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Ecuador 2021: San Isidro (Part 5 of 6)

Posted in Travel for Birding, tagged Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Cabañas San Isidro, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Collared Inca, Ecuador, Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Gorgeted Woodstar, Inca Jay, Long-tailed Sylph, Moths, Neblina Forest, Pale-edged Flycatcher, Red-breasted Meadowlark, Russet-backed Oropendola, San Isidro Owl, Scarlet-rumped Cacique, White-bellied Antpitta on June 25, 2021| 3 Comments »

We arrived at Cabañas San Isidro on the evening of April 29 in time for a wonderful dinner, our first of the fantastic meals served there. Our rooms were large and beautiful; mine had floor-to-ceiling glass walls on one side providing a view of the surrounding forest. The restaurant and deck area was lovely, too, with birds nearly always in the nearby trees.

We spent all day April 30 birding around the lodge and on the entrance road. Above is an Inca Jay or Inca subspecies of Green Jay, depending upon which taxonomic authority you follow. If you have seen Green Jays in South Texas, you will think that this bird looks quite different. And, if you enjoy taxonomic discussions, check out Why is the Inca Jay not a Green Jay?

A few of the other birds that I saw right from the deck are shown below. A lovely little Pale-edged Flycatcher was a regular in the trees by the deck.

Earlier, when we observed Russet-backed Oropendolas nest building at Limoncocha, Xavier promised me that I would get good close looks later in the trip. As promised, I saw them every day while we were at San Isidro.

Another regular in the deck area was Scarlet-rumped Cacique. Every morning, I found one in the exact same spot on the deck rail above the moth sheet.

The most intriguing bird at the lodge is the mystery owl. It is in the genus Ciccaba, but otherwise no one can determine what it is! It looks similar to the other Ciccaba species found in Ecuador, Black-and-white Owl and Black-banded Owl, but neither of those are found at an elevation this high. This owl has been found only in a small area near the San Isidro lodge. There are also some minor plumage differences between this owl and the other Ciccaba species. People like to categorize birds, but more importantly birders need to report them. So, eBird created a taxon just for this owl, the “San Isidro Owl (undescribed form).” This beautiful creature was heard calling during our dinner every night.

We started May 1, our second day at San Isidro, by birding around the lodge again. A nice feature of the lodge is the moth sheet below the deck. The area around the sheet is like a typical yard, much more open than the moth blind at WildSumaco. The birds that come to feast on the moths are not particularly skulky otherwise, but it’s nice to get such good looks at them. Below, a pretty Cinnamon Flycatcher enjoys a moth for breakfast.

I liked the moth sheet for more than the bird food it provided. Because the sheet was in the open, I could walk right up to it and view the amazing moths. I photographed several dozen species and I am still trying to identify them, a harder task than I expected. Below is a small sample of the moth bounty. Look closely, especially at the second one, and note that all of the following moths are head up.

After watching hummingbirds, other birds, and moths for a short time, we made our second attempt to see an antpitta, which had not cooperated the first day. It was slower to come for worms than any that we had seen previously, but it was worth the wait. I think that this White-bellied Antpitta was the prettiest of the seven that we saw during the trip.

In the afternoon we went to La Brisa hummingbird feeders where Gorgeted Woodstar (top left photo below) was a life bird. The Collared Inca (top right) was one of my favorites at the lodge at San Isidro. The Chestnut-breasted Coronet (bottom left) did not like it as much as I did, though, as they were very possessive of the feeders. They seemed to particularly dislike the Collared Inca and spent an inordinate amount of time chasing it away. We saw Chestnut-breasted Coronets and Fawn-breasted Brilliants (bottom right) at both La Brisa and our lodge.

One of the most beautiful hummingbirds on the east side of the Andes is Long-tailed Sylph. Watch for it in the slow-motion video below that I took at Cabañas San Isidro.

On May 2, we started the day by heading out to the nearby countryside. It was a beautiful morning as you can see in the photo below. I enjoyed the scenery almost as much as the birds.

On Borja Road, we found a small group of Red-breasted Meadowlarks. It was very exciting to see these beautiful birds.

Our attention switched back to the landscape when we saw gas, steam, and ash plumes rising from Reventador, one of Ecuador’s most active volcanoes. Xavier had only seen this once before, so I felt privileged to share this beautiful and impressive sight.

Next we headed to Concierto de Aves to see some special birds. After watching hummingbirds around Victor and Nilda’s home, we walked down a country road that paralleled a little creek. The Fasciated Tiger-Heron in the creek was a very welcome surprise.

Below, Xavier and me on the road which led to the larger stream. We left the road to walk a trail through the forest that weaved in and out of the stream. Victor and Nilda helped me on the steep parts of the path and through the water. I could not have done it without them!

Our reward at the end of the trail – a female Andean Cock-of-the-rock on her nest. You might be wondering why she is orange instead of red. That’s because we are on the east side of the Andes and this is a different subspecies than the one in northwest Ecuador. There are actually four subspecies; two are red and two are orange.

We were able to see this gorgeous bird so well because once again Xavier had carried a scope on the trail through the forest and creek. Her nest is actually quite well hidden on the side of the mountain by the waterfall. The walk to see the Cock-of-the-rock was one of the most beautiful and amazing adventures of the entire trip.

Nilda and I walked back along the road together and although she does not speak English and I don’t speak Spanish (a deficit that I really need to remedy), we managed to communicate. Nilda saw me photograph a flower, so she took me to see these beauties.

And, all too soon our time at San Isidro was over. This fabulous day was my last with Xavier, but I would have one more day of birding on the way back to Quito with Francisco. Stay tuned for my last post on this wonderful trip to Ecuador with Neblina Forest.

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Ecuador 2021: Sachatamia (Part 2 of 6)

Posted in Travel for Birding, tagged Blue-capped Tanager, Collared Aracari, Ecuador, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Flame-faced Tanager, Glistening-green Tanager, Golden Tanager, Golden-naped Tanager, Lyre-tailed Nightjar, Moss-backed Tanager, Neblina Forest, Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Red-tailed Squirrel, Rufous-throated Tanager, Sachatamia Lodge, Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Toucan Barbet on May 20, 2021| 3 Comments »

“Baby?” I was talking to the Moss-backed Tanager and he hopped onto the banana that I was holding in my hand. I didn’t realize it happened like that until I watched the video. But, I wasn’t surprised because I frequently talk to birds. It was my third morning in Ecuador on my Neblina Forest birding tour with Xavier Munoz and we were at Reserva Amagusa, about as close to heaven as a birder can get. The bird on my hand at the beginning of the video is a Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager.

There are not enough superlatives to adequately describe this place. We never even made it to the trails because the feeders were amazing and I was having so much fun. We saw species here that we did not see anywhere else, including #1 on my most-wanted list, Glistening-green Tanager. I would have been happy with one of these gorgeous birds, but we got an entire family and even watched the parents feed their babies.

The pretty little Rufous-throated Tanagers, another species that we did not see anywhere else, quickly became a favorite.

Have I mentioned that I love tanagers? Here are a few more beauties we enjoyed seeing at Amagusa – Golden, Golden-naped, and Flame-faced Tanagers. A Flame-faced Tanager ate from my hand in addition to the birds featured in the video.

I was also happy to see Toucan Barbets again. I wondered if this was a pair, but they look alike. The male and female Red-headed Barbet look quite different. These musings sent me on another quest for information and I learned some fascinating things about this iconic bird of the cloud forest. First, Red-headed Barbet is a member of the New World barbet family (Capitonidae), but the Toucan Barbet belongs to a different family (Semnornithidae) that may be more closely related to toucans. The sexes are the same except that the male has an “erectile black tuft on the nape.” Yeah, I didn’t notice that detail or lack thereof on either bird. These barbets may start their day singing a duet between the male and female before foraging for 12 hours. Also fascinating is that Toucan Barbets are cooperative nesters with offspring from previous years sticking around to help the parents care for their younger siblings. This does not occur in other neotropical barbets.

We spent a little time birding along quiet roads in the afternoons. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful Ecuadorian landscape.

The roadsides were filled with lush vegetation like this.

One afternoon, we had a very special treat. Xavier has friends everywhere and one alerted him to this magnificent bird, a Lyre-tailed Nightar, roosting in a steep wooded hill by the side of the road in a nearby small town. The spectacular white-tipped tail feathers of the male are over two feet long! He is well-camouflaged, though, and it would have been hard to spot the bird from the road without the white tips to the tail. This is not a common bird, so we were lucky to see it.

Each of our three nights at Sachatamia, we got back to the lodge early enough for some time at the feeders. I have seen Collared Aracari many times, but they are a cool bird and always fun to see.

Watching the many hummingbirds was fun, too, although I found most of them challenging to photograph. I was happy if I just got something interesting like this Fawn-breasted Brilliant trying to protect its feeder from a Brown Violetear.

Just like at home, squirrels loved the bird feeders, but the Red-tailed Squirrels did not seem as aggressive as our Eastern Gray Squirrels. A little research on these two species indicated that my impression was right. Red-tailed Squirrels are solitary and quiet; Eastern Gray Squirrels are described as aggressive and active.

I was a little sad when our stay at Sachatamia came to an end early on the morning of April 23. I loved the beautiful lodge with the wonderful feeders, good food including my favorite drinks and desserts of the trip, and the kind people who worked there. On one occasion it was raining when we returned to the lodge and a guy ran out to the car with an umbrella to greet me.

More adventures awaited on the other side of the Andes, but first we had one more stop in the area northwest of Quito. The Birdwatcher’s House is aptly named. It is a beautiful little lodge created by a birder for birders. Visitors may also visit the blinds and gardens during the day. It was here that I had my first experience with what I call moth blinds. The blind here is a traditional structure with a narrow window along the length and plastic chairs inside. Two large white sheets are placed at right angles to the blind about 40-50 feet apart. In between the sheets is a natural area with logs and low vegetation. Lights directed towards the sheets are left on all night. At dawn, this creates magic for birders when normally shy birds can be observed as they come for a breakfast of yummy moths. Below, a Strong-billed Woodcreeper plucks a month from the sheet. We also observed several species that are normally very difficult to see including Gray-breasted Wood-Wren, Uniform Antshrike, and Streak-capped Treehunter.

After the “Moths for Breakfast” show, we spent some time watching the hummingbird and banana feeders. In addition to the five life birds that I got at the moth blinds, I also got my lifer Blue-capped Tanager. I love its cute yellow “pants.”

My favorite bird of the morning was another lifer, a spectacular Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan. eBird summarizes it as “Extraordinary and iconic toucan of Andean cloud forest in northwestern Ecuador, just barely reaching southwestern Colombia.” The Birdwatcher’s House is probably the best location to see this bird so well. The photo below was taken with my camera, but I also have cell phone photos that are nearly as good.