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A TROPICAL BIRDING custom tour
Eastern
Ecuador:
Andes to
Amazon
24th March - 8th April 2007
 Gareno Lodge's undisputed star bird has been this 'young' HARPY EAGLE, that at 11 months old here is looking more like an adult than ever before. |
 However, even at this age the bird still returns to the nesting tree, roosting there and begging to be fed while we were there, proving it is still a youngster after all. |
 Without a doubt one of the most magnificent raptors in the world, that was universally acclaimed as the BIRD OF THE TRIP. |
Leaders:
Sam Woods, Nick Athanas, and Oscar Tapuy at Sacha
Participants: Mike Inskip, Graham Mant, Bob Edwards and Steve Taylor
All photos in this report by Sam Woods/Tropical Birding
Ecuador has such
an abundance of birds, magnificent mountain scenery and great birding lodges
(quite literally some of the best in the world), that it is no surprise
it is frequently talked about as the top birding country in the World. Maybe
I am biased as I live there, but for me there are few countries that come
close in terms of varied birding experiences, spectacular birds, breathtaking
scenery and superb facilities. For this reason many, many birders from the
very dedicated listers to casual birders return again and again to this
small, bird-packed Andean country. Graham and the gang were just such a
group. They had been to Ecuador before, loved their first taste of the Andes
in the northwest Choco region around Tandayapa Bird Lodge, and vowed to
return. So we put together a very different package of birding for them,
this time concentrating on the markedly different eastern side of the Andes
and combining this with an unforgettable taste of the Amazon. Their varied
Amazon experience included visiting first a small scale lodge, Gareno, that
has shot to birding fame for having a bunch of hard-to-see Amazon birds
that are reliable and (dare I say) easy at times there - with such rare
Amazon treats as Pavonine Quetzal, Fiery Topaz, nesting Harpy
Eagles and several staked out Rufous Potoos to name a few (all
recorded on the tour). However, with no disrespect to Gareno, that is still
very much a developing lodge, no Amazon trip would be complete without a
visit to one of the upmarket lodges along the banks of the Napo. Sacha Lodge
has fast become established as the birding lodge on the Napo, having
some of the very best birding guides, not to mention superb facilities,
including their 'flagship' canopy walkway, that rates amongst the very
best canopy birding experiences on the planet. The trip went very well with
some very cool high Andean birding around Papallacta where the Rufous-bellied
Seedsnipes, Masked Mountain-Tanagers and Giant Conebills performed
brilliantly; lower down the east slope a pair of rare Andean Potoos
put on a great nightshow around the Guacamayos Ridge; while at San Isidro
their very own set of 'tamed' antpittas - including the usually elusive
White-bellied Antpitta showed well, while down in the sticky jungles
of the Amazon highlights included a frenzied antswarm at Gareno that held
the fantastic Hairy-crested Antbird along with the other aforementioned
Gareno star birds; and Sacha was as amazing as ever, with perhaps the trio
of rare crakes being the highlight as we enjoyed rare views of Rufous-sided
Crake, Black-banded Crake and Chestnut-headed Crake. The
group had all stated a very keen interest in nightbirds so at the end of
the tour we racked up 4 species of potoo - a few Common Potoos (including
a roosting bird, and a calling bird at night), one gently rocking roosting
Rufous Potoo doing a great impersonation of a dead leaf, and Great
Potoo greeted us initially on arrival by the car park at Gareno and
later a very sandy individual one was found sleeping during the day above
our canoe as we gently passed underneath, although the pair of Andean
Potoos that performed superbly around the Cordillera de Guacamayos was
the undoubted rarity of the bunch; along with that were a few owls thrown
in for good measure including both Crested Owl and Tawny-bellied
Screech-Owls at known roost sites and a cooperativeSpectacled Owl
around the lodge at Gareno, and of course the infamous 'Mystery Owl'
at San Isidro.
PAPALLACTA
(Paramo grasslands, elfin woodland and polylepis groves around 3800 - 4200m
elevation) 25th March
As well as the superb mountain scenery some of the highlights here included
a pair of Giant Conebills creeping up the flaky red bark of their
favored polylepis trees; a group of three Masked Mountain-Tanagers
in an area of rare Elfin woodland right up near the tree line; and a pair
of grouse-like Rufous-bellied Seedsnipes at the highest point of
the tour shuffling about in amongst the jade-green cushion moss in amongst
the clouds, at almost 15,000 feet. As we emerged out of the polylepis
woodland we checked out a hidden lagoon that held Silvery Grebes, Andean
(Ruddy) Ducks and Andean Gull. Other highlights included the impressive
Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle flying low over us; Red-crested Cotinga and White-chinned Thistletail.
GUANGO
(Andean upper subtropical forest around 2600m elevation) 25th - 26th
March
Guango is rightly famous for being a quaint lodge set in amongst good
subtropical forest, but more so for having some of the most exciting hummer
feeders in all of Ecuador. The usual fantastic suspects were all there including
the ridiculous Sword-billed Hummingbird, the gorgeous Long-tailed
Sylph and Tourmaline Sunangel (a species that is confined to
the eastern slope of the Andes); in addition to some scarcer species like Gorgeted Woodstar. While walking among
the bromeliad laden, wet mossy trees on the trails we came across a superb
Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan which completed a nice brace of this
purely Andean genus of toucans with the fine Black-billed Mountain-Toucan
seen later on the tour on the Guacamayos Ridge, during our final birding
on the Andean leg of the tour. The cool montane forest at Guango was lively
in our time there, holding three species of Brush-finch - Stripe-headed,
Slaty and Pale-headed Brush-finches all being seen there, the latter
two species being east Andean slope specialties; and a couple of cool high-Andean
tanagers in the mixed feeding flocks, with both Lacrimose and Buff-breasted
Mountain-Tanagers being found in these.
SAN ISIDRO and the GUACAMAYOS RIDGE (Andean subtropical forest. Between
2000m to 2300m elevation) 27th and 29th March
San Isidro has caught onto to the good thing that Angel Paz 'pioneered'
first in the western Andes with Giant & Yellow-breasted Antpittas, by
learning to 'tame' their very own set of special antpittas, that showed
brilliantly for us in our time there, with both Chestnut-crowned Antpitta
and the, normally shy, White-bellied Antpitta giving repeated, stunningly
close views. In some of those infamous frantic Andean mixed feeding flocks
we came across the interestingly-named Oleaginous Hemispingus and
the breathtaking Saffron-crowned Tanager, in addition to a scarce
tyrranid, Rufous-breasted Flycatcher a localized species that has
San Isidro as one of its strongholds. Other cool species around the bamboo-choked
subtropical forests of San Isidro included Emerald (Andean) Toucanet
and Highland Motmot. A night excursion to a high ridge of subtropical
forest produced the hoped-for Andean Potoo, although we were even
happier to find not one but a pair of these very local birds hawking insects
in our spotlights. This was to be the first of four species of Potoo found
on the tour, with three species of these seen at day roosts in the Amazon.
The Guacamayos Ridge also provided a scarce thrush in the form of Chesnut-bellied
Thrush; and another very flashy toucan, with another of the purely Andean
mountain toucans, this time Black-billed Mountain-Toucan, that leaves
the group with just a single Peruvian species to complete the set as they
had already seen the mind-blowing Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan with me in
the Choco region of Ecuador in 2005.
LORETO
ROAD (Andean foothill forest. Around 1100m elevation) 28th March
The foothill forest patches along the famed birding area of the Loreto Road
continues to undergo rapid deforestation and road development making the
birding there increasingly more challenging. However, if you persevere the
rewards are worth it. We found some really local species there, including
the foothill bamboo specialist - Bamboo (Crested) Foliage-gleaner
and the seriously smart-looking Golden-winged Tody-Flycatcher, every
bit as flashy as the name suggests. Checking out their usual cliffs turned
up over half a dozen noisy Cliff Flycatchers (a highly localized
species in Ecuador); while the forest in the same area also provided the
only sighting of some pale orange Andean Cock-of-the-rocks of the
tour, here looking very different to the much deeper red west slope form
the group had seen before at Tandayapa. The Loreto Road pulled in the first
of 6 species of Jacamar for the tour, with a lone Coppery-chested Jacamar,
an east slope foothill specialist. Other good birds included a pair of
'playful' White-capped Dippers hopping around some rocks along
the scenic Rio Hollin; a Black-billed Treehunter, another bird special
to the Andean foothills; Yellow-cheeked Becard; Dusky Spinetail
and a rare Loreto sighting of Rufous-tailed Tyrant. However bird
of the day was found on a stop on the way back in some low subtropical forest,
where a roadside flock held a small group of dazzling Vermilion Tanagers.
A shocking red tanager, that is a tough bird to find, as it always seems
to occur at low densities that is further compounded by the fact that some
of the best areas for them have been cleared in recent years.
 YELLOW-BILLED JACAMAR Gareno Lodge |
 PIED PUFFBIRD Sacha Lodge |
GARENO
LODGE (Amazon lowland terra firme forest) 29th March - 2nd April
The drive into Gareno Lodge provides a rare opportunity for roadside
Amazon birding, with many distractions along the way. Dotted along the route
in are a number of large stands of Mauritia palms, a generally depauperate
habitat with few birds. However, it is a specialist habitat for a scarce
and local furnariid or ovenbird - the striking, highly-desired Point-tailed
Palmcreeper. After drawing a blank at the first few stands we tried
the best area for them and sure enough after a little strategic use of playback,
a single bird came wheeling in from the back of the grove, landed on the
nearest palm where it stayed to be joined by another where they remained
until frankly we were bored with them and moved onto other birds! They were
still loafing around on the top of the palm when we left. Picking up some
of the commoner Amazon birds en-route caused some delay, because as newcomers
to the diversity of the Amazon, everyone was getting a load of new birds.
And so it was we arrived at the lodge in darkness to be greeted first by
our hosts and then a Great Potoo perched very conveniently by the
car park. Over the next few days we set about seeing some of the Amazonian
birds that separate Gareno from some of the other more famous birding lodges.
One such bird is the world's largest, most powerful eagle, as Harpy Eagle
is a rare sight throughout much of Ecuador and is only regularly seen
at Gareno. This is due to the fact that they have found several nest in
the area in recent years, meaning they often have a good staked out viewing
area for this great raptor. Even now, with the chick approaching 11 months
old, it continues to hang around the nesting tree (all be it a little more
intermittently than when less mobile), and can even be seen loafing around
in it and even begging loudly for food on occasions. As it was when we were
there. We spent a very, very enjoyable lunch with the young Harpy Eagle
looming large in the tree right above us the whole time, occasionally drawing
further attention to itself (if that is really possible for an eagle of
this size perched fully in the open!), with its shrill begging cries. There
and then people were voting it bird of the trip and so it remained, for
despite a good bag of other birds it really is hard to convey what an awesome
sight this powerful eagle is, until you first clap eyes on one. They really
do deserve all the hype. Aside from this raptor we also picked up the really
impressive Ornate Hawk-Eagle, as we chased after its high-pitched
cries, only to find it nicely teed up for the scope, for as long as we wanted
it. Seeing this in the same day as the Harpy was pretty incredible, as few
would disagree these two top the list of the most-wanted neotropical raptors.
Gareno is a strange lodge in that it differs in missing a bunch of species
that other Amazon lodges have, but makes up for this with some very rarely
encountered birds elsewhere occurring on its network of trails. Right near
the lodge they have several staked out roosting Rufous Potoos, so that they
are almost unmissable at Gareno, because if you fail at one site the local
guides simply check one of the others until they find one. This is precisely
what happened on our first try where the expected bird had taken a leave
of absence that day. On informing one of the local guides that we had missed
this key species when we returned to the lodge, a very perturbed Pedro headed
off on a mission into some nearby forest. We stuck to our plan and went
birding on a trail close to the lodge, picking up an extremely handsome
pair of Red-necked Woodpeckers (one of a bunch of really cool woodpeckers
seen in the Amazon, and scarce species in Ecuador being really difficult
at most of the other Amazon lodges), and even when the shout of 'Potoo'
went up - coming from the direction where Pedro had so steadfastly headed
- I decided we should wait until after lunch (much to the dismay of the
group I am sure who were chomping at the bit for this rare nightbird). The
worries were unfounded as a post-lunch jaunt into some very near forest
found us eyeball-to-eyeball with a gently rocking rusty-colored Rufous
Potoo, doing a great impersonation of a dead leaf, with the white dots
doubling up as holes in the leaf.
 COMMON POTOO Sacha Lodge Just one of four Potoo species seen on the tour, including three species like this one at day roosts. Pick of the bunch probably went to the pair of localized Andean Potoos near the Guacamayos. |
 ANDEAN POTOO Guacamayos Ridge Always a tough find, this bird has been surprisingly reliable of late, often being found hawking insects from the very same perch night after night. There has never been a better time for this rare and local Andean species. |
 RUFOUS POTOO Gareno Lodge Just one of the three individuals they regularly have staked out there. This rare nightbird is a surefire target at Gareno, where they seem to be reliably easy very close to the lodge itself. |
The trails around gareno found us looking at a number of local specialties for this part of the Amazon, that were key species in our time there. Not least among these was a fine emerald-and-scarlet Pavonine Quetzal, a bird that seems to be hard-to-come-by throughout most of its patchy range in the Amazon; a very uncharacteristically showy Hairy-crested Antbird, that just sat motionless in full view on the edge of a very busy antswarm during a bout of heavy rain that stopped the frenzied feeding activity for a while. The same antswarm held some of the regular fare like Bicolored, Scaled and Sooty Antbirds, and a bunch of mind-blowingWhite-plumed Antbirds, in addition to a very rare sighting of a single female Chestnut-tailed Antbird that came in and fed at the edge of the swarm just when the center of activity was in a conveniently large open area, allowing great views of many of the attending species. Unfortunately despite hearing it on several occasions the Reddish-winged Bare-eye never really gave us the long looks we were after, coming in several times and only allowing one brief, good close view in several, separate encounters with the species. Another key Gareno species is a truly spectacular hummer, Fiery Topaz, that even there only occurs for a short period when certain trees are in bloom. Luckily for us we hit just the right time for them and went straight to a flowering tree where we had a good scope views of a superb, scarlet male bird perched up. Other notable birds at Gareno included another rare 'pecker, with White-throated Woodpecker; several Black-bellied Cuckoos; a couple of Black-faced Antthrushes watched walking 'chicken-fashion' across the trails on several occasions; a very close singing Wing-banded Wren; several sightings of Chestnut-winged Foliage-gleaners; we continued our good run on Jacamars with Great, White-eared and Yellow-billed Jacamars seen in the Gareno area, as well as a whole bunch of roadside Brown Jacamars; the road birding also provided a scarce tanager in the form of a flashy male Fulvous-crested Tanager; and a single Spectacled Owl watched calling by our cabins. One of the joys of the Amazon is having a shot at getting some species roosting whether they be nightbirds during the day or diurnal birds at night and both Sacha and Gareno performed well in this regard, where (aside from the aforementioned Rufous Potoo), we also had a fantastic pair of Crested Owls, always comical with their strange, hugely oversized white eyebrows, and a pair of Creme-colored Woodpeckers roosted nightly in a tiny tree by our cabins at night.
 GREAT TINAMOU Sacha Lodge Another roosting bird found in the Amazon, along with Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl, Crested Owl, Rufous, Great and Common Potoos, Marbled Wood-Quail and Gray-winged Trumpeter. |
 TAWNY-BELLIED SCREECH-OWL Sacha Lodge Enjoyed on several days, conveniently roosting right near our cabins. Just one of many roosting birds seen in the Amazon both at Gareno and Sacha. |
SACHA
LODGE (Amazon lowland varzea and terra firme forest with blackwater
creeks and lakes) 3rd - 7th April
Our boat transfer to Sacha was rewarding with Pied Plover and
Collared Plover seen on the shore shortly before boarding our boat
at Casa del Suisse, and on the journey to Coca a Black Skimmer was
watched loafing on a sand bar, while on the journey between Coca and Sacha
a day-roosting, bankside Ladder-tailed Nightjar (found by the eagle-eyed
Oscar) continued the classic Amazonian theme of picking up many birds easily
at regularly known roosting sites. Soon after arriving at Sacha the low
lakeside bushes and scrub provided us with one of the classic Amazonian
species - the prehistoric and distinctly clumsy looking Hoatzins. A climb
onto a purpose-built platform in the canopy of a huge fruiting Kapok tree
got us a bunch of cool canopy species including Golden-collared Toucanet,
White-throated Toucan, Many-banded Aracari, Black-tailed Trogon, Bare-necked
Fruitcrow, Slender-billed Kite; in addition to a fantastic pair of huge
Scarlet Macaws that sailed past us at close range; while a lazy troop
of Red Howler Monkeys were also found hanging out in the treetops.
The blackwater creeks provided one of the tour highlights for the gentle
tranquility of being paddled peacefully along this scenic creek surrounded
by open varzea forest, as much as for the birds, although Silvered Antbird,
Plumbeous Antbird and Dot-backed Antbird and Rufous-tailed
Flatbill provided some avian excitement along there. While up on the
canopy walkway we were just surrounded by great birds, from Pied and
White-necked Puffbirds to White-browed Purpletufts, and Plum-throated
and Spangled Cotingas; the incredible Long-billed Woodcreeper;
to White and Slate-colored Hawks and a single Moriche Oriole.
The damp marshy areas provided some of the best birding with three scarce
crakes all seen remarkably well giving unusually good, prolonged views -
Rufous-sided Crake close to the lodge and in one incredible spot
beside a quiet creek we went after, and found, both Chestnut-headed and
Black-banded Crakes, both in the same incredible spot. Some 'trail-bashing'
was required for those interior forest species and we found some really
cool ones, not least a superb Chestnut-belted Gnateater perched low
in the jungle understory, several striking male Wire-tailed Manakins,
along with an inconspicuous Striated Antthrush that was found quietly
perched on a rotting log in amongst the leaf litter, where it remained so
that we could line the scope up on it and soak it up fully. Perhaps best
of all though was saved for our final night, when Oscar announced that another
guide had found a roosting Gray-winged Trumpeter, and asked if we
would like to see it - after no debate whatsoever we all got geared up and
headed out again after dinner. There was a little period of panic when the
guide who had found the bird seemed to be struggling to re-find it, and
murmurs in Spanish of it's moved were a little worrying to say the least.
However, one glance at Oscar and all nerves were calmed. He was not perturbed
in the slightest and continued to search with such quiet confidence I began
to relax and I was then completely unsurpised when he calmly ushered us
over, so that we could all enjoy superb views of this rarely seen denizen
of the forest floor. A new species, and more importantly family,
for all the group. Indeed roosting birds were a real boon again at Sacha,
as they had been at Gareno, where the local guides like Oscar seem to have
supernatural talents in finding some really difficult birds roosting when
amazing views can be enjoyed with minimum effort. While at Sacha we had
great views of a roosting pair of Marbled Wood-Quails, a single
roosting Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl that was available on most days
, Great Tinamou, and Great and Common Potoos to add to the aforementioned
'top' Trumpeter.
 CINCINNAMON-THROATED WOODCREEPER Sacha canopy walkway |
 WHITE-THROATED TOUCAN Sacha canopy walkway |
|
BIRD LIST The taxonomy and nomenclature of this list follow: Ridgely, Robert & Greenfield, Paul. The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. 2001. Ithica, NY: Comstock Publishing. All
species listed were recorded by at least one person, and where that
was only the guide only this is indicated by the letters 'GO'. I have written notes alongside selective species of interest. TINAMOUS
Tinamidae |