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Panama 2025 – From Canopy Camp to Nusagandi (Part 2 of 2)

October 29, 2025 by Shelley Rutkin

I was sick on our last full day at Canopy Camp, but I’ve traveled enough to know that these things happen, so I try to make the best of it. For the first couple of hours, I sat on our deck and watched birds in the nearby trees between trips to the bathroom. My reward was seeing a beautiful Cinnamon Woodpecker being fed by a parent. Immediately after I took this photo, the parent (top bird) reached down and deposited food into the open mouth of the baby.

If I hadn’t seen another bird all morning, I’d have been happy, but my day was just starting. I soon felt well enough to leave our deck, so I decided to check the vulture feeding area. Oscar had taken us to this spot on our first day at the camp. I didn’t realize until later that the others had seen an immature King Vulture in the trees that day, but it had not come down to feed. I took my time on my walk and enjoyed a little flock of Blue Dacnis (in the “wild” rather than at a feeder) as well as several new butterflies. At the feeding area, I didn’t see anything except this cute little Green-and-black Poison Dart Frog.

Again, I felt like my day was full and I was happy. While walking back to our tent, I saw a man pushing a wheelbarrow toward the vulture feeding area. Four Black Vultures also appeared to notice him and flew down in the same direction. I waited a while and then decided to go back and see what was happening. The man was standing off to the side. He had obviously delivered something as about 50 Black Vultures were excitedly feeding. After a long wait, he motioned to me and indicated that a King Vulture was in the trees. After another wait, it came down to feed. Finally, an immature King Vulture joined the frenzy. It was one of those “magic moments” in birding when I was completely captivated by these impressive, almost prehistoric-looking birds. The adult is the bird with the white back; the immature bird has a dark back and chest.

Later, after the others returned mid-afternoon, Sandra and I sat on our deck and enjoyed watching this pretty female White-tailed Trogon in the trees right outside our tent.

The week had gone quickly and we had been busy, but I had found time to check the moth sheet for a few minutes most early mornings and evenings.

Here is a small sample of interesting moths and other insects that I observed. If you like these, I have many more on iNaturalist (shelleydee – Panama September 2025)

The next morning, we said goodbye to Canopy Camp and started back north toward Panama City. Below, Sandra and me with Oscar, who was amazing and is now one of my favorite Canopy guides.

We stopped at Reserva San Francisco for one last birding venture. Lunch was at the same little restaurant we’d visited on our way to the camp. This time, a couple of Orange-chinned Parakeets entertained us. Who says you can’t see the orange chin?

We were soon back in the same hotel where we had started a week earlier, but our Panama adventure was not over yet. When Sandra had reviewed her potential life birds for our Panama itinerary, she was especially excited by the prospect of seeing Sapayoa, a bird in a monotypic family. That made Nusagandi—one of the few places where it’s found—a top priority.

We had made arrangements for a full day of birding with Michael Castro of Whitehawk Birding. Michael picked us up promptly at 5:00 AM, and we started the 2-hour drive to Nusagandi. We arrived at the province border just before 7:00 AM. A few minutes earlier, we had picked up a local farmer and birder who would help us for a few hours.

We would spend the entire day in the Guna Yala province, a thin strip of land that stretches along the Caribbean coast on the northeast side of Panama. Guna Yala is an autonomous Indigenous territory (comarca) in Panama, governed by the Guna people through their own traditional system. 95% of the inhabitants of the province are indigenous Gunas. The differences in this province are obvious as you approach the checkpoint on the only road into the area from Panama City. The road in does not open until 7:00 AM, and a fee is required to enter the province via car. Michael paid $30 USD per person for himself, Sandra, and me to enter. On the right, the line waiting to enter Guna Yala.

We stopped few minutes later, and I got my first life birds of the day—White-ruffed Manakin (pictured below) and Sulphur-rumped Tanager.

Our next stop at 8:00 AM was even more exciting. The area didn’t look all that promising to me; it was just a scrubby field with a few large trees. Michael is enthusiastic about all birds, and he got excited when he heard Crested Guans squawking. He followed the sounds to determine what was causing the racket, and then he got even more excited. I wish I could remember his exact words, but it was something like “A raptor is trying to kill one of the guans!” The raptor turned out to be an immature Ornate Hawk-Eagle, and it was amazing to watch this activity. Sadly for the hungry raptor, both guans survived the attacks. To help you fully appreciate this encounter, Crested Guans are not small birds—they weigh 4-1/2 pounds or more. An Ornate Hawk-Eagle weighs just over 2-1/2 pounds, so it seems to me that this ambitious young raptor had a lot of spunk.

Below, some of the beautiful landscape of the Guna Yala province.

The next excitement was finding a pair of Yellow-eared Toucanets on the side of the road. While many members of the toucan family are bold and easy to see, Yellow-eared Toucanets are shy and elusive. It was a real treat to watch these beautiful birds.

And, what did we see next? A male Blue Cotinga! This is another shy species, often perching high in the forest canopy. It’s thrilling when you spot a gorgeous male cotinga with his intense blue plumage.

It had been a great morning, but the main attraction still awaited us. We drove to our local farmer’s property near Nusagandi, parked on the side of the road, and ducked into the forest in a spot where I didn’t even see a path. We had started our quest for Sapayoa.

Sapayoa is an amazing bird, not for its looks, but for its unusual evolutionary history. From Google’s AI overview: “Sapayoa is the sole species in the monotypic family Sapayoidae, making it an evolutionary “enigma”. This Old World broadbill outlier, found in Panama and northwestern South America, is unique in the New World and is characterized by its broad bill, olive-yellow plumage, and preference for ravines and streams. Recent molecular evidence confirms its position as the last surviving member of a lineage that once inhabited the Old World tropics.”

We made our way through the forest alongside a little stream. The description of Sapayoa’s preferred habitat fit perfectly with the location where we found it—a quarter of a mile through thick forest by the stream. Our amazing guides helped Sandra and me slog through slippery mud as we carefully made our way down to the stream, all the while hearing thunder. Amazingly, we saw the Sapayoa and made it back to the car without getting drenched.

It’s not a good photo, but I am thrilled to have any photo of this bird.

Our mission accomplished, Michael, Sandra, and I headed back to Panama City. It had been a wonderful day, and we couldn’t have been happier. Sandra got a much-wanted life bird, and I was thrilled to share in the adventure. Michael had been a wonderful guide who found our target birds and made the entire day fun.

In eight days of birding, I added 32 species to my life list. I’m always greedy and had hoped for more, but that still greatly increases my chances of reaching 2,500 in South America this fall. Regardless of numbers, though, I love birding and can’t wait for the next adventure!

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Panama 2025 – Birding the Darién at Canopy Camp (Part 1 of 2)

October 27, 2025 by Shelley Rutkin

My trip to Panama last month started on a whim, as so many of my trips have. A couple of years ago, I made a birding trip bucket list; this trip wasn’t on it. I think that I’ll blame – or maybe credit – my friend, Sandra, for this one. She is a much better birder than I am and also more motivated, and some of that ambition may be rubbing off on me. Her goal is to see half of the world’s birds, now somewhere over 5,500. My more modest goal is 2,500. Sandra and I have a big trip to South America starting in November, and I really want to celebrate reaching my goal on that trip. Fearing that I wouldn’t make it, I looked for a quick and easy trip to pad my list a bit. Panama’s Canopy Camp fit the bill perfectly. I had been to the other two Canopy lodges in 2017 and had a great time. The guides are excellent, and there wouldn’t be any planning required. When I told Sandra about my plan, she decided to come with me.

We flew to Panama City on September 15 and met our guide, Oscar Fría, and the seven other participants the following morning. We all marveled at the migrating Mississippi Kites right over our heads in the hotel parking lot—an estimated 200 birds! And then we started the three-hour drive south toward the Darién Province. The day went quickly, with a couple of stops for birding and a nice outdoor lunch where we could watch birds while we ate. Below are the Snowy-bellied and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds, a Blue-gray Tanager, and my favorite plumaged Blue Dacnis, an immature male, that entertained us during our meal.

We arrived at the camp mid-afternoon, giving us just the right amount of time to get settled in our comfortable safari-style tents and explore a little. I was happy to get two life birds that first day, a Sapphire-throated Hummingbird and a Pale-bellied Hermit. In the gallery below are those birds (top row), along with a Blue-chested Hummingbird and a White-necked Jacobin that frequented the area near the deck where we ate our meals.

It was exciting to be in the Darién, described by Raúl Arias, owner of the Canopy Family lodges, as the largest and least inhabited province of Panama, the one with the biggest tracts of primary forests, the longest and widest rivers, the tallest trees, the least accessible province, the least known. Here, in this hotbed of biological diversity, the camp itself sits atop a small plateau in lowland rainforest.

We birded around camp the next morning, and I got several more life birds. One of my favorites was the lovely Gray-cheeked Nunlet that Oscar digiscoped for me.

Another highlight was this Golden-headed Manakin. I missed it the first time the group saw it because I had gone back to our tent for something. Later, Sandra spotted it right from our deck!

Chestnut-headed Oropendolas were a constant presence around the camp.

I also loved this gorgeous female Black-crowned Tityra, a photo lifer.

On the 18th, we birded an area not far from the camp where more life birds awaited. I really like woodpeckers, so I was delighted to add this Golden-green Woodpecker to my life list.

This Orange-crowned Oriole was another wonderful bird and also a “lifer.”

A female Blue Cotinga was not a life bird, but what a beauty! I couldn’t have been happier if she had been a lifer. It was my best view ever of this species and my first look at a female.

Friday was a big day–the quest for Harpy Eagle. I saw my life Harpy in Ecuador a few years ago. Read about that experience and learn more about the eagle in Ecuador 2021: Limoncocha (Part 4 of 6). But I don’t think that any birder would pass up an opportunity to see this special bird, so I was happy to have another experience with it.

While assembled at the edge of the field before we started our trek, these Black Oropendolas bounced around a bare treetop on the opposite side of the field. The oropendolas were life birds, and I was very happy to have even a distant view.

We were lucky to have a relatively easy trek to the Harpy Eagle nest, about two-thirds of a mile each way on a shaded trail through the forest. In contrast, many birders have walked for hours in the sun or ridden horses to get to a Harpy Eagle nest. The trail was not exactly easy, though, with lots of mud and exposed tree roots. I couldn’t help thinking that these birds must intentionally choose nest sites in inaccessible areas. Here is the majestic female Harpy Eagle on her nest!

Our good luck continued the next day with an outing to Yaviza Forest and nearby areas. During the trip, no one talked of our proximity to the Darién Gap, but a little research at home revealed Yaviza as the terminus of the Pan-American Highway. There were smaller roads going south, and our eBird trip report map shows that we ventured south of Yaviza for a few birding stops, including our Harpy Eagle outing. The economy of Darién seems complicated, but we were told that cattle ranching is important, and there was evidence of it everywhere. The pretty pastoral scene below with the mountains in the distance is typical of many areas we visited.

We saw some special birds this day, with the Spot-breasted Woodpecker an instant favorite. Oscar told us that it is his favorite woodpecker, and it’s easy to see why.

This Red-throated Caracara was another standout species that day.

One more great bird was White-headed Wren. Not only does it look quite unlike most other wrens, it’s also much larger.

We saw a few mammals at the camp, but not many species. Oscar told us that they are scarce due to hunting for food by the local people. However, we did see White-nosed Coatis and Geoffroy’s Tamarins nearly every day.

There’s still a lot of the trip remaining. Watch for part 2. It was a fun group with some of the nicest people that I’ve ever met on a birding trip; every single person was kind and helpful. Sandra, John & April, Rob & Lynn, Gloria, Pablo, Amarilys, it was a delight sharing this adventure with you. Oscar was a great guide, and the Canopy staff was outstanding. Birding trips are about more than just birds, and these wonderful people made this one of my favorite trips.

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Malaysia: Moths and Nature’s Marvels (Part 2 of 2)

August 14, 2025 by Shelley Rutkin

Steven Wong is a renowned Malaysian nature guide and wildlife photographer. He is an expert on the snakes of Malaysia and leads herpetology-focused expeditions. Steven is also a genuinely kind person, generous with his time and knowledge. He and a friend stayed at MCM for a few days during the week that Alie and I were there. I was thrilled when he invited us on a night walk on Thursday. It was really fun, and I was especially excited that I got to hold a snake—a docile Asian Slug Snake.

On Friday, June 27, David, his friend John, Alie, and I piled into David’s car for a day of birding and butterflies. Jeriau Waterfall, a popular nature attraction about three miles from Bukit Fraser’s town center, was one of the prettiest places we visited. Below, David spreading “bait” for butterflies.

After a lovely walk along the creek, we returned to find these beautiful winged jewels waiting for us.

On Saturday, Alie went birding with Adam and seven other birders who were also staying at MCM. After a week, I was tired, so I stayed “home” and took a nap. A torrential downpour with loud, close thunder began around 3:00 PM. The guys thought the rain might bring in more moths during the next few days, but Alie and I would be leaving the following morning. Before we leave MCM, here is one more set of the fantastic moths that we saw there.

Goodbye Fraser’s Hill, hello Bukit Tinggi. Late Sunday morning, our driver picked us up for the three-hour drive through beautiful Malaysian landscapes. We saw well over 100 macaques on the drive—one big guy showed us why there are so many. We also learned why our driver quickly rolled up the windows whenever we approached a group by the side of the road.

We checked into Colmar Tropicale, a resort at Bukit Tinggi, about an hour from Kuala Lumpur in the highlands. After lunch, we set off to locate the bird blind in the Japanese Gardens so that we’d know where to find it the following morning. Most birders visit Bukit Tinggi for two species: Mountain Peacock-Pheasant and Ferruginous Partridge. Nearly all sightings of these birds are in early mornings, so we were shocked and thrilled to find the partridge at 3:00 PM.

The blind is just a little open area behind a ratty black net with some random holes. I sat on a stump someone had placed near the net and leaned forward in an effort to get in a better position for photos. What I didn’t realize was that the stump had been placed on a big tree root; when I leaned forward, it shifted, and I fell off. The stump then rolled into the net, flushing the partridge—never to be seen again (by us). I suppose it was all very funny, but it meant this photo was the best I would get.

Above, the view from the path around the Japanese Garden was breathtaking.

Colmar Tropicale’s “town center” on our first evening. The quirky resort is modeled after the 16th-century town of Colmar in Alsace, France. It’s convincing enough to draw quite a few visitors in summer. It looks quiet, but it was busy with people earlier in the day.

Starbucks was still open at 8:00 PM. Who would have guessed that it would not be open again the next morning at 8:00 AM? Fortunately, we could get coffee at the 7-Eleven!

During our three days at Colmar Tropicale, we never saw the Peacock-Pheasants despite spending much of our time at the blind. We assume it was because we couldn’t get there early enough. Walking to the Japanese Gardens from the hotel would have meant a two-mile trek uphill, most of it quite steep, and we just weren’t up to the task. Without our own car, we were stuck waiting for the first hotel shuttle at 10:00 AM. Still, we enjoyed our stay, relaxing and appreciating the wildlife that we did see.

We watched a Javan Myna, a life bird for both of us, bathe in the fountain in front of the hotel while we waited for the shuttle to the Japanese Gardens. A fly-by Great Hornbill was a treat to see, and Alie snapped a photo of a high-flying raptor that was good enough to confirm it as a Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle, another lifer for both of us. We saw a new species of monkey, A Dusky Leaf Monkey. There were squirrels in the woods, a few butterflies in various places, and a surprising number of moths on the bathroom walls of the lovely Japanese restaurant where we enjoyed a couple of nice meals.

This entire trip was amazing—from dazzling moths and birds to monkeys, snakes, and more. I am grateful to Alie for joining me on this adventure and to David Fischer for welcoming us at MCM and sharing his passion for the natural world. If you would like to see more, check out my iNaturalist observations for insects, mammals, herps, and a few plants. I took about 8,000 photos, so I’ll probably continue posting to iNat for a year. For all the bird info and photos, see our eBird trip report.

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Malaysia: Moths and Nature’s Marvels (Part 1 of 2)

August 14, 2025 by Shelley Rutkin

It started like most encounters between birders. Alie was arriving at Possum Branch Preserve just as I was heading out. “Hi, did you see anything good?” she asked. What came next was anything but ordinary. Within five minutes, I had blurted out: “I’m going to Malaysia to look at moths. Want to come?” Alie’s response was an enthusiastic “Yes!”

The huge Atlas moth—one of the largest lepidopterans in the world, with a wingspan measuring up to 24 cm (9.4 in)—was one that we especially hoped to see.

A couple of months earlier, David Fischer had posted an open invitation to join him at MCM Nature Discovery Villa in Fraser’s Hill for one of his three 2025 trips. I had been following David’s incredible photos in the Moths and Moth Watching Facebook group and thought Fraser’s Hill must be the best place on the planet for moths. David was friendly and encouraging when I contacted him, so I booked a room. Still, I felt a bit apprehensive and had been considering canceling before I met Alie. That hesitation was gone in an instant once I had a partner for the adventure.

We arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Saturday, June 21, just before 10:00 AM. Our driver picked us up and delivered us to MCM about three hours later. An hour after arriving, we joined the group for a photo session with two snakes that had been “bagged” the previous night. I was assured that this did not harm them and they would be returned to the exact spot where they had been captured. The Blue Malayan Coralsnake and Red-headed Krait are among the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen.

One of the seven moth sheets was set up on the patio right outside our room.

One word best describes that first night: overwhelming. I don’t have nightly numbers, but David identified over 1,500 species of moths during the 11 nights that he was at MCM.

Here’s a small sample of the week’s amazing moth diversity. Note the yellow and orange giant silk moth that resembles a Luna Moth. Yes, they are in the same genus, Actias, but the Malaysian Moon Moth is much larger. You can click on any of the photos in the galleries in this post for a larger view.

The next morning, Alie and I went birding with Adam, the son of MCM’s owner, Stephen, and an excellent guide. I found birding in Malaysia to be challenging overall with mostly skulky birds in dense forest. However, we had excellent views of this pretty Rufous-browed Flycatcher on the side of the road.

The birds at a feeding area were also cooperative. I was happy to get great looks at my lifer Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush, along with two Long-tailed Sibias.

On Monday, Alie walked the Telekom Loop with another birder staying at MCM while I took the day off to catch up on sleep. David and the regulars had a routine: a quick check of the moth sheets after dark, then sleep from 10:00 or 11:00 PM until 3:00 or 4:00 AM. They told us that the best moths frequently appear shortly before dawn. This was all new to us, and with a 12-hour jet lag, we never quite got into the rhythm. We simply enjoyed moths at random hours during the night and slept when we could squeeze in the time.

The MCM grounds were lovely, with plenty to see beyond the moths and other insects drawn to the lights at night. The photo above shows the treehouse and garden that attracted wildlife and provided the perfect staging area for birds nabbing breakfast at the nearby moth sheets. A highlight in the garden area was Malayan White-thighed Surili—a Near Threatened primate endemic to the Malay peninsula. They were shy; we did not see them every day.

The lights attracted many beetles and other insects in addition to moths. When I first started mothing, I found them annoying, but, since discovering iNaturalist in 2020, I now embrace all living things. Those formerly annoying insects are now “lifers” and I quickly learned how interesting they are. Here’s just a tiny sample from MCM: a katydid in the genus Lesina, commonly known as Dragon-headed Katydids, a large beetle that I think is a Mango-tree Longicorn Borer, and a green cicada, Dundubia vaginata (with no common name).

Among the many moths at MCM were numerous hawk moths. Here is a small sample.

On Tuesday, we walked the Telekom Loop with David. It’s one of the best birding hotspots in Fraser’s Hill, although the birds were unpredictable. Still, if you walked the loop often enough, you could see some wonderful birds and a few butterflies. One of my favorites was this beautiful Pallid Faun.

The Telekom Loop is only about two and a half miles, but the short road up to MCM is steep, and I was out of shape. On Wednesday, Alie and I walked the loop by ourselves and took our time—over four hours! We were rewarded with the discovery of a Rufous-browed Flycatcher nest by the side of the road, and we could even see a baby peeking out. We also found an Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, a life bird for both of us.

Of course, every night brought more moths. Here’s a selection I found particularly interesting for their odd shapes, fuzziness, or transparent wing spots.

Here is a close-up of one of the sheets at night. We thought that was a lot of moths, but David said the sheets were even more densely packed in May.

The atmosphere at MCM Nature Discovery Villa reminded me a little of REGUA in Brazil. Stephen only allows guests who are interested in nature, and everyone was very friendly. Jo and Petra, a couple from Belgium, had a car and invited us to join them for birding on Thursday. Alie opted for sleep while I choose the drive into town and birding. We visited the feeding area again, where I was surprised to see a Silver-eared Mesia. These gorgeous little birds are frequently targeted by the caged bird trade, and I had not realized how well the native populations are faring.

Every day in Malaysia brought new adventures and unexpected sightings. This is just the beginning—watch for part 2.

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Mongolia, Land of Eternal Blue Sky – Part 3 of 3

June 13, 2025 by Shelley Rutkin

White-throated Bushchat breeds only in Mongolia—a fact I did not know on the cold morning of May 30, as we tracked down several of these gorgeous birds at the base of the Khangai mountains, not far from our campsite near Khukh Lake. All I knew in that moment was that it was a beautiful bird and I was thrilled to get such good looks.

eBird’s description of the species’ breeding habitat fits many of the areas that we birded in Mongolia: “high altitudes in open areas with rocky outcrops and clusters of vegetation.” Below, members of our group scanning for the bushchat. We were just under 3,000 meters (9,800 feet), and for me, the greatest challenge wasn’t the altitude, but the trek uphill on the spongy, almost tundra-like, uneven terrain with ruts, rocks, and clumps of grass.

Our efforts were rewarded with the bushchat and an Altai Accentor. The accentor was not a life bird for me as I had seen one ten years earlier in India, but I don’t remember that first sighting, so this felt like a life bird.

As in so many places across Mongolia, there was beauty everywhere. On the mountain, I found pretty flowers tucked into crevices in the rocks.

We headed to warmer lowlands to camp for the night, with a stop on the way at a random little lake. It held nothing new for the trip list, but it was nice to watch a few shorebirds and a group of Pied Avocets while we ate our lunches.

The next day was mostly a long travel day, with a detour to see Oriental Plovers again in a different spot than earlier in the trip. Even the most serious world birders don’t say, “I’ve already seen that bird. I don’t need to see it again.” This time, we saw a lovely female in addition to two males.

Nick reports that we stayed at “a really great, modern hotel for the night at Arvaikheer.” I don’t remember that hotel at all, absolutely nothing about it, but our nights camping are still vivid in my memory. My advice for anyone going to Mongolia: Don’t look for a fancy trip that promises minimal camping. You want to camp. It’s the best way to experience the beauty of dark night skies and awake to the sound of birds singing, to feel the calm and peace that only exists in remote areas far from civilization.

June 1 was another travel day as we made our way toward Hustai National Park. I don’t remember much about that day other than beautiful landscapes like that below.

But I do remember camping by Bayan Lake that night. My journal entry from that evening reads: “Campsite tonight is full of mosquitoes. They tried to find a better site or hotel, but nothing was available. It’s miserably hot and we had soup (mutton, I think) for dinner. They are burning cow dung in the dining tent to keep away mosquitoes.”

Nick’s trip report notes that we relocated from the first campsite to a site farther from the lake, but it made no difference with the mosquitoes. A few of us were desperate to sleep anywhere else. Nick compared the mood to something out of Mutiny on the Bounty. Yet, we all survived, and miraculously, once zipped into our little tents, we were relatively mosquito free.

Just earlier, I said that the camping was magical, didn’t I? Well, not every night and I preferred camping at higher elevations. Still, it’s a worthwhile experience and one that I would not have wanted to miss.

The next day, we arrived at Hustai National Park before lunch. I had been looking forward to this park and it lived up to my expectations. Somehow, Puje got us into a part of the park that is usually off-limits to tourists. After extensive scanning with the scope, he found a pair of Daurian Partridges, another range-restricted species, limited mostly to Mongolia, northern China, and Kyrgyzstan.

We also saw quite a few other birds in the park, but I was most excited to see a couple of Przewalski’s Horses. I had thought that they were the only wild horses in the world, but have since learned that they were once extinct in the wild and have been reintroduced at Hustai NP. Their evolutionary history and taxonomy are complicated and there is no scientific consensus. If you enjoy a good biological mystery, Wikipedia has an interesting write-up on Przewalski’s Horse.

Beyond the birds and horses, I also found many wildflowers, bugs, and an adorable family of Tarbagan Marmots at Hustai NP to amuse myself.

We stayed at the ger camp right outside the entrance to the national park that night. As much as I loved camping most of the time, I’m sure that we all appreciated the hot showers that evening.

The next morning, we began the drive to Terelj National Park, returning to a different part of the forest we had started in two weeks earlier. We stopped in Ulaanbataar at a spot by the Tuul River, where we quickly found a White-crowned Penduline Tit, and then continued on to Terelj NP.

It was a wonderful afternoon. The trek up the steep mountainside was slow going for me, but it was worth every step. We found our target: Gray-headed Chickadee, and everyone had incredibly close views of a pair that practically sat on Nick’s speaker.

Another highlight of the day occurred after we were all settled in our tents for the night. Nick’s shout of “Ural Owl” had us scrambling back outside. The owl flew overhead and then perched on top of a tree at the edge of our camp in clear view. Yet another reason for camping! 

June 4 was the last official day of the trip. We had a few more hours to bird at Terelj NP that morning. I was happy to see another singing Siberian Rubythroat, a gorgeous species that I had only seen once before this trip. Higher up in the dense forest, Nick found an Oriental Cuckoo. Luckily, I was able to get a good view of the bird through the thick trees.

In the photo below: our birding group of six with the five incredible people who supported us (our local guide, Puje, and his hardworking ground crew). Can you believe that they managed to fit eleven people, all our gear, and camping supplies into just three Toyota Land Cruisers? It felt like a magic trick. These folks took excellent care of us and made this adventure possible.

We returned to Ulaanbataaar through some of the worst traffic imaginable and ended the day with a lovely dinner at the Mongolica Hotel.

The trip was officially over, but most of us stayed one extra day. I am so happy that I opted for this bonus day, which gave me a second chance for two special birds that I had missed earlier.

We had a lot of rain, heavy at times, but we managed a couple of short outings. I was absolutely thrilled to see this Azure Tit. I can’t describe it better than eBird does, “Frosty, pale bundle of joy.”

My final life bird of the trip was another beauty, a Long-tailed Rosefinch. It was fitting to end this amazing trip with these two special birds. I couldn’t have been happier.

After a lazy afternoon resting and one more night at the Mongolica, we headed to the airport early on June 6 for our flights home. Our eBird trip report lists every species, and location, and displays all of our photos. Nick’s trip report is packed with details and entertaining descriptions of the birds, locations, and birding moments. I did my best to document Mongolia’s flora and fauna without missing birds. All of my iNaturalist observations in Mongolia can be seen here.

This was truly a trip of a lifetime and I’m deeply grateful to Nick Bray and Zoothera Birding for making it all possible.

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Mongolia, Land of Eternal Blue Sky – Part 2 of 3

June 10, 2025 by Shelley Rutkin

On the morning of May 25, we got our two main targets, Asian Desert Warbler and Saxaul Sparrow, before breakfast. Afterward, we left the second ger camp of the trip and headed towards Baga Bogd and six continuous nights of camping in tents or “basic” cabins without showers or other amenities. At one stop, we had a great look at this pretty Gray-necked Bunting, one of my favorite new birds.

At the same stop, we were amazed to see a pair of Bearded Vultures, also known as Lammergeier, on their nest. Watching those magnificent birds was another wow moment of the trip.

Later that afternoon, we stopped at the site below as we headed into the valley. The road in this area was extremely rocky and the bird life here was a bit different. We saw our only Long-eared Owl of the trip and had our first of only two sightings of Eurasian Wryneck.

We reached Baga Bogd and set up camp in the valley. I liked this spot. Like so many others, it looks stark in my photos, but a little exploring easily revealed interesting plants, little mammals, and other critters—in addition to birds, of course.

The nice thing about camping is that it’s easy to be birding at 5:00 AM. Our day started with an amazing experience with Altai Snowcock, a definite highlight of the trip. Several males called from the surrounding mountains, and one flew so low over our heads that we felt as if we could have reached up and touched it. After the disappointing view of Caspian Snowcock earlier on our Türkiye trip, this was especially sweet.

After breakfast and more birding, we set off for our next campsite at Kholboolj Lake, arriving later that afternoon. I got three life birds there: White-headed Duck, Palla’s Gull, and Yellow-breasted Bunting. I was also happy to get great looks at an old favorite, Bar-headed Goose. I fell in love with this species on my first trip to China in 2009 and it remains my favorite goose.

Our camp was on the shore of Kholboolj Lake.

We birded again at Kholboolj Lake in the morning. The British birders loved the lakes, but I’m spoiled by birding at home in Florida, where I can see shorebirds as close as ten feet. In Mongolia, nearly all the shorebirds and ducks were far out on the vast expanse of water or distant shore. I also noted “lots of invisible biting bugs” in my journal. A few birds were closer, though, and I was pleased to have a nice view of this sharp Kentish Plover on the grassy lake edge.

I took the photo below later that day on our drive from Kholboolj Lake to Böön Tsagaan Nuur, but it could have been taken on nearly any day of the trip. This is why you don’t go to Mongolia on your own and try to do a self-guided trip. We spent very little time on actual paved roads; we spent many miles almost every day on “roads” like this. I couldn’t recall any road signs, but someone said they had seen two signs in the past week.

We passed small groups of Bactrian camels several times during the trip. There are no fences in Mongolia, yet somehow the owners manage to keep track of their free-roaming animals. These were domesticated camels—also known as two-humped camels or simply Mongolian camels—although a small number of wild Bactrian camels still survive in remote areas.

We arrived at Böön Tsagaan Nuur, a vast Ramsar wetland, late in the afternoon and had about two hours for birding. In that short time, we saw over 50 species—mostly ducks, shorebirds, gulls, and hundreds of White-winged Terns. I was mesmerized by the lovely, graceful terns. The photo below shows just a small part of the flock as they flew together over the marshy edges of the lake.

We stayed in a “basic” camp that night (and the next) due to expected wind and rain. We slept in little log cabins with hard wooden beds and our sleeping bags on top of the beds. Other than cabins replacing tents, it was essentially camping: our own toilet tent, no electricity, and minimal comfort. I did not sleep well on the hard bed; early in the night, I thought that I felt something furry run across my arm, and then I heard noises until morning.

We spent all day at Böön Tsagaan Nuur, seeing many of the same species as the previous afternoon. The best find was a rare drake Baer’s Pochard, but it was sooo far out on the lake. While the lakes host large numbers of birds, they are not ideal for photography. Below, the viewing platform and a couple of the birds that we saw up closer, a Swan Goose and a Pacific Golden-Plover.

Our time at the lake ended with this spectacular sunset.

We stayed another night at the same “basic” camp, making this the fourth consecutive night without showers. Amazingly, I hadn’t noticed any offensive body odor when we were together in the vehicles. I used copious amounts of hand wipes to clean up and assumed that others did the same. Nick, however, claimed to have stripped down and poured a bucket of water over his head behind his cabin. I did not witness said event, so I can’t vouch for it.

May 29 was mostly a travel day with a long drive to Khangai Mountain. We enjoyed more beautiful scenery and blue skies. Mongolia has earned its nickname, “Land of Eternal Blue Sky,” with over 250 sunny days a year like this.

Camping that evening at Khangai Mountain would be the coldest night of the trip, but I was glad to leave behind the invisible (and some not-so-invisible) biting insects from the lakes. What will we find the following day? Watch for part 3 to find out!

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Mongolia, Land of Eternal Blue Sky – Part 1 of 3

June 8, 2025 by Shelley Rutkin

Mongolia was the first country I put on my newly created Birding Bucket List in June 2023. Not long after, Nick Bray of Zoothera Birding announced that he was leading a trip to Mongolia in May 2024—I signed up right away.

As one of the least densely populated countries in the world, Mongolia offers a rare kind of solitude. At times, we went days without hearing any sounds of other people or signs of civilization. The result was an incredible sense of peace and a deep connection to nature, set against Mongolia’s stunningly diverse landscapes.

The friendly mural above greeted us at the Chinggis Khaan International Airport in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar when we arrived at 2:30 AM on May 20. Puje, our local guide, met us there. After coffee and snacks at the airport, we headed to Terelj National Park, a few hours outside the city.

On the way, we made a quick stop at the massive statue of Genghis Khan. He’s a fascinating figure—remembered for his ruthless quest for world domination that claimed millions of lives. As a child, he even killed his older half-brother. Yet, he’s also described as charismatic and generous to his followers. Wikipedia notes, “He was posthumously deified in Mongolia; modern Mongolians recognize him as the founding father of their nation.”

Before long, we were watching several Black-billed Capercaillie perform their incredible courtship displays among the Siberian larch trees in Terelj NP. Capercaillie was our top target, and seeing these magnificent birds was an experience I’ll never forget.

Here is a closer view of the beautiful larch forest.

Our camp was set up at the edge of the national park. In Mongolia, all that is required for camping is a bit of level ground. With our ground crew of five, we were completely self-sufficient. Each of us in the birding group had our own little tent, not high enough to stand up inside, but with sufficient space for a sleeping bag and our gear. Food was prepared and eaten in the larger tent. A hand-washing station was near the food tent and a toilet tent was set up just a little farther away.

Yes, I’m going to describe the toilet tent because you are curious, aren’t you? First, they dig a trench about 18 inches deep and pile the dirt nearby. A toilet seat on legs is placed over the hole and then a small tent with a zippered door goes over the whole setup. When you’re done using the facility, you toss a shovel of dirt in the hole to cover your tracks if necessary. You have privacy and an actual toilet seat. It seemed environmentally friendly and didn’t smell too bad either. When we broke camp, they simply filled in the hole with the remaining dirt. I thought it was a brilliant system!

The view from our camp on the forest’s edge was just spectacular.

This lovely spot had many beautiful wildflowers around the forest edges.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the area near our campsite and another nearby part of the park. A highlight for me was a nice Pine Bunting, but it was also fun to see some “old friends” like this proud Ruddy Shelduck and his mate sitting atop a large rock.

After a good night’s sleep in our snug little tents, we ventured into the forest and watched about half a dozen displaying male Capercaillies for two hours. Reportedly, males engage in fierce battles on leks during courtship season, but we didn’t witness any “fights.” Each male seemed to simply patrol his own loosely defined lek territory strutting around with neck stretched upwards and tail fanned while making an odd clicking call. Black-billed Capercaillie are massive birds with the males weighing up to ten pounds. Watching this ancient ritual was one of those times that I’ve lost myself among the birds; humbled and awed that I was allowed the privilege of being part of their world for a short time.

Next, we drove to Gun Galuut Nature Reserve, a series of lakes that were teeming with birds, especially ducks of numerous species. I was thrilled to add another crane to my list: the graceful Demoiselle Crane.

Our day ended with a little modern comfort at the Mongolia Hotel in Ulaanbataar.

Day three was a travel day with stops for birding along the way. The afternoon gifted us with a much-wanted trophy bird of Central Asia, Oriental Plover.

Our lodging that evening was the Khanbogd Tourist Camp near Dalanzadgad. The key word is “tourist,” which means upscale by Mongolian standards. I should have taken photos of the women’s restroom/shower building. It had Western-style toilets, hot showers, and a nice big vanity to set your stuff while brushing your teeth. Our gers were comfortable and had electricity.

We were able to sleep late for a 7:00 AM breakfast and then headed to the must-visit hotspot, Yolyn Am. This deep and narrow gorge is one of the most iconic and scenic locations in the Gobi Desert. I got several life birds this day including Mongolian Accentor and the more boldly plumaged Brown Accentor, Two-barred Warbler, and Twite (a little brown finch named for its distinctive call, a nasal, rising ‘twi-eet’).

The highlight of the day for me occurred late that afternoon when we spotted a Saker Falcon on her nest!

We also saw several small mammals that day including the Alashan Ground Squirrel, Palla’s Pika, and Mongolian Jird in the photos below.

After another night at the Khanbogd Tourist Camp, we set out for Khongor Els. Late that morning we found another range-restricted species, Mongolian Ground-Jay, which is found only in Mongolia and northwest China.

Our mid-day stop was by a little pool and stream where we found a few more birds while our ground crew prepared lunch. There were nearly always animals in the background—sheep with a few goats frequently in the mix, cows, horses, and occasionally camels.

That afternoon, we skirted the edge of the Gobi desert. One of the few things I would have liked to change about the trip was to venture into the desert and see it up close.

Our ger camp that night wasn’t traditional; we had private bathrooms inside our gers! The five men in our group shared gers with two or three in each one. Since I was the only woman birder, I always had a ger all to myself. The wind howled all that night, so it was nice to not have to step outside to get to the bathroom.

Our trip was just beginning and there are many more unforgettable moments to come. Stay tuned for part 2.

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Türkiye – Wonderful Birds in a Beautiful Country

May 14, 2025 by Shelley Rutkin

This trip began a year ago, on May 11, 2024. It’s never taken me so long to write about an adventure, but I’ve done more international travel in the last year and a half than ever before. Between that and my growing obsession with iNaturalist, I’ve fallen behind, but Türkiye deserves its story told.

“Embrace the layover.” That was the advice that I received in the Birding Travel group on Facebook. I was looking for help understanding the airfares to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for my much-anticipated trip in May. Was it really going to cost over $2,000 just to get there? The short answer was yes; the cost of airline tickets has increased dramatically for most long-distance flights.

Nearly all the routes that made sense for me flew through Istanbul. When Zoothera Birding trip leader Nick Bray told me he would be leading a tour in Türkiye immediately before our trip to Mongolia, I jumped at the opportunity. It would allow me to see a new country and new birds without spending an extra penny on travel.

After arriving at the huge new airport in Istanbul on May 10, I met a couple of other birders in our group, and we headed to our hotel for the night. I could recycle the introduction from my first trip with Nick here. Once again, I was the only American, the only woman, and the least experienced birder in our group.

The following morning, we flew to Adana in southwest Türkiye, where we started birding the coastal lagoons and marshes along the Mediterranean coast within hours of landing. Fourteen life birds the first day included the Squacco Heron and the Little Bittern in the photos below.

This Little Bittern was amazingly cooperative for a usually shy bird. Do you think that it looks a lot like our American Least Bittern? The two species are so closely related that they form a superspecies (also including Yellow Bittern). For a fun little science lesson in evolution, Google “superspecies.”

The next day, we headed north and found a bird on every world birder’s target list, Kruper’s Nuthatch (Nick’s photo below).

We continued our trek north and arrived at our “pension” (a small family-run guest house) with enough time to bird the nearby and spectacular Demirkazik Gorge. The day ended with more good birds, including Finsch’s and Northern Wheatears. At times, I thought this could have been billed as the Wheatear and Lark Trip. Many of those birds are highly desired species for world birders, which I was too inexperienced to fully appreciate.

Day three began at 5:00 AM when we left for Aldaglar Mountain to search for Caspian Snowcock, one of our primary targets for the trip. Above, the tractor that transported us an hour each way to the base of the mountain. The weather was awful, very cold and very foggy all morning (except for a few minutes when I snapped the photo above). I wrote in my journal that I was shivering even with double thermals and a warm coat. The snowcock did not give us the views everyone wanted, but after an hour of scanning, Nick finally had a distant bird in the scope, a view that the others considered “tickable,” but I did not. Due to my pickiness about what I will count and my poor vision, I also missed several other good birds that morning, but I was able to add White-winged Snowfinch (below) and Ring Ouzel to my life list.

The mist became so thick that we could barely see, but the intrepid British birders stuck it out for nearly five hours before we returned to the pension for food and a little warmth.

We headed back out in the afternoon with much improved weather. My luck improved greatly with Spectacled Warbler and Crimson-winged Finch among the birds added to my life list. We also had a striking Black-headed Bunting (photo below), a species I had not seen since my 2009 trip to China and Hong Kong.

We saw sheep in Türkiye on most days. I enjoyed hearing their bleating and tinkling bells as we watched this herd pass.

The next morning began with a return to Demirkazik Gorge. We observed several species of breeding birds there, including this lovely pair of Ortolan Buntings, obviously with a family to feed.

The drive to Sultan Sazligi Marshes took us through scenery ranging from gorgeous rolling hills to flat fields. I saw my life Bearded Reedling and Common Reed Warbler from the long boardwalk, and it was also fun to see several European Pond Turtles and a cute Marsh Frog.

Next was a long drive to our hotel in Gaziantep, where we arrived at 9:30 PM. We were now positioned to search for an important bird of the trip, Kurdish Wheatear. There was no sign of the target wheatear at our first location the next morning, but a beautiful Eastern Black-eared Wheatear did pose nicely for us.

Our next stop (still before breakfast) also gave us some nice birds, like our first White-throated Robins of the trip.

We also saw our first Cinereous Buntings, one of my new favorite species.

I also loved the landscape, a rocky hillside with wild roses and other flowers.

After a short drive, we reached Birecik. A highlight that afternoon was our first See-see Partridge. I spent way too much time getting horrible photos, not knowing that we would have much better views the following day. Still, seeing the bird, a top target for the trip, was exciting. The hotel wasn’t anything special, but it was across the street from the famous little tea park near the middle of town that is home to Pallid Scops-Owls. Finding one of the owls visiting its nest hole that evening after dark was a sweet end to the day.

We birded a couple of areas near Birecik the next morning, where we saw our only Black-bellied Sandgrouse of the trip.

Another highlight that morning was stellar views of several Iraq Babblers.

We drove north of Birecik that afternoon and passed through a military checkpoint. We were told that we could only be in the area for an hour, which put some pressure on us. The area was breathtaking with its rolling rocky hills. We saw a Little Owl, several species of larks, and a few other birds before our time was up.

While in the military area, Nick received a text from a friend with a hot tip about another location for Kurdish Wheatear, so we were off to look for this much-wanted bird – three hours away. Sadly, the tip turned out to be worthless; our second attempt to find Kurdish Wheatear was a bust. A better look at See-see Partridge than we’d had the previous day was a nice consolation.

May 17 was the next-to-last day of the tour and our last chance to look for Kurdish Wheatear. We started with the three-hour drive to Nemrut Dagi, the spot Nick had originally planned to find the bird. As they say, the third time is the charm, and we found our desired bird almost immediately.

After celebrating our success with the wheatear, we drove as high as possible on Nemrut Dagi, one of the highest peaks in the Eastern Taurus Mountains at 7,000 feet.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site sits at the summit, the hierotheseion (monumental tomb and sanctuary) built by the late Hellenistic King Antiochos I of Commagene (69-34 B.C.) as a monument to himself. It’s quite a hike to the very top and the archaeological site which contains giant statues of various gods, lions, and eagles. It was cold and windy, so we stayed near the parking area.

On another trip, with planning for it, I would love to explore this culturally significant site. It was just after noon when we left Nemrut Dagi for a leisurely drive to Gaziantep through gorgeous scenery with hills full of wildflowers and stops for birds along the way.

A magical moment that afternoon was a visit to a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater colony on the side of a little hill with an estimated 130 birds flying around attending to their nests. A few European Bee-eaters were mixed in the flock (in the lower left in the photo below). It was mesmerizing to watch those beautiful birds, and we found it hard to drag ourselves away from the amazing avian spectacle, but after an hour or so, we had to continue our drive to Gaziantep.

We had found all our targets for the trip, so our final day was relaxed. We added a few species to the trip list and returned to Adana for our flight back to Istanbul.

In addition to birding, I photographed as many other living things as I could for iNaturalist. Click on any image in the sample below for a larger view. You can see all of my iNat obs for this trip here.

Türkiye had not been on my bucket list of places to go birding, but I am grateful to have had this opportunity. It’s now one of my favorite countries, incredibly beautiful and home to many great birds. For a detailed accounting of the trip, see Nick’s official SE TURKEY TOUR REPORT 2024 on the Zoothera Birding website. Our eBird trip report, TURKEY 2024, shows our locations, complete bird list, and all my bird photos. As always, Nick led a fun and productive trip.

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Pacific Mexico 2025

March 9, 2025 by Shelley Rutkin

A quick and easy trip, relaxing, almost like a vacation. I’d add a few nice birds to my life list and it would be fun to bird with Steve Shunk again. Steve is the owner of Paradise Birding, until recently based in the woodpecker wonderland of central Oregon. I will always remember my life Black-backed Woodpecker that Steve found for me fifteen years ago, a stunning adult male in fresh fall plumage. The trip would also put Mexico on my eBird map. Those were my thoughts when I planned a trip to Mexico. Some of those goals were achieved, but it was not an easy trip. I got sick with a respiratory bug before our second full day was over. If one travels enough, these things happen. It gave me practice being grateful for what I did see and not stressing over the misses. I comforted myself with the thought that if I missed everything, I could do the trip over again.

It would have been impossible to miss the snazzy Streak-backed Orioles that were everywhere.

My friend, Derek, was able to join me for this trip and we both had connecting flights in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Three hours later, we arrived in Puerto Vallarta where Steve and his partner, Lizzy Martinez, picked us up and started the drive south along the coastal road. We soon had our first exciting observation of the trip – a baby Humpback Whale playing just offshore!

As soon as we arrived at Rancho Primavera, we had more excitement with this pretty little Buff-breasted Flycatcher, an uncommon bird on the ranch.

We got settled into our house for the week and then went to the nearby town of El Tuito for dinner. The ranch has three houses that can be rented and we chose Villa Carpintero which was a great base for the week. We had lots of space, a kitchen, a lovely balcony, and a bird feeder in the yard. The lake was visible from the balcony and the dock was just two minutes from our door. We would see Golden-cheeked Woodpeckers on our feeder every day.

On our first morning at the ranch, Tuesday, January 28, we started at Bonnie’s feeders. Bonnie owns Rancho Primavera and the main feeding area is her yard. It was perfect to start the week with Black-throated Magpie-Jay (in photo below), Yellow Grosbeak, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Blue Mockingbird, and other wonderful birds, many endemic to Western Mexico.

Not an endemic species of the area, but we loved the Yellow Grosbeaks.

Several species of hummingbirds frequented the nectar feeders in Bonnie’s yard. The most plentiful were Cinnamon Hummingbird, Plain-capped Starthroat, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Cinnamon Hummingbird
Plain-capped Starthroat

Rancho Primavera is a release site where rescued parrots are returned to the wild. The rescue birds tend to stick near the feeding area. We enjoyed close views of this gorgeous Lilac-crowned Amazon.

We spent the rest of the day birding other areas of the ranch and added a few more life birds to our lists.

On Tuesday morning, we started at Bonnie’s feeders again with a couple of new birds including West Mexican Chachalaca.

Next, it was off to Vallarta Botanical Gardens, a lovely spot with interesting plants, a few butterflies, and a wonderful lunch. It is the easiest location to see San Blas Jays; they come to the feeders there. It’s also the best place to see the brilliant Golden-crowned Emerald, which was much too quick for me to get a photo. Derek is faster than me and he got the shot below.

After lunch, we returned to the ranch and I started feeling sick. For two and a half days, I stayed at our casa while Derek birded with Steve and Lizzy. If you have to be sick on a birding trip, this was the place for it. It was much more comfortable to stay in one place rather than pack up and move every day. I spent some time sitting on our balcony enjoying the birds that came to the feeder. I was surprised that we had our own Yellow-breasted Chat that came to eat fruit every day. We also had many of the same birds that we’d seen at Bonnie’s feeders – Golden-cheeked Woodpeckers, Yellow-winged Caciques, Cinnamon-bellied Saltators, and Streak-backed Orioles. I got my best views of White-throated Thrushes and Rufous-backed Robins in our yard.

Yellow-winged Caciques were common on the ranch.

Blue Mockingbirds also came to our feeder.

By Sunday, I was feeling well enough for a trip to the southern coast of Cabo Corrientes and the coastal thorn forest. We were successful finding the bird that I most wanted on this trip, the beautiful Orange-breasted Bunting.

Steve also found a bird that is now one of my favorites, an exquisite Citreoline Trogon.

It was a lovely day with a delicious lunch of local Mexican food at a beach-side restaurant at Mayto. After eating, we drove a short distance for this postcard-perfect view of the Pacific coastline.

Late that afternoon, we drove the other direction, up into the nearby mountains. Eared Poorwill is a difficult bird to see and Steve had never taken birders to look for it, but I wanted to try and he was willing to take us to the spot. We did not see the poorwill, but I am so glad that we tried. The mountains were beautiful and peaceful and we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.

The week had gone quickly and soon we had only one full day left. We spent that day at the ranch and found some nice birds. The Golden Vireo in Steve and Lizzy’s yard lived up to its name.

Later, we were thrilled to have close looks at an extremely cooperative Russet-crowned Motmot.

Several species of neotropical migrants also winter at the ranch; the most common was Nashville Warbler.

Derek and I are avid iNaturalist users and we enjoyed some interesting flora and fauna. Derek was fascinated with our whipscorpion. My favorite sighting was one that I missed, Derek’s adorable little Dwarf Mexican Tree Frog.

A sample of my observations is in the gallery below.

Collie’s Squirrel
Century plant, an agave species
Salmon-bellied Racer
Zebra Longwing, Heliconius charithonia ssp. vazquezae

All of my iNat observations can be seen here and Derek’s here.

We left for the airport and our flights home on February 4. Our flight was late enough that we could indulge in one stop on the way, the beautiful little beach at Boca de Tomatlán, a tiny town just south of Puerto Vallarta. It was a quick stop, but we were rewarded with our target birds, adult Heerman’s Gulls.

In spite of being sick, I saw most of the important birds and I have many happy memories of the week. Rancho Primavera was the perfect base for exploring the area and we could not have asked for better guides than Steve Shunk and Lizzy Martinez. See our eBird trip report for a complete list of birds, locations, and photos.

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Brazil 2024 Part 3b – Eco Lodge Itororó

January 24, 2025 by Shelley Rutkin

We arrived at Eco Lodge Itororó late in the afternoon of August 26 with just enough time for Derek to get five life birds before dinner with a Brazilian Ruby hummingbird as #1,200. It was much colder and foggier here than it had been at REGUA due to the higher elevation. This part of Brazil is south of the equator so it was the middle of winter. We piled wool blankets on our beds and tucked in the hot water bottles provided by the lodge for extra warmth. Below, the main lodge building where we had our meals.

Cirilo, our guide for the next few days, joined us for breakfast and then we set off on the wonderful Three-toed Jacamar excursion. Our first stop was a little spot on the side of the road by a wetland. Cirilo had promised us Blackish Rail and he delivered. A dependable rail? I was amazed!

This stop also gave us a few other birds – Toco Toucan, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, and Wing-banded Hornero being the highlights. I thought this hornero was sharper looking than the others I’d seen in Brazil.

More wonderful birds awaited us at our next stop, including this Black-necked Aracari.

At our third stop, we watched a Yellow-headed Caracara standing on a horse picking off ticks. The caracara also “picks flesh from open wounds on backs of cattle, which often seem oddly indifferent to the process” according to Birds of the World. But, that is “cheating” according to the cleaning symbiosis contract. Yes, “cheating” is the word that I found in scientific publications. Black Vultures occasionally clean capybaras, but several species of caracaras are the only raptors that clean large mammals.

We saw spectacular Stramer-tailed Tyrants in another horse field.

Down the road a bit farther, Derek got his much-wanted lifer Red-legged Seriema. And, we both got our lifer Crested Black-Tyrant. First, we had a distant look, but good enough to count the bird. It came closer for a better look. And, finally, the bird was right in front of us!

Cirilo could not have made it more fun if he’d had the magic ability to choreograph the bird’s movements. At the same stop, I was very happy to get a good look at a Grassland Sparrow. I’d missed the bird earlier in the trip with Sherry’s group, so it was especially satisfying to see it well.

White-eared Puffbirds were the highlight for me at our next stop. What could be more adorable?

It was a great stop with several life birds for both of us. One of the most interesting was Firewood-gatherer. First, what a cool name. And, see why with these photos of the birds and their nest.

This was one of my favorite days of birding ever. In addition to the wonderful birds, the landscape was very appealing. I loved this coral tree topped with White-eyed Parakeets.

At another horse pen, we had an intriguing bird that we couldn’t immediately identify, this beautiful immature Savanna Hawk.

We finally stopped for lunch and ate our sandwiches while we continued to look at birds, including Derek’s lifer Black-capped Donacobius. Soon we were back on the road headed towards the last birding stop of the day and the signature species on this route, Three-toed Jacamar, a Brazilian endemic that only occurs in a limited area north of Rio de Janeiro. We saw the jacamar, but the light was bad, so my photos are not very good. This White-bearded Manakin chose a spot on the other side of the road with better lighting for his photo.

Cirilo guided us on the trails around the lodge on the morning of our second full day at Eco Lodge Itororó. He found 47 species of birds for us, although I found it much harder to see birds in the dense Atlantic Forest than the open countryside of the previous day. I missed quite a few birds, but it was an enjoyable morning and only having Cirilo for half a day resulted in incredibly good luck. When we returned to the lodge for lunch, we found the photography group happily clicking away at a gorgeous Saffron Toucanet right at the feeders. This is the species that everyone wants to see and this was its only appearance during our five days there.

We spent the afternoon mostly watching the feeders, one of my favorite activities. The Magpie Tanagers were huge compared to the little Brassy-breasted Tanagers and I loved them. The Magpie Tanagers favored the feeder offering avocados.

Below, a cute little Brassy-breasted Tanager.

On August 29, we birded in Tres Picos State Park. Our walks included a short trek to see a locally famous Jequitibá tree. Scenes in the 2024 version of the Brazilian telenovela, Renascer, were filmed here as the tree plays a central role in the story. It replaces the 3,000 year old tree used in the 1993 version of the TV show which was struck by lightenng and died. As you can see from this photo of Cirilo in front of the tree, it is huge.

We also found this cute little toad on one of our paths through the forest, a Yellow Cururu Toad.

We stopped at the banana stand on our way back to the lodge. They feed leftover bananas to the birds making it a great place for a coffee and chlorophonias, tanagers, euphonias, parakeets, and other birds. Here’s a poorly named Plain Parakeet we watched there.

Derek and I had originally planned to bird on our own on the following day, but finding birds in the forest was more challenging than we had expected. Fortunately, Cirilo was available to guide us for one more day. But, where to go? We had already done all the easy trails. At dinner, Cirilo had an idea. Birders usually walk up a steep hill for the high-elevation excursion to Pico da Caledônia. Since there were only two of us, however, he was able to arrange a 4-wheel drive vehicle that could drive us almost to the top and we could walk down. Perfect!

The day got off to a wonderful start when Cirilo heard a Mouse-colored Tapaculo on the side of the road. We stopped the car and he pointed to a log in a little opening in the vegetation where he expected it to cross. I pointed my camera at the log and quickly clicked as the little bird stopped for a fraction of a second.

Again, most of the forest birding was challenging, but the only important bird that we missed was the very localized Gray-winged Cotinga which occurs only in a small area northeast of Rio de Janeiro. With only 374 observations in eBird (some of which are certainly heard-only birds), many others must also miss the cotinga.

We walked about halfway up the 650-step staircase to the summit of Pico da Caledônia.

Later that afternoon, we saw the most unexpected bird of the day, a Zone-tailed Hawk. Cirilo was excited because this was a new state bird for him. Most American birders know this bird from the Southwest US, but the southern edge of its range extends to Paragray and this part of Brazil, although it is uncommon there in winter.

My “bonus week” with Derek in the Atlantic forest went quickly. All that remained was one more morning with a few hours to leisurely watch the feeders. Blue Dacnis is common throughout much of Central and South America. The male is blue, but the beautiful female is a lovely shade of green.

Cinnamon Tanager was a species that I saw only at Eco Lodge Itororó. When I was going through my photos, I realized that I did not know how to differentiate the males and females, so I looked it up in Birds of the World where I found this fascinating information. “The sexes are similar in appearance. The species is dichromatic, however, …. Thus, these tanagers visually can distinguish between males and females, but humans are unable to see these differences.”

We enjoyed seeing the Amazon Lava Lizards that were often around the lodge.

And, what bird feeder would be complete without a squirrel? Although they were much more shy and less of a nuisance than our gray squirrels at home. This one is an appropriately named Brazilian Squirrel.

Below, Derek enjoying the feeders during our last hours at Itororó.

Andy Foster of Serra dos Tucanos Birding Tours did a wonderful job making all the arrangements for the week including transportation and our stays at REGUA and Eco Lodge Itororó. We could not have asked for a better guide than Cirilo. Bettina fed us well and treated us like family at Itororó. I would love to go back any time!

Our eBird trip report Brazil – Atlantic Rain Forest (REGUA & Ecolodge Itororo) August 2024 has all of our checklists and photos. Also see Shelley’s iNaturalist observations for the trip and Derek’s iNat observations.

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