Guide – Charles Hesse
Drivers – Juan Carlos Cruz, Rodrigo Paz and Juan Carlos Justicia
Participants – Frank and Sharon B.
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21st October - Quito to Yanacocha Reserve, Bellavista area, Reserva Las Gralarias
22nd October - Rumiñahui to Mangaloma Reserve
23rd October - Mangaloma Reserve
24th October - Mangaloma Reserve, Mindo Loma, Reserva Las Gralarias
25th October - Bellavista area to Guandera Reserve
26th October - Guandera Reserve
27th October - Guandera Reserve to Quito
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21st October – Yanacocha, Bellavista & Las
Gralarias
We made an early start from the Hotel Quito and drove up to Ýanacocha Reserve. At the first feeders we saw the fairly common Buff-winged Starfrontlet and Sapphire-vented Puffleg and further on we also saw Tyrian Metaltail, Shining Sunbeam, Great Sapphirewing and the amazing Sword-billed Hummingbird. Glossy & Masked Flowerpiercers also came down to the feeders. |
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As well
as hummingbirds we had a few mixed flocks with birds like Bar-bellied
Woodpecker, Pearled Treerunner, Streaked
Tuftedcheek, White-banded & White-throated Tyrannulets, Rufous Wren,
Cinereous & Blue-backed Conebills, Superciliaried Hemispingus, Golden-crowned
Tanager and the stunning Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager. On the walk back to the entrance, we heard the unmistakeable, high-pitch call of the Barred Fruiteater. It was difficult to locate but Frank finally saw it in the back of a tree and we all had great looks. Another target bird of the day was the large Black-chested Mountain-Tanager which we saw with some Hooded Mountain-Tanagers near the entrance. We also saw a pair of Streak-throated Bush-Tyrantson the way back. |
Driving
to Las Gralarias, we decided to drop by the Bellavista area. Here we
saw a striking Collared Inca as well as
several mixed flocks including Montane Woodcreeper, Lesser Elaenia,
White-tailed Tyrannulet, Black-and-white Becard, Metallic-green & Blue-and-black
Tanagers, Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager and Dusky Bush-Tanager. On arrival at Las Gralarias, we relaxed with some drinks by the hummingbird feeders and saw Andean Emerald, Empress Brilliant, Buff-tailed & Velvet-purple Coronets, Booted Racket-tail and Violet-tailed Sylph. |
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22nd
October – Rumiñahui
to Mangaloma Reserve We had a 5am start as we had a long drive ahead of us. We were going to the small town called Rumiñahui which is a site for the sought-after Golden-chested Tanager. On the way we picked up Neotropic Cormorant, Spotted Sandpiper, Black Phoebe and White-capped Dipper at the bridge. After this we crossed a small stream where we spotted a Broad-billed Motmot and some Tawny-crested Tanagers. |
We arrived
at the site where there was a large fruiting tree. It was soon filled
with a multitude of birds including Dusky-faced,
Scarlet-browed, Blue-whiskered, Emerald, Bay-headed, Rufous-winged & Grey-and-gold
Tanagers, Black-winged Saltator, Red-headed & Orange-fronted
Barbets and even Black-tipped Cotinga. A pair of Mealy
Parrots flew by and we
also had Black-cheeked, Scarlet-backed, Golden-olive, Lineated & Guayaquil
Woodpeckers nearby. On the way back we saw Striped Cuckoo,
Masked Water-Tyrant, White-thighed Swallow and a Short-tailed
Hawk.
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After
a long drive we arrived at the Mangaloma Reserve where we would spend
the next 2 nights. The last part of the track was not passable with
a vehicle so we loaded our bags onto a horse and started walking. We
saw lots of birds including Gray-rumped Swift, Orange-fronted
Barbet, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Snowy-throated
Kingbird,
Band-backed Wren and Gray-and-gold Tanager. After dinner we did some owling
near the cabin where we managed to see Black-and-white Owl but only
heard Choco Screech-Owl, Crested Owl and Pauraque. |
23rd
October - Mangaloma Reserve We left the cabaña early and walked down the hill to the stream. The first part of the trail passed through some open areas where we saw Purple-crowned Fairy, Sooty-headed & Golden-faced Tyrannulets, Tropical Parula and Bay-headed, Blue-necked & Swallow Tanagers. We walked straight along the main trail which was good for understory flocks containing Checker-throated, Dot-winged, Slaty and White-flanked Antwrens, Chestnut-backed Antbird, Tawny-faced Gnatwren and Choco Warbler. We heard the call of the Choco endemic Indigo-crowned Quail-Doveand a Buff-rumped Warbler hopped along the trail ahead of us. |
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We also
saw many canopy flocks and strained our necks to try and get on as
many birds as possible. In these we saw Scaly-throated & Buff-fronted
Foliage-gleaners, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Pacific Flatbill, One-colored
Becard, Lesser Greenlet and Green Honeycreeper. We climbed a steep hill
and heard the unmistakeable call of the Long-wattled Umbrellabird. We
got closer and Frank and Sharon both had good views of a male. On the
way up we caught a glimpse of the Rufous-fronted Wood-Quail which scurried
away into the undergrowth. Back on the main trail we went down to the
end and tracked down a Choco Trogon with its very pale eyes. |
The birding
was steady for the rest of the day and we saw many other good species
such as Stripe-throated Hermit, Black-throated
Trogon, Rufous Motmot, Choco Toucan, Red-rumped, Crimson-bellied & Guayaquil
Woodpeckers. The Crimson-bellied Woodpeckers had an active nest in an
old tree stump. We also had Golden-crowned Spadebill, Scarlet-thighed
Dacnis & Orange-billed Sparrow and great views of a female umbrellabird
in the afternoon. |
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24th October - Mangaloma Reserve, Mindo Loma, Las
Gralarias After an early breakfast we made our way towards the forest again. Down from the cabin we saw Scarlet-backed Woodpecker and Streaked Flycatcher. It had rained at night making the rocks slippery and crossing the stream difficult. On the other side we saw some good forest birds like Green-crowned Woodnymph, Barred and White-whiskered Puffbird, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan and a beautiful male Golden-winged Manakin calling from its perch. Apart from birds, we were lucky enough to see a Tamandua climbing up a tree right in front of us. |
We also
had a few good flocks with Plain & Streaked
Xenops, Northern Barred-Woodcreeper and Slaty-capped Flycatcher. We heard the ever present Black-headed
Antthrush but seeing this elusive bird was another matter. We saw Guira,
Dusky-faced, White-shouldered & Tawny-crested
Tanagers but the stunning Scarlet-and-white Tanager stole the day. On the way out of
the forest, we saw Plumbeous Kite circling overhead and back at the
house before leaving we had more great views of the rare Plumbeous
Hawk. |
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We packed
our stuff up and loaded it onto the horse before setting off for the
1.5km walk back to the car. We said goodbye to Miguel and his wife
and drove to Mindo Loma, a reserve near to Las Gralarias. There we
ate our packed lunch watching the hummingbirds at the feeders. We saw
Fawn-breasted & Empress Brilliants, Brown
Inca, Violet-tailed Sylph and Purple-throated Woodstar as well as Blue-winged & Black-chinned
Mountain-Tanagers that came in to feed on the bananas they had put
out.
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Next we
set off on the trails to search for 2 species of rare hummingbirds.
Although not out target, we also had nice views
of the Tawny-bellied Hermit. We reached a small valley where the Hoary
Puffleg is found but unfortunately we only heard it. Next we had a long
hike up to a waterfall and we saw some mixed flocks on the way with Red-faced
Spinetail, Lineated Foliage-gleaner, Ashy-headed & White-tailed
Tyrannulets, Streak-necked Flycatcher, Smoke-colored Pewee, Blackburnian
Warbler,
Slate-throated Redstart, Three-striped Warbler and Capped
Conebill. Very
tired, we made it to the beautiful waterfall and were treated to an aerial
display by a pair of White-tailed Hillstars. |
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When
we finally made it back to Las Gralarias we relaxed by the feeders
to watch more hummingbirds the easy way. There
we saw Speckled Hummingbird, Green Violet-ear, Fawn-breasted
Brilliant, Brown & Collared Incas, Velvet-purple
Coronet and Purple-throated Woodstar as well as Masked & White-sided
Flowerpiercers.
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25th
October – Bellavista
area to Guandera Reserve
We set off early the next morning for more birding in the Bellavista area. The first stop was to look for the Ocellated Tapaculo but with the dry weather recently, they were not very vocal. Next we had more luck with the rare Tanager Finch having great views. We took a walk along the road and saw some nice birds. A Plumbeous Pigeon was sat on a branch over the road eating berries and Buff-tailed Coronet and Gorgeted Sunangel were feeding on flowering trees. Gray-breasted Wood-Wren and Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch skulked in the undergrowth while the colourful Turquoise Jay hopped around high in the trees. |
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We saw several mixed flocks including Pearled
Treerunner, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Blackburnian Warbler, Spectacled Redstart,
Southern Yellow-Grosbeak, Blue-capped, Golden-naped, Beryl-spangled and the stunning Grass-green
Tanager.
We had a long drive ahead of us to the province of Carchi in the north. It took almost 6 hours to reach Guandera Reserve. Athe end of the road, we were met by the friendly staff of the reserve and a local man with a horse who would carry our bags in the 1km down a trail into the reserve. After meeting the volunteers in the reserve we birded around the house spotting a few hummingbirds like the Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Golden-breasted Puffleg and Tyrian Metaltail. We also took a short walk along a trail and saw White-banded Tyrannulet, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant and the northern form of Spectacled Redstart with lots of yellow on the face. We also heard the ever present Blackish Tapaculo although it wouldn’t show itself. We had dinner together with the volunteers before getting an early night’s sleep. |
26th October - Guandera Reserve
In the morning, we birded near the cabin and saw Andean Guan, Pearled Treerunner, Agile Tit-Tyrant, Superciliaried Hemispingus and Hooded, Black-chested & Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanagers. After breakfast we took our packed lunches and set off on our long hike up to the paramo. On the way up we got good views of 3 Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan perched high up in a tree. We saw the small Paramo Tapaculo and flushed some White-capped Parrots, but the bird of the day was the rare Masked Mountain-Tanager which we had great views of. We tried a spot for the rare Crescent-faced Antpitta but there was no reply. |
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The trail
finally came out onto the paramo and we could breathe a sigh of relief
that we had finally made it. Here we saw Shining Sunbeams feeding
on the tall Puya flowers but we only got a glimpse of a Rainbow-bearded
Thornbill perched high up on a dead branch. We walked along the forest
edge, optimistically scanning for the rare Chestnut-bellied Cotinga.
We didn’t find any but we did see White-chinned Thistletail,
Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant and a few Brown-bellied
Swallows flew over
head.
On the way back down we caught the tail end of a flock with White-throated Tyrannulet, Golden-crowned Tanager, Black-headed Hemispingus and Black-backed Bush-Tanager. After coming back down, we sat around near the house and Frank and Sharon managed to see a Sword-billed Hummingbird coming in to feed on a Passiflora flower. |
27th October - Guandera Reserve to Quito
We set out at dawn to a spot nearby where the Undulated Antpitta had been seen but we had no luck. After our long walk yesterday we decided to spend our last morning birding in the area around the house. The large trees in front were great for seeing flocks and were full with Citrine Warbler, Blue-backed Conebill, Black-capped & Black-headed Hemispingus and Buff-breasted & Lacrimose Mountain-Tanagers. There were many hummers around the garden and Mountain Velvetbreasts flashed their white tail feathers as they fed on some of the colorful flowers. Pale-naped & Stripe-headed Brush-Finches were present near the house and we finally managed to see the common Azara’s Spinetail which had so far eluded us. |
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The
main target of the morning, the Black-thighed Puffleg, didn’t
seem to be around near the house so I decided to walk along one of
the trails nearby. I finally found a female coming in to feed on
some flowers and I went back to get Frank and Sharon and dragged
them along the steep trail. It returned to feed on some blue Palicourea
amethystina flowers and we had great views.
On the walk out we spotted a White-capped Dipper on the stream. The steep trail to the top of the hill was difficult at this high altitude but with all the walking in the last few days, we were finally getting into shape. |
Bird list |
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Little Tinamou |
Crypturellus soui |
Mh |
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Neotropic Cormorant |
Phalacrocorax brasilianus |
R |
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Cattle Egret |
Bubulcus ibis |
R |
M |
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Black Vulture |
Coragyps atratus |
R |
M |
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Turkey Vulture |
Cathartes aura |
R |
M |
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Gray-headed Kite |
Leptodon cayanensis |
M |
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Plumbeous Kite |
Ictinia plumbea |
M |
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Plumbeous Hawk |
Leucopternis plumbeus |
M |
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Roadside Hawk |
Buteo magnirostris |
R |
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Gray Hawk |
Buteo nitidus |
M |
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Short-tailed Hawk |
Buteo brachyurus |
R |
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Laughing Falcon |
Herpetotheres cachinnans |
Mh |
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Andean Guan |
Penelope montagnii |
A |
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Sickle-winged Guan |
Chamaepetes goudotii |
B? |
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Rufous-fronted Wood-Quail |
Odontophorus erythrops |
M |
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Dark-backed Wood-Quail |
Odontophorus melanonotus |
Bh |
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White-throated Crake |
Laterallus albigularis |
Rh |
Mh |
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Spotted Sandpiper |
Actitis macularius |
R |
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Band-tailed Pigeon |
Patagioenas fasciata |
B |
G |
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Plumbeous Pigeon |
Patagioenas plumbea |
B |
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Ruddy Pigeon |
Patagioenas subvinacea |
R |
M |
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Dusky Pigeon |
Patagioenas goodsoni |
R |
M |
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Eared Dove |
Zenaida auriculata |
Q |
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White-tipped Dove |
Leptotila verreauxi |
B |
Mh |
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Indigo-crowned Quail-Dove |
Geotrygon purpurata |
Mh |
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White-throated Quail-Dove |
Geotrygon frenata |
Lh |
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Maroon-tailed Parakeet |
Pyrrhura melanura |
Rh |
M |
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Barred Parakeet |
Bolborhynchus lineola |
Bh |
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Pacific Parrotlet |
Forpus coelestis |
R |
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Red-billed Parrot |
Pionus sordidus |
B |
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White-capped Parrot |
Pionus seniloides |
Yh |
A |
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Bronze-winged Parrot |
Pionus chalcopterus |
R |
M |
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Mealy Parrot |
Amazona farinosa |
R |
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Squirrel Cuckoo |
Piaya cayana |
M |
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Smooth-billed Ani |
Crotophaga ani |
M |
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Striped Cuckoo |
Tapera naevia |
R |
M |
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Choco Screech-Owl |
Otus centralis |
Mh |
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Black-and-white Owl |
Ciccaba nigrolineata |
M |
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Crested Owl |
Lophostrix cristata |
Mh |
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Pauraque |
Nyctidromus albicollis |
Mh |
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White-collared Swift |
Streptoprocne zonaris |
R |
M |
A |
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Gray-rumped Swift |
Chaetura cinereiventris |
M |
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White-whiskered Hermit |
Phaethornis yaruqui |
R |
M |
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Tawny-bellied Hermit |
Phaethornis syrmatophorus |
L |
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Stripe-throated Hermit |
Phaethornis striigularis |
M |
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Green Violet-ear |
Colibri thalassinus |
G |
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Green-crowned Woodnymph |
Thalurania fannyi |
M |
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Rufous-tailed Hummingbird |
Amazilia tzacatl |
G |
M |
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Andean Emerald |
Amazilia franciae |
G |
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Speckled Hummingbird |
Adelomyia melanogenys |
B |
G |
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Fawn-breasted Brilliant |
Heliodoxa rubinoides |
G |
L |
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Empress Brilliant |
Heliodoxa imperatrix |
G |
L |
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White-tailed Hillstar |
Urochroa bougueri |
L |
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Buff-tailed Coronet |
Boissonneaua flavescens |
B |
G |
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Velvet-purple Coronet |
Boissonneaua jardini |
G |
L |
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Shining Sunbeam |
Aglaeactis cupripennis |
Y |
A |
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Mountain Velvetbreast |
Lafresnaya lafresnayi |
A |
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Brown Inca |
Coeligena wilsoni |
G |
L |
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Collared Inca |
Coeligena torquata |
B |
G |
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Buff-winged Starfrontlet |
Coeligena lutetiae |
Y |
A |
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Sword-billed Hummingbird |
Ensifera ensifera |
Y |
A |
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Great Sapphirewing |
Pterophanes cyanopterus |
Y |
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Gorgeted Sunangel |
Heliangelus strophianus |
B |
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Black-thighed Puffleg |
Eriocnemis derbyi |
A |
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Sapphire-vented Puffleg |
Eriocnemis luciani |
Y |
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Golden-breasted Puffleg |
Eriocnemis mosquera |
A |
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Hoary Puffleg |
Haplophaedia lugens |
Lh |
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Booted Racket-tail |
Ocreatus underwoodii |
G |
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Black-tailed Trainbearer |
Lesbia victoriae |
Y |
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Tyrian Metaltail |
Metallura tyrianthina |
Y |
A |
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Rainbow-bearded Thornbill |
Chalcostigma herrani |
A |
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Violet-tailed Sylph |
Aglaiocercus coelestis |
G |
L |
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Purple-crowned Fairy |
Heliothryx barroti |
M |
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Purple-throated Woodstar |
Calliphlox mitchellii |
G |
L |
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Western White-tailed Trogon |
Trogon chionurus |
Mh |
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Violaceous Trogon |
Trogon violaceus |
Mh |
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Choco Trogon |
Trogon comptus |
M |
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Black-throated Trogon |
Trogon rufus |
M |
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Rufous Motmot |
Baryphthengus martii |
M |
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Broad-billed Motmot |
Electron platyrhynchum |
R |
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Barred Puffbird |
Nystalus radiatus |
M |
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White-whiskered Puffbird |
Malacoptila panamensis |
M |
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Orange-fronted Barbet |
Capito squamatus |
R |
M |
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Red-headed Barbet |
Eubucco bourcierii |
R |
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Toucan Barbet |
Semnornis ramphastinus |
Bh |
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Crimson-rumped Toucanet |
Aulacorhynchus haematopygus |
M? |
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Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan |
Andigena hypoglauca |
A |
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Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan |
Andigena laminirostris |
Bh |
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Pale-mandibled Araçari |
Pteroglossus erythrpygius |
Mh |
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Choco Toucan |
Ramphastos brevis |
M |
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Chestnut-mandibled Toucan |
Ramphastos vitellinus |
M |
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Olivaceous Piculet |
Picumnus olivaceus |
M |
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Black-cheeked Woodpecker |
Melanerpes pucherani |
R |
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Scarlet-backed Woodpecker |
Veniliornis callonotus |
R |
M |
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Bar-bellied Woodpecker |
Veniliornis nigriceps |
Y |
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Red-rumped Woodpecker |
Veniliornis kirkii |
M |
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Choco Woodpecker |
Veniliornis chocoensis |
M |
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Golden-olive Woodpecker |
Piculus rubiginosus |
R |
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Crimson-mantled Woodpecker |
Piculus rivolii |
Gh |
A |
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Cinnamon Woodpecker |
Celeus loricatus |
M |
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Lineated Woodpecker |
Dryocopus lineatus |
R |
Mh |
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Powerful Woodpecker |
Campephilus pollens |
Bh |
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Crimson-bellied Woodpecker |
Campephilus haematogaster |
M |
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|
Campephilus gayaquilensis |
R |
M |
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Pacific Hornero |
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