Ecuador; Day 17 - Cerro Acacana

 After giving the area the once-over the day before, we were ready for a days birding in the Cerro Acacana forests and paramo. As should have been expected however, the weather was not on our side once again, and although the rain held off for most of the morning, the fog present a constant problem, especially when birding at the higher altitudes. We had hoped to start the morning at the site where it is possible to find the rare and range restricted Red-faced Parrot. However, the thick fog put and end to that and as such we decided to climb the mountain first and find our other targets, coming back to the parrots in the afternoon, when we hoped that the weather would be clearer.  

In the end this worked out nicely for us though. We enjoyed a very pleasant mornings birding, and we were at the highest point of the ridge for the hour in which the clouds cleared, before they returned. The lower areas of forest provided us with nice birds such as Black-headed Hemispingus, Agile Tit-Tyrant and a brilliant Plushcap. We also got views of a nice pair of Blackish Tapaculo as we started the walk, although the other Tapaculos on the site gave us the slip. At the higher altitudes we found a nice Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant, as well as mixed flocks of other species.

The main species people visit this site for is the Crescent-faced Antpitta. Although I have seen this bird before at a feeder in Colombia, it is still the most beautiful of all the Antpittas in my opinion, and it would be nice to have to work for an individual, rather than have it show up at a feeder on the appointed hour. Frustratingly then, during the whole walk we never heard an individual sing, leaving us to doubt if we would be able to find one in the end. Throughout the walk we had noticed small trails heading into the bamboo, indicators of birders past who had found the birds, and in the end, out of desperation, we headed down one of these trails to try our luck. And our luck was in! In response to our playback, an individual eventually came out of the undergrowth, before showing nicely. The only downside was that the bird showed just as the rain started, leaving the undergrowth in even more darkness than usual.

Having wrapped up the stunning antpitta, and with the rain falling heavily, we decided to try and find the parrots. Fortunately at these lower altitudes the rain was not falling, and we were able to spend a good two hours in the area with only short showers to deal with. Sadly there was nothing from the parrots in that time, although a few mixed species flocks kept things lively, with a small group of Hooded Mountain Tanagers being the highlight, showing nicely.

Having wrapped up at 14:00, we decided to ascend the mountain once more and try our luck with a few species we had missed, but at this point the rain really began to fall. And it did not stop! After probably an hour waiting in the car, we decided to call it a day and headed back down into town. The entire way the road was like a torrential river, bringing an abrupt end to our time birding this site. That said, we still gained one species from this ill-fated afternoon venture, a rather soggy Many-streaked Canastero, so it wasn’t a complete loss. 

-Cerro Acacana

-Crescent-faced Antpitta

-Plushcap

-Black-crested Warbler

-Black-headed Hemispingus

-Agile Tit-Tyrant

-Hooded Mountain Tanager

-Many-striped Canastero

Species List:
Cerro Acacana: Tyrian Metaltail, Glowing Puffleg, Rainbow Starfrontlet, Roadside Hawk, Variable Hawk, Andean Pygmy Owl, Bar-bellied Woodpecker, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Equatorial Antpitta, Crescent-faced Antpitta, Blackish Tapaculo, Chusquea Tapaculo, Pearled Treerunner, Many-striped Canastero, Mouse-colored Thistletail, Cinnamon Flycatcher, White-throated Tyrannulet, Agile Tit-Tyrant, White-crested Elaenia, Smoke-colored Pewee, Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, Turquoise Jay, Great Thrush, Yellow-breasted Brushfinch, Northern Mountain Cacique, Citrine Warbler, Black-crested Warbler, Spectacled Whitestart, Hooded Mountain Tanager, Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager, Golden-crowned Tanager, Blue-and-black Tanager, Blue-backed Conebill, Glossy Flowerpiercer, Black Flowerpiercer, Masked Flowerpiercer, Plushcap, Black-headed Hemispingus, 

Ecuador; Day 16 - Parque Nacional Podocarpus & Cerro Acacana

 Today was a pretty steady day in the context of our trip so far. Once again we started our day with a visit to the Podocarpus National Park, hoping to clean up on the remaining targets that we missed from the previous day. We were fortunate that the weather was much improved than the torrential rain we experience yesterday morning, with instead a thin cloud and occasional patches of blue sky, and that meant we had a much more prolonged birding session in the park.

We found a few mixed species flocks, filled mostly with common tanagers, but always good birds to see. Generally we did not find many new species, or many species missing from our target list, but there were good birds all round. We spotted at least two Andean Cock-of-the-Rock around the park, as well as another Orange-crested Flycatcher. A new species we picked up was Common Scale-backed Antbird, and we got brief but acceptable views of White-necked Parakeet, one of only two targets that we managed to find today. The other target we managed to find was a pair of Olive Finches, which showed brilliantly well at times.

In the afternoon, we eventually decided to move on rather than return to the park for one last stab. Our next destination was the small town of Saraguro, next to the forested antenna road of Cerro Acacana. Here there were a few birds to target, and with the bonus of an extra afternoon to recce the site, we hoped to make good progress with these. Sadly the weather was not ideal, with thick fog hampering our efforts, and a crash on the highway causing us even more problems, although fortunately we were able to bypass it.

From our afternoons ventures, we did managed to find a couple of Bearded Guans, and with some effort we got excellent views of Andean Pygmy Owl, which showed well right next to the road. A few mixed flocks also passed us by, and in one of these there were two Turquoise Jays. Although we had seen this species in the north, our photos had been lost when our optics were stolen, so it was good to see this species once again.

In the evening we went to a famous restaurant in the town, which birders who visited the area all told us had a Michelin star. Although the food quality was excellent, we could find no evidence of this Michelin star, and subsequent google sleuthing has also proved inconclusive, which sadly suggests that they might have lost it, robbing me of my chance to eat at a first restaurant of this calibre.

-Olive Finch

-Common Scale-backed Antbird

-Andean Pygmy Owl

-Turquoise Jay

Species List:
Parque Nacional Podocarpus: Plumbeous Pigeon, Squirrel Cuckoo, Turkey Vulture, Red-headed Barbet, Lineated Woodpecker, White-breasted Parakeet, Plain Antvireo, Common Scale-backed Antbird, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Olive-striped Flycatcher, Ornate Flycatcher, Orange-crested Flycatcher, Inca Jay, White-necked Thrush, Bronze-green Euphonia, Yellow-throated Bush Tanager, Orange-billed Sparrow, Olive Finch, Tropical Parula, Slate-throated Whitestart, Orange-eared Tanager, Blue-necked Tanager, Paradise Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Green-and-gold Tanager, Golden Tanager, Green Honeycreeper, Bananaquit, Buff-throated Saltator,
Cerro Acacana: Bearded Guan, Shining Sunbeam, Andean Pygmy Owl, Ash-colored Tapaculo, Pearled Treerunner, Turquoise Jay, Citrine Warbler, Spectacled Whitestart, Superciliaried Hemispingus, Masked Flowerpiercer,

Ecuador; Day 15 - Parque Nacional Podocarpus

 Our day in the Podocarpus National Park started nice and early, conveniently just 15 minutes drive from our hotel in the city of Zamora. Unfortunately, although it started brightly with a couple of nice tanager flocks, it quickly turned against us when at around half past nine, the torrential rain began, not stopping until 11, by which point we had already bailed out for an early lunch, hoping to make the most of a rain free afternoon.

And while we lost the mornings birding, there were still a few good species on offer that we were able to connect with. The first and foremost of these was the Amazonian Umbrellabird, of which we saw two individuals perching up conspicuously in the open canopy. Another nice bonus species was White-capped Dipper, when we had a brief encounter with an individual on the main river. Although not a new bird for me, it is always good to see a dipper, and was a new species for Lia, which she was very excited about.

After lunch we arrived in the park around 14:00. The mornings rain had taken its toll on our optics, my camera especially required some warmth from the sun to dry out the internal condensation. It was perhaps fortunate then that the afternoon birding took some time to get going, with species only starting to appear after some time searching. We spent the first hour of the afternoon looking at the plethora of butterflies enjoying the now warm and sunny afternoon.

Once the birding got started we were able to catch up on a few key targets, like we had hoped. We concentrated our efforts on the trail following the river, and this produced Orange-crowned Flycatcher and Fulvous-breasted Flatbill. Neither of these species is particularly exciting, but both are quite range restricted and good targets for this site. We also had fantastic views of an Andean Motmot and a lively mixed species flock contained a nice Spotted Tanager for us to look at. Using tapes we also managed to get good views of Foothill Stiplethroat.

In terms of none target species that we encountered, perhaps the highlight was two female Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. Neither perched particularly showy, but its always good to see these spectacular crow sized birds. We rounded off the day with a short night birding session that produced nothing on the birding front, but a Common Tapeite wild rabbit was nice to see as it ran across the road. 

-Parque Nacional Podocarpus

-Amazonian Umbrellabird

-White-capped Dipper

-Andean Motmot

-Foothill Stipplethroat

-Orange-crested Flycatcher

-Fulvous-breasted Flatbill

-Andean Cock-of-the-rock

-Callicore excelsior

-Jemadia sp.

Species List:
Parque Nacional Podocarpus: Sickle-winged Guan, Feral Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Squirrel Cuckoo, Grey-rumped Swift, Ecuadorian Piedtail, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Andean Motmot, Red-headed Barbet, Lineated Woodpecker, Foothill Stipplethroat, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Streak-necked Flycatcher, Fulvous-breasted Flatbill, Ornate Flycatcher, Orange-crested Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Tropical Kingbird, Inca Jay, Blue-and-white Swallow, White-capped Dipper, White-necked Thrush, House Sparrow, Orange-bellied Euphonia, Bronze-green Euphonia, Yellow-throated Bush Tanager, Ashy-throated Bush Tanager, Orange-billed Sparrow, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Russet-backed Oropendola, Crested Oropendola, Tropical Parula, Slate-throated Whitestart, Orange-eared Tanager, Spotted Tanager, Blue-necked Tanager, Paradise Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager, Green-and-gold Tanager, Golden Tanager, Bananaquit, Buff-throated Saltator,

Ecuador; Day 14 - El Zarza & Mi Paradisa

 Today we started our return journey west, having made it as far east as our itinerary would take us over the last few days. That said, we still had a little unfinished business to attend to, including a return to El Zarza to try and catchup on a few missed targets from the previous day, and then an afternoon visit to a hummingbird garden to try and wrap up a few other targets.

Our return to El Zarza went well. We encountered less flocks than the previous day, but this might be due to the sunny and warm weather we had, in complete contrast to what we experience yesterday during the drizzle and the gloom. Although there were no new birds in the flocks, it was good to the Equatorial Greytail again, this time with much better light behind it, and we had trip ticks with Rufous-rumped Antwren and Yellow-Olive Flycatcher. Coppery-chested Jacamar again showed well, and we had nice views of Amazon Dwarf Squirrel.

Although most of our few remaining targets eluded us, one did not; the White-bellied Antpitta. We finally heard a bird singing as we walked up the road, and descended into the forest to find it. The bird was very vocal but frustratingly reluctant to approach us, meaning only I got views of the bird, and they were always too brief for any photos. After a good hour of looking, we eventually gave up, resolving to try again on our descent back down the road. Fortunately we found a second individual a little further up the road. This time the forest was much cleaner in the understorey and we were optimistic we would be able to see this bird better. Although the bird sang near constantly as we approached, descending the bank as gently as we could, it never approached our tape. In the end, we had to climb down the entire bank, reaching the small stream at the bottom, where we could look into the tangle of vegetation from where it was singing. Finally, at this point, we managed some good views, although obscured by the vegetation. Although it never showed well, we were pleased we managed to connect with another new Antpitta.

Around lunchtime we headed back from the reserve, on the way I added Yellow-browed Sparrow to my life list, a common bird in Amazonia, just one I had not managed to bump into before. After lunch we headed to a site called Mi Paradisa, a well-known hummingbird spot where the stunning Spangled Coquette visits.

Initially we had some struggles to actually find the place, as directions were not clear. However, we were eventually able to make it inside the site. In my head this was a well-maintained hummingbird feeding setup, but the reality could not be further from the truth. The overgrown garden was just full of Verbanum flowers, masses and masses of them. And this is what the hummingbirds were visiting. Although not the best time of year, we quickly managed to see a female Spangled Coquette, and after a couple of hours, even in the mid-afternoon sun, we had totalled up four individuals. Sadly no adult males, but that is to be expected in April. We also had a couple of other Hummingbird lifers, with Blue-tailed Emerald and Violet-headed Hummingbird. All in all a worthwhile stop on our itinerary.

We finished the day by driving west to the town of Zamora, so as to be ideally placed for the following day when we would visit the podocarpus national park. 

-White-bellied Antpitta

-Coppery-chested Jacamar

-Spangled Coquette

-Blue-tailed Emerald

-Royal Ground Snake

-Morpho amphitryon

-Necyria bellona

-Pyrrhopyge telassa

Species List:
El Zarza: Speckled Chachalaca, Plumbeous Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Squirrel Cuckoo, Grey-rumped Swift, Green Hermit, Peruvian Racket-tail, Glittering-throated Emerald, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Coppery-chested Jacamar, Golden-collared Toucanet, Lafresnaye's Piculet, Rufous-rumped Antwren, Plain Antvireo, White-bellied Antpitta, Olive-backed Woodcreeper, Streaked Xenops, Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner, Equatorial Greytail, Marble-faced Bristle Tyrant, Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, Scale-crested Pygmy Tyrant, Yellow-olive Flatbill, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Cliff Flycatcher, Ornate Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Long-tailed Tyrant, Tropical Kingbird, Inca Jay, Blue-and-white Swallow, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Grey-breasted Wood Wren, Chestnut-bellied Thrush, Orange-bellied Euphonia, Ashy-throated Bush Tanager, Yellow-browed Sparrow, Tropical Parula, Blackburnian Warbler, Magpie Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, Blue-winged Mountain Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, Palm Tanager, Blue-necked Tanager, Paradise Tanager, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Golden-eyed Flowerpiercer, Blue-black Grassquit, Chestnut-bellied Seedeater, Bananaquit, Buff-throated Saltator,  
Mi Paradise: Spangled Coquette, Blue-tailed Emerald, Violet-headed Hummingbird, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Glittering-throated Emerald, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Tropical Kingbird, Silver-beaked Tanager, Blue-black Grassquit, 

Ecuador; Day 13 - El Zarza

 Our birding destination for the day was the reserve El Zarza, an area of Andean forest on the Peruvian border with a few interesting species we wanted to track down. The area itself was pretty remote, and from our lodging it took us over an hour to arrive at the road through the protected area. Frustratingly, the weather was not on our side, and the drizzle and fog looked well set to spoil our morning.

Fortunately that is not how it transpired. Although it started a little slow, we soon found a few flocks even in spite on the gloomy conditions. The light was truly terrible for the first flock we were forced to resort to photographing birds using a high exposure in order to be able to identify anything. Despite this, we quickly located one of the most import targets with Equatorial Greytail, in amongst many other species such as Ashy-throated Chlorospingus and Deep Blue Flowerpiercer. During the morning we encountered no less than five impressive mixed species flocks, and each one added new species to our day list.

It didn’t take long for us to wrap up many of the sites main targets, including the Spectacled Prickletail, Rufous-browed Tyrannulet and Orange-cheeked Tanager. The last flock we encountered during lunch was particularly spectacular, as it not only contained some of the interesting birds mentioned above, but many were at eye level, allowing us to get really good views of the species as they passed us by.

Although it slowed down in the afternoon, we were still able to add good and interesting species. Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater was particularly nice, with a very dapper male showing extremely well. At the end of the afternoon, now the weather had fully cleared up, we also had nice views of the range restricted Coppery-chested Jacamar, and a fantastic pair of Golden-collared Toucanet rounded things off brilliantly, as we were able to watch them displaying in the canopy.

Of course, it is also necessary to mentioned that I added a new Tapaculo to the ever-growing list, with White-crowned Tapaculo. The first bird we heard would not show, although we saw the vegetation moving from the location of its song. Frustrated by this we continued the search and the second bird showed exceptionally well, allowing for fantastic photos of these normally elusive birds. Throughout the rest of the afternoon we heard multiple more birds, but never tried to see them, well satisfied with our work on the Tapaculo front.

We finally left the site at the end of the afternoon, but even as we were leaving there were birds to be seen. A summer plumaged Spotted Sandpiper was a surprise to be sure, flushed from the roadside as we passed. If ever there was an appropriate way to round out a brilliant days birding, then this was it. Tomorrow we will return to the site in the hopes of repeating our success. 

-White-crowned Tapaculo

-Coppery-chested Jacamar

-Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater

-Golden-collared Toucanet

-Masked Trogon

-Spectacled Prickletail

-Equatorial Greytail

-Orange-eared Tanager

-Rufous-browed Tyrannulet

-Violet-fronted Brilliant

-Olive-backed Woodcreeper

-Yellow-throated Tanager

-Blackburnian Warbler

Species List:
El Zarza: Squirrel Cuckoo, Speckled Hummingbird, Long-tailed Sylph, Peruvian Racket-tail, Violet-fronted Brilliant, Glittering-throated Emerald, Spotted Sandpiper, Black Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Masked Trogon, Coppery-chested Jacamar, Red-headed Barbet, Golden-collared Toucanet, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Uniform Antshrike, Plain Antvireo, White-crowned Tapaculo, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Olive-backed Woodcreeper, Streaked Xenops, Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner, Equatorial Greytail, Spectacled Prickletail, Dark-breasted Spinetail, Golden-winged Manakin, Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater, Wing-barred Piprites, Olive-striped Flycatcher, Marble-faced Bristle Tyrant, Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, Scale-crested Pygmy Tyrant, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Ornate Flycatcher, Golden-faced Tyrannulet, Smoke-colored Pewee, Golden-bellied Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Inca Jay, Black-capped Donacobius, Blue-and-white Swallow, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, House Wren, Grey-breasted Wood Wren, Chestnut-bellied Thrush, Thick-billed Euphonia, Ashy-throated Bush Tanager, Russet-backed Oropendola, Tropical Parula, Blackburnian Warbler, Three-striped Warbler, Slate-throated Whitestart, Rufous-crested Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, Blue-winged Mountain Tanager, Yellow-throated Tanager, Orange-eared Tanager, Blue-necked Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Golden Tanager, Green Honeycreeper, Golden-eyed Flowerpiercer, Bananaquit, Buff-throated Saltator,