Ecuador Birding Trip

Wednesday, January 21

Barbara’s Notes

Birding before breakfast, 6-8am, started with lifer #12 for Tony – a Rufous-bellied Nighthawk which flew over as the sun was coming up. Rapid wingbeats, swooping above us.

An overnight drizzle left the leaves edged with droplets and the cobwebs sparkling. Again we were excited to hear and see a variety of birds. When we returned, we spotted a couple of bright Turquoise Jays happily eating moths that had attached themselves to windows overnight. Then we spotted a magnificent Masked Trogan who seemed to be content to pose for photos. And the hummingbird feeders were alive with action. It was hard to get to breakfast!

Masked Trogon male	Masked Trogon female

Turquoise Jay	Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager

Booted Racket-tail male	Booted Racket-tail male

Booted Racket-tail female	Speckled Hummingbird

Buff-tailed Coronet	Collared Inca

After breakfast we spent the morning hiking and birding, joined by a resident student/staff young woman from the Netherlands. She was knowledgeable about moths, bugs and insects, so we didn’t just focus on birds.

Time for lunch and farewell to Bellavista.

We travelled down from the heights of Bellavista, 1,800m, to Sachatamia, 1,500m, another nature resort, but with a different set of birds. Breathing is easier down here. It was raining and the descent was marked by a fallen tree blocking the road. Vinicio and Alfredo removed enough loose branches so our bus could negotiate around it.

Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan	Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan

We have been settled in to a delightful cottage of our own, catching up on laundry and waiting for the rain to lift. Happy we brought our boots.

A hearty dinner. Second time popcorn was served. Tonight it was to put on your soup. Popular “hot sauce” also available – to put on everything.

Violet-tailed Sylph

Bill is setting our alarm for 4am...