This would be our final full day in Ecuador, rounding off a trip that has been truly excellent. There have been some brilliant birds, and fortunately few misses on a busy itinerary that has taken us all around the south of this, really rather small, but incredibly diverse country. Our final destination was the site of Manglares Churutes, an area of coastal forest and mangroves and hour south of the city of Guayaguil. Initially we had not included this in our itinerary due to the target species here being difficult and that there were other species we would rather try to see. However, as we had gained time and species on our itinerary, we were able to make space to try our luck here.
We started the morning birding the forest trail, where people
look for the rare Pacific Royal Flycatcher. In our experience, outside the
breeding season, which we were, Royal Flycatcher species are very difficult to
locate, and as such we were not super optimisitic about our chances. However,
we were willing to do our best, and in addition hopefully gain other species
for our trip. We started extremely well, with good views of Black-headed Antthrush,
followed by fantastic views of Howler Monkeys, calling right above us. The male
even tried to poo and urinate, on us, with his bollocks hanging precariously
low, but fortunately he missed.
We had almost finished our loop on the trail when Lia
spotted something orange moving out of the corner of her eye. Immediately we put
on a tape for Royal Flycatcher, and the bird came charging out of the bushes at
us. It perched extremely well, but never for extended periods, so photos were initially
lacking before our immediate adrenaile wore off and we were able to finally get
some shots. The coverts of the bird seem hooked, so its likely this was a
juvenile, and perhaps explains why we were lucky enough to find this species so
out of season.
Buzzing from that, we next tried to mangrove boardwalk to find
some of the areas other targets. Frustratingly the tide was high, and the
chances of finding the birds we wanted were slim. As such we decided to bird
elsewhere and come back early afternoon when the time would be lower. This did
transpire, but we still failed to find any of our missing targets. That said,
we had a pair of very confiding Mangrove Yellow Warblers, which were a nice
bonus.
In between, we headed to an area of fields along the edge of
a large river not too far away. Here there were chances of some open country
birds, and we did indeed enjoy a few additional lifers; Peruvian Meadowlark,
Ecuadorian Ground Dove and Chestnut-throated Seedeater were all good birds to
see. But none of these were the highlight of our time there, as I finally got
to see Pied Plover, with a stunning pair roosting on a sandbank in the middle
of the river.
But even this was not the highlight. We had incredible views
of a pair of Striped Cuckoo perched extremely conspicuously right next to our
car. Although a common bird, to actually see a Striped Cuckoo is no mean feat,
and to see two is really quite special. But what happened next caught us both
completely off guard. The display of the Striped Cuckoo is rarely seen, so when
the two birds started protruding their alulas, the ‘tiny hands’, we were left
in absolute disbelief at what we were seeing. They then proceeded to drop to
the ground, where they would presumably continue their display, but we sadly
lost them. To witness this behavior is truly something special.
After a lunch of Burger King in Guayaquil, we decided to try
a final stop on the coast. However, we had only just made it out of the city
when we were stopped by the police, who told us they would need to confiscate
the car due to a tyre fault. Although we eventually were able to negotiate our release,
completely thanks to Lia, we decided to not risk anything further and returned
to Guayaquil. Helpfully on the way, another police checkpoint tried to give us
a speeding ticket when we were well under the limit. He quickly changed his mind
however, once Lia began to speak to him in Spanish, and he let us go again. Not
a nice way to round off the days events, for sure.
And that brings us to our final night, resting and relaxing
in Guayaquil before flying home the next day.
Manglares Churutes: Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Feral Pigeon, Pale-vented Pigeon, Ecuadorian Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, Groove-billed Ani, Striped Cuckoo, Squirrel Cuckoo, Limpkin, Black-necked Stilt, Pied Plover, Wattled Jacana, Spotted Sandpiper, Magnificent Frigatebird, Anhinga, Cocoi Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Western Cattle Egret, Striated Heron, American White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Snail Kite, Savanna Hawk, Roadside Hawk, Grey-lined Hawk, Pacific Pygmy Owl, Ringed Kingfisher, Grey-cheeked Parakeet, Pacific Parrotlet, Plain Antvireo, Jet Antbird, Black-headed Antthrush, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Pacific Hornero, Pacific Royal Flycatcher, Masked Water Tyrant, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Chivi Vireo, Blue-and-white Swallow, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Trilling Gnatwren, White-browed Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Superciliated Wren, Ecuadorian Thrush, Thick-billed Euphonia, Orange-billed Sparrow, Peruvian Meadowlark, Yellow-tailed Oriole, Shiny Cowbird, Scrub Blackbird, Tropical Parula, Mangrove Warbler, White-shouldered Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, Saffron Finch, Blue-black Grassquit, Chestnut-throated Seedeater, Variable Seedeater, Buff-throated Saltator, Streaked Saltator,
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