Eastern Ecuador-andes To Amazon August 2013 (1 Viewer)

sungrebe · Oct 11, 2013

Went birding in Ecuador for the third time in August to see the eastern half of the country; I had previously birded the western slope/Choco area and the high elevation paramo as well as the Galapagos, and wanted to complete the width of the country.
I was not disappointed; in 10 days we saw 430 birds and I added well over 100 life birds to my list.
Following is a recap of our adventures from the mountains to the lowlands!

I arranged my excursion through Mindo Bird Tours /www.mindobirds.com.ec/‎ , a company I had used for my previous trips. I arranged for a guide just for myself, and again had the pleasure of birding with Dusan Brinkhuisen, the primary guide for the company and a friend at this point. His skills are without peer, and his enthusiasm makes any birding time an adventure.
Dusan and our driver Nestor picked me up at Quito's new airport at 1830 on Tuesday, 20 August after my flight from New York, and we made the 4 hour drive to the town of Archidona where we stopped at the Orchid’s Paradise inn for an overnight stay before travelling down the eastern slope of the Andes. Our plan was to bird the subtropical and foothill elevations of the Andes’ eastern slope. The avifauna is markedly different in the east due to the natural barrier formed by the Andes that prevents many species from crossing to the opposite slope.

Early morning birding before breakfast was a hit immediately, with looks at CHESTNUT-THROATED SPINETAIL, (a rare ovenbird of the eastern slope listed as Near-Threatened) and an unexpected ORANGE-BREASTED FALCON perched inconspicuously in a high tree. These two hard to see birds were a special start to a ten day birding extravaganza.

After eats, we headed down the Loreto Road to bird this hotspot on our way to Wildsumaco Lodge. We got great views and photos of a family of BLACKISH NIGHTJARS on a day roost surprisingly close to the road; a STRIOLATED PUFFBIRD made an appearance, as did the tyrannids CLIFF FLYCATCHER and WHITE-FRONTED TYRANNULET. An OLIVACEOUS SISKIN added to my lifer list.

Next entry : WILDSUMACO LODGE !

sungrebe · Oct 12, 2013

Around midday, we arrived at WILDSUMACO LODGE, a birder’s delight of about 4900 feet elevation on the eastern slope of the Andes, considered FOOTHILL FOREST. The first attraction is the hummingbird feeding station array, where it is easy to see over a dozen species, such as the bizarre WIRE-CRESTED THORNTAIL, the spectacular GOULD’S JEWELFRONT, and BLUE-FRONTED LANCEBILL. I added 11 hummer species to my lifelist.
Around the Lodge is the reserve that is maintained by the lodge in a successful effort to preserve the fragile subtropical forest . Jim and Bonnie, retirees from the United States, built Wildsumaco, and it has become a must-see for serious birders exploring Ecuador’s many habitats. Christina, their manager, made our all too short stay very pleasant. Many trails offer productive birding, and we concentrated on the FACE trail, making three visits during our stay. As a fan of skulky passerines, I was excited to see an assortment of antbirds, ovenbirds, and tyrannids, including PLAIN ANTVIREO, BLACK-BILLED TREEHUNTER, and the rare YELLOW-THROATED SPADEBILL. The highlight of the trail was the owling, and although we dipped on RUFESCENT SCREECH OWL (heard only), we got fantastic views of MOTTLED and BAND-BELLIED OWL, the latter on a day roost providing extraordinary photo ops
Around the lodge, we heard, but didn’t see, the rare MILITARY MACAW, witnessed a kettle of graceful SWALLOW-TAILED KITES, and glimpsed one of my targets, GOLDEN-COLLARED TOUCANET. We left after breakfast for the ride down the fabled Loreto road to COCA, in the Amazonian lowlands, and one of the highlights of the ride was a stop at a stand of bamboo, the preferred habitat of the rare tyrannid LARGE-HEADED FLATBILL. Other notable finds were a LINED ANTSHRIKE nest, and heard-only SOUTHERN BEARDLESS TYRANNULET and DUSKY-CHESTED FLYCATCHER. I don’t count heard birds on my life list, but I do on trip and country lists, so my Ecuador list grew greatly this time.
NEXT : SANI AMAZON LODGE !!

sungrebe · Oct 12, 2013

Some birds from Wildsumaco:
Golden-Tailed Sapphire
Coppery-Chested Jacamar
Band-Bellied Owl
Wire-Crested Thorntail

dandsblair · Oct 12, 2013

great introduction

Like you, we have done the west, paramo and Galapagos but it certainly sounds like another trip is worthwhile. Don't when though.
Look forward to further posts.

sungrebe · Oct 13, 2013

David and Sarah; thanks for your interest in my post. It's certainly worth it to bird the east, especially if you're going to the Amazon for the first time. You can clean up there. I'd been to Amazonia on the Peruvian side 3 times before, and I had many of the birds. Nevertheless, we had some FANTASTIC, rare birds and I couldn't have been happier. Also, the eastern slope has many new birds.
Posting more tonight :eat::eat:

sungrebe · Oct 13, 2013

ECUADOR-ANDES TO AMAZON part 3!!

COCA TO SANI LODGE !!
Mid-morning, we arrived in Coca, technically named Puerto Francisco de Orellana located at the confluence of the Coca and Rio Napo rivers, , is a rough-and-tumble frontier town serving as a stopover for tourists and (unfortunately) oil company personnel where walking alone is NOT recommended (our guide Domingo, had been robbed at knifepoint there recently). From Coca we travelled by canoe to SANI LODGE, 3 ½ hours east on the RIO NAPO. The dock at Coca was busy with WHITE-WINGED, BLUE and WHITE SWALLOWS, GRAY-BREASTED and BROWN-CHESTED MARTINS, but the birding was understandably slow as we rode by river taxi to SANI LODGE, Sani Isla, between 2 parks.wholly owned by the KICHWA tribe, whose mission is to preserve the rainforest ecosystem from development. All profits go toward this effort, and the community all work at the lodge. Upon disembarking on the north shore of the Rio Napo, a long boardwalk led to a dock where we took a canoe upstream along the small Challuayacu River for some extra 3 km, or 15 minutes more through varzea forest (VARZEA, or FLOODED FOREST is the area at the river’s edge that floods seasonally, and creates a unique habitat containing many species that occur nowhere else) on the way to Challuacocha Lake, upon which Sani lodge is located. Along the boardwalk we got exceptional looks at WHITE LORED ANTPITTA and the smallest songbird in the world, a SHORT-TAILED PYGMY-TYRANT attending to a recently built nest. This bird ranks near the top of my trip favorites.
In the areas around the lake and lodge,HOATZINS were common and seen daily, as were the WHITE-WINGED SWALLOWS; canoeing to and from the lodge through marshy areas provided views of BLACK-CAPPED DONACOBIUS, PALE-VENTED PIGEON, and COCOI HERON. We also got looks at SUNGREBE, CAPPED HERON, and our first look at CINNAMON ATTILA. A few of birds that are familiar to me from the US also showed; LEAST BITTERN and LIMPKIN; along the NAPO, STILT, PECTORAL, and SPOTTED Sandpipers and SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, all on migration.

GREAT, CINEREOUS, and UNDULATED TINAMOUS were heard regularly during our stay, but none were ever seen despite many efforts (glad I count heard-onlys on my trip list!). The first afternoon gave us our only look at YELLOW-BILLED TERN along the river, and a hard-to-find VARZEA SCHIFFORNIS. PAURAQUE, TROPICAL SCREECH OWL, and FERRUGINOUS PYGMY OWL were seen or heard nightly from the lodge, and we got our only looks at LONG-BILLED STARTHROAT, and CHESTNUT-VENTED CONEBILL.
NEXT : SANI and CANOPY TOWER!
PICS:
Tropical Screech Owl immature
Hoatzin
Short-Tailed Pygmy-Tyrant
Black-Capped Donacobius

dandsblair · Oct 14, 2013

Thanks for advice

sungrebe said:
David and Sarah; thanks for your interest in my post. It's certainly worth it to bird the east, especially if you're going to the Amazon for the first time. You can clean up there. I'd been to Amazonia on the Peruvian side 3 times before, and I had many of the birds. Nevertheless, we had some FANTASTIC, rare birds and I couldn't have been happier. Also, the eastern slope has many new birds.
Posting more tonight :eat::eat:

Bill
We have been to Peruvian and Brazillian parts of the amazon but by the sounds of things a lot more still to see.

David and Sarah

ovenbird43 · Oct 15, 2013

Enjoying your report, brings back good memories. Wildsumaco and Sani certainly offer superb birding, I saw many life birds at Sani even after doing field work in eastern Ecuador for over 6 months (cumulative).

sungrebe · Oct 16, 2013

ECUADOR-ANDES TO AMAZON part 4 !! SANI LODGE and VARZEA FOREST !

ECUADOR-ANDES TO AMAZON part 4 !!
SANI LODGE and VARZEA FOREST !

Days at Sani were hot, humid, and prone to sudden, hard rains. Evening temperatures were pleasant, and I often slept with a light sheet. Insect netting covering the bed was invaluable, as throughout the night, I was in the company of a host of aerial creatures buzzing about. Coming home to the drumbeats of war and political dysfunction made me appreciate more deeply the Sani experience, where the sounds of the tropical night were the only reality.
The lodge was rustic and very comfortable; generator-supplied electricity was available only in the evenings and early mornings to accommodate before sunrise expeditions. We did, however, have spotty WiFi available for the connectivity crowd. We seemed to be the only hard-core birders, as many of the visitors to Sani come for a general introduction to the flora and fauna of amazonia, a stay that includes such things as Piranha fishing, Caiman spotting, and jungle walks to find insects, amphibians, and mammals. Families with children, young couples, and retirees were all enjoying the experience, led by experienced, friendly guides. Staff was friendly and extremely accommodating. I have certain dietary restrictions, and after telling them in advance, they went the extra mile in making sure that I had what I needed.
Domingo, a Kichwa, and had been birding the area for 20 years, was our resident guide, and together, he and Dusan were without peer in finding all the difficult birds in this area. The trick is to know the calls, and I was dumbstruck at their expertise in recognizing and locating the softest, most faraway sounds and getting them into view. I don’t see how any birder without these skills would stand a chance of seeing more than a handful of species.

The varzea forest of this area of Amazonia is not subject to the intense seasonal flooding that is common to the areas of the west, and thus results in much of the forest remaining partially submerged year round. This forest, through which we traveled by canoe, provided excellent birding habitat; many birds are adapted to live only in this environment, and we got a number of specialties, including one of my targets, AGAMI HERON! Also, a real specialty, with a range restricted to the immediate area , a COCHA ANTSHRIKE ! This is a difficult bird to locate, and we managed to get good looks at an all-black male, which had been undescribed until the late 80s. Also had good views of CREAM-COLORED WOODPECKER, VARZEA SCHIFFORNIS, AMAZONIAN STREAKED ANTWREN, DOT-BACKED ANTBIRD, and WHITE-CHINNED JACAMAR. The experience of silently gliding through this enchanted area is one of the highlights of a visit to the Amazon.

NEXT: CANOPY TOWER !!

sungrebe · Oct 19, 2013

ECUADOR - ANDES to AMAZON

THE CANOPY TOWER
One of the highlights of the lodge property is a visit to the canopy tower, which rises about 100 feet above the forest floor, with steps secured around a large Kapok tree. This habitat is known as TERRE FIRME forest, that area of the Amazon that does not flood, and has the most diverse avifauna. At the top, a large platform has been constructed so that one can see in all directions the vast canopy of the forest, and where plant and animal diversity is great. With binoculars, scope, and Dusan’s and Domingo’s eagle eyes, we hit a bonanza of birds that rarely, if ever, leave the canopy for the understories of the forest. We visited the tower 4 times. Some of the highlights: HARPY EAGLE!! GREAT POTOO perfectly camouflaged on a large branch; the gorgeous BLACK-HEADED PARROT; SCALE-BREASTED WOODPECKER; CROWNED-SLATY FLYCATCHER (an austral migrant), WHITE-LORED EUPHONIA, MANY-BANDED and IVORY-BILLED ARACARIS, and, oddly enough, a lone flyby MUSCOVY DUCK, a definite rarity in this area. . We got faraway, but adequate,looks at another of my targets, KING VULTURE. It was the same with the Harpy, that perched atop the tallest trees about as far away as possible to still get a view; we had hoped that it would fly closer and perch again, as it sometimes does, but no luck. It was a small disappointment, though, as the birding continued to be productive. We saw representatives of many families, such as CIMMAMON-THROATED WOODCREEPER, PIED PUFFBIRD, TURQUOISE and OPAL-RUMPED TANAGERS, and BLACK-TAILED TROGON. We visited both in the morning and afternoon, and the birding was good at each time of day.
NEXT : River Islands

Pictures:
Black-Tailed Trogon
Gilded Barbet
Greyish Mourner
Crowned-Slaty Flycatcher

sungrebe · Oct 25, 2013

AMAZON TO ANDES CONTINUED: RIVER ISLANDS

Although our excursion to the river islands was cut short by a drenching rainstorm, it's worth mentioning due to the fascinating history of these formations.
The accumulation of sand and silt at particular places in the flowing river can build and eventually form islands. These islands are in a constant state of flux as material is broken off as well as deposited as the river flows. Some islands become semi-permanent structures and sustain vegetation and eventually fauna. Certain birds are island specialists and some have even become island obligates, occurring exclusively in these habitats.
Before the deluge, we were fortunate to see the island specialist OLIVE - SPOTTED HUMMINGBIRD, LADDER-TAILED NIGHTJAR, CACQUETA SEEDEATER, and good looks at GRAY-BREASTED CRAKE. More time would have yielded more sightings, but nature is ultimately the boss.
Picture: Ladder-Tailed Nightjar on river Island.

Eastern Ecuador-andes To Amazon August 2013 (1 Viewer)

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