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.
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,
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