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ANN AND ROLAND GO BIRDING IN ECUADOR
SEPTEMBER 23RD
– OCTOBER 7TH 2016
This was an unexpected trip, organised at a week’s notice and we are very grateful to
Christina at Ecuador Nature Expeditions (www.enexpeditions.com) for the excellent
arrangements.
We had been due to go to South Africa on September 2nd but had to cancel the week before
because my doctor wouldn’t let me go, fearing I might have a heart attack. I was gutted. We
had been talking to Lawson’s at Birdfair and they knew how excited it was but I have to say
they were fantastic – well, more specifically, Mavourneen was. She pulled out all the stops to
be helpful and we ended up booking the same trip for next year. Anyway, when I lay in my
hospital bed and discovered I did not have angina after all, I texted the good news to my
husband and by midnight we had booked flights and a holiday in Ecuador!!
FRIDAY, 23rd. SEPTEMBER
Travelling. We flew from Manchester to Amsterdam with Elvis Presley and friends and then
from Amsterdam to Guayaquil with KLM. It was a long journey! Our guide, Norby, was there
to meet us. Beautiful sunset, lots of traffic, interesting street performers. It took Norby an
hour to find our hotel (Hostel Macaw) which was very nice but didn’t do food. The owner
prepared us a plate of fruit though. The hotel was lovely and I would have no hesitation in
recommending it.
SATURDAY, 24TH SEPTEMBER
Breakfast (wonderful) was at 7 and we were ready to set off by 7h30. The streets were
deserted! No traffic, just lots of street sweepers. We had an interesting drive to the
Manglares Churute Reserve, where we collected our guide, Orlando. Norby was a mine of
information about the coastal area we were travelling through and indeed continued to be so
throughout the trip. By the end of it, I felt I could write a book about Ecuador but I will try not
to rant on in my report. Anyway, Orlando said he didn’t speak English but he was fibbing and
he was an excellent guide too. We picked up a few birds at the Visitors’ Centre ( Fasciated
wren, Red-necked parakeets, Ecuadorian ground dove....)and on the way to the
mangroves we stopped to look at a Pacific pygmy owl and a Limkin, amongst others and
also a family of Coatis rummaging for fruit. Having parked by the Visitors’ Centre, we
scanned the trees nearby and found a few more birds for our list – Yellow-crowned
euphonia, Boat-billed flycatcher, Amazillio hummingbird, Scarlet-backed woodpecker
then walked down to the river through a mist of mozzies, which were nasty little buggars that
bit through your clothes. Nothing to see on the way except for crabs, which were amusing to
watch and there were some really big ones. I don’t envy the men who plod through the
mangroves catching them to sell. Bit pongy in places. Our next stop was up the main road to
a track following the Cerruti River. This was actually dry though it floods in the wet season.
We drove up to a spot with a dam, water and swamp (Laguna El Canclón?) where we saw
lots of water birds and several Horned Screamers, which were on my want list.
Unfortunately we didn’t see one with a good “horn” and we learnt that they also have a hook
on their wings which they use for fighting. After we had dropped Orlando off at home, we
carried on driving through the coastal plain and its scrubland/cultivated fields (bananas, fruit,
sugar cane) to Puerto Inca for some good local food instead of our packed lunch. Our shrimp
ceviche and crab salad were delicious and cost us $21. It was unbelievable how many Snail
Kites we had seen along the route so far – you couldn’t go 100 yards without seeing one! Or
so it seemed. Scrub Blackbirds were also very plentiful along with both Black and Turkey
vultures. We didn’t stop again but pressed on to Umbrella Lodge, arriving late afternoon in
the rain. There were still some hummers feeding so we watched them for a while. Our chalet
looked onto forest and had a nice verandah. The room was smallish but had everything we
needed and the bathroom was very nice with a good shower. While we were sitting in the
Page 1 of 26
Page 2 of 26
main lodge that evening, a Black and white owl perched on the beam above Roland’s head
and then flew outside. We had fabulous views of him both inside and out. As these owls eat
beetles, he would have been very pleased with those on the mesh screens which had been
attracted by the light. There were also some stunning moths on there. Another nocturnal
visitor was a very cute Kinkajou who came down to a feeding table. Kinkajous are members
of the weasel family. There were also Black Agoutis in the grounds and we saw them on
more than one occasion.
Manglares Churute: This 55213 hectare reserve protects the Churute Lake and its
surrounding deciduous forest and includes a large expanse of Mangrove Forest at the mouth
of Guayas River. The reserve is located in Guayas Province and its elevation ranges from 0
– 700 meters. The area can be easily visited from Guayaquil, though the closest city is
Naranjal. Churute Lake is home to the only population of Horned Screamers on the west
side of the Andes. The park has registered 300+ bird species, including close to 30
Tumbesian endemics only shared with Northern Perú.
There is very little mangrove left in Ecuador. This reserve is surrounded by reclaimed land
which is now used for agriculture, mainly sugar cane, rice and fruit. There are also a lot of
shrimp farms. The houses are built on stilts because of the risk of flooding in the wet season.
24 - Manglares Churute Reserve
Amazilia Hummingbird
Anhinga
Black Vulture
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Black-cheeked Woodpecker
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Blue-and-white Swallow
Blue-grey Tanager
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Cocoi Heron
Comb Duck
Crested Caracara
Croaking Ground-Dove
Ecuadorian Ground-Dove
Fasciated Wren
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Great Egret
Grey-breasted Martin
Groove-billed Ani
Harris's Hawk
Horned Screamer
Killdeer
Limpkin
Little Blue Heron
Little Woodstar
Magnificent Frigatebird
Masked Water-Tyrant
Muscovy Duck
Neotropic Cormorant
Osprey
Pacific Hornero
Pacific Parrotlet
Page 2 of 26
Page 3 of 26
Peruvian Pygmy-Owl
Pied-billed Grebe
Plain-breasted Ground-Dove
Purple Gallinule
Red-billed Tropicbird
Red-masked Parakeet
Ringed Kingfisher
Roseate Spoonbill
Savanna Hawk
Scarlet-backed Woodpecker
Scrub Blackbird
Shiny Cowbird
Snail Kite
Snowy Egret
Spotted Sandpiper
Tropical Kingbird
Turkey Vulture
Wattled Jacana
Yellow-rumped Cacique
24 - Umbrella Lodge
Andean Emerald
Black-and-white Owl
Green Thorntail
Green-crowned Brilliant
Violet-bellied Hummingbird
White-necked Jacobin
SUNDAY, 25TH SEPTEMBER
We could hear Howler monkeys in the distance when we woke up. Outside it was cool and
cloudy but this gradually cleared to hot and sunny becoming increasingly humid.
Breakfast was at 6 then we hung about for a couple of hours to see what came down into the
trees and on the feeders before going for a walk down the approach road and back. Then
more time hanging about followed by lunch and more time hanging about followed by a walk
uphill and down the Umbrella bird trail and back. This is a good trail, well laid out with steps
where it’s steep and a handrail though it comes to an abrupt stop where a tree has fallen
down and blocked the way. We hardly saw anything on our walk and were back by 4. More
hanging about. We got talking to some other birders that evening and discovered we were in
the company of Arjan Dwarshuis, the Dutch birder on a year’s bird challenge. He was a
really nice lad and was with his girlfriend. We were pleased that Roland had spotted a
Gartered trogon that morning which was a new bird for Arjan. Juan Carlos, who is apparently
THE top guide, arrived tonight with another birder and two Chinese clients who we kept
bumping into as they were following a similar route to ours.
25 - Umbrella Lodge
Andean Emerald
Bananaquit
Bay Wren
Bay-headed Tanager
Black-billed Mountain-Toucan
Black-crowned Antshrike
Blue-grey Tanager
Page 3 of 26
Ann and Roland Go Birding in Ecuador September 2016.pdf
Displaying Ann and Roland Go Birding in Ecuador September 2016.pdf.
1
/26
Page 1 of 26
ANN AND ROLAND GO BIRDING IN ECUADOR
SEPTEMBER 23RD
– OCTOBER 7TH 2016
This was an unexpected trip, organised at a week’s notice and we are very grateful to
Christina at Ecuador Nature Expeditions (www.enexpeditions.com) for the excellent
arrangements.
We had been due to go to South Africa on September 2nd but had to cancel the week before
because my doctor wouldn’t let me go, fearing I might have a heart attack. I was gutted. We
had been talking to Lawson’s at Birdfair and they knew how excited it was but I have to say
they were fantastic – well, more specifically, Mavourneen was. She pulled out all the stops to
be helpful and we ended up booking the same trip for next year. Anyway, when I lay in my
hospital bed and discovered I did not have angina after all, I texted the good news to my
husband and by midnight we had booked flights and a holiday in Ecuador!!
FRIDAY, 23rd. SEPTEMBER
Travelling. We flew from Manchester to Amsterdam with Elvis Presley and friends and then
from Amsterdam to Guayaquil with KLM. It was a long journey! Our guide, Norby, was there
to meet us. Beautiful sunset, lots of traffic, interesting street performers. It took Norby an
hour to find our hotel (Hostel Macaw) which was very nice but didn’t do food. The owner
prepared us a plate of fruit though. The hotel was lovely and I would have no hesitation in
recommending it.
SATURDAY, 24TH SEPTEMBER
Breakfast (wonderful) was at 7 and we were ready to set off by 7h30. The streets were
deserted! No traffic, just lots of street sweepers. We had an interesting drive to the
Manglares Churute Reserve, where we collected our guide, Orlando. Norby was a mine of
information about the coastal area we were travelling through and indeed continued to be so
throughout the trip. By the end of it, I felt I could write a book about Ecuador but I will try not
to rant on in my report. Anyway, Orlando said he didn’t speak English but he was fibbing and
he was an excellent guide too. We picked up a few birds at the Visitors’ Centre ( Fasciated
wren, Red-necked parakeets, Ecuadorian ground dove....)and on the way to the
mangroves we stopped to look at a Pacific pygmy owl and a Limkin, amongst others and
also a family of Coatis rummaging for fruit. Having parked by the Visitors’ Centre, we
scanned the trees nearby and found a few more birds for our list – Yellow-crowned
euphonia, Boat-billed flycatcher, Amazillio hummingbird, Scarlet-backed woodpecker
then walked down to the river through a mist of mozzies, which were nasty little buggars that
bit through your clothes. Nothing to see on the way except for crabs, which were amusing to
watch and there were some really big ones. I don’t envy the men who plod through the
mangroves catching them to sell. Bit pongy in places. Our next stop was up the main road to
a track following the Cerruti River. This was actually dry though it floods in the wet season.
We drove up to a spot with a dam, water and swamp (Laguna El Canclón?) where we saw
lots of water birds and several Horned Screamers, which were on my want list.
Unfortunately we didn’t see one with a good “horn” and we learnt that they also have a hook
on their wings which they use for fighting. After we had dropped Orlando off at home, we
carried on driving through the coastal plain and its scrubland/cultivated fields (bananas, fruit,
sugar cane) to Puerto Inca for some good local food instead of our packed lunch. Our shrimp
ceviche and crab salad were delicious and cost us $21. It was unbelievable how many Snail
Kites we had seen along the route so far – you couldn’t go 100 yards without seeing one! Or
so it seemed. Scrub Blackbirds were also very plentiful along with both Black and Turkey
vultures. We didn’t stop again but pressed on to Umbrella Lodge, arriving late afternoon in
the rain. There were still some hummers feeding so we watched them for a while. Our chalet
looked onto forest and had a nice verandah. The room was smallish but had everything we
needed and the bathroom was very nice with a good shower. While we were sitting in the
Page 1 of 26
Page 2 of 26
main lodge that evening, a Black and white owl perched on the beam above Roland’s head
and then flew outside. We had fabulous views of him both inside and out. As these owls eat
beetles, he would have been very pleased with those on the mesh screens which had been
attracted by the light. There were also some stunning moths on there. Another nocturnal
visitor was a very cute Kinkajou who came down to a feeding table. Kinkajous are members
of the weasel family. There were also Black Agoutis in the grounds and we saw them on
more than one occasion.
Manglares Churute: This 55213 hectare reserve protects the Churute Lake and its
surrounding deciduous forest and includes a large expanse of Mangrove Forest at the mouth
of Guayas River. The reserve is located in Guayas Province and its elevation ranges from 0
– 700 meters. The area can be easily visited from Guayaquil, though the closest city is
Naranjal. Churute Lake is home to the only population of Horned Screamers on the west
side of the Andes. The park has registered 300+ bird species, including close to 30
Tumbesian endemics only shared with Northern Perú.
There is very little mangrove left in Ecuador. This reserve is surrounded by reclaimed land
which is now used for agriculture, mainly sugar cane, rice and fruit. There are also a lot of
shrimp farms. The houses are built on stilts because of the risk of flooding in the wet season.
24 - Manglares Churute Reserve
Amazilia Hummingbird
Anhinga
Black Vulture
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Black-cheeked Woodpecker
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Blue-and-white Swallow
Blue-grey Tanager
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Cocoi Heron
Comb Duck
Crested Caracara
Croaking Ground-Dove
Ecuadorian Ground-Dove
Fasciated Wren
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Great Egret
Grey-breasted Martin
Groove-billed Ani
Harris's Hawk
Horned Screamer
Killdeer
Limpkin
Little Blue Heron
Little Woodstar
Magnificent Frigatebird
Masked Water-Tyrant
Muscovy Duck
Neotropic Cormorant
Osprey
Pacific Hornero
Pacific Parrotlet
Page 2 of 26
Page 3 of 26
Peruvian Pygmy-Owl
Pied-billed Grebe
Plain-breasted Ground-Dove
Purple Gallinule
Red-billed Tropicbird
Red-masked Parakeet
Ringed Kingfisher
Roseate Spoonbill
Savanna Hawk
Scarlet-backed Woodpecker
Scrub Blackbird
Shiny Cowbird
Snail Kite
Snowy Egret
Spotted Sandpiper
Tropical Kingbird
Turkey Vulture
Wattled Jacana
Yellow-rumped Cacique
24 - Umbrella Lodge
Andean Emerald
Black-and-white Owl
Green Thorntail
Green-crowned Brilliant
Violet-bellied Hummingbird
White-necked Jacobin
SUNDAY, 25TH SEPTEMBER
We could hear Howler monkeys in the distance when we woke up. Outside it was cool and
cloudy but this gradually cleared to hot and sunny becoming increasingly humid.
Breakfast was at 6 then we hung about for a couple of hours to see what came down into the
trees and on the feeders before going for a walk down the approach road and back. Then
more time hanging about followed by lunch and more time hanging about followed by a walk
uphill and down the Umbrella bird trail and back. This is a good trail, well laid out with steps
where it’s steep and a handrail though it comes to an abrupt stop where a tree has fallen
down and blocked the way. We hardly saw anything on our walk and were back by 4. More
hanging about. We got talking to some other birders that evening and discovered we were in
the company of Arjan Dwarshuis, the Dutch birder on a year’s bird challenge. He was a
really nice lad and was with his girlfriend. We were pleased that Roland had spotted a
Gartered trogon that morning which was a new bird for Arjan. Juan Carlos, who is apparently
THE top guide, arrived tonight with another birder and two Chinese clients who we kept
bumping into as they were following a similar route to ours.
25 - Umbrella Lodge
Andean Emerald
Bananaquit
Bay Wren
Bay-headed Tanager
Black-billed Mountain-Toucan
Black-crowned Antshrike
Blue-grey Tanager
Page 3 of 26
Ann and Roland Go Birding in Ecuador September 2016.pdf
Displaying Ann and Roland Go Birding in Ecuador September 2016.pdf.
