Today was arguably the most important day of our entire itinerary here in southern Ecuador. The reserve Tapichalaca is home to the Jocotoco Antpitta, a spectacular species only discovered in the last decades. Since then, a local pair have been trained to come to worms, and as such the species is easy to see now. Only a few unlucky tourists fail to see the species, and we were hoping to not be among that number.
Having arrived the previous night, we stayed within the
reserve lodge itself, keeping our visit to the reserve as streamlined as
possible. At around 07:30, after breakfast, the ranger, Franco, took us to the
feeding station. We had expected the feeder to be very near to the lodge, but
instead we walked for half an hour through the forest, in early morning fog and
persistent rain. Not ideal conditions to be starting with.
Once we arrived at the feeder, the waiting began. And then
quickly ended, as the Jocotoco appeared in almost no time at all. Over the
course of the next hour and a half the pair visited multiple times, although
never together, and we were afforded outstanding views. The light was tricky at
first, and the relentless rain made it far from pleasant birding, but the bird
itself was so excellent that all of these issues were forgotten about.
After the worms had all been devoured by the Antpitta pair,
we tried to head out birding but the weather was so challenging that we
eventually ended up back at the lodge with very little to show for our effort.
The lodge hummingbird feeders were impressive though, with Chestnut-breasted
Coronet, Amethyst-throated Sunangel and Flame-throated Sunangel all being new species
for me, with the latter being quite range-restricted and good to connect with.
In the afternoon the rain eased off. After a successful
drive down the hill to pick up Chestnut-crested Cotinga in the fog, we once again
headed out on the trail. We had some much-improved luck here, with excellent
views of two different Chusquea Tapaculos, a new species for the collection, as
well as outrageous views of a Blackish Tapaculo, perching right next to us on
the path, albeit briefly. There was also a nice Equatorial Antpitta as well,
which was not particularly confiding but certainly enjoyable to watch and hear
singing.
Although a frustrating morning weather-wise, not bird-wise,
we were able to make the most of it and ended up with almost all the species we
had hoped to see on-site, including the Jocotoco Antpitta, my most wanted bird
for the trip and another bird seen from the bucket-list. After our afternoon
walk we headed an hour north, to be ready to go for our next location the
following day.
Reserva Tapichalaca: Bearded Guan, Band-tailed Pigeon, White-throated Quail-Dove, Amethyst-throated Sunangel, Flame-throated Sunangel, Speckled Hummingbird, Collared Inca, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Turkey Vulture, Golden-plumed Parakeet, Jocotoco Antpitta, Equatorial Antpitta, Blackish Tapaculo, Chusquea Tapaculo, Pearled Treerunner, Azara's Spinetail, Green-and-black Fruiteater, Barred Fruiteater, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Streak-necked Flycatcher, Black-throated Tody-Tyrant, Cinnamon Flycatcher, White-tailed Tyrannulet, Black-capped Tyrannulet, Rufous-tailed Tyrant, Smoky Bush Tyrant, Yellow-bellied Chat-Tyrant, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Blue-and-white Swallow, Plain-tailed Wren, Rufous Wren, Great Thrush, Glossy-black Thrush, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Brushfinch, Citrine Warbler, Spectacled Whitestart, Black-capped Hemispingus, Grass-green Tanager, Lacrimose Mountain Tanager, Golden-crowned Tanager, Silver-backed Tanager, Blue-necked Tanager, Blue-and-black Tanager, Bluish Flowerpiercer, Masked Flowerpiercer, Grey-hooded Bush Tanager,
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