Ecuador; Day 8 - Reserva Tapichalaca

 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

-Jocotoco Antpitta

-Equatorial Antpitta

-Chusquea Tapaculo

-Blackish Tapaculo

-Flame-throated Sunangel

-Chestnut-breasted Coronet

-Amethyst-throated Sunangel

-Barred Fruiteater

-White-throated Quail-Dove

-Chestnut-crested Cotinga

-Golden-plumed Parakeet

Species List:
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, 

Ecuador; Day 7 - Sozoranga & Reserva Utuana

 Today was a full on and very busy day. When leaving Jorupe the previous day, we had spoken with Leo, the reserve manager and he had offered to come with us to our next Jocotoco reserve, Utuana. He offered to take us to a few locations along the way for species that we were missing, all free of charge. We were stunned at the offer and immediately took him up on it.

So we started at 06:00 collecting Leo from the entrance gate of Jorupe, before driving half an hour to Sozoranga, where we headed to the road to El Tundo, the very same we had visited just the previous day. However, with Leos knowledge, this time we were more successful, and quickly found a pair of Slaty Brushfinch, followed by a bird that we both really wanted to see; the Elegant Crescentchest. Initially it made us work, calling only from deep in the ravine we were overlooking, but after some time it helpfully came up and showed exceptionally well.

On the journey between Sozoranga and Utuana we had a few other stops. A thicket of bamboo on the roadside did not provide many of the species we hoped for, but it did give us the range restricted Black-cowled Saltator. Another stop for Black-crested Tit-Tyrant did not produce the goods while we were with Leo, but when we returned around lunchtime we got fantastic views of this absolutely stunning bird. At this location there was also Green-tailed Trainbearer. And then, just before the reserve we had good views of Jelskis Chat Tyrant. All of these species have restricted ranges, and all are strikingly beautiful.

Once into Utuana reserve itself, we headed straight for the hummingbird feeders. Almost immediately we had both Purple-throated Sunangel and the dazzling Rainbow Starfrontlet. The Sunangel performed excellently, but the Starfrontlet refused to perch in the open when not visiting one of the feeders. This was not helped by the strong sunlight, which made photography an absolute nightmare. However, after a walk around we returned to the feeders at midday, and the afternoon cloud cover had begun to roll in, improving the light conditions greatly. At the same time, we managed to find a few Starfrontlets that perched more conspicuously, so we did manage some nice shots in the end.

Our walk around the reserve was also very productive, although punctuated by bursts of thick fog. We found both Chapman’s Antshrike and Grey-headed Antbird, but neither performed well for us. Red-crested Cotinga was also a nice bird to spot, but it was extremely distant, even more so than when I had seen it before it Colombia.

We finally left the site at 14:00, ready for the four-hour drive to Tapichala, our next destination. The drive was smooth, but a brief stop for a few arid species failed to yield our targets. A Comb Duck flying up the river there was the best we managed. We finally arrived at our destination at 18:30, just as the last of the light vanished. A wander around looking for owls only produced heard only White-throated Screech-Owl. 

-Elegant Crescentchest

-Rainbow Starfrontlet

-Purple-throated Sunangel

-Green-tailed Trainbearer

-Black-crested Tit-Tyrant

-Bay-crowned Brushfinch

-Jelski's Chat-Tyrant

Species List:
Sozoranga: Pale-browed Tinamou, Striped Cuckoo, Amazilia Hummingbird, Elegant Crescentchest, Chestnut-crowned Antpitta, Loja Tyrannulet, Tropical Kingbird, House Wren, Great Thrush, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Bay-crowned Brushfinch,
Reserva Utuana: Band-tailed Pigeon, Sparkling Violetear, Lesser Violetear, Purple-throated Sunangel, Speckled Hummingbird, Green-tailed Trainbearer, Rainbow Starfrontlet, Black Vulture, Roadside Hawk, White-rumped Hawk, Chapman's Antshrike, Grey-headed Antbird, Blackish Tapaculo, Montane Woodcreeper, Streaked Xenops, Pacific Hornero, Line-cheeked Spinetail, Azara's Spinetail, Red-crested Cotinga, White-banded Tyrannulet, Black-crested Tit-Tyrant, White-crested Elaenia, Jelski's Chat-Tyrant, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Swallow, Great Thrush, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Black-crested Warbler, Slate-throated Whitestart, Blue-capped Tanager, Silver-backed Tanager, White-sided Flowerpiercer, Masked Flowerpiercer, Black-cowled Saltator, 

Ecuador; Day 6 - Reserva Jorupe & El Tundo

 We had one more full day in Jorupe and, by extension, the Tumbes forest. This time though we had access to the reserve arrange for 06:00 in the morning, and we hoped this early start would give us an advantage when trying to find our few remaining targets. However, the morning was foggy and hazy, which meant too much low-light in the forest for real birding, so we spent the first hour and a half in the lodge garden, admiring the species that came to visit. And we had a lot of fun with them as well. Yellow-tailed Oriole was one of the species we failed to find the previous day, but now was drinking on the hummingbird feeder, and later in the morning, the garden also produced excellent views of the Guayaquil Squirrel, an impressive beast lumbering about the treetops, and another regional endemic to boot.

Our key target was to get better views of the Watkins Antpitta, now we knew exactly where the bird was. Leo, the reserve manager, told us that at the moment most of the Antpittas are breeding, and that is why only a single bird was singing. Still, we gave it another go and we were afforded more of the same; brief and obscured views with very limited time actually seeing the bird, but far too much time hearing it. Another frustrating encounter, but alleviated somewhat by the other birds in the area, including brief views of another Pale-browed Tinamou, many Whooping Motmot and another lifer with Blackish-headed Spinetail.

Come lunchtime we had given the reserve another good walk around, with just a few other birds added to our trip list; the localised Slaty Becard being the only new world tick for me. So in the afternoon we headed to another site called El Tundo, near the town of Sozoranga. We knew a little about this site, but not too much and we failed to find many of the key species there, not helped by the foggy conditions. However, we still had good views of Pacific Blackish Tapaculo, a subspecies Tapaculo tick, if not a full new species. There was also another lifer with Silvery Tanager, and other interesting birds, such as another Loja Tyrannulet. A pair of Bat Falcons on the road between the two sites was also an unexpected bonus.

After a few hours here, the fog finally defeated us and we decided to head back to Jorupe. On the way we spotted a small snake in the middle of the road. I pulled over immediately and we got out to have a look. The animal was clearly struggling to cross the smooth tarmac, and with a car oncoming I decided to give it a helping hand. How it happened, I don’t really know, but next thing I knew, the beast had sunk its teeth into me and would not let go. Helpfully, this did mean that I could carry it to the side of the road and safety, where it let go before slithering off into the grass. Fortunately, not a venomous species, or this encounter could have ended quite differently.

We finished the afternoon at Jorupe. The forests were still quiet so we spent some more time in the garden. With some encouragement, we finally had brilliant views of the Pale-browed Tinamou waddling across the footpaths in the garden. A fantastic end to a brilliant few days in the region. 

-El Tundo

-Pale-browed Tinamou

-Rufous-headed Chachalaca

-Bat Falcon

-[Pacific] Blackish Tapaculo

-Slaty Becard

-Loja Tyrannulet

-Silver-backed Tanager

-Scrub Blackbird

-Yellow-tailed Oriole

-Guayaquil Squirrel

-Fire-bellied Snake

-Rusty-tipped Page

-Black-patch Bluemark

Species List:
Reserva Jorupe: Pale-browed Tinamou, Rufous-headed Chachalaca, White-tipped Dove, Striped Cuckoo, Squirrel Cuckoo, Pauraque, Amazilia Hummingbird, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Swallow-tailed Kite, Ecuadorian Trogon, Whooping Motmot, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Laughing Falcon, Grey-cheeked Parakeet, Red-masked Parakeet, Collared Antshrike, Plain Antvireo, Watkins's Antpitta, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Streaked Xenops, Pacific Hornero, Rufous-necked Foliage-gleaner, Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner, Blackish-headed Spinetail, Slaty Becard, One-colored Becard, Grey-breasted Flycatcher, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Chivi Vireo, White-tailed Jay, White-browed Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Fasciated Wren, Ecuadorian Thrush, Plumbeous-backed Thrush, Thick-billed Euphonia, Black-capped Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Yellow-tailed Oriole, Scrub Blackbird, Tropical Parula, Grey-and-gold Warbler, Tooth-billed Tanager, Golden Grosbeak, Blue-grey Tanager, Streaked Saltator,
El Tundo: Rufous-headed Chachalaca, White-tipped Dove, Speckled Hummingbird, White-vented Plumeleteer, Black Vulture, Chestnut-crowned Antpitta, Blackish Tapaculo, Azara's Spinetail, Loja Tyrannulet, Rufous-collared Sparrow, White-winged Brushfinch, Slate-throated Whitestart, Tooth-billed Tanager, Fawn-breasted Tanager, Silver-backed Tanager,