Ecuador; Day 12 - Reserva Maycu

 For our final day in Maycu we decided to hike to the top of the Tepui on the peruvian border. Although there were many species throughout the forest we had failed to connect with, we thought it would be a nice opportunity to explore another area of the forest, see some different habitats and hopefully some different birds. The top of the Tepui is home to the very range-restricted Royal Sunangel, and while this species is easier to find in Peru, we decided to give it a go here.

And we failed miserably to find the bird. The trail up the mountain was a freehand scramble in places, and we were left utterly exhausted by the whole adventure. In the end we failed to find the hummingbird, or any birds for that matter, with just Tropical Kingbird and Cliff Flycatcher showing on the top. We did have brief views of Chestnut-bellied Thrush, but this was our only new bird on the summit of the mountain. Although the views of the forest were stunning, it was still sad to see the extent of the devastation caused by the gold-mining operations taking place along the river.

Fortuantely the morning was not a complete loss, as the first kilometre of the trail went through the lower area of the forest, and here we had a little more success. The highlight was a very confiding pair of Northern Chestnut-tailed Antbirds, an antbird lifer for both us, with myself also having two other new species of Antbird; White-browed Antbird and Black-faced Antbird. We also had another encounter with the Musician Wren from the previous day, as well as a few other goodies; Ecuadorian Piedtail, Coraya Wren and Striolated Manakin all being new for me.

We arrived back just after lunchtime, utterly exhausted. Consequently, we spent the first half of the afternoon recovering, taking a nap, shower and having a bite to eat, before we drove the two-and-a-half-hour dirt road to our next location, the small town of Zarza. This was a change in our plan, as we had initially planned to visit the town of Paquisha, but recent gang violence meant it was probably not worth the risk involved, especially as almost all the species are the same in the Zarza area. 

-Ecuadorian Piedtail

-Black-faced Antbird

-White-browed Antbird

-Northern Chestnut-tailed Antbird

-Cliff Flycatcher

-Striolated Manakin

-Laothus viridicans

-Calycopis cyanus

-Catoblepia berecynthia

Species List:
Reserva Maycu: Plumbeous Pigeon, Squirrel Cuckoo, Ecuadorian Piedtail, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Black Vulture, Green-backed Trogon, Gilded Barbet, Channel-billed Toucan, Plain-winged Antshrike, White-flanked Antwren, White-browed Antbird, Black-faced Antbird, Northern Chestnut-tailed Antbird, Thrush-like Antpitta, Striolated Manakin, White-crowned Manakin, Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, Cliff Flycatcher, Ornate Flycatcher, Euler's Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed Tyrant, Tropical Kingbird, Blue-and-white Swallow, Coraya Wren, White-breasted Wood Wren, Musician Wren, Chestnut-bellied Thrush, Orange-bellied Euphonia, Blue-necked Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager, Bananaquit,