Birding
trip report Southern Ecuador Aug./Sep. 1998 See also: |
From 22 August till 15
September 1998 Nollie and I made a private birding trip
to Southern Ecuador, as a follow-up of our trip to
Northern Ecuador in 1995. Southern Ecuador has an
outstanding diversity of habitats. Cajas and Podocarpus
National Parks are famous mountain destinations. The
humid to dry hills and plains in the Southwest have the
Tumbesian endemics and many other species. We visited
other sites as well. |
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For the preparation of
this trip we relied on Best/Heijnen/Williams' Guide to
birdwatching in Ecuador (referred to as BHW) and trip
reports by others, not the least the report and
additional information that we got from birding friends
who have been to S Ecuador a year earlier. We used Lonely
Planet's Ecuador as a general travel guide. Computer
scans of bird pictures from books like Ridgely &
Tudor's Birds of South America were useful for species
that are lacking in the field guide (which was still
always Hilty & Brown's Birds of Colombia; now since
2001 you must have the Ridgely & Greenfield Birds of
Ecuador of course).
We also prepared two minidiscs with
the sounds of about 400 species occurring here, for
identification purposes, although in the field we did not
use them often. We did, however, make several hours of
field recordings of bird sounds on the minidisc.
Important other things we brought were a good coat, a
fleece pullover, rubber boots, and rain capes (the latter
also good for camouflage) and these items proved very
useful for several of the sites we visited. Our small
scope was essential for a few birds only, but as always
some of the best memories are of birds seen through the
scope. We forgot to bring our camera, so we used some
silly disposable one, which we bought in Guayaquil. So we
got few and poor photos only. But we did not mind too
much - so many good birds here! |
On this trip we only
traveled by public transport, including taxi's and
trucks where necessary. As in Venezuela (see other report)
the public transport here proved to be very efficient. On
most of the 'travel days' we even managed to bird in the
morning using local transport, and have a long distance
bus in the afternoon. Bus rides are cheap, and a taxi for
half a day costs less than half the day rate of a small
rental car (day rate is US$90!). Apart from the cost our
main concern with rental cars is that we always do worry
about them during our walks out in the woods or wherever,
with the car parked just somewhere. The other concern of
driving yourself is the bad state of the roads,
especially after the heavy El Niņo rains. |
Changing money is less
and less a problem in Ecuador, because of the increased
acceptance of credit cards and the increasing
number of ATM's (cash machines, 24 hours per day). We saw
ATM's in most of the larger cities, not only for credit
cards but sometimes even for bank cards (Cirrus). We
could have done entirely without cash dollars and
traveller cheques on this trip. As yet, the acceptance of
Visa here is better than of Mastercard. We payed most
hotels by credit card now. |
Hotel capacity was
never a problem, and we only made reservations for the
first destination (Gualaceo). We were rather careful in
selecting the more quiet hotels or hotel rooms, both
regarding street noise as regarding nightly fiestas or
discos. Often we just asked at the hotel reception if
there would be music at night. In Loja for example, the
reception people of the best hotel (Libertador) admitted
that they would have a big gathering of some sort that
night, so we turned to the hotel opposite (Ramses) and
had a quiet night in an inner room. We always bought food
for breakfast and lunch (both out in the field) the night
before, the shops are open late: bread rolls (often
sweetened), Tampico juices (sealed), mineral water (sealed),
and bananas or apples if available. We also brought some
granola and milk powder. We mostly followed Lonely Planet
in the choice of restaurants for the evening meal around
7 p.m., the corvina (seabass) being a wellcome change
from the usual chicken or meat. |
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Below, the birding trip
is described from day to day, and many logistical details
are added to the ones above. The text includes the
species when first observed, or otherwise important. The annotated
species list shows
a matrix of all species for all sites, and includes also
species only heard (H). Several of these heard-only
species were identified later on, when comparing the
sound recording with my reference collection. Some of
these recorded sounds have to be identified yet, so the
list may be extended later on. Some of the species were
indentified with the help of range or altitude. For
example, when we saw a group of typical Pyrrhura
parakeets flying nearby at the Buenaventura site in the
Southwest, we were sure that these were the recently
described (1980) El Oro parakeet because it is the only
species of the Pyrrhura genus in this region. So this is
an identification partly by deduction (we could not see
the facial marks), and in the species list this is
indicated by a 'D'. Of course this must be the El Oro,
the chances that there will ever be discovered another
Pyrrhyra here are very very slim. |
After our arrival on
Saturday 22 August at the airport of Guayaquil we
changed dollars (5500 sucre for 1 US$; this was before
the devaluation in mid-September) and took a taxi for
12000 sucres to the large bus station (terminal terrestre)
not far from the airport. There we easily found a bus to
Cuenca, a five hour drive now in stead of four, because
of the deterioration of the roads due to the El Niņo
rains about half a year ago. I understood that the new
direct ride to Cuenca through Cajas NP has been blocked
West of Cajas by land slides again. The slow pace on the
very bad road in the coastal plain even allowed for some
roadside birding. In this plain with many stagnant pools
we saw hundreds of Snail Kite, an unforgettable sight.
Other trip ticks included Wattled Jacana, Ringed
Kingfisher, Vermillion Flycatcher. After crossing the
first mountain ridge we got off the bus well before
Cuenca and changed for a smaller bus to Gualaceo.
We were glad that we had made nylon dust bags to put our
rucksacks in, as these were either put on top of the bus
or in a dusty compartment below. We settled in the
Parador Turistico Gualaceo (100.000 sucres), situated in
a half open woody mountain scenery at about 2500 m above
sea level, and later walked into the small town to check
for the buses to Limon, for the famous Gualaceo-Limon
birding road. This we birded the next three days, just by
walking along the quiet unsurfaced road in three
different sections, one West and two East from the pass
at 3200 m a.s.l. downward. See the location map of this
site. |
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On Sunday 23 August we
left our hotel at 6.15 a.m. and the first bird we spotted
was the Black Phoebe. We birded the surroundings of the
hotel but did not see much because of the poor light
conditions. Walking the streets toward the famous Sunday
market being build up, we saw several Sparkling
Violetear, Hooded Siskin, and much to our surprise a very
active Giant Hummingbird in a tiny garden amidst the
stone walls. This was in the third block of the second
road to the left when coming down from the hotel. (see
location map). The Gualaceo-Limon road follows a river,
and the bus went along steep ravines at about 20 mins
from Gualaceo. Further on we came in the clouds, and it
started raining a bit, our first and certainly not last
rainy day, although we often saw our best birds in (light)
rain. We got off the bus well East of the pass, at
about 2800 m a.s.l., in temperate forest that downward
gradually merges into upper subtropical forest. Walking
down we ticked Pale-naped Brush-Finch, Black-crested
Warbler, Mountain Wren, Slate-collared Whitestart, Rufous
Spinetail, Andean Tapaculo, Tourmaline Sunangel, Andean
Guan, Mountain Velvetbreast, Brown-bellied Swallow, Band-tailed
Pigeon, Masked Flowerpiercer, Glowing Puffleg, Hooded
Mountain-Tanager, Streak-necked Flycatcher, Spectacled
Whitestart, Blue-backed Conebill, Glossy or Black
Flowerpiercer (later easier distinguished), White-browed
Chat-Tyrant, Lachrymose Mountain-Tanager, Collared Inca,
Mountain Avocetbill (female), White-crested Elaenia,
Amethyst-throated Sunangel, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Great
Thrush, Grass-green Tanager, Rufous-naped Brush-Finch.
Now, at the second trout café we were at about 2200 m I
guess. The altitude meter was not yet quite well
adjusted, and it had started raining so probably the air
pressure had changed as well. Waiting for a truck or bus
going back, while standing in the door opening with a
cola we spotted a group of five Hooded Mountain-Tanagers.
We had a slow drive home in a truck carrying tiles from
Limon, and returned in Gualaceo at dusk, tired but very
satisfied with this first day of birding. |
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The next day (Mon 24 Aug)
we walked to the start of the Gualaceo-Limon road, to a
spot some 150 m after the large bridge (and 50 m after
the junction to Chordeleg; in total maybe 400 m from the
hotel), There we waited for trucks going up, as they go
with higher frequency than the bus (you pay the truck
driver the same fare as for the bus). While waiting there
we ticked Cinereous Conebill and Grey-hooded Bush-Tanager
in the orchard to the left. The truck we got after some
10 mins. drove slowly and we had a wide view, so along
the road we even ticked Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant, Buff-breasted
Mountain-Tanager, Azara's Spinetail and Paramo Seedeater.
We got off just before the pass in mist and some
rain, and walked back Westward. Here is an open grassy
paramo with pools, all in a wide glacial valley, typical
mountain pass scenery. Ticks here included Mouse-colcored
Thistletail, White-throated Tyrannulet, Glossy
Flowerpiercer, Tawny Antpitta, Rufous Antpitta (heard
only), Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Bar-winged Cinclodes.
At the Maylas café we had a cola, and from there walked
down through bushy paramo for several 100 m downward.
Ticks here were (in systematic order, typically written
down only at the end of the walk in the drizzle): Plain-breasted
Hawk, Tyrian Metaltail, Viridian Metaltail, Grey-breasted
Wood-wren (heard only), the superb Golden-crowned Tanager
(4 nearby), Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Black-backed
Bush-Tanager, White-collared Swift. We got a lift back
from a family driving a small 4WD in which they willingly
made room for us to bring us back to Gualaceo. |
Tuesday 25 August seemed
to have better weather and we decided to go up once more
for the Gualaceo-Limon road. Walking across the bridge at
Gualaceo we noted a bathing or drinking Giant Hummingbird
above the river. We got out of the truck right at the
pass in order to fill the gap from the pass down
Eastward. However, we did not see many new species,
although several others better than on the days before.
Our first canastero ever (more to come when we go further
South in S America) was the Many-striped Canastero busily
feeding in the pampa grass. We spoke to a local
inhabitant, about the only one in the far surroundings
here, and without any hesitation he pointed out in our
field guide the Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan as a local
bird. But for us not much more remained this day than an
easy tick like White-banded Tyrannulet. Although the
scenery was glorious, especially in the upper part down
the pass, we might have skipped this day in favour of
other areas later on. |
Before leaving for Cuenca
the next day (Wed. 26 Aug.) we made a walk to the
nearby village of Chordeleg. Although this is a
touristic destination we were not very impressed. But the
walk towards it gave several trip ticks, especially in
the first part along the river, amidst the orchards:
Southern Yellow Grosbeak, Fawn-breasted Tanager, Torrent
Tyrannulet, Spotted Sandpiper, more Giant Hummingbirds,
Eared Dove, Band-tailed Seedeater. See the above location
map to find this site. At 10 a.m. we were back in
the hotel after a bus ride (every 10 mins or so). |
After arriving in Cuenca
in the afternoon we did some sight-seeing in the old
centre of one of the best preserved colonial cities in
Latin-America. We had an impressive room in the very
classical hotel Crespo in the old centre (see sketchy
city map).![]() |
After these two rather
slow but restful birding days we were prepared again for
a strenuous day (Thu. 27 Aug.) of high-altitude birding
in the Cajas National Park West of Cuenca. See the
location map of this site. At 6.30 a.m. we stood
shivering already at 8 degrees Celsius at the Laguna
Toreadora amidst a splendid alpine grassy scenery, at
3800 m above sea level. Glad we brought a warm cap,
gloves and scarf/shawl. The guard was awake already and
wanted us to pay the 10 dollar pp entrance fee for
foreigners without issuing a ticket ('were finished') but
this we refused of course and so we just walked on into
the park. Having a ticket is essential for visiting other
parks or other parts of the same park. At the border of
the lake there are two Polylepis woods. Polylepis
is a gnarled tree with strange loose bark, much in
decline but important for several bird species. The first
forest is scarcely visible from the road because of the
steep slope, and around this small forest plot we saw
Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant, Plain-capped Ground-Tyrant,
the impressive Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant, Andean Tit-Spinetail,
Many-striped Canastero again, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, Bar-winged
and Stout-billed Cinclodes, Tawny Antpitta (very tame
here), Scarlet-bellied and Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager.
On the lake were Speckled Teals. On top of low bushes we
scoped two endemic hummingbirds, the splendid Ecuadorian
Hillstar and the Violet-throated Metaltail. In the second
Polylepis forest, at the other side of the glacial lake,
we crawled through the trees and were rewarded with as
well the Giant Conebill as the Tit-like Dacnis, both
species characteristic for Polylepis. The dacnis was
feeding a young: greyish, with a bit speckled breast. Out
in the open again we walked on, clockwise around the
lake, and took an old Inca-trail going down at
about 3/4 of the round. Apart from some Polylepis stands
the vegetation is rather grassy, sometimes a bit swampy.
Before hitting the road again, about 1.5 km below the
Laguna Toreadora (took a shortcut right from a second
large lake), we added Puna Hawk, Carunculated Caracara,
Pectoral Sandpiper and Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant. |
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After a ride down with an
ex-patriate who warmly approved our refusal of paying
that guard, we got off at the small fish-restaurant Guevara,
set amidst some low forest of the upper temperate zone.
Here, after the usual cola, we ticked Black Flowerpiercer
(the variety without the blue wing spot), Sapphire-vented
Puffleg walking at the matted grass, Plain-colored
Seedeater, and during the walk further down several Puna
Hawks again. Species like Bar-winged Cinclodes and
Spectacled Whitestart are common here. We had a dry and
practically windless day with high clouds only, not bad,
although the temperatures scarcely came above 10 degrees
C. We were warned that when clouded and foggy, one should
be very careful when making a long walk in the area,
because orientation is difficult in this topography.
People do get lost here, they say. We were also told to
be aware of deep swampy spots. Along the very quiet road
(no more traffic to the coastal plain because of the land
slides), we walked down towards the big trout farm in
this beautiful scenery, which reminded us of Northern
Scandinavia. We got a lift down to Cuenca with a guy who
had been working at the Rio Mazan reserve, described in
BHW as a good upper-subtropical/ lower temperate
continuation of Cajas, and situated in a side valley
between Cajas and Cuenca. He proposed that we should try
to get a permit from his former boss in Cuenca, and so we
went with him into the office (near the central plaza) of
Etapa, the state company for drinking water. The people
were very friendly but in the end would not grant us a
permit for the strict reserve. However, they proposed
that we should visit the Surocucho valley, also owned by
Etapa, and according to biological research a good
alternative for Rio Mazan. It is situated in a steep
valley parallel to the Mazan valley. See the above
location map of this Surocucho site. |
So on Friday 28 August we
drove with our guide to Surocucho (had agreed on
100.000 sucres for the 4 hour excursion) and arrived at 7
a.m. at the gate which just opens at that time. The gate
is situated at about 2 km from the main road from Cuenca
to Cajas NP, at the end of a bad dirt road (he drove it
with his normal car but scratched the bottom often),
probably a good birding road as well, with many bushes
amidst the pastures. This dirt road starts about 15 km
after the large gas station near a roundabout at the
border of Cuenca, and dips from the main road to the left
just 10 m after a big white sign telling about the
Programa de Bosques y Vegetaciones. After the gate of
Surocucho, where you have to register (apparently no fee
here), the track continues through splendid upper
subtropical forest stands indeed. The trees are virtually
invisible under a load of epiphytes, and this is mixed
with some open pastures giving good views on the tree
tops. There is a nicely prepared walkway to the right
after 100 m., before a big lake with the only American
Coot of the trip. We could have spent easily a whole day
here, and in these few hours (till 9. 30 a.m.), guided by
a non-birder, we just managed to tick Masked Trogon,
Crowned Chat-Tyrant, Turquoise Jay, Green-tailed
Trainbearer, Pearled Treerunner, Purple-backed Thornbill
and Superciliared Hemispingus, apart from several species
seen before and some unidentified small birds. The valley
runs deep into the Cajas mountains and seems forested
till the end. There would be a trail for several kms
after the lake. Guards told us Andean Condor is often
seen here. I think that this valley indeed is a good
alternative for the difficult to access Rio Mazan,
although our guide said all the time that he could have
shown mountain-toucans in Rio Mazan. Surocucho however
can be reached on foot from the main road, although
bringing a dazzer would be wise, against some nasty dogs
at a small house. |
We left the nice city of
Cuenca at 1 p.m. with a bus to Loja, for our next
destination, Podocarpus National Park. The five hour
drive (four before El Niņo) is very scenic, wide views
on the rugged mountains, and with a highly interesting
Indian community at Saraguro. These tall people in black
clothes and long hair are totally different from the
other indigenous people here. They were brought here
centuries ago from South Peru. One of them was sitting
across the aisle next to us in the bus for a few hours,
and we admired his self-assurance and calmness in his
conversation to his neighbour. From the bus we spotted
Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle (2x), Puna Hawk (3x), and
ticked American Kestrel. When the Podocarpus mountains
became visible, it was immediately clear what makes them
so rich - they are mostly forested from the foot till
nearly at the top. Nowhere have we seen such heavily
forested mountains before, and in high spirits for the
next day we choose the recommended hotel Aguilera. Alas,
we woke shortly at 2 a.m. because of disco sounds. I went
out to the reception desk of the hotel to see what was
going on, and to my surprise found the whole staff
surfing on the Web. The disco shut shortly after that,
and we slept enough, but planned to change to another
hotel in the late afternoon, after our first visit to the
Cajanuma part of Podocarpus N.P. |
Birding Cajanuma
is a rather straightforward matter, also without a rental
car. Go to the Taxi Ruta stand two blocks South of the
Hotel Vilcabamba International. See the location map. The
stand is at a small statue of a lion. This is for the
shared taxi's to Vilcabamba, but they (and only they) act
also as normal taxi for a ride of about 8 dollar up to
the high refuge of Cajanuma (refugio alto, at 2800 m a.s.l.).
At the Cajanuma gate along the road to Vilcabamba, pay 10
dollar pp entrance fee, valid for at least a week (we
could even choose for more weeks), and also valid for the
Bombuscaro entrance at Zamora, where you would otherwise
have to pay 20 dollar pp. From the gate it is a 7 km ride
up along a dirt road. At the high refuge there are
trails, and walking the dirt road back is good birding
for the first 3 km. Walk the remaining 4 km back to the
main road and have some different birds as well. At the
main road, at the entrance building, catch one of the
many passing shared taxi's back to Loja, for a small and
fixed amount, or wait for the hourly bus. Taxi Ruta
starts at 6 to 6.30 a.m. and the ride takes about 30 mins.![]() |
So at 7 a.m. on Sat. 29
August we stood at the Cajanuma refuge (see
location map) in some rain and mist and coldness (but no
wind) amidst the beautiful temperate forest, and decided
to bird first the short Oso de Anteojo loop trail: Scaly-naped
Parrot (a group of 12 perched nearby), Grey-breasted
Mountain-Toucan in a solitary tree, Pale-naped and Rufous-naped
Brush-Finch. Because of the mist we went down the road
from the refuge and got Tyrian Metaltail, Bearded Guan,
Lachrymose Mountain-Tanager, Rufous-breasted and Slaty-backed
Chat-Tyrant, Hooded Mountain-Tanager, a group of
Turquoise Jay, Collared Inca, many Band-tailed Pigeon,
Citrine Warbler, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Glowing Puffleg,
Azara's Spinetail, Black Flowerpiercer, Rainbow
Starfrontlet, Black-throated Tody-Tyrant, Great Thrush,
Emerald Toucanet, Masked Trogon, Crimson-mantled
Woodpecker, Olive-backed Woodcreeper (with the pearly
breast streaks that Montane does not have here), White-crested
Elaenia, Barred Fruiteater (heard only, would see it the
next day), Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Blue-capped
Tanager. Now we had had those upper, forested 3 km of the
birding road. In the remaining 4 km of more open degraded
habitat we only ticked Pacific Hornero. Back at the hotel
Aguilera the friendly staff had no problem with our leave
well after check-out time, because they admitted that
there were no rooms where you would not hear the disco
sounds. So we changed to the hotel Ramses opposite the
well known hotel Libertador, where they also had admitted
that there would be a probably noisy party that night. In
Ramses we had a quiet room. This is near to the central
park with the cathedral, next to which is a Filanbanco
with a cash machine for Visa. After taking some money
here we went a few steps into the cathedral where a
service was going on, and immediately were asked (or
rather compelled) to buy a few small Maria cards, which
we did of course - who knows what luck they may bring. |
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The next day (Sun. 30
August) we again birded Cajanuma. Now we were at
the refuge at 6.45 a.m., and first had dry weather,
although with some wind, and cold again. During the drive
up we had seen many Band-tailed Pigeon again. Now we took
the Sendero Bosque Nublado, a loop trail through
splendid temperate forest with loads of epiphytes. The
wren that we had often heard yesterday appeared to be
Plain-tailed. Other ticks were Chestnut-naped Antpitta,
Barred Fruiteater (a pair, performing well in a fruiting
tree), a pair too of Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan,
rattling with their beaks. We met a flock of Black-headed
Hemispingus, Citrine Warbler, Blue-backed Conebill and
Pearled Treerunner. It had started raining, and after
fruitlessly walking a bit of the Mirador trail that goes
up into the elfin forest we took a side trail into the
bamboo thickets and had a flock with Spectacled
Whitestart, Russet-crowned Warbler and finally our first
Streaked Tuftedcheek, and also ticked the Purple-throated
Sunangel. We heard the Rufous-naped Antpitta commonly
allover the place (saw it once here). At noon we were
back at the refuge and saw a flock with a.o. Pearled
Treerunner and Grey-hooded Bush-Tanager. Walking quietly
down the road we had Brown-bellied Swallow, a group of
seven Hooded Mountain-Tanagers, and several others that
we had seen before like Masked Flowerpiercer, Rufous-breasted
Chat-Tyrant, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, and we ticked
Montane Woodcreeper, and in the degraded lower stretch
Slaty Finch and Chestnut-crowned Antpitta (the latter,
the 'Compra Pan', heard in the forest down to the North). |
In order to warm up
again, we went the next day (Mon. 31 Aug.) to Vilcabamba,
a dry basin South of Loja. We arrived there at 6.45 a.m.
by the same Taxi Ruta (shared now, for 5000 s. pp), after
having seen many Pacific Hornero's along the road. In the
village we ticked Saffron Finch, Scrub Blackbird, Great-tailed
Grackle and Blue-grey Tanager. We walked from the village
up river for a few kms and back through a nice rural
scenery with orchards and dry slopes, and added Southern
Rough-winged Swallow, Fasciated Wren, Solitary Sandpiper,
Tropical Kingbird, Rusty Flowerpiercer, Amazilia
Hummingbird, Squirrel Cuckoo, Yellow-tailed Oriole,
Golden-olive Woodpecker. That we saw several common birds
for the first time only here, is proof of the fact that
we had not been so low before. |
In the afternoon we had a bus to Zamora (2 hours), driving around more of the heavily forested Podocarpus N.P. Now we met the most obvious disadvantage of not having a rental car: the Loja - Zamora road must be good for roadside birding. But we went here mainly in order to bird the famous subtropical Bombuscaro valley leading into the park, and the combination of Cajanuma and Bombuscaro is good for 90% of all the species of Podocarpus NP (HBW). We took a room in the hotel Gimyfa, recommended as clean and quiet by people that we had met at Cajanuma, and so it was. But this quietness may not always be the case alas, because the owner proudly announced that they would open a disco in the near future. But there are more decently loking hotels here, and I think one was being built at the bridge near the centre. Zamora (see town map) is a quiet place at about 900 m a.s.l. at the border of the Oriente, and after our first beer at Don Pepe we made a late afternoon stroll along the other side of the river, where we ticked White-banded Swallow, House Wren, Yellow-browed Sparrow, Silver-beaked Tanager, Bananaquit, and the white-winged form of the Blue-grey Tanager. Don Pepe remained our favorite restaurant here, but is located near the plaza and the church quite at the other end of the small town than indicated in the Lonely Planet travel guide. There was a rumour about unsafety of the dirt road from Zamora to the Bombuscaro entrance of Podocarpus N.P., so we decided for a taxi not only to bring us there but also to pick us up in the late afternoon, with the brother of the hotel owner as taxi driver, who turned up well in time every morning. |
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Here too the weather had
been comparatively cool and rainy, but now on Tue. 1 Sep.
on our first day at the Bombuscaro valley the
weather was bright. See the location map of this site.
From the parking lot at the end of the dirt road and some
15 mins walk before the guard station, the valley is all
forested (lower montane forest). There is one main trail
leading up to about 1300 m, and some small trails around
the guard station. The long trail is running all the way
more or less along the mountain stream, often impeding
the hearing of more distant bird calls. Also, in this
forested valley only at a few spots you can have a good
look around, so there is a limited chance of seeing well
the important White-breasted Parakeet flying through the
valley. But having said this, the birding is really very
good here. Right after the parking lot, at 6.30 a.m.,
we ticked several calling Yellow-throated Bush-Tanagers
and some Paradise Tanagers. We heard (but never got to
see it) an antpitta that you would presume to be the
Scaled Antpitta listed for this site, but according to my
sound reference material it is the Plain-backed Antpitta,
not listed for this site (one reader confirmed this
observation). Several times later we heard only that
Plain-backed sound again, and never the sound that the
Scaled should have. Further trip ticks till the ranger
station were Plain-brown Woodcreeper, Highland Motmot and
Green Jay. At the ranger station, a half open
habitat between the forests, we ticked Palm Tanager,
Orange-bellied Euphonia, Blue-necked Tanager, Green-and-gold
Tanager, Bat Falcon, Bay-headed Tanager, Ash-throated
Bush-Tanager (again with several Yellow-throated). The
sun had risen at 8 a.m. above the mountains, and the
temperature then was 15 degrees C. Walking from the
station into the nearby small forest plot with an orchid
garden we noted Golden-crowned Flycatcher, Ornate
Flycatcher (what a beauty), Dusky Spinetail, a wren of
the Speckle-breasted group (listen to its song; which one
can occur here?), and a bit higher up, on the short
circular trail Green Hermit lekking, and Russet-backed
Oropendola. Then at noon we went up the long trail
along the stream. Trip ticks here were: Golden
Tanager, Golden-eared Tanager, Red-headed Barbet,
Lafresnaye's Piculet, Yellow-bellied Tanager. When we
walked into an antswarm we saw several birds flitting
away and we ended up with only the identification of
Squirrel Cuckoo and Collared Trogon. Frustrating! Back at
the parking lot too early for the taxi of 3 p.m. (that
had been delayed by road construction) we just walked a
bit down the road and ticked Swallow-tailed Kite, Grey-rumped
Swift, Lined Antshrike, Little Cuckoo, Black-billed
Thrush, Purple Honeycreeper, White-lined Tanager. |
The next morning (Wed. 2
Sep.) we were back at the Bombuscaro entrance at
dawn, at 5.50 a.m., with the same taxi driver, and asked
him to come back at 6 p.m. Along the road we had noticed
Pauraque and Blackish Nightjar, and during the fast walk
to the ranger station we heard the West-Peruvian Screech-Owl
(exactly the same as on our reference minidisc). Today we
mainly did the long trail along the stream, and
first ticked Ornate Antwren, Thick-billed Euphonia, Ruddy
Pigeon, Orange-eared Tanager, Cliff Flycatcher. Halfway
up is a very short trail branching to the left, to the
remains of a bridge (see again location map) with an
interesting mixture of second growth and primary forest.
Here we saw Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Lemon-browed
Flycatcher, Fawn-brested Tanager and very nearby in the
undergrowth an Olive Finch. Higher up the long trail,
still always in a beautiful subtropical forest scenery,
we saw many splendid butterflies, and ticked Marble-faced
Bristle-Tyrant, White-winged Tanager, Streaked Xenops. On
the way back, at the old bridge again, we had nice views
of Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, and further down ticked
Subtropical Cacique, Blue-rumped Manakin, Black-eared
Fairy, Sickle-winged Guan, and at the parking lot Magpie
Tanager and the endemic Coppery-chested Jacamar. So we
had missed the special parrots of this place, although we
had heard parrots screaming through the canopy several
times. Back in town, while drinking a beer with our taxi
driver, we decided not to try these parrots at a third
day Bombuscaro, but instead have a trip with him into the
Southern Oriente, a bit deeper into the Amazon basin. On
the basis of BHW and on advice of the taxi driver we
chose for Guayzimi and beyond. This is all lowland
tropical scenery (at about 500 m a.s.l.) with lots of
trip ticks awaiting. We had not planned this side trip
into the Amazon basin, but could not resist the chance.
We agreed with the taxi driver on 50 dollars for a trip
from 5.30 a.m. till 2 p.m. All on dirt roads, this is the
Oriente. See the map for this trip. |
On Thu. 3 Sep. we left
Zamora with the taxi at 5.30 a.m. indeed and soon arrived
at Zumbi where the road to Guayzimi branches off.
In the first part of this road the scenery is mostly open
woodland and clearings with shrubs, and here we ticked
Blue-black Grassquit, Black-capped Donacobius, Dark-breasted
Spinetail, Crested Oropendola, Buff-throated Saltator,
Snail Kite (!), Great Kiskadee, Yellow-tufted Woodpecker.
At a more wooded spot in a sharp bend of the road, nearer
to Guayzimi, we got Little Tinamou (heard), Olivaceous
Woodcreeper, Black-spotted Barbet (heard), Ivory-billed
Aracari, Dwarf Tyrant-Manakin, (heard), Violaceous Jay,
White-tailed Trogon, Lineated Woodpecker and Blue-headed
Parrot. At the village of Guayzimi we made a walk through
the marshy/shrubby fields between the village and the
forest South, and ticked Dusky-headed Parakeet, Roadside
Hawk, Long-tailed Tyrant, Black-capped Donacobius again,
Thrush-like Wren, Yellow-bellied Dacnis, Yellow-rumped
Cacique, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Marbled Wood-quail (heard),
Magpie Tanager again, Chestnut-bellied and Black-and-white
Seedeater together, Fasciated Antshrike. Now we followed
the advice of the taxi driver to go on towards the river Guantza,
because he said we would see primary forest (bosque
primario) there. Gradually the trees became taller and
the clearings smaller. Before reaching the river we added
Masked Tityra, Black Caracara, Piratic Flycatcher and saw
the Swallow-tailed Kite and the Blue-headed Parrot again.
At 10 a.m. we were at the river, the Punta de la Guantza,
a group of a dozen houses at a small ferry. There is a
cafetaria also and the landlady said they even had rooms
available. This place also serves as starting point for
canoe rides to get to the South, to the village of Chaime
near the Peruvian border. Somebody at the cafetaria said
there were lodging possibilities at Chaime. If that is
more basic then here at the Punta, then it must be very
basic. |
The forest on the other
side of the river seemed rather undisturbed, and only
slightly less so on our side, where we walked one km or
so alongside it South on a newly cut broad track,
probably a future road. Meanwhile our taxi driver went
out fishing. Species here were a.o. Flame-crested
Tanager, White-chinned Jacamar, many Long-tailed Tyrant,
Fasciated Antshrike, Ruddy Pigeon, Greater Yellow-headed
Vulture, Black Hawk-Eagle, White-banded Swallow, Bright-rumped
Attila (heard). Had we had more time here, we would have
ticked several other lowland forest species. This is a
very typical lowland Oriente site with temperatures at
noon about 30 degrees C and high humidity. What a
difference with nearby Cajanuma. Also, the atmoshere in
the village is so totally different from higher up in the
Andes. Some travel hints for this site follow here. From
Zamora go North to Zumbi along the main road, a hardened
dirt road. Then from Zumbi Eastward on a smaller dirt
road (with some buses a day) it is about 37 km to
Guayzimi where we even noted a hotel (Residencial
Orchidea). Then it is a further 7 km Eastward to the
hamlet of Zurmi (yes they like the Z here) and from there
a further 6 km on to that ferry at Punta de la Guantza.
On the way back we drove fast and miraculously did not
hit one of the many freely roaming chickens. Instead we
ticked Chestnut-collared Swift and Barn Swallow, and we
were back in Zamora well in time for a shower before
having the 3.30 p.m. bus back to Loja. |
We returned to Loja
in order to bird the high part of Podocarpus at Cajanuma
once more. The weather was quite different now, less cold
and with higher clouds, so we hoped to see some different
birds. In Loja we tried our third hotel here, a new one
with the promising name of Podocarpus. The room was
rather OK although the curtains were lacking, but the
wholly male and young staff was a bit too inquisitive and
macho. In the evening we went again to the Filanbanco
cash machine next to the church, and it was a lot busier
now, the fiesta of the Virgen del Cisne (Virgin of the
Swan) was approaching. The small hall of the cash machine
was packed with fiesta going villagers preparing to spend
the night there. But we had our best meal thus far in
Loja, at the Cevicheria Las Redes. |
The next morning (Fri. 4
Sep.) we routinely headed for the Cajanuma refuge at
nearly 3000 m. and the weather is more friendly now
indeed. Again we took the Sendero Bosque Nublado (see
site map again) and had terrific views on the rolling
canopy in this mountain kettle. First we ticked Buff-winged
Starfrontlet. At 8 a.m. we got a huge flock with trip
ticks of White-tailed Tyrannulet, Sword-billed
Hummingbird flashing over our heads (a beak with a bird)
and Masked Mountain-Tanager, a group of 4 at a bamboo
bush, seen from above. Other species in the flock were
White-banded Tyrannulet, Blue-and-black Tanager, Pearled
Treerunner, Hooded, Lachrymose and Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager,
Grey-hooded Bush-Tanager, Black-headed Hemispingus,
Streaked Tuftedcheek, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker. Then we
were so lucky to get an Ocellated Tapaculo in full view
in a bamboo bush, by taping it out after recording its
own song. Two others nearby started calling as well. Even
an hour later we heard several ones. We hope that this
was not all caused by us. In general we don't tape out
often. Meanwhile we were doing the mirador trail amidst
the rare transition vegetation from elfin forest to
paramo but did not see many birds there. Going down from
this high and muddy trail into the elfin forest we ticked
White-sided Flowerpiercer in another big flock,
containing the fabulous Golden-crowned Tanager as well.
All the time we heard rattling sounds of tapaculos and we
think that most belong to the complex of the Andean
Tapaculo, which is being split up. The one we saw was
exactly like the picture of the Andean Tapaculo in
Ridgely&Tudor. Several wrens were also hiding and
calling all the time, and the ones we saw now were a
family of Rufous Wren. Rain had started again after all,
and we had lunch in the shelter of the refuge. From 1 p.m.
we started walking down again along the road, and had a
finally convincing view of the guans here, and indeed
these are Bearded (like Band-tailed, not like Andean).
Further down, but still in the forested part (all low
temperate forest here), we ticked Mountain Cacique,
Yellow-billed Cacique, Red-faced Parrot and Speckle-faced
Parrot. Shortly after seeing the Barred Fruiteater again
(they are really big) we got in one binocular view a
colorful mix of Bearded Guan, Turquoise Jay and Mountain
Cacique. At the transition to the open more degraded
habitat we had a final flock of a.o. Masked
Flowerpiercer, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Russet-crowned
Warbler, Montane Woodcreeper. In the dusk we got a Short-tailed
Nighthawk, and heard and recorded, about 200 m before the
guard post at the main road to Loja, one of the strangest
nature sounds we have ever heard, a hoarse clicking of
toads probably. |
|
The following morning (Sat.
5 Sep.) was one of the few mornings that we could not use
for birding. We had a scenic five hour bus ride West to
the small town of Piņas, for the famous
Buenaventura site. The bus rides here are not so bad at
all. You have all the time to look around and gaze at the
impressive mountains. Stopping at many places for birding
in these degraded mountain habitats would not bring many
new species I think, and moreover, in the buses often
happens something folkloristic. Like that time that a
peasant woman entered with a basket, put it on the bench
beside the driver (a common practise), but had to remove
it again after half an hour when some urine started
running from the basket. Apparently she had some young
pigs or so inside it. The basket was then put next to our
rucksacks in the rear compartment of the bus, so again we
were glad that we had those nylon dust bags around them.
We arrived in Piņas just in front of the hotel of our
choice, the Residencial Dumari. After a lunch in town and
washing clothes which we could dry at the lovely patio at
the back of this simple but friendly hotel, we went out
for a first reconnaisance visit to the Buenaventura site.
We crossed the 500 m or so of this steep city (see town
map above) from the hotel to the bus stand. Every half
hour a bus leaves from the Western part of Piņas in the
direction of Machala and after about 15 minutes you have
to get off the bus at the small blue shrine/chapel 100 m
after the gate labeled Buenaventura at your right. |
|
Buenaventura, at
about 1000 m a.s.l. is a valley site with lush forest
patches and shady pastures in a moist climate induced by
the nearness of the Pacific Ocean. See the location map
of this site. We arrived there at 4.30 p.m., and it was
all misty but (or hence) the bird activity was high. In
the remaining 1.5 hour we noted: Violet-tailed Sylph (two
males, showing their extremely long tails), Lemon(Flame)-rumped
Tanager (several), Common Bush-Tanager, Tropical Parula,
Slate-throated Whitestart, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher,
Azara's Spinetail, Orange-bellied Euphonia, White-throated
Crake (heard), Crested Caracara. From our friendly hotel
owner we had learned hat it had been rainy for nearly a
week, and the better weather prevailing since today might
have been positive for bird activity. But also, the
tracks here were still muddy so again we were glad to
have brought our rubber boots. On this first
reconnaisance we only did the first 100 m of both tracks
after the fork some 50 m beyond the chapel up at the main
road. Back in Piņas we searched for a restaurant by
asking a local shopkeeper of one of the bigger shops near
our hotel, and a customer of his actually brought us to a
very small but good and clean restaurant. It is called La
Caņada, it looks like a bamboo bar, is situated about in
the middle of this small city with its incredibly steep
streets, and has no menu card but really good food (for
very low prices) and a professional and friendly service.
We ate here every night. Opposite the restaurant is one
of the better groceries of town and around the corner one
of the better bakeries, so after our meal we bought
supplies for the next day. |
This next day (Sun. 6 Sep.)
was entirely for the Buenaventura site. We did the
left track, and also the trail that goes right after
about 800 m, just where the track makes a sharp lefthand
bend. We think that this trail is what is meant by the
Dianita trail (BHW), and not the trail (if any) after the
sign 'Dianita' some 100 m before that bend in the track.
From 6 till 11 a.m. we noted, along the track: Plain-backed
Antpitta (heard), Bay Wren, Whiskered Wren (heard),
Roadside Hawk, Ecuadorian Thrush, Bronze-winged Parrot,
Rufous-fronted Wood-quail (heard), Plumbeous Pigeon,
Violet-tailed Sylph again, Bran-colored Flycatcher,
Masked Yellowthroat, Andean Solitaire, Purple-crowned
Fairy, Emerald Toucanet, Ornate Flycatcher, Red-masked
Parakeet, Grey-breasted Wood-wren, Grey-and-gold Warbler,
Rufous-headed Chachalaca (heard), Slaty Spinetail (Azara
too again), Silver-throated Tanager, Boat-billed
Flycatcher, Palm Tanager, Variable Seedeater, Black-winged
Saltator, a large lek of Club-winged Manakin, Crimson-rumped
Toucanet, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant (heard), Sickle-winged
Guan. The manakins make an incredible buzzing sound, that
at first we did not recognize as a bird sound but thought
it was one of those crazy cicades. It seems not solved
yet if they make the sound with their clubbed wings or
otherwise. As with other manakins, they are rather tame
so we had long views of them. The manakins are in the
wood just before the start of the Dianita trail.
We started this very muddy trail at 11 a.m. The weather
was partly cloudy and dry and there was no wind. Along
the trail we saw, mainly in some flocks, Bay-headed
Tanager, Black-winged Saltator, Swallow Tanager, White-whiskered
Hermit, Flame-faced Tanager, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper,
Slaty-capped Flycatcher, Spotted Woodcreeper, and up in
the air Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, a noisy family of
Black Hawk-Eagle, Great Black-Hawk and Grey-backed Hawk.
The latter is one of the specialties for S Ecuador, and
we saw it often flying by closely overhead. In a clearing
we had Collared Trogon again. As usual, but here more
than elsewhere, we heard and recorded bird sounds that we
could not identify, even not (yet) back home. On the
farthest point along this Dianita trail, after some 1 km
from the start, we had a view on the coastal plain of Sta.
Rosa. |
As on most hikes at this
altitude here, the butterflies were plentiful and
beautiful. Imagine that you would ever start listing
these too, with a good field guide, then you shouldn't
think of all the ones you just gazed at here. Also we saw
a lot of small poison-arrow frogs Dendrobates (Epipedobates)
tricolor. A very variable species, only occurring in SW
Ecuador. We saw the green & black variety. In the
afternoon on the way back along the track, up again
towards the chapel, we ticked Slaty-winged Foliage-gleaner,
Ochre-breasted Tanager, Dusky-capped Flycatcher,
Plumbeous-backed Thrush (a group of 4), Beryl-spangled
Tanager, Smooth-billed Ani. From the track we flushed two
dark short-tailed doves that must have been Ruddy Quail-Dove.
Back at the shrine in the late afternoon, we had to wait
a while on the bus back to Piņas, and we watched the
passing cars on this late Sunday afternoon. Many
passengers waved at us, I thought, so I friendly waved
back, until I understood that they merely crossed
themselves for the Maria statue behind me. Back in Piņas
we witnessed the last remains of the big Sunday
streetmarket, where we bought some apples. |
The next morning (Mon. 7
Sep.) we came back to the Buenaventura site once
more. We walked swiftly the left track down to the start
of the Dianita trail and slowly birded back along the
track up to the main road. New or interesting birds were
a pair of Bronze-winged Parrot, one looking from its
nesting hole, the other on guard nearby, Plain Xenops,
Song Wren, a group of Pyrrhura parakeets flying overhead
(can only be the endemic El Oro Parakeet, first
discovered on this site, in 1980), Black-striped Sparrow,
Golden-naped Tanager, Purple-crowned Fairy, and we heard
the same crake as the first night again. Now it was 9 a.m.
and 21 degrees C in the shade. At a short walk along the
right-hand track, toward a small river, we ticked Green
Kingfisher and Savanna Hawk. Back at the chapel we saw a
Grey-backed Hawk being attacked by an American Kestrel.
We hang around a bit there but it was getting hotter now
by noon, and we decided for a bus back to Piņas, where
we had a good almuerzo (lunch) at Las Orquideas opposite
the bus stand. Then we went to the taxi stand a bit
further on, and made an appointment with a taxi driver to
be picked up at 4.30 p.m. at our hotel to have a ride to
the xerophytic basin East of Piņas. With him we drove
past the horribly polluting mining business along the
river below Zaruma and eventually ended up at the bridge
across the much nicer Rio Pindo, at a picknick
place with some houses. See the location map of this site.
We made a walk along a track right after the bridge, to
the right, back along the river, and saw a.o. Ringed
Kingfisher, Fasciated Wren, the funny One-colored Becard
(trip tick), and also several unidentified hummers and
parakeets further away. After some 300 m this track ends
at some houses, and seemingly there is a trail going from
there up into the low hills. The whole area consists of
xerophytic bushes and bushy forest, and this hillside
looked promising, but dusk set in. During the 30 mins.
drive back to Piņas we noted a roost of Shiny Cowbird.
We enjoyed our last meal at the tiny La Caņada
restaurant. The next day we would leave this most
Southern part of Ecuador and go the the coastal area West
of Guayaquil (see the map). |
|
On Tue. 6 Sep. we had the
6 a.m. bus from Piņas to Machala, and then a non-stop
bus of Rutas Orenses (apparently better than the nearby
Ecuatoriana Pullman) on to Guayaquil, with a
Schwarzenegger video movie and a free cola on board. On
the big bus station of Guayaquil we took some extra money
from one of the six cash machines (ATM's; all sorts of
cards possible), before having a bus to the Sta. Elena
peninsula, which goes every 15 minutes. We got off at
the town of La Libertad where we took a shared taxi (the
ones with the green front) to Punta Carnero, a famous
seaside birding site. In the hotel Punta Carnero
situated splendidly on an isolated promontory, we got a
fine room with a view on the sea and the beach, with
sightings of Brown Pelican, Whimbrel, Magnificent
Frigatebird, Sanderling, Willet, Grey Plover, American
Oystercatcher. In the late afternoon we made a short walk
to the top of the rock behind the hotel, and got a good
view on the nearby creeks in this sandy and shrubby
coastal plain. From here we ticked Long-tailed
Mockingbird, Lesser Yellowlegs, Grey Gull, Tropical
Gnatcatcher, Black-necked Stilt, Great Egret, Snowy Egret.
See the location map of this site. |
![]() |
This coastal plain is
also where we went birding the next morning (Wed. 7 Sep.),
before having our first proper hotel breakfast of the
trip. But first, at dawn at 5.50 a.m. I stood a while on
the balcony, and see, a nightjar flew along at a few
meters distance. It was rather small, very dark (no white
patch), had a relatively short tail, and had a typical
nightjar flight (not nighthawk). The only nightjar/nighthawk
that occurs here is the Anthony's Nightjar! Then, from 6.15
till 8.30 a.m., we walked some 500 m into the coastal
plain with its xerophytic bushes behind the creeks, we
saw Parrot-billed Seedeater, Semi-palmated Plover,
'Western' Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Common/Arctic Tern,
Spotted Sandpiper, Thick-billed Plover, Little Blue
Heron, Grey-headed Gull, Least Sandpiper, Peruvian
Meadowlark, Short-tailed Woodstar, Croaking Ground-Dove (with
its croaking call), Green Heron, Pacific Parrotlet,
Groove-billed Ani, Short-tailed Field-Tyrant, Vermillion
Flycatcher. Back at the beach we ticked Kelp Gull, and
saw several times Blue-footed Booby from the hotel room
as well as from our breakfast table. At 9.00 a.m. we had
a shared taxi (after 5 mins waiting) to the salt pans a
few kms West of here. Contrary to what BHW says, the
public transport is good here in this plain (taxi's,
small buses). Where the road back to La Libertad forks
off from the beach road we left the taxi and walked on
along the beach road, with the partly marshy saltpans to
the right. Here we saw Pied-billed Grebe (300), Neotropic
Cormorant (30), Brown Pelican (30), a Peruvian Pelican
rising out above the Browns on a small dike, possibly
Blue-winged Teal (a group of 40), White-necked Heron (1,
not yet on the list in BHW), Greater Yellowlegs next to a
Lesser, Short-billed Dowitcher, Black Tern, possibly also
Sandwich Tern. But the best birds here were the c. 200
Wilson's Phalaropes feeding allover the saltpans in
shallow water (some walking). After some 1.5 km we had
seen enough and took a truck and a small bus back to the
hotel, where we checked out at 1 p.m. and had another
shared taxi back to La Libertad. |
|
For some sucres extra the
taxi driver brought us to the hard to find and rather
dirty terminal for buses up North along the West coast.
We headed for Puerto Lopez, situated amidst the
Machalilla National Park. This bus ride was the most
remarkable one of the whole trip. We drove through
pictoresque although dirty fishing villages practically
sitting on the beach in stead of behind it, and where the
road had been washed away from the hillside by the heavy
El Nino rains the bus just drove on the beach, for
several kms. Finally, so many bridges had been washed
away that the bus could not go further and the service
was taken over by small pick-ups, waiting in a row. In
these pickups we crossed the provisional bailey bridges,
meanwhile spotting Baird's Flycatcher, Grey-backed Hawk
and Amazon Kingfisher, and reached Puerto Lopez
well before dusk. See the map of the town. Here we
checked in at the hotel Pacifico (100.000 sucres), and
strolled along the 'boulevard' (Malecon) where we chose
Explorama for the excursion to the Isla de la Plata
the next day (125.000 sucres pp). This is a touristy
destination (the "poor man's Galapagos") about
50 km from the mainland, and there were several other
companies to choose from (Luz de Luna, in a side street,
looked promising as well). The trip includes the boat
ride (c. 2 hours) to the island, whale watching underway,
a light lunch (mainly fruits), a guided (obligatory!)
walk of three hours on the island, a short stop for
snorkeling, and the ride back again. Bring water, suntan,
hat, walking shoes, repellant, and some patience for the
lunch. The walk is about 5 km. After making this
reservation for the next day we had our first ceviche
mixta (seafood) at the Spondylus restaurant. In the dusk
we witnessed the gathering of about 2700 Grey-breasted
Martin at their night roost on the telephone wires along
the Malecon. From pole to pole, count one wire and
multiply it by the number of wires
|
The excursion to the
island the next morning (Thu. 8 Sep.) left at 8 a.m.
There were three more boats of other companies, ours
counted 10 people including guide and boatsman. During
the rather fast ride, bumping across the tops of the
waves, we noted Peruvian Booby, a Procellaria petrel (probably
Black/Parkinson's), Grey Phalarope, Sabine's Gull, and
several feeding flights of Blue-footed Booby. About 4 km
before the island we stopped a few times in order to scan
the horizon for whales who stay here in August and
September, and also for keeping an eye on the other three
boats to see if one of them would discover a whale and
rush towards it. This trick worked well, and we were
rewarded with impressive views of two rolling and
spouting Humpback Whales, heaving their enormous tails
with the white underside. This might have been the
general highlight of this day trip ('the best bird of the
day often is a mammal'), but some very good birds awaited
us at the island itself. At the entrance office and only
building here (this is part of the Machalilla N.P.), we
saw Collared Warbling-Finch for which Isla de la Plata is
the best place, probably. A Cattle Egret (not yet on the
list in BHW) circled some time above this entrance area,
apparently a bit disappointed by this shrubby and dry
island without cattle. See the location map of this site. |
|
During the 3-hour guided
walk that followed across the Eastern part of the island
we visited several booby colonies. First we traversed two
loose colonies of Blue-footed Booby, some dancing with
their blue feet. The guide said that this year the vines
had taken over so much of the bare ground they need for
their nests, that the colonies were smaller than normal.
(I am not too sure about this monocausal relation.) Then,
at the beautiful Eastern tip of the island, we had to
walk through the Masked Booby colony, most nested right
on the steps of the trail. They made some vague
threatening gestures towards our legs. But the best birds
here were a pair of Red-billed Tropicbird, a lifer for us.
They showed very nicely their tail-streamers while flying
along the cliff edge right in front of us. Other birds on
the island included Baird's Flycatcher, Vermillion
Flycatcher, Turkey Vulture, Long-tailed Mockingbird,
Short-tailed Woodstar, and a Wandering Tattler on the
rocky plateau at sea level, below the Masked Booby colony.
We dipped for the Waved Albatross, who probably had flown
off, or maybe our guide just forgot to have a proper look
for it. For real dicky-birding the pace was too fast. If
you want a real birding tour you will have to make a
special arrangement with one of the tour companies,
although I wonder if you would see much more species. On
the way back to the mainland we first sighted a group of
8 sea lions jus below the Blue-footed Booby colony, and
further away from the island an Oceanodromo storm-petrel
(probably Black), a shearwater (probably Sooty, dark
below and above), and again some frantically feeding Grey
Phalarope on the waves. |
These two seaside
destinations (Punta Carnero and Isla de la Plata) had
brought us many trip ticks, and we were curious to see
what new birds the mostly deciduous forests of our last
two destinations (Ayampe and Cerro Blanco) would bring. |
The Ayampe river
valley was our goal the next morning (Fri. 11 Sep.).
Several sources had indicated that this site just South
of Machalilla National Park is a good birding spot and
even a good alternative for the less accessible park
itself. Moreover, the xerophytic hillside vegetation of
the park was now covered nearly completely by vines due
to the El Niņo rains. In the deciduous to moist forests
of the Ayampe valley bottom many birds from the hillside
would reportedly come down, and there were far less vines.
After our drive in a pickup 4WD to the bridge over the
river Ayampe (one of the few bridges left unharmed by El
Niņo), we walked the track inland that starts at the
South side of the bridge and follows the river bank more
or less (see site map). This track may have been
driveable for 3 or 4 km formerly, but now after El Niņo
only for just 800 m or so. Several landslides even made
walking a bit difficult along the remaining stretch. The
river was still quite swollen, and the river bed was
certainly not driveable now as suggested in BHW. The
Ayampe river valley has steep forested sides and some
interesting tall bamboo patches in the inner bends of the
river. We slowly walked from the bridge till a big
landslide 2 km inland. We noted a.o. Pacific Hornero,
Bright-rumped Attila, Ecuadorian Ground-Dove, Streaked
Xenops, Thick-billed Euphonia, Rufous-browed
Peppershrike, Superciliared Wren, Streaked Saltator,
Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Slaty Spinetail, Violaceous
Trogon, Black-capped Sparrow, Lemon-rumped Tanager,
Collared Forest-falcon juvenal in a tree, Plain Antvireo,
Red-eyed Vireo, Southern Nightingale Wren, Masked Water-Tyrant
(this species only occurs in this coastal region and in
extreme Eastern Brazil!), and a group of four Pale-mandibled
Aracari (endemic) on top of that bamboo forest in the
river bend. |
|
Now it was 9.45 a.m. and
we were standing on the big landslide. We were watched by
a Crimson Finch-Tanager from very nearby. Then we decided
to turn back, and gradually a drizzle set in. The
temperature here, by the way, is rather low for this
altitude near sea level, and this is due to the coastal
fogs. On the way back along this track in the Ayampe
river valley we ticked Fasciated Antshrike, Speckle-breasted
Wren, Crowned Woodnymph, Black-tailed Flycatcher, Streak-headed
Woodcreeper, Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant, Collared
Antshrike, and noted also a.o. Black-striped Sparrow,
Lineated Woodpecker, Collared Plover, One-colored Becard,
Pacific Parrotlet, Striped Cuckoo, and we saw a Yellow-tailed
Oriole type without the black throat (juvenal?). Now it
was 12.30 a.m. and we got the usual 4WD pickup back
North, but got off at the Alandaluz lodge c. 5 km
N of Ayampe, to have a look. We decided that this would
be a good place to stay the 3rd and 4th night in this
area, so we quickly went on to Pto. Lopez, packed and
left the hotel at check-out time (2 p.m.), were back at
Alandaluz at 2.30 p.m. already, and settled in our nice
cabana (nr. 34, for 120.000 sucres, no credit card!). In
the late afternoon we made a short walk to the nearby
village of Puerto Rico and along a trail up into
the hills for just 200 m, and here we saw Ecuadorian
Thrush, Southern Yellow Grosbeak, Pallid Dove, Pauraque (flushed
when we walked into an orchard), Black-tailed Trogon,
Necklaced Spinetail (a Tumbesian endemic), and the
unmistakeble whistle of the Pale-browed Tinamou. This
trail goes through semi-open habitat of deciduous
woodplots, bushes, pastures and orchards, and two days
later we would visit this again. The trail starts to the
right at the Northern tip of the hamlet called Puerto
Rico, where the road bends to the left after a long
straight stretch through the village, in total at about 1
km N of Alandaluz lodge. See map below. |
|
The next day (Sat. 12 Sep.)
we had a full day for Ayampe, and at 7 a.m. we
were already at the landslide where we had turned back
yesterday. Meanwhile we had heard many Grey-and-gold
Warbler, and had the Black-capped Sparrow again, the bird
that we had seen more often but had longtime remained a
mystery for us (no good picture available in the field;
the same holds for the Streaked Saltator, which is
virtually unstreaked here and has a bolder eye-stripe).
Continuing the trail that remained of the former track
after the landslide, we saw a.o. Grey-backed Hawk,
Western Slaty Antshrike, Orange-billed Sparrow, Bronze-winged
Parrot, Violaceous Trogon, Sooty-crowned Flycatcher (a
nice Myiarchus), Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant, a group of
Pale-mandibled Aracari again (six now). This was at the
end of the trail/track, at the river, at about 4 km from
the main road, and it was 9.30 a.m. now, 21 degrees C,
and cloudy. Halfway on the way back we walked c. 150 m
through a dry creek uphill, densely wooded around, and
observed Little Tinamou, Pallid Dove, Slaty Grosbeak,
White-whiskered Puffbird, Slaty Antwren, Collared Trogon,
Plain Antvireo, Olivaceous Piculet, and then walked into
an antswarm with at least White-backed Fire-eye, Plain-brown
Woodcreeper, Slaty Antwren and some other quickly
disappearing antbirds. We also observed a pair of Black-tailed
Trogon at 10 m distance, feeding on the berries in the
trees by hovering shortly every time. Before returning on
the main track we saw the Violaceous Trogon again, so we
had seen three trogon species along this short creek
trail. At 1 p.m. we were back at the main Ayampe track,
and back to the main road we added Piratic Flycatcher,
Green Honeycreeper, a Monarch butterfly, Southern
Beardless Tyrannulet (overlooked thus far probably). |
At the village of Ayampe
at the mouth of the Ayampe river we had a cola, and
decided to do some birding along the stretch of main road
just South of the Ayampe river. See again the map above.
We had passed this lush forested hill area when we
arrived here two days ago from La Libertad, and then it
looked promising, also because there is so few trafic now
due to the bad state of the road. After a short pickup
drive we got out slightly beyond the gate of the
luxurious Atamari lodge. Walking down, and also
the 200 m to the lodge overlooking the sea (we had a
drink at their terrace), we noted a.o. Scarlet-backed and
Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Red-masked Parakeet, Amazilia
Hummingbird, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, and probably
recorded an Antshrike that should not occur here in this
part of Ecuador: either Chapman's or Barred. Back at the
friendly Alandaluz lodge at dusk we washed our rubber
boots in a pool on the beach. |
At 6 a.m. the next
morning (Sun. 13 Sep.) we walked again to that Puerto
Rico trail of two days ago, for some pre-breakfast
birding. See the map again. The trail seems to follow a
dry gully for a while but soon we left this and followed
the (or another) trail to the right, uphill through semi-open
habitat and orchards. We hoped to reach true forest
eventually but on the slippery trail in the orchards, at
about 150 m a.s.l., we returned. We noted the following
species (full list, as this site has not been described
before, probably): Laughing Falcon, Plain Antvireo,
Yellow-tailed Oriole, Little Tinamou, Plain-brown
Woodcreeper, Superciliared Wren, Bronze-winged Parrot,
Tropical Gnatcatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Streaked
Saltator, Grey-and-gold Warbler, Ecuadorian Thrush, Thick-billed
Euphonia, White-tipped Dove, Collared Antshrike, Scarlet-backed
Woodpecker, Striped Cuckoo, Crimson Finch-Tanager,
Variable Seedeater (a large group), Red-masked Parakeet,
Grey-backed Hawk (chasing away two Laughing Falcons!),
Boat-billed Flycatcher, Grey Hawk, Yellow-bellied
Elaenia, Pacific Parrotlet, Black-striped Sparrow,
Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Fasciated Wren, Tropical
Parula. By now it was 9.15 a.m., 24 degr C, cloudy and
windless. (More common birds around were Blue-grey
Tanager, Bananaquit, Groove-billed Ani, Scrub Blackbird,
Black and Turkey Vulture, Magnificent Frigatebird,
Pacific Hornero, Southern Rough-winged Swallow. See also
the list of the first visit, with Necklaced Spinetail a.o.) |
At 11 a.m. we checked out
at the Alandaluz lodge. Our last pickup ride here brought
us to the bus stand on that rather dirty main street of
Pto. Lopez, where we left within 5 minutes with the bus to
Jipijapa. It was a Sunday and the people in the bus
were nicely dressed, but a horrible movie was on the
video. Meanwhile we passed impressive xerophytic hill
sceneries, although incredibly covered by the 'El Niņo'
vines as explained before. Whole cactus stands had been
turned into green mounds, and from a distance the hills
seemed to be draped in a sort of spinach. At the
remarkably clean bus station of 'Jipi' we had an
immediate connection to 'Guaya' (Guayaquil, they
like shortened names here). In places this road was
rather bad again but the driver was very careful. It grew
very hot this afternoon. At the Guayaquil bus station, in
the late afternoon, we took a taxi to the hotel Doral in
the centre and had a very quiet inner room. The hotel has
a pleasantly professional staff and a reasonable
restaurant, and is situated opposite the Emetel telephone
office. See the sketchy city map. |
|
Our last day (Mon. 14 Sep.)
was for the famous Cerro Blanco reserve, a chalk
hill with good deciduous forest at 5 km West of Guayaquil
(see the site map). We arrived there shortly after 8 a.m.,
the opening time, by the Chongon bus that leaves from the
Parque Victoria (where we went to by taxi). Officially
the Cerro Blanco reserve is closed on Monday and Tuesday
(at least a sign at the entrance said so), but we as
foreign visitors were warmly received for 10 dollar pp.
Near the entrance we spotted a Red-throated Caracara.
This is a park with good facilities and well maintained
trails. We had not been in such explicit deciduous forest
before, so we expected some trip ticks. We hoped
especially to see the White-tailed Jay. First we walked
the Canoa trail, a short loop around a small
canyon with bushes, with nice Ceiba trees higher up the
hillsides: Ecuadorian Ground-Dove, Grey-cheeked Parakeet,
Fasciated Wren, Slaty Grosbeak, Laughing Falcon, Grey-backed
Hawk, Amazilia Hummingbird, Violet-bellied Hummingbird,
Ecuadorian Thrush, Pacific Parrotlet, Scarlet-backed
Woodpecker, Streaked Xenops, White-shouldered Tanager,
One-colored Becard, Long-tailed Hermit, but no jay yet.
By noon we were back at the office, and asked the
american ecologist if he had seen the jays lately. He
said that he had not seen them for two weeks now and that
there movements were a bit a riddle. But right after
leaving this building we saw a group of six White-tailed
Jays, stealthily moving through the trees, as jays can do.
After this we walked the long trail uphill, the Buenavista
trail, until the first mirador (viewpoint). Along the
trail we saw Black-and-white Becard, Collared Antshrike,
Sooty-crowned Flycatcher, King Vulture, Short-tailed
Swift (the latter two from the mirador), a group of four
Grey-backed Hawks, and back below we saw lots of Grey-cheeked
Parakeets. |
At 3 p.m. we left the
park and took one of the many buses back to Guayaquil. In
fact the bus stopped already before we had been able to
cross the lane. Back at the hotel, we enjoyed the dusk
hour of a tropical city centre and did some souvenir
shopping at the tiny market stalls around the telephone
office opposite the hotel. Our return flight the next
morning marked the end of a good birding trip with many
species typical of Southern Ecuador, less wind than we
often have had elsewhere in the Andes, spectacular
sceneries and nice people. |
Epilogue |
When you do a birding trip through Southern Ecuador like we did (no guide, no car), your expectations should not be too high in terms of the number of species. Yet I think we didn't do that bad, and I think that it's more the guide than the car that would have given extra species. Areas that we probably would have added with a car however, are situated in the deepest South, at the border with Peru, where we would have seen some more Tumbesian endemics (although we did see a fine 22 of them). |
When you are preparing a
trip like this, you always wonder which areas are the
most essential, how many days per area, how to combine
areas, etc. Therefore (for future visits by others), I
made up some layman's statistics about what we saw at the
different sites. I don't take into account differences in
the number of days or hours that we visited the sites,
but in general I think this will be in balance, except
for the Surocucho, Oriente and Vilcabamba sites. Here we
just went for a short side trip of half a day or even
less. Also, Cerro Blanco would have given more species on
a longer visit, but then you have to stay longer in that
big city (Guayaquil). (Remember to have a look at the annotated species list.) |
In terms of number of bird species observed (including heard only's), the top sites were Ayampe at the West coast (97 species), Buenaventura near Piņas in El Oro province (87), Cajanuma (high Podocarpus N.P.; 67), Bombuscaro (low Podocarpus N.P.; 65), and the Gualaceo-Limon road East of Cuenca (64 species). Of course this is only numbers of species, not yet how special these species are. In the same respect, a good second place is for the Oriente East of Zamora (58 species), Punta Carnero at the West coast (47), and Cerro Blanco near Guayaquil (36 species). |
The sites differ widely in the number of species that were only observed at that particular site. In this 'uniqueness' aspect the sites score as follows, from high to low: Punta Carnero (33 out of 47; the only coastal wetlands we visited), Cajas N.P. West of Cuenca (15 out of 24; the only site above 3200 m a.s.l.), Isla de la Plata (10 out of 17), Bombuscaro (33 out of 65), Cajanuma (31 out of 67), Oriente (27 out of 58), Gualaceo-Limon road (24 out of 64), Ayampe (35 out of 97), Vilcabamba (5 out of 17), Surocucho (6 out of 21; should give much more on a longer visit), Cerro Blanco (10 out of 36). |
Comparing these two sequences, the most rewarding sites in terms of species diversity were for us: Buenaventura, Ayampe, Punta Carnero, Bombuscaro and Cajanuma. |
Another approach is to count endemics (indicated in the annotated species list). In Southern Ecuador there are five EBA's (endemic bird areas; areas with a remarkable number of species with a limited distribution, regardless of national boundaries). We have seen 35 of these endemic bird species on this trip: 22 Tumbesian, 3 Choco, 5 Central Andes paramo, 4 South Central Andes and 1 Ecuadorian/Peru East Andes. The number of endemics per site is as follows: Ayampe 14 (13 Tumbesian, 1 Choco), Buenaventura 13 (9 Tumbesian, 2 Choco, 1 SC Andes), Cerro Blanco (8 Tumbesian), Cajanuma (4 SC Andes, 1 CA paramo), Punta Carnero (3 Tumbesian), Cajas and Gualaceo-Limon (each 2 CA paramo), Bombuscaro (1 East Andes). |
Comparing now species diversity and the endemics numbers, I think our best three sites overall were Buenaventura for the middle elevations, Ayampe for the low elevations, and Cajanuma for the high elevations. However, special attention deserve Cajas for the highest elevations, Punta Carnero for the coastal wetlands, Bombuscaro for the lower East Andes slope, and the Gualaceo-Limon road for the higher East Andes slope. |