[ovenbird43]

It was another rainy morning on our last day at Wildsumaco. After a delayed start, we headed back down to the lower trail system. Just before reaching the trails, a bird flew across the road, so we halted and searched the forest where it had landed. We were rewarded with great views of a pair of Coppery-chested Jacamars, absolutely gorgeous, in my opinion the prettiest jacamar I had ever seen! After that tt started raining again, pretty hard, so we settled under the shelter by the hummingbird feeders. There was good activity despite the rain, and an immature Rufous-vented Whitetip was a welcome addition. A large raptor flew overhead and perched high on a snag, and after some deliberation we concluded that, based primarily on size and secondarily on color, that it was an Orange-breasted Falcon.

Once the rain let up, we set out along the trails again, this time doing the large loop formed by the Piha and Waterfall trails. They were quite steep, the Piha trail winding downhill for most of its length, the Waterfall trail necessarily taking us steeply back up. Activity was pretty low, but at the bottom of the slope we did pick out a pair of Foothill Antwrens. The Waterfall Trail was very scenic, but otherwise quiet.

More rain in the afternoon, so we ended up returning to the lodge for another wine and chocolate happy hour. After dark, the rain had stopped, so we tried for our final target owl: Foothill Screech-Owl. This one was far down the road and a little bit down a trail. This one responded readily to the tape, but only vocally- it would not come closer, and the vegetation was dense and the terrain steep, preventing us from trying to work our way closer. But it was still a treat to hear this highly local species.

The next morning we left early for the long journey back to Tiputini. It had been an excellent break of just the right length, and in the three full days we hit the majority of our target birds. Awesome place! To top off the trip we spotted an Oriole Blackbird on the way home, at the edge of one of the islands in the Rio Napo- yet another life bird for us all!

[ovenbird43]

oops, wrong toucan photo. here's a better:

[ovenbird43]

The rainy season seems to have come early this year- it has rained every day this month so far, and the river has risen from around 4-5 m to over 10m! But it usually has only rained a few hours a day, so we're still getting all our work done. I prefer this weather to the hot, sunny days of the dry season.

It's been a good week with a whopping 3 lifers! First up, when I was tracking one of my wedge-bills, attention riveted to them because I could hear some calling and singing and I wanted to know what was going on, I heard an unfamiliar vocalization behind me. I glanced back, and then turned forward again to focus on my wedge-bills. Then it called again... and then again... it was low down, and I could see movement. I finally decided that this required my undivided attention to I turned around and stalked toward the unknown bird. Movement again- there! A largish, deep rufous antshrike had snatched a bright green caterpillar and was beating it on the branch as it squirmed in its beak. A female White-shouldered Antshrike! A decidedly rare bird here, not unheard of, but certainly my first, in fact I've never even heard one around. Cool!

The second lifer came a few days later, as I was leaving the research plot one afternoon. A dove flushed from nearby and landed across a narrow ravine. In the dim light of the rainy day, I almost passed it off as a Gray-fronted Dove- it looked overall grayish, lighter underneath. But I put my bins on it anyway, and was shocked to see a strikingly patterned face, with a thick black malar streak contrasting with a white cheek- Sapphire Quail-Dove! Damn, glad I looked, although I hope for a better look at its colors one of these days- I had only a quick look before it disappeared into the understory.

Finally, yesterday as I was sitting down between mist-netting rounds, I noticed movement in the subcanopy in the distance, and managed to spot the bird through a tiny window in all the foliage. Crap view, but I could see just enough to identify it as a Buckley's Forest-Falcon, perhaps the one I had heard that morning.

Another nice sighting that day was my first-of-year Speckled Spinetail building a nest, a mossy ball in the middle of a sapling.

[csanchez7]

Aren't the hummingbird feeders at Wild Sumaco something else? Loved the experience there.

Carlos

[Peter C.]

Originally Posted by ovenbird43

Cheers Peter. It gets even worse- when we go mist-netting, we usually catch White-plumed Antbirds!

Ouch! Ow, ow, owww!

You're right.

I've just got to go then. Heck, I've been volunteer-banding (a little outfit called Bird Studies Canada) for a few years, do you need an assistant?

[ovenbird43]

March is supposed to be more of a transition month, but it seems that the rainy season is full upon us early this year, my first experience with it here. And trying to travel anywhere with this rain just plain sucks.

This weekend I am in Quito, to meet my husband when he arrives tonight and travel with him back to Tiputini on Monday. The original plan was to spend Friday night at Guango Lodge, and most of Saturday birding there, a welcome diversion while I anxiously await his 11:00 pm arrival.

Well yesterday morning I awoke to pouring rain, the sound of my alarm clock faint over the torrent, it had been going off for 15 minutes! Not a good day for hours of boat travel. We set off at 7:30 for the all-day journey to Coca. The first leg of the trip, 2 hours down the Tiputini River, was... wet. And therefore also cold. We flushed a couple of Spotted Sandpipers but not much else was seen. The rest of the trip to Coca was ok, I managed to dry off a little in the bus to Pompeya, and then on the boat along the Napo to Coca. The highlight of the whole trip was undoubtedly the Amazonian Umbrellabird that crossed the river from the bank to a nearby island, an unmistakable silhouette in undulating flight right in front of our boat. Sweet!

The journey pretty much went downhill from there. Our plane arrived to Coca late (from wherever), so we took off T 5:45, 45 minutes late. Not too bad really, it´s only a 20 minute flight. But the weather that had pounded the lowlands earlier in the day had apparently traveled up into the mountains, and the flight was rather harrowing- frighteningly long dips and big bumps, rapid-fire Spanish over the speakers that left me wondering what was happening, and I really had to fight down panic when an official-looking person (one of the pilots? not a steward) hurried toward the back and the stewardess took a seat in a closet in the front and closed the door. The flight seemed to be lasting awfully long, 30 minutes had gone by and we didn´t seem about to land. Finally another announcement came on that I managed to understand- preparing to land in Mantas. "What? Where is Mantas?" I asked the guy next to me. "On the coast" he replied. Finally we were landing, with views of a spectacular sunset over the ocean, Magnificent Frigatebirds seeming to float in the air.

We were ushered into the waiting room, where passengers from a flight from Loja had also been grounded. It was a loooong wait, there were many announcements that I couldn´t understand (I can barely understand most airport announcements even in English), and there was nothing but a snack bar in the way of dinner. I didn´t really want to leave the airport in search of food, alone with all my stuff, and having no idea when the flight would resume. Turned out to be midnight. It was a pretty uneventful flight back, a few bumps but nothing scary. I had arranged for transportation to Guango Lodge, but not surprisingly that was now out of the question, so I hopped into a taxi and had him take me to a random hotel... which turned out to be quite nice and economical.

Well, I knew both things would happen eventually- a soaking boat ride from Tiputini, and a flight unable to land in Quito- although I could have done without both in one long day! Today I spent some time at the Quito Botanical Gardens, where I saw Blackburnian and Tennessee Warblers (the latter a new Ecuador bird for me), Yellow-green Vireos, a male and female Black-tailed Trainbearer, a Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet, and other usuals. I have some photos to post later.

Here´s hoping that Tom´s journey to Quito is more pleasant and less eventful!

[ovenbird43]

some photos from Quito Botanical Gardens: Sparkling Violetear, Blue-gray Tanager, Black-tailed Trainbearer, and Blackburnian Warbler

[ovenbird43]

Originally Posted by ovenbird43

Here´s hoping that Tom´s journey to Quito is more pleasant and less eventful!

Well, so much for that! Tom's flight from Miami to Quito was canceled due to maintenance issues, so he didn't arrive until after 11 pm the following day. I was crushed at first because of the loss of a whole day together, but I decided to make the most of it and visit Guango Lodge on Sunday.

I took a 5:30 am bus headed toward Baeza and arrived at Guango Lodge around 8:30 (the bus was really slow!). It was a gorgeous day, nearly cloudless, providing stunning views of the landscape as we climbed over Papallacta Pass. When I arrived at Guango I made arrangements to have lunch there, and sat down on the porch for a quick cup of coffee and a look at the feeders. I had been to Guango Lodge before, and the bustling feeder activity was much the same: many Tourmaline Sunangels and Tyrian Metaltails, plus Long-tailed Sylph, Chestnut-breasted and Buff-tailed Coronets, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Speckled Hummingbird, White-bellied Woodstar, Collared Inca, 2 Sword-billed Hummingbirds, and one Glowing Puffleg. Afterwards I walked along some of the nearby trails, finding first a flock containing Northern Mountain-Caciques, Turquoise Jays, and 2 Hooded Mountain-Tanagers. Returning along the Pipeline Trail I found Spectacled Redstart (abundant here), Blackburnian Warbler, and Smoky Bush-Tyrant.

With an hour left until lunch, I explored some of the trails across the road, which I had not known about on my previous visit. I climbed a steep, muddy trail that produced a heard-only Chestnut-naped Antpitta and great views of a Dusky Piha. On may way back for lunch I encountered a large flock, including such birds as Pale-naped Brush-Finch, Fawn-breasted Tanager, Blue-and-black Tanager, Black-capped Hemispingus, Montane Woodcreeper, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Pearled Treerunner, and more.

After a delicious lunch I watched the feeders for a little bit, hoping for Mountain Avocetbill, but no luck. Then I hiked around on some of the same trails as in the morning, focusing on the Mountain Track which I had been told was good for the Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan. No toucans, but I did find Blue-backed and Capped Conebills, Slaty Brush-Finch, and Olivaceous Siskin in the same flock that I had encountered earlier. I tried the river trails again, this time finding a female Torrent Duck in the rushing river. The trail was otherwise quiet (birdwise- in reality it was quite loud with the sound of the river!), but I spotted some movement as a fairly large bird flew from a tree above me. Figuring it would be a jay or cacique, but hoping for toucan, I snuck toward the tree where the bird had landed. Then I heard it call- yes, it was a toucan! I looked around frantically and soon spotted it- a gorgeous Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan! I had left my camera at the lodge at this point because of an earlier sprinkle, so no photos, but great sustained views. A long-wanted bird for me, and completing the trio of Ecuadorian mountain-toucans.

It was about 3 pm at this point, and my main target was in the bag, so I spent the next hour exploring more leisurely, looking for other targets like Plushcap. I never did find the darn things, but I spotted some Lacrimose Mountain-Tanagers before it was time to head back toward Quito. I lucked out and got to hitch a ride as far as Cumbaya, and from there it was a short bus ride back to Quito, taking me a little less than two hours to get back.

And yes, Tom did make it that night, he's with me now at Tiputini!

[ovenbird43]

Well Tom is on his way back home now, that visit went way too fast! I pretty much took the week off work to maximize my time with him. The first morning at Tiputini I took him mist-netting, a first for him. Our first bird of the day was an Olive-backed Foliage-gleaner, which I showed him how to hold. He thought it was neat. Some of the other birds he got to see up close were Blue-crowned Motmot, White-plumed Antbird (he loved that one), Tawny-faced Gnatwren, and Straight-billed Hermit.

The next morning I took him to the canopy tower, and a pair of White-necked Puffbirds were perched nearby. The toucans (probably white-throated but I didn't try to ID them) came in close for us, and we got good views as well of a male Crimson-crested Woodpecker. The tanager flock wasn't around though.

That afternoon we joined a visiting student group for their river float. The way it works is we take the boat a little downstream, and then everybody gets life jackets on and jumps in the river to float with the current. Along the way the best sighting was a Green-and-rufous Kingfisher, more of a denizen of small forest streams and not usually seen along the river. By about 4:30 everyone had their fill of floating and returned to the boat, and we landed on the south bank at a spot that is good for Pygmy Marmoset. These guys are hit-or-miss, but that evening we were in luck- the guide spotted first one, and then two, of these adorably tiny monkeys, and everybody got great views as the marmosets stared back at us with curiosity.

On Tom's final full day here we visited the canopy walkway, not very birdy at the time but a pair of Ringed Kingfishers flying high over the canopy was a surprise, and a Common Piping-Guan was perched in a nearby tree. Later I checked the Crested Owl day roost by the cabins for the millionth time since January and this time actually found them! There was a pair perched mostly in the open on a vine, one staring alertly with its crests erect, the other drowsing with its eyes closed and crests drooping. What a sight, I was very happy that Tom could see them!

Now it is back to work. We are tracking our last three wedge-bills, one of which is sitting on a nest. Today's bird surprise was a heard-only pair of Lunulated Antbirds, a rare bird for the area and one whose vocalization was unfamiliar to me at first.

[Peter C.]

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! photo of the crested Owls on their perch. They look more like creatures out of Dr. Seuss than something out of nature.

[ovenbird43]

It's been a good week. A few days ago I finally caught up with Green Manakin, I spotted one feeding on some fruits while I was tracking my wedge-bills. That species has eluded me for the past three years, nice to finally run into one!

Yesterday Noah told me he checked the old Rufous Potoo spot, and found it! So this morning I left extra early to try for it myself. It was calling when I got to the spot, right where Noah had seen it, and it didn't take too long to locate it perched on a snag maybe 10 meters up. Sweet!

One of our wedge-bills has been on a nest, and when I checked it today I could hear little peeps inside the cavity... nestlings, yay!

On the way home today I stopped along the trail when I saw some movement and heard the calls of a White-fronted Nunbird. I looked up, and saw 3 of these birds perched on one branch, all staring at me with large insects in their bills. Also in the same tree were a male Pink-throated Becard and Buff-throated Woodcreeper. Quite an interesting moment!

[MKinHK]

Those owls really are amazing!

If I'd seen them in a cartoon I'd have thought that the creator was going a bit too far with the creative licence.

Cheers
Mike

[ovenbird43]

Today I took the day off work and visited the canopy tower in the morning. The sky was mostly cloudy, and bird activity was quite good, with many species coming right into the ceiba tree that holds the platform.

First up, as soon as I climbed the last few steps I noticed a Bare-necked Fruitcrow sitting on top of a bare tree right across from the tower. A Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher was foraging and singing just above eye level in the platform tree, offering good views. A small group of Turquoise Tanagers flew into the tree, flitted about for a moment and then took off. Looking up, I suddenly noticed a White-necked Puffbird sitting in the branches right above me! Later I heard it sing and a second one answered from a neighboring tree. I heard the usual Many-banded Aracaris, but I was surprised to see a group of Ivory-billed Aracaris come in close for a visit- first time I've seen or even heard these guys from the tower! A pair of Yellow-tufted Woodpeckers were also foraging nearby, and a Scale-breasted Woodpecker flew in and landed on a branch right beside me- wow!

Later I spied a Pied Puffbird sitting up in the same tree that earlier held the fruitcrow. A few of the smaller flocking birds came by, including Yellow-bellied Tanager, Pygmy Antwren, Dugand's Antwren, Yellow-green Vireo, Black-faced Dacnis, and a nearly full breeding-plumage male Blackpoll Warbler. A Crowned Slaty Flycatcher was my first austral migrant sighting of the season. Quite a good showing up there today!

Below: Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher, Ivory-billed Aracari, Scale-breasted Woodpecker, Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, White-necked Puffbird

[ovenbird43]

Blackpoll Warbler, plus some random photos from other days: Olive-backed Foliage-Gleaner, Rusty-belted Tapaculo, Rufous Motmot

[Peter C.]

Among the ranks of the "heroes of migration" the Blackpoll is surely my nominee for top spot. Man, he's got a long way to go!

[ovenbird43]

One nice thing about being here for so long is getting to see the seasonal changes, generally much more subtle than the changes currently underway back home. Obviously there have been no major changes in temperature (here, daily temperature fluctuations are greater than seasonal fluctuations), no dramatic shift from brown to green landscape with leaf-out. Certainly, however, with the end of the dry season it has been much cloudier, with more rain, although periods of rain are still generally short (1-2 hours).

One of the first things I noticed, starting about a month ago, were new voices in the nightly frog chorus. For the most part I don't know which frogs make which sounds, but I have come to recognize a lot of the voices. I have also noticed that some voices have dropped out, most noticeably the resounding "whoop!" of the Leptodactylus pentadactylus (common name South American Bullfrog?). There was a brief period, coinciding with a particularly rainy stretch in March when the river was high, when the cane toads were calling.

Flowering and fruiting of the plants follows a certain phenology, of which I am mostly unaware. However, I have noticed new flowers come and go, including a 10-day period with some spectacular red flowers bursting like fireworks straight from the trunk of some kind of small tree, and more recently I've been smelling some absolutely wonderful fragrance in a few spots. Back in late February, the Marcgravia plant in the canopy tower tree began blooming, attracting loads of hummingbirds including Fiery Topaz. That lasted for about 10 days, and now the fruits are slowly beginning to ripen- I wonder what will be attracted by them?

A number of birds have stopped singing, or are singing less. Most noticeable is the complete cessation of singing by the Lawrence's Thrush, whose loud, continuous song of mimicry I had come to view as a very characteristic voice of this area. Other birds that have completely stopped singing are Ruddy Quail-Dove and Piratic Flycatcher, and I don't seem to hear the forest-falcons or curassows very often. Most others seem to sing as normal just after dawn, but around 9 am it gets rather quiet (except for the ever-present insect chorus).

With two systems of migration underway, actual changes in the avifauna are also taking place, although migrants make up a very small component of the species list here. Most of the boreal migrants are still here, although undoubtedly with some individual turnover. I haven't seen a Spotted Sandpiper in a while, but I am still seeing Blackpoll Warbler, Swainson's Thrush, and hearing Eastern Wood-Pewee. Eastern Kingbirds are also moving through- they seem to winter farther south, I didn't start seeing them until mid-March. At the same time, austral migrants are beginning to arrive, with my first Crowned Slaty Flycatcher and possible Variegated Flycatcher. I'll be keeping my eye out for others such as Fork-tailed and Swainson's Flycatchers.

[ovenbird43]

Coming down to my last week at Tiputini, hard to believe! Next Friday I leave for Sani Lodge for a week, and then home. I've just about finished my work for the season, I'll have the chance to take a few extra days off this week just for birding.

This afternoon I saw a Ruddy Spinetail, quite close looks in good light. I was taking a different trail home (taking me waaay out of the way, but through different forest), and I heard it call from a vine tangle next to the trail. Actually I wasn't sure what I was hearing until I saw it peeking at me, scolding and hopping around as it checked me out, occasionally popping up into plain view, the afternoon sun highlighting its beautiful, rich rufous body with contrasting black throat and tail. An enjoyable encounter, and the first one I've seen in two years!

Several weeks ago I found a Silvered Antbird on one of the research plots, a bird that I expect will be fairly common at Sani, but is decidedly rare here- in fact, this was a life bird, I had never even heard one here. Quite nice, I heard it singing off in a swampy area and it didn't take long to stalk it and get good views.

Below are some random photos from here. Yellow-rumped Cacique, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Opal-crowned Tanager, Yellow-shouldered Grosbeak, and probably my favorite mist-netting capture of the season:Thrush-like Antpitta!!

[ovenbird43]

I always fall behind on my reports! One last exciting bit from Tiputini, on my last work day as I was doing flock surveys I flushed a juvenile Zigzag Heron from a small stream in a ravine! I couldn't believe it, and luckily I saw where it landed and was able to get a decent look.

I finished my work in time to have a couple of days for pure birding before leaving the station. One of those days I visited the oxbow lake at sunrise, where I heard Tropical Screech-Owl (a station first for me) and another Zigzag Heron just before light. After sunrise as I paddled around the lake, a group of at least 50 Eastern Kingbirds flew overhead and landed in the trees surrounding the lake, what a sight! I later saw a similar or greater number of Eastern Kingbirds (+1 Fork-tailed Flycatcher) during an evening visit to the canopy tower, a trip that also produced my first Slender-billed Xenops of the year.

But that wasn't the end of my adventures... next up, the report from my week-long visit to Sani Lodge before finally heading home.

Photos below: Opal-rumped Tanager, Greater Ani, Slender-billed Xenops, Eastern Kingbird, Fork-tailed Flycatcher

[ovenbird43]

This year, instead of going straight home after my field work, I decided to spend a week at Sani Lodge in order to see Amazonian birds and habitats that aren't present at Tiputini (species found in varzea, blackwater streams, palm swamps, dense riparian areas, and river islands). I arranged to have Sani staff pick me up at the oil checkpoint across the river from Pompeya, rather than travel all the way upriver to Coca just to be picked up and travel back downstream to Sani. I thoroughly enjoyed my week there and it was a great way to top off my 4 months of work and travel.

General Overview

Sani Lodge is located on the shore of an oxbow lake, set a little ways back from the river on the north side of the Napo. The approach to the lodge is particularly impressive; after landing ashore, there's a 15-minute walk along a boardwalk through flooded forest, and then another 15-minute canoe ride (paddling, no motor) up a small stream leading to the oxbow lake, landing at the lodge dock. The lodge itself consists of several connected thatch-roof, open-air buildings housing the bar, lounge, and dining room, and there are a number of guest cabins in a clearing beyond. There is also a "camping" option, which I thought I had requested but for some reason I was put in a regular cabin.

All guests staying at Sani Lodge are given a guide based on one's stated interests. For my week's visit I was with Domingo, one of their best native birding guides. We sat down together the first evening, I gave him my list of target species and he formed a plan for the week. We had all our meals together, and the staff always put the two of us at our own table, separated from all the other guests. This is one thing I didn't particularly care for, I would have liked to mingle with the other guests. The food was great though, and healthy with a lot of good fruits and vegetables and fresh fruit juice.

Normally I do most of my traveling and birding independently, so being led around all day every day for a week eventually began to feel restrictive, and given my extensive experience with Amazonian birds I got tired of having common birds pointed out to me. But this was a product of my own nature, not a fault of Domingo's- he was an excellent guide, very knowledgeable, quiet but enthusiastic, and despite my wishes that I could have just one day to explore on my own I enjoyed having him for the week.

Day 1

Every morning we would have breakfast at either 5:00 or 5:30 am (fruit and bread with a choice of granola or eggs), and then set out for the day's adventures. Some days we returned for lunch (served at 1pm) and then set back out around 3, other days we took a box lunch. The first morning we headed out to some nearby trails, paddling across the oxbow lake to the trailhead. On the way a Snail Kite floated out of the morning mist and flew right over our heads. Once on the trail we began finding my target birds one right after another- first up Domingo called in a singing Plumbeous Antbird, then a stunning pair of Chestnut-belted Gnateaters, the male with his adorable white ear streamers sticking out, a Cinnamon Attila in the canopy, a pair of Buff-breasted Wrens singing a rollicking duet, and a female Cocha Antshrike in the swamp, in my opinion prettier than the male with her deep chestnut body and black hood. Afterwards we set off to see the Rufous Potoo- damn, I would have brought my camera along if I'd known this was part of the morning's plan! And sure enough we saw it, what a beautiful bird! At this stop we picked up more of my targets, a Citron-bellied Attila and White-chinned Jacamar. Then we headed to the dense cane thickets by the Napo River, picking up Scarlet-crowned Barbet and Rusty-fronted Tody-Flycatcher, and unsuccessfully searching through the impenetrable vegetation for a calling White-lored Antpitta. It was getting hot and close to lunchtime, so we headed back, and spotted a Dot-backed Antbird beside the blackwater stream that drains the oxbow lake.

We returned to the Napo in the afternoon to try again for the White-lored Antpitta. We still had to work for it but this time we were successful, finally spotting the bird. What a beautiful antpitta, and fun to watch as he thrust out his chest, lowered his head and puffed out his throat with each hollow note, like he was barfing up his song. We moved on to search for Rufous-headed Woodpecker, getting distracted along the way by a calling Black-spotted Bare-eye. Domingo called it in, the pair was very flighty but I got a decent look. Right afterward we heard a woodpecker tapping in the tall cane, and sure enough it was a Rufous-headed Woodpecker, very stunning and with a brighter reddish head than illustrated in the field guide.

[ovenbird43]

The second day was similarly exciting and successful when we headed out to the Napo River islands, home to a number of specialty species forming a rather different bird community than on the nearby mainland. We took one of the boats out to the first island, stopping for a nice look at a male Amazonian Umbrellabird in a cecropia on the way. The island was fairly large and densely vegetated with tall grasses, shrubs, and stands of cecropia. We landed and followed a trail that had been cut through the thicket. It was very birdy, right away there was one small tree filled with several each of Mottle-backed and Small-billed Elaenias and Spotted Tody-Flycatchers. Eastern and Tropical Kingbirds and Oriole Blackbirds were common and conspicuous. All of the island antbirds were present: Barred Antshrike (more widespread in other regions of the Neotropics), Castelnau's Antshrike (responded quickly to playback), and Black-and-white Antbird. We also found all 4 species of spinetail, the first 3 of which are restricted to these islands: Plain-crowned, Parker's, White-bellied, and Dark-breasted Spinetails. Olive-spotted Hummingbirds darted around everywhere, and we found Fuscous Flycatcher, beautiful little Lesser Wagtail-Tyrants, Riverside Tyrannulet, and Riverside Tyrant. We heard a Lesser Hornero but couldn't coax it out of the dense grass. There were tanagers galore feeding in the cecropias, mainly Blue-gray, Palm, and Orange-headed Tanagers.

The next island we visited was smaller and younger, mainly shorter grass and some bare sand. We found 2 male Bobolinks, apparently a rare migrant through the area, and a Cliff Swallow amongst the White-winged Swallows. There were lots of seedeaters and sparrows, mainly Chestnut-bellied and Lesson's Seedeaters and Yellow-browed Sparrows. On the sandbars were Pied Plover, Collared Plover, and 2 Greater Yellowlegs.

After the island visit we set out for the Long-tailed Potoo day roost (another "should have brought my camera" moment!). It was an hour and a half trek (one hour on the way back with less need of the machete) from the north bank of the Napo, passing first by a few houses of the Kichwa community, going down into a swamp, the path there made of boards and logs hidden a foot under the water, and then a winding, barely-cleared path through dense forest full of treefalls. But man it was well worth the effort to see the Long-tailed Potoo, so close I could see all the details in its plumage, its half-lidded bright yellow eye staring at me. Wow. It was one of the highlights of the whole week.

[ovenbird43]

Day 3

First up was a visit to the tower, a fairly large platform in the top of a ceiba tree. Aside from a male Plum-throated Cotinga activity was kind of slow, so we descended after about an hour and went exploring the lake backwaters in the canoe. A Rufous-tailed Flatbill was singing and quickly approached after playback- this species hadn't even been on my radar! We finally connected with Point-tailed Palmcreeper (after a few unsuccessful searches the previous days), with good if high views of this stunning bird up in a palm. The channel eventually became impassable, but we sat for a while in the canoe as we searched for some calling Sulphury Flycatchers, tried unsuccessfully for Velvet-fronted Grackle, and watched a Dot-backed Antbird foraging right next to the boat. We heard the grunt of a Giant Otter, but we didn't see it. On the way back Domingo found me a pair of Hauxwell's Thrushes, their song very similar to that of White-necked Thrush, and their rich brown color making me think longingly of chocolate-covered espresso beans. (well, it did!)

Day 4

The morning was spent traveling to and from Pañacocha, a large oxbow lake about one hour east along the Napo and another hour or so up a blackwater river. The main purpose of the visit was to see the Sand-colored Nighthawks, which roost in groups in small trees out in the lake. It was quite a sight! There is a small lodge (called Amazon River Dolphin) at the lake, and we visited for a short hike into the forest. It was mostly quiet, being mid or late morning at this point, but we flushed a pair of Collared Puffbirds and got nice views.

Below: Common Potoo, Black-capped Donacobius, Dot-backed Antbird, Hauxwell's Thrush, Cocha Antshrike (female)

[ovenbird43]

more photos: Ladder-tailed Nightjar, Sand-colored Nighthawks, Collared Puffbird, Great Potoo

[ovenbird43]

Day 5

This was the morning that we went after one of my all-time most-wanted Amazonian birds: Wing-banded Antbird. Honestly, I had been surprised that Domingo hadn't just laughed when he saw it on my wish-list: finding it was a real possibility! We arrived early to a trailhead on the south side of the Napo River and set off. The trail crossed through a nice palm swamp and then undulated gently through terra firme forest. We arrived at "the spot", and as Domingo played the tape I held my breath, not daring to hope too much. After a moment, there it was- a response, a real live Wing-banded Antbird was singing! And very soon it flew right in, I could hardly believe it- what a bird! It flicked its wings, small head and long beak stretched away from its round body as it sang. It changed perches too rapidly for a photo, so I just soaked in each view I could get. Favorite bird of the whole 4 months in Ecuador!

The hike back was nice, we saw 2 different pairs of Lunulated Antbirds, a pair of Cream-colored Woodpeckers at the palm swamp drumming on the palm leaf stems, and heard a Point-tailed Palmcreeper. We were also finally successful with Orange-crested Manakin, after hearing it call Domingo found it on one of its favored perches. Afterward we returned to the north side of the Napo, to the same trail that eventually leads to the Long-tailed Potoo. Near one of the houses we tracked down some calling Ecuadorian Caciques. We then spent the next several hours trying various places on both sides of the river for Chestnut-crowned Foliage-Gleaner. At this point it was sunny, hot, and quiet, and literally just as we were giving up our final attempt and preparing to climb into the boat we heard one respond. It didn't take long to locate the angry pair, orange eyes staring at us as they hopped around in the dense brush. Whew! We visited one of the local homes to eat our boxed lunches and decided to have some beer and a siesta with the locals to wait out the worst of the afternoon heat.

Day 6

This was my final full day at Sani Lodge. We started by revisiting the islands to try again for Lesser Hornero. We got it, plus some Ladder-tailed Nightjars perched on logs at the edge of the island, a Bank Swallow (aka Sand Martin ) and a better look at a Black-and-white Antbird. Afterwards we hiked a trail on the south side of the Napo, searching for Guira Tanager. We didn't find it, and a rainstorm kept bird activity down in general, but it was very nice terra firme forest with many birds I hadn't seen or heard since leaving Tiputini: Golden-collared Toucanet, White-eyed Tody-Tyrant, White-plumed Antbird, and Golden-crowned Spadebill to name just a few.

Below: Black-fronted Nunbird, Lunulated Antbird, Orange-crested Manakin, Little Woodpecker, Oriole Blackbirds

[ovenbird43]

Lesser Hornero, Black-and-white Antbird, Collared Plover, sunrise at the Napo River, Masked Crimson Tanager

[ovenbird43]

Day 7

We had to leave Sani Lodge fairly early to accommodate other travelers that had early flights from Coca (mine wasn't until 5 pm), so I wasn't expecting to see much, but Domingo and I set out for the Napo ahead of the main group to see Orange-eyed Flatbill. There are several along the stream leading from the oxbow lake, and they mainly call early in the morning. We heard several right away, and eventually spotted one high in a tree overhanging the stream. On the boat ride along the Napo, we stopped briefly to view one of the parrot clay licks, this one visited by Mealy and Yellow-crowned Amazons, Blue-headed Parrots, and Dusky-headed Parakeets. I had never seen a clay lick before, it was quite a sight! Even when we arrived in Coca there was a surprise for me, in the form of a Cattle Tyrant wandering around in the grass by the river- this bird isn't even in the field guide for Ecuador, but apparently it has recently appeared (as a migrant??) in Coca and Tena.

Overall, it was a successful and enjoyable 4 months. I was sad to leave, but happy to return home to my husband and friends. I'll post a final species total from the whole 4 months; I also have separate Tiputini and Sani bird lists that I have kept if anyone is interested.