Our final day in Ecuador was mainly spent in the hotel in Guayaquil before we headed back home. In terms of birds, we had a confiding Ecuadorian Ground Dove in the airport car park, and a Great-tailed Grackle in the same area was a trip-tick, so that was something at least.
However, the most exciting event of the day happened early in the morning, when we were awoken at 12:30 by the room violently shaking. Although it was quite apparent what was happening, it took a second to realise that I was living through my first-ever earthquake. After about 20 seconds it passed, and once the adrenaline had worn off we were able to get back to sleep. A check of the news in the morning showed that it had been an Mw5.3 strength, with the epicenter a few kilometers to the south of the city.
And that final piece of action sees our trip round the south of Ecuador end. In total we recorded 444 species, which was better than we could have hoped, given we were only in the area for less than three weeks. It just goes to demonstrate the immense diversity on offer in tropical South America.
Guayaquil: Feral Pigeon, Ecuadorian Ground Dove, Eared Dove, Grey-cheeked Parakeet, Tropical Kingbird, Grey-breasted Martin, Scrub Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Blue-grey Tanager,
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