My partner and I were staying in Guayaquil in mid-July for a 24 hour stopover between a trip to the Galapagos and the return flight to Europe. We stayed at the utterly unremarkable Hilton Colon, by the airport. Thanks to Jeanie from Chester (see the birding guide wanted in Guayaquil thread under Ecuador on this Forum), I found an email for a contact at the Fundacion Pro Bosque, Cerro Blanco. Cerro Blanco, for those who don't know, is a dry forested ("Tumbesian") set of hills that appear to be owned by the Swiss cement and aggregates firm Holcim. It is right on the outskirts of sprawling Guayaquil and is easy to get to by car or bus. Night cameras have recorded Jaguars there and, as we discovered, there are decent numbers of Howler Monkeys amongst other mammals. It was birdlife that we were predominantly interested in, however.
A week before we left for Ecuador, I sent a speculative email to Eric Horstman of the Pro Bosque Foundation and he responded within 48 hours, putting me in touch with a colleague, Tania Rios Sanchez. Tania offered to arrange guided birding with an English speaking guide. She also offered to arrange for a taxi to collect us from our hotel and to take us back to the hotel after our walk. I have no idea if Guayaquil is any more or less dangerous than other developing world cities (apologies to Ecuador if it is not classified as developing world, I'm not sure what that term means these days), but it is the only city in the world I have visited where everyone we met seemed to think it essential that we do not take public transport or flag a taxi in the street, but instead arrange vouched-for return cab journeys for all trips. Tania quoted a price which seemed possibly a little steep by general Ecuador pricing standards, but was fine - US$4 each for entry to the Bosque - very reasonable - $25 for the return taxi and $50 for 4 hours' birding.
A driver duly called for us at our hotel at 5.55am on Sunday morning and by 6.20am, just after sunrise, we had been let into the reserve by the security guard and were met by Eduardo Jaime, our guide for the morning. He told the driver to come back for us at 11am. We set off along the road towards the visitors centre. Holcim is quarrying stone right next to the reserve and the background noise of dynamite and heavy vehicles was a little disconcerting and rather depressing. Who knows how many years it will be before Holcim decides it no longer wants to preserve this forest and needs instead to blow up the hillsides, as it has done adjacent to this site. In any event...Amazilia Hummingbirds abounded and a couple of Red Lored Amazon Parrots flew overhead to get us started. Eduardo soon took us off the trail and into a narrow creek. It is the dry season in July, so there were only small pools of water here and there, rather than a flowing stream. This had the extra benefit of meaning that there were very few mosquitoes.
The next 70 - 80 minutes were not quite what we had expected. As we set off clambering through pretty thick undergrowth and over the uneven dry bed of the stream, Eduardo told us to watch where we put our hands because there were lots of tarantulas in the area. We saw some of their holes, but none of the critters themselves. At head height, however, pretty much everywhere, were thick spider webs with rather large and scary looking spiders in them. Thus is was that most the time we spent ensuring we did not get facefuls of spider. At the same time, we were regularly climbing over rockfaces which must be small waterfalls for a mountain torrent in the wet season. It was an adventure, certainly, but we had little time to quietly listen and watch for birdlife, preoccupied as we were with ensuring no twisted ankles, broken legs or spider bites! What we did see (rather than hear, of which there was much more) made for a good introduction to the area. First up, great views (and sounds) from a Laughing Falcon. Then an Ecuadorian Trogon sitting on a branch 20ft above our heads and a Howler Monkey high up in trees ahead, making its way away from us. Best of all, a juvenile Hook Billed Kite, less than 30ft away, sitting in one tree, then flying right over us and sitting in another a similar distance away. We did not identify it until later in the day, since neither the fieldguide I was using (McMullan's Fieldbook of the Birds of Ecuador, which is handily sized for the field but has limited plates and descriptions) nor Eduardo's Spanish language Aves de Ecuador showed the bird as a juvenile, with a very different plumage from adulthood, as far as I can tell (and if we have indeed correctly ID'd it!).
With an eye on the clock and conscious that we did not want an injury half a day before we flew back to London, we told Eduardo that we thought the morning would be more productive if we spent it on trails, where presumably we would be able to look up, left and right, rather than down for much of the time. He gave us two options. Re-trace our steps, or clamber up a steep slope to our right and find the trail about 50 metres away. The climb looked unappealing and inviting injury, but re-tracing our steps was even less appealing, so we opted for the former. It was rather hairy, involved some slipping, but thankfully there was the occasional well rooted sapling to hold onto and break slips and help haul us up, so before too long, albeit after much exertion, we made it out of the ravine and found the trail.
The rest of the morning was great. We followed a trail as it wound its way up a hill. Birds along the way included Gray Hawk, Ecuadorian Thrush, Fasciated Wren and excitingly, we flushed a beautiful Spectacled Owl, which gave us great views as it flew to a new roost - what a stunner. Soon after, we watched an Ecuadorean Piculet visit a small hole in a tree and heard its chicks, presumably being fed. Male and female Collared Antshrike's regularly called and showed themselves. Near the summit of the hill is a "mirador", where we stopped to catch our breath and look over the canopy to hills beyond us. A troupe of Howler Monkeys barked/grunted/shouted somewhere quite close, but out of sight, to our left. A Squirrel Cuckoo sat in a tree nearby, a Yellow-Tailed Oriole called and then showed itself and, as the sun broke through the clouds and the heat grew quickly, Turkey and Black Vultures soared on thermals in the valley in front of us. Small parties of Tropical Gnatcatcher flitted around the understorey.
When we left the mirador, we had just over 1.5 hours before we were due to meet our taxi. We strolled down the hill, a different route from the one we used coming up. The birds became more obvious as we went, in particular as the forest thinned to more open land on its edge. Non avian sightings included a snake crossing our path (I have forgotten what our guide called it) and Guayaquil Squirrels. As for the birds, sightings included the following: Ecuadorian Ground Dove; Pacific Parrotlet; Red Masked Parakeet; Blue Throated Mango; Scarlet Backed Woodpecker; Pacific Hornero; Southern Beardless Tyrannulet; Yellow Olive Flycatcher; Speckle Breasted Wren; Bananaquit; Streaked Saltator; Crimson Breasted Finch; Scrub Blackbird; and a very beautiful White Tailed Jay.
At journey's end, Eduardo, an artist by profession, but an aficionado of Cerro Blanco, who told us he often visits the area and camps out in the woods on his own when looking for peace and quiet, offered to show us other birding sites, including some nearby lagoons. We would have loved to take him up on his offer, but decided not to cut things fine with the evening flight, so gave him a lift back to Guayaquil instead. After a quick shower, change and pack, we headed to the Malecon 2000, a riverfront complex which is essentially a fancy promenade policed by security guards. Mudflats were showing at the river's edge and we had great views of Yellow-Crowned Night Herons and Striated Herons (the latter we had failed to see in the Galapagos), together with Great Tailed Grackles, a Snowy Throated Kingbird, Blue Grey Tanagers and Saffron Finches. The World Cup Final was underway and, in South American solidarity, the entire city was draped in Argentina flags with pretty much every third person wearing sky blue and white. We saw that it was 0-0 late into the second half on screens in bars and shops along the way, all of which were thronged with spectators. We made it back to our hotel room in time for the second half of extra time (the crucial part, as it turned out) and watched football on the TV and Brown Chested Martins outside our 8th floor window, before our pre-arranged 5pm check out, after which we were taken to the airport and the journey home.
A great final day in a wonderful country.
Matt
A week before we left for Ecuador, I sent a speculative email to Eric Horstman of the Pro Bosque Foundation and he responded within 48 hours, putting me in touch with a colleague, Tania Rios Sanchez. Tania offered to arrange guided birding with an English speaking guide. She also offered to arrange for a taxi to collect us from our hotel and to take us back to the hotel after our walk. I have no idea if Guayaquil is any more or less dangerous than other developing world cities (apologies to Ecuador if it is not classified as developing world, I'm not sure what that term means these days), but it is the only city in the world I have visited where everyone we met seemed to think it essential that we do not take public transport or flag a taxi in the street, but instead arrange vouched-for return cab journeys for all trips. Tania quoted a price which seemed possibly a little steep by general Ecuador pricing standards, but was fine - US$4 each for entry to the Bosque - very reasonable - $25 for the return taxi and $50 for 4 hours' birding.
A driver duly called for us at our hotel at 5.55am on Sunday morning and by 6.20am, just after sunrise, we had been let into the reserve by the security guard and were met by Eduardo Jaime, our guide for the morning. He told the driver to come back for us at 11am. We set off along the road towards the visitors centre. Holcim is quarrying stone right next to the reserve and the background noise of dynamite and heavy vehicles was a little disconcerting and rather depressing. Who knows how many years it will be before Holcim decides it no longer wants to preserve this forest and needs instead to blow up the hillsides, as it has done adjacent to this site. In any event...Amazilia Hummingbirds abounded and a couple of Red Lored Amazon Parrots flew overhead to get us started. Eduardo soon took us off the trail and into a narrow creek. It is the dry season in July, so there were only small pools of water here and there, rather than a flowing stream. This had the extra benefit of meaning that there were very few mosquitoes.
The next 70 - 80 minutes were not quite what we had expected. As we set off clambering through pretty thick undergrowth and over the uneven dry bed of the stream, Eduardo told us to watch where we put our hands because there were lots of tarantulas in the area. We saw some of their holes, but none of the critters themselves. At head height, however, pretty much everywhere, were thick spider webs with rather large and scary looking spiders in them. Thus is was that most the time we spent ensuring we did not get facefuls of spider. At the same time, we were regularly climbing over rockfaces which must be small waterfalls for a mountain torrent in the wet season. It was an adventure, certainly, but we had little time to quietly listen and watch for birdlife, preoccupied as we were with ensuring no twisted ankles, broken legs or spider bites! What we did see (rather than hear, of which there was much more) made for a good introduction to the area. First up, great views (and sounds) from a Laughing Falcon. Then an Ecuadorian Trogon sitting on a branch 20ft above our heads and a Howler Monkey high up in trees ahead, making its way away from us. Best of all, a juvenile Hook Billed Kite, less than 30ft away, sitting in one tree, then flying right over us and sitting in another a similar distance away. We did not identify it until later in the day, since neither the fieldguide I was using (McMullan's Fieldbook of the Birds of Ecuador, which is handily sized for the field but has limited plates and descriptions) nor Eduardo's Spanish language Aves de Ecuador showed the bird as a juvenile, with a very different plumage from adulthood, as far as I can tell (and if we have indeed correctly ID'd it!).
With an eye on the clock and conscious that we did not want an injury half a day before we flew back to London, we told Eduardo that we thought the morning would be more productive if we spent it on trails, where presumably we would be able to look up, left and right, rather than down for much of the time. He gave us two options. Re-trace our steps, or clamber up a steep slope to our right and find the trail about 50 metres away. The climb looked unappealing and inviting injury, but re-tracing our steps was even less appealing, so we opted for the former. It was rather hairy, involved some slipping, but thankfully there was the occasional well rooted sapling to hold onto and break slips and help haul us up, so before too long, albeit after much exertion, we made it out of the ravine and found the trail.
The rest of the morning was great. We followed a trail as it wound its way up a hill. Birds along the way included Gray Hawk, Ecuadorian Thrush, Fasciated Wren and excitingly, we flushed a beautiful Spectacled Owl, which gave us great views as it flew to a new roost - what a stunner. Soon after, we watched an Ecuadorean Piculet visit a small hole in a tree and heard its chicks, presumably being fed. Male and female Collared Antshrike's regularly called and showed themselves. Near the summit of the hill is a "mirador", where we stopped to catch our breath and look over the canopy to hills beyond us. A troupe of Howler Monkeys barked/grunted/shouted somewhere quite close, but out of sight, to our left. A Squirrel Cuckoo sat in a tree nearby, a Yellow-Tailed Oriole called and then showed itself and, as the sun broke through the clouds and the heat grew quickly, Turkey and Black Vultures soared on thermals in the valley in front of us. Small parties of Tropical Gnatcatcher flitted around the understorey.
When we left the mirador, we had just over 1.5 hours before we were due to meet our taxi. We strolled down the hill, a different route from the one we used coming up. The birds became more obvious as we went, in particular as the forest thinned to more open land on its edge. Non avian sightings included a snake crossing our path (I have forgotten what our guide called it) and Guayaquil Squirrels. As for the birds, sightings included the following: Ecuadorian Ground Dove; Pacific Parrotlet; Red Masked Parakeet; Blue Throated Mango; Scarlet Backed Woodpecker; Pacific Hornero; Southern Beardless Tyrannulet; Yellow Olive Flycatcher; Speckle Breasted Wren; Bananaquit; Streaked Saltator; Crimson Breasted Finch; Scrub Blackbird; and a very beautiful White Tailed Jay.
At journey's end, Eduardo, an artist by profession, but an aficionado of Cerro Blanco, who told us he often visits the area and camps out in the woods on his own when looking for peace and quiet, offered to show us other birding sites, including some nearby lagoons. We would have loved to take him up on his offer, but decided not to cut things fine with the evening flight, so gave him a lift back to Guayaquil instead. After a quick shower, change and pack, we headed to the Malecon 2000, a riverfront complex which is essentially a fancy promenade policed by security guards. Mudflats were showing at the river's edge and we had great views of Yellow-Crowned Night Herons and Striated Herons (the latter we had failed to see in the Galapagos), together with Great Tailed Grackles, a Snowy Throated Kingbird, Blue Grey Tanagers and Saffron Finches. The World Cup Final was underway and, in South American solidarity, the entire city was draped in Argentina flags with pretty much every third person wearing sky blue and white. We saw that it was 0-0 late into the second half on screens in bars and shops along the way, all of which were thronged with spectators. We made it back to our hotel room in time for the second half of extra time (the crucial part, as it turned out) and watched football on the TV and Brown Chested Martins outside our 8th floor window, before our pre-arranged 5pm check out, after which we were taken to the airport and the journey home.
A great final day in a wonderful country.
Matt
