Introduction

From 30 May through 5 June 2009 Judy, Tom, David, Trevor and Dušan had a birding trip along the west slope of the Andes in Northern Ecuador. The main goals of this trip were: (1) to see a good variety of birds and (2) to relax. We were all in a fanatic birding mood so our second goal was achieved to a minimum. We recorded a total of 223 bird species in six full days of birding. The highlights of the trip are mentioned in the day by day text. A full species list is included at the end of the report. All the species were recorded by all of us unless stated otherwise in the text.

Itinerary

Day 1 – Yanacocha, old Mindo-Nono road and Tandayapa valley

Day 2 – Reserva Las Gralarias

Day 3 – Reserva Las Gralarias

Day 4 – Milpe sanctuary and Milpe road

Day 5 – Paz de las Aves and Oilbird cave at Chontal

Day 6 – Rio Silanche sanctuary

Day 7 – Roundtrip Santa Rosa, Bellavista, Miraflores

Day1–30May09

The first day started great with nice weather and some very good birds along the road to Yanacocha. Our first bird of the trip was spotted by Trevor: a White-throatedTyrannulet foraging in the shrubbery along the road. A few minutes later we found a ParamoPipit singing from the top of a little bush. Then a large colorful bird surprised us and flew in front of the car and perched. It was a female MaskedTrogon!, totally unexpected in this habitat (no trees just pastures). On the road a White-browedGround-tyrant (austral migrant) was showing itself very well. We also had some excellent views from inside the car of a pair of Streak-throatedBush-Tyrants.

Birding was slow along the first part of the main trail (Trocha Inca) at Yanacocha. The only bird we saw was a Buff-wingedStar-frontlet. The distinctive call of the BarredFruiteaterwas heard well but unfortunately we did not see the bird. Along the rocky part of the trail we had great views of a female Rainbow-beardedThornbill. The bird was foraging nearby on some little flowers and chased away a TyrianMetaltail a few times. Our first mixed-species flock consisted of Blue-backedConebill,SupercillariedHemispingus and a pair of SpectacledWhitestart. We heard Chestnut-napedAntpitta below us while a RufousAntpitta was calling just above us. A White-browedSpinetail responded to its call and we saw some glimpses of this skulky bird. Our first hummingbird at a feeder halfway the trail was the spectacular Sword-billedHummingbird. The feeders at the tunnel were far more active and we saw at least three Sword-billed Hummingbird chasing each other. Other hummers included Golden-breastedPuffleg, Sapphire-ventedPuffleg, GreatSapphirewing, MountainVelvetbreast and SparklingVioletear. GlossyandMaskedFlowerpiercer showed well at the feeders too. New species in a larger mixed-species flock included Scarlet-belliedMountain-Tanager, StreakedTuftedcheek, White-bandedTyrannulet and Rufous-napedBrush-Finch. Just before heading back we saw our absolute highlight of Yanacocha: a RufousAntpitta right on the trail! It was first seen by Tom and luckily we all got great views of this secretive bird. On our way back the mist started to get in quickly and we only saw a few birds. During lunch we had TawnyAntpitta calling nearby.

After lunch we birded along the old Nono-Mindo road. At a bamboo patch we heard Chestnut-crownedAntpitta and we enjoyed a pair of duetting Plain-tailedWren. At the Alambi River we found a White-cappedDipper. The Slaty-backedChat-Tyrant was giving us a hard time. We only got to see glimpses of the bird which was calling continuously from inside the dense vegetation. We saw a flock of at least three HoodedMountain-Tanager very well through the scope. We ended the day with a very rare bird. We stopped at a nest site of a pair of Black-and-chestnutEaglesnear the village of Tandayapa. The pair did a breeding attempt about a year ago but it failed. The adults were seen very irregularly ever since. When we scoped the nest we were surprised to see a huge raptor in the nesting tree! We could clearly see its magnificent crest as it was moving its head. Let’s hope these rare cloud forest eagles stay around for a while!

Day2–31May09

We spent all day birding on the trails of Reserva Las Gralarias. The dawn chorus included the beautiful songs of Russet-crownedWarbler, AndeanSolitaire and Slaty-backedNightingaleThrush. The Spillman’sTapaculo with its machinegun song was loudly present in the understory but we never got to see it. Our first big bird surprised us at the Guan Gulch trail. When we got the bird in our bins we glimpsed some spectacular colors of a Plate-billedMountain-Toucan! Luckily the bird hopped out in the open and turned out not to be shy at all. A few minutes later we found another great bird: an immature Hook-billedKite was perched in a tree and we all got great looks of it. It was very still in the cloud forest the next half hour. Apart from the song of the Yellow-breastedAntpitta we did not see or hear any birds. We decided to have a stake-out at a more open spot in the forest in the hope birds would come out. Our plan worked and the first bird that appeared was a ToucanBarbet! It showed very well and we all had great looks of this colorful Chocó endemic. A few minutes later we were surprised by a pair of Golden-headedQuetzal which we only saw briefly. The scarce TyrannineWoodcreeper gave its characteristic song and showed well. A mixed-species flock came by and we saw Beryl-spangledTanager, MontaneWoodcreeper, White-tailedTyrannulet, Slate-throatedWhitestart and LineatedFoliage-gleaner. The Tawny-belliedHermit visited us one by one, hovering in front of our noses. David was most popular with his colorful jacket. On our way back we had a soaring BarredHawk and a male MaskedTrogon. Tom discovered a perched GorgetedSunangel which later had a fight with a male Violet-tailedSylph. At the guest house we had four Swallow-tailedKite soaring at close range.

After lunch we watched the hummingbirds at the feeders. We saw a wide range of species including Velvet-purpleCoronet, BrownInca, Buff-tailedCoronet, CollaredInca, Violet-tailedSylph, Fawn-breastedBrilliant, SpeckledHummingbird and GreenViolet-ear. Of the smaller species the spectacular BootedRacket-tail and bumblebee Purple-throatedWoodstar showed up. Masked and White-sidedFlowerpiercer were present at the feeders as well.

In the afternoon it started to rain. Nevertheless we went out birding and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Our plan was to look for antpittas on the trails as the weather conditions (dark and rainy) seemed good. We had a long walk down the Santa Rosa River trail and at the start Trevor saw a pair of Dark-backedWood-Quail. For about half an hour we did not see any bird. We decided to go a bit more down the trail and suddenly there it was: a huge antpitta on the trail! Wow, the bird jumped around the corner as we followed it carefully. When we stuck our heads around the corner we were standing eye-to-eye with a GiantAntpitta!!! Our adrenaline was pumping as we were watching one of the rarest and most secretive birds in Ecuador. Recently, many birders are seeing the species hand-fed at Angel Paz´s place but seeing a fully “wild” bird is a totally different experience!!! Unbelievably, on the way back Trevor discovered a second GiantAntpitta higher up the trail, most probably from another territory. What a great birds to end the day with!

Day3–1June09

This day we explored other trails of Reserva Las Gralarias. We started with a mixed-species flock which included Metallic-greenTanager, MontaneWoodcreeper, Red-facedSpinetail and TricoloredBrush-Finch. The fluorescent bluish-green color of the tanagers was an amazing sight in the early morning sun. We had good views of a family group of Azara’sSpinetail and a pair of duetting Gray-breastedWood-Wren. We spent most of the morning along Canyons Trail which goes through spectacular pristine cloud forest. However, we didn’t see many birds as birding can be typically harder in primary forest. Tom and Trevor saw a Slaty-backedChat-Tyrant and a very noisy Streak-cappedTreehunter hardly showed itself. On our way back we heard most probably the call of an Orange-breastedFruiteaterbut we couldn’t confirm its identification. Along Parrot Hill trail we did get great looks of a ScaledFruiteater. A few minutes later Judy spotted a larger blackish bird in front of us. It was a BeautifulJay! As we carefully approached the bird there turned out to be two more. The birds passed us at close range and we got some excellent views of this rare Chocó endemic! In the afternoon it was again dark and rainy. We decided to use our tactic from the day before and went looking for ground birds. A Rufous-headedPygmy-Tyrant wasn’t shy at all and showed itself at about 5 feet distance. Then we waited at the spot where we had heard Yellow-breastedAntpitta. Surprisingly, the bird came out on the trail after a few minutes and we all saw it very well!

Day4–2June09

In the morning we stopped to have a cup of coffee at the entrance of the Milpe reserve as it was raining and we were hoping it would clear up later. While we waited for the rain to stop we studied the hummingbirds at the feeders. We saw males and females of GreenThorntail, Green-crownedBrilliant and Green-crownedWoodnymph. Other new species included AndeanEmerald and Rufous-tailedHummingbird. We were lucky and it stopped raining about an hour later. Activity of birds was high and we started off great with a group of four ChocóToucan. We watched the toucans through the scope and at a sudden moment they were taking a sunbath. It was very funny to see how they were holding their beaks open in different positions forming a surrealistic picture. Our first flock included Slaty-cappedFlycatcher, Buff-frontedFoliage-gleaner, Orange-belliedEuphonia, GoldenTanager, Lemon-rumpedTanager, Blue-grayTanager and Blue-neckedTanager. As we walked into the reserve we saw Buff-rumpedWarbler and Orange-billedSparrow. Our main target for the day was the Club-wingedManakin. An exclusive sound that lekking males produce with their wings is an experience you don’t want to miss. As we came closer to the lek we started to hear the computer-like sounds. Soon we located a male above us and we could study in detail the funny movements he made to produce its sound. At the lek another flock came in and we saw a pair of Red-headedBarbet, SpottedWoodcreeper, Ochre-breastedTanager and Tawny-breastedFlycatcher. The trail came out at an open spot where we enjoyed a pair of OrnateFlycatchers. Then we heard the distinctive calls of the Yellow-collaredChlorophonia in a large tree in front of us. After a while we all got looks of a superb male. We went into the forest again and took a steep trail down to the river. Apart from a preening ChocóWarbler we didn’t see any birds. The tropical forest at the river was breath taking and we decided to take a break. After a snack and a good rest we went back uphill and encountered a large flock. The flock was full of furnariids and we saw UniformTreehunter,Scaly-throatedFoliage-gleaner, Buff-frontedFoliage-gleaner and PlainXenops. Other birds included RussetAntshrike, Three-stripedWarbler and Smokey-brownWoodpecker. Back at the entrance we saw an excited Scale-crestedPygmy-Tyrant which probably had a nest nearby.

After our picnic lunch we went birding along the Milpe road. Most of the habitat along the road was secondary forest which gave us a different set of bird species. We looked for the Moss-backed Tanager but we could not find it. We did get nice views of a White-whiskeredHermit feeding on the flowers. A group of White-thighedSwallow was perched on the electricity wires and here we also saw a YellowTyrannulet. At another spot we run into a small flock of SwallowTanager together with a female BlueDacnis and a SquirrelCuckoo. From inside the car we enjoyed watching two Band-backedWren who showed well. At a farmhouse we scoped a MaskedWater-tyrant. Late afternoon we birded the forest patch at the end of the Milpe road. This spot is known for having very rare birds but when we were there activity was very low. The only bird we got to see was a male Checker-throatedAntwren. On our way back we had fantastic views of a Bronze-wingedParrot. The bird was perched in top of a tree and we enjoyed watching its detailed plumage through the scope under excellent light conditions.

Day5–3June09

We left Las Gralarias Guest House at 4:30am in order to arrive by 5.30 at Angel Paz´ place. It was still dark when we met Angel and his brother. While we walked down the trail Angel tried to attract a Rufescent Sreech- Owl but without success. We did hear a CommonPotoo and a Cloud-forestPygmy-Owl on our way down. When we arrived at his hide the AndeanCocks-of-the-Rock were already starting to get active. We enjoyed watching the displaying males for about half an hour. We got good views from the hide of at least two noisy males and they became even noisier when a female came in. As the day became brighter the activity of theCocks-of-the-Rock dropped and we went to Angel´s new hide where he feeds a variety of different birds. He takes good care of his birds by giving them a luxurious “ensalada de frutas” of fresh fruit every day. As soon as the first bananas were placed a group of Sickle-wingedGuans came in. It was amazing to see these relatively shy birds from just a few feet distance away. A few minutes later a pair of Crimson-rumpedToucanet and a pair of ToucanBarbet came in and started feeding within touching distance.

A Green-frontedLancebill was perched in front of us, a scarce hummingbird which is typically found inside forest along streams. We also spotted an OlivaceousPiha in the same tree. No less than seven Black-chinnedMountain-Tanager enjoyed the fruit salad for a moment. Soon they were replaced by the more aggressive Blue-wingedMountain-Tanager. On our way to the antpittas we all got great looks at a male PowerfulWoodpecker.

Angel told us that “Maria” was not feeling well because she recently had a fight. Nevertheless, she (the most famous GiantAntpitta worldwide) came in and took some earthworms in front of our nose. Indeed her plumage did look a bit messed up. We decided to leave her alone and tried to look for “Shakira”. Two Ochre-breastedAntpittas came out and “Shakira (who is recognized by her dance talent) was seen the best. We watched the hummingbird feeders on our way back. The species we saw were the same as the ones at Reserva Las Gralarias. However, the spectacular EmpressBrilliant seemed a bit more common at Angel´s feeders at this time of year. We had a late breakfast at Angel Paz´s with delicious “Bolones de Verde” and “Empanadas”. While we were eating we saw a pair of Yellow-belliedSiskins. After we finished our coffee and desert we started our journey to the Oilbirds of Chontal.

The owner of the property was waiting for us on an old tractor as we arrived at the little village. We got a shaky ride on the back of his tractor and it took us about 20 minutes to get to the spot. Normally there are two options to look for the birds. The easiest option is to take a trail around and watch the birds from a distance with a telescope. The other option is to go down into the ravine by using ropes and ladders. The river was very low and according to Sr. Morales to only way to see the birds at this time of year was by taking the second option. We didn’t want to miss the birds so we all decided to take the adventurous climb down. It wasn’t very difficult but we all paid the price and got wet! It took us about 15 minutes before we got to the Oilbirds. We had great looks at a small number of birds at very close range. One of the birds was nesting as we could see two fluffy chicks. We all got wet again on the way back but the birds were certainly worth it. At the village we were invited to have a look at their local museum. They showed us a nice collection of artefacts of which they said all were found in the immediate area. It was interesting to see the different artefacts but we were not sure if all the pieces were authentic...

Day6–4June09

On our way to the Rio Silanche reserve we stopped a few times to look for birds. We had good looks at a group of PacificParrotlet which were feeding next to the car. At the same spot we enjoyed watching courtship display of males in a group of ShinyCowbird on the track. When we arrived at the reserve we first walked the short loop around the canopy tower to look for understory birds. Apart from hearing a Chestnut-backedAntbird we did not get many birds. Activity was rather low as it was already getting warm.

The flowers (not the feeders) at the canopy tower attracted a few hummingbirds. We had good looks at both Stripe-throatedHermit and Blue-chestedHummingbird. Tom saw a male Purple-chestedHummingbird but unfortunately we never got a good look at it. A fast moving mid-story flock was the only mixed-species flock we got for the day. The species we saw well includedWedge-billedWoodcreeper, Dot-wingedAntwren, Checker-throatedAntwren, White-shoulderedTanager and Buff-throatedSaltator. Trevor discovered a larger bird in the canopy. It was a male WesternWhite-tailedTrogon and we all saw it very well through the scope. A Broad-billedMotmot was perched in front of our nose at a distance too close to be scoped. On our way back to the tower we saw a large dark bird flying by. It turned out to be the rare Crimson-belliedWoodpecker. We all got to see the bird before it flew away again. We had a long rest in the canopy tower. We didn’t see many birds for a while, but we did see a well camouflaged frog.

It was a flat-shaped frog perched on the concrete of the tower. Apart from being a bit whiter it seemed that it had taken over the color of the concrete. A pair of Dusky-cappedFlycatcher was building a nest and showed well. We were running up-and-down the stairs many times as we heard a male White-beardedManakin in the understory below us. After a while we got a bit tired of the bird because it didn’t show itself.

Our waiting got finally rewarded when a White-neckedPuffbird popped up at eye level. We watched the bird full-frame in the scope for about five minutes before it flew back into the forest again. Tom was very lucky to see a Gray-mantledWren. We went back to the car for lunch. Just as we started eating we heard another male White-beardedManakin. As fanatic as we were we decided to have a short break and tried to look for it. The male cooperated extremely well and we got excellent views of this beautiful bird. Our last noteworthy bird for the day was a well showing male WesternSlatyAntshrike.

Day7–5June09

On our last morning Tom and Trevor decided to stay at Reserva Las Gralarias. We decided not to walk as much as the previous days and made a roundtrip with the car to do some roadside birding. We had our first mixed-species flock along the road to Santo Rosa. In the flock we saw Smoke-coloredPeweeand CappedConebill which were new species for the trip. Further along the road we saw a CinnamonFlycatcher and two Blue-cappedTanager. We heard TurquoiseJay and soon after we stopped the car we located the bird. The bird was accompanied by two HoodedMountain-Tanager, Beryl-spangledTanager and a Blue-and-blackTanager. We heard OcellatedTapaculo at several different locations. At one particular spot we glimpsed some movements of the tapaculo but we never got to see the details of it. Before we got to the Bellavista area we ran into a “monster” flock. It was a very large mixed-species flock which held us busy for at least 15 minutes. Interesting were four Masked Trogons that seemed to follow the flock actively. New species in the flock included Black-cappedTyrannulet, Sepia-brownWren, PearledTreerunner and Grass-greenTanager. We had great looks at the tanager which was eating berries at close distance. We looked for the rare Tanager Finch at different known spots near Bellavista but didn’t encounter it. Around noon bird activity started to get low and we had to get back on time to pack the bags. We stopped a few times along the Miraflores road where we finally got to see a White-tippedDove. This was the first good look we got of the species after having heard and flushed them several times. Tom had seen a LacrimoseMountain-Tanager in a flock at Reserva Las Gralarias. This remarkable record is one of the very few on the west slope of the Andes in Ecuador.

Birdspecieslist