ovenbird43
Well-known member
I'm currently at Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Amazonian Ecuador, working on a dissertation project on Wedge-billed Woodcreepers and mixed-species understory flocks. I've been here 5 weeks, with 3 more to go. What an amazing place! But there is more to it- I got married in late December, and since I was going to be flying down to Ecuador for field work anyway, we decided to spend our honeymoon in this beautiful country. So, for the two weeks prior to my arrival in the Amazon we traveled around the country visiting a number of different places in the Andes. It was a blast- although I have to say that it was rather heart-wrenching to say good bye to my husband for two months so soon after our marriage and after such a great trip together- the day he left, not even the Sword-billed Hummingbirds at Guango Lodge could console me for long.
Since there's so much to tell, I don't know yet how I'm going to do this- I may just give current updates on Tiputini as time, energy, and internet connection allows, and when I return home go back and tell all about the honeymoon.... we'll see. For now, here's a little bit about Tiputini and some of the birds I've seen here:
This station is located on the Tiputini River, a small tributary of the Napo, itself a major tributary of the Amazon. The rainforest here has received minimal impact from humans and is for the most part as pristine as can be, and in the absence of hunting a lot of the larger birds and mammals are relatively common and unwary. The banks of the Tiputini are steep, and so most of the area is terra firme forest unaffected by flooding, although there are a few narrow strips of varzea (and associated birds). There is a canopy tower and a lagoon, providing more good birding opportunities- a number of Hoatzin reside at the lagoon.
A few of the common birds here, often seen or heard right from the station grounds:
Salvin's Curassow
White-throated Toucan
Mealy Parrot
Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl
Fork-tailed Woodnymph
Wedge-billed Woodcreeper - and other typical mixed-flock species
Warbling Antbird
Gray Antbird
Black-faced Antthrush
Thrush-like Antpitta
Blue-crowned Manakin
Orange-bellied Euphonia
well that's just a smattering of them... here are a few of the rarer species that I've been fortunate enough to see, that I've seen no more than once or twice so far:
Lined Forest-Falcon
Mottled Owl (supposedly rare in these parts, but I've flushed 3 different ones)
Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo
Ruddy Spinetail
Reddish-winged Bare-eye
Black Bushbird
Lunulated Antbird
Black-necked Red Cotinga
More later!B
(<--- no beer here though, bummer.)
Since there's so much to tell, I don't know yet how I'm going to do this- I may just give current updates on Tiputini as time, energy, and internet connection allows, and when I return home go back and tell all about the honeymoon.... we'll see. For now, here's a little bit about Tiputini and some of the birds I've seen here:
This station is located on the Tiputini River, a small tributary of the Napo, itself a major tributary of the Amazon. The rainforest here has received minimal impact from humans and is for the most part as pristine as can be, and in the absence of hunting a lot of the larger birds and mammals are relatively common and unwary. The banks of the Tiputini are steep, and so most of the area is terra firme forest unaffected by flooding, although there are a few narrow strips of varzea (and associated birds). There is a canopy tower and a lagoon, providing more good birding opportunities- a number of Hoatzin reside at the lagoon.
A few of the common birds here, often seen or heard right from the station grounds:
Salvin's Curassow
White-throated Toucan
Mealy Parrot
Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl
Fork-tailed Woodnymph
Wedge-billed Woodcreeper - and other typical mixed-flock species
Warbling Antbird
Gray Antbird
Black-faced Antthrush
Thrush-like Antpitta
Blue-crowned Manakin
Orange-bellied Euphonia
well that's just a smattering of them... here are a few of the rarer species that I've been fortunate enough to see, that I've seen no more than once or twice so far:
Lined Forest-Falcon
Mottled Owl (supposedly rare in these parts, but I've flushed 3 different ones)
Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo
Ruddy Spinetail
Reddish-winged Bare-eye
Black Bushbird
Lunulated Antbird
Black-necked Red Cotinga
More later!B
(<--- no beer here though, bummer.)
