Ecuador; Day 5 - Reserva Jorupe

 Today we visited our second of the Jocotoco reserves, the dry Tumbes forest of Jorupe. Although normally a dry scrubby environment, the timing of our trip meant that the forest was in full bloom, with many flowers and fruits on offer, as well as plenty of foliage to obscure difficult species. This in turn meant many of our target species would be more difficult, but we were excited none the less to continue exploring this new environment. We had booked to enter the reserve only at 08:00am, but this information had not been passed onto the site management, so we did not make it up the lodge grounds until 08:30, when a passing local opened the gate for us.

Once inside we started exploring the trails and the road around the lodge. The rest of the morning we birded uphill from the lodge, hearing but not seeing many of our target species and generally finding proceedings quite frustrating. We picked up many Gold-and-Grey Warblers, but other species were hard to come by. Ecuadorian Thrush was an unremarkable new species for us, but otherwise it was a composition of Tumbes species that we had encountered the previous day. On the road we had a little more success, but by now it was already late morning and quite warm. Still Pacific Elaenia was another nice, if not unspectacular lifer.

After a short break in the lodge garden, we headed out to track down our key target, the Watkins Antpitta. A single bird had been singing all morning, although the valley had been echoing the call and making it difficult to locate. We eventually tracked the bird down, but it was the most frustrating bird I have ever dealt with in my life. We crawled on hands and knees through the scrub to find its song-perches, but could never pick it up. In an hour of stalking the bird, both approaching and with limited use of playback, only I managed a glimpse of it, and only on two occasions. Fortunately we now know where the territory is located, and can try again in subsequent days.

For the rest of the afternoon we decided to bird the road. After a frustrating morning, with many target species still outstanding, we finally managed to make good progress on picking up our remaining Tumbes endemics. First we got landed the Henna-hooded Foliage-Gleaner, following by Rufous-necked Foliage-Gleaner, followed by Speckle-breasted Wren. Satisfied with our work, and it already being late afternoon, we wandered back to the lodge to head back to the hotel, when two White-tailed Jay flew over us, one of our most wanted species for the site. They perched well, allowing for excellent views of this stunning bird.

Despite our labours through most of the day, we managed to see a lot of the birds we wanted, and we have another full day tomorrow, with a refined list of targets to work on. After some cracking pizza and beer, we took our broken, mosquito-battered bodies to bed, ready for another long day. 

-Reserva Jorupe

-White-tailed Jay

-Red-masked Parakeet

-Ecuadorian Piculet

-Amazilla Hummingbird

-Scrub Blackbird

-Ecuadorian Trogon

-Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner

-Rufous-necked Foliage-gleaner

-Streak-headed Woodcreeper

-Collared Antshrike

-Pacific Hornero

-Ecuadorian Thrush

-Grey-and-gold Warbler

-Streaked Flycatcher

-Black Witch Moth

-Melanis leucophlegma

-Flamingo Leafwing

-Elzunia pavonii

Species List:
Reserva Jorupe: Pale-browed Tinamou, Rufous-headed Chachalaca, Blue Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, Striped Cuckoo, Squirrel Cuckoo, Amazilia Hummingbird, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Swallow-tailed Kite, Savanna Hawk, Pacific Pygmy Owl, Ecuadorian Trogon, Whooping Motmot, Ecuadorian Piculet, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Grey-cheeked Parakeet, Pacific Parrotlet, Red-masked Parakeet, Collared Antshrike, Plain Antvireo, Watkins's Antpitta, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Red-billed Scythebill, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Streaked Xenops, Pacific Hornero, Rufous-necked Foliage-gleaner, Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner, One-colored Becard, Yellow-olive Flatbill, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Pacific Elaenia, Grey-breasted Flycatcher, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, White-tailed Jay, White-browed Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Fasciated Wren, Speckle-breasted Wren, Ecuadorian Thrush, Plumbeous-backed Thrush, Thick-billed Euphonia, Black-capped Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Scrub Blackbird, Tropical Parula, Grey-and-gold Warbler, Tooth-billed Tanager, Golden Grosbeak, Blue-grey Tanager, Saffron Finch, Streaked Saltator, 

Ecuador; Day 4 - El Empalme & Sozoranga

 Having had our original plans for the day fall apart at the last moment, we spent today exploring the habitat in the south of Ecuador. Although we had two days reserved to explore the Tumbes, the extra day we had from not being able to go up the mountain afforded us some more time to explore other areas of this localised habitat, and we were able to use that to our advantage.

We spent the morning in an area called El Empalme, and while many of the species here are common Tumbes species, there are others that are not, specifically the White-headed Brushfinch which is more range-restricted and difficult to encounter than other species. The valley here is a stronghold for the species, especially in Ecuador, but they did not come easy. It took us a good three hours before we found our first pair, although the next pair followed quickly after. They showed well in the end, making all our effort worthwhile.

In exploring the area we also found a number of other good Tumbes species, many that we would encounter later at the next site, but others that we would not. The unspectacular Tumbes Hummingbird was a nice bonus species, although it only perched at a distance. It was good to see the Peruvian Pygmy Owl as well, which showed nicely during the morning. Other good birds we saw included Collared Antshrike, Pacific Parrotlet, Scrub Blackbird, Ecuadorian Piculet and Baird’s Flycatcher.

This habitat is much hotter and generally drier than other Andean environments, so by late morning we continued on our way, heading south to the town of Macara, which would be our base for the next few days. Here we ran a few errands, filling the car, withdrawing cash and stocking supplies. We also had a quick nap in the hotel we chose, which set us up nicely for the afternoon.

Because the main reserve in this area requires prior booking, we had quite limited options for where to bird during the afternoon. We decided to take the 40 minute drive to the town of Sozoranga, which is where we would be able to find Chestnut-collared Swallow, a regional endemic otherwise easily missed, and not really fitting into our itinerary at any other point. And this journey was well worth it, with fantastic views of the birds as the visited nests to feed chicks, with nestlings ranging from newly borns to almost fledgling. The structure of the nests themselves was spectacular, with fantastic entrances built out of clay.

For the rest of the afternoon we birded a dirt road not so far from the main reserve. During the late afternoon and early evening, we managed to round off a good numbers of commoner Tumbes species such as Ecuadorian Trogon, Unicolor Becard and Tumbes Pewee. Although not rare, as we heard them throughout, it was good to actually see a Pale-browed Tinamou, one of the key species we wanted to see during our time in this habitat. Since it was late evening we also decided to stay out after dark and try for the Peruvian Screech Owl, another endemic in the region. Since it is a screech owl, we hoped it would be easy to find, and we were not wrong. After dark we waited no more than ten minutes before and owl came and perched exceptionally well, rounding off another brilliant day birding. 

-El Empalme

-Pacific Pygmy Owl

-West Peruvian Screech Owl

-White-headed Brushfinch

-Fasciated Wren

-Golden Grosbeak

-Collared Antshrike

-Chestnut-collared Swallow

-Ecuadorian Trogon

-Grey-and-gold Warbler

-One-coloured Becard

-Saffron Siskin

-Plumbeous-backed Thrush

-Whooping Motmot

-White-browed Gnatcatcher

-Tumbes Hummingbird

-Long-tailed Mockingbird

Species List:
El Empalme: Croaking Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, Eared Dove, Tumbes Hummingbird, Amazilia Hummingbird, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Pacific Pygmy Owl, Ringed Kingfisher, Ecuadorian Piculet, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Pacific Parrotlet, Red-masked Parakeet, Collared Antshrike, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Pacific Hornero, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Baird's Flycatcher, White-browed Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Fasciated Wren, Long-tailed Mockingbird, Thick-billed Euphonia, White-headed Brushfinch, Scrub Blackbird, Golden Grosbeak, Blue-grey Tanager, Ash-breasted Sierra Finch, Saffron Finch,
Sozoranga: Feral Pigeon, Eared Dove, Striped Cuckoo, Turkey Vulture, Swallow-tailed Kite, Blue-and-white Swallow, Grey-breasted Martin, Chestnut-collared Swallow, House Wren, Great Thrush, Scrub Blackbird, Blue-grey Tanager,
Via Achima: Pale-browed Tinamou, Blue Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, Pauraque, Amazilia Hummingbird, Black Vulture, West Peruvian Screech Owl, Pacific Pygmy Owl, Ecuadorian Trogon, Whooping Motmot, Ecuadorian Piculet, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Laughing Falcon, Pacific Parrotlet, Red-masked Parakeet, Collared Antshrike, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, One-colored Becard, Tumbes Pewee, Chivi Vireo, White-browed Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Fasciated Wren, Plumbeous-backed Thrush, Thick-billed Euphonia, Saffron Siskin, Black-capped Sparrow, Tropical Parula, Grey-and-gold Warbler, Golden Grosbeak, Blue-grey Tanager, Blue-black Grassquit, Variable Seedeater, Streaked Saltator,