Ecuador Birding Trip

Monday, January 26

Barbara’s Notes

Today our group was divided into two. We really appreciated the smaller size. Our group of Judith, Hilda and Colin and ourselves had Tony, Andrés and Hore as guides. Lots of excellent spotting.

Our group was on for the canopy tower. It is a series of winding stairs - 206 steps - beside a huge kapok tree, with a little wooden platform at the top. I followed Bill slowly and tried not to think about vertigo.

To get to this amazing platform on top of the jungle, we were paddled across our small lake to a trail. It is a 40 minute hike to the tower, but, for birders it is more like an hour and a half.

During the morning the sky brightened up. We saw birds soaring past, birds at eye level on our kapok tree, birds on the canopy below us and birds at distances all around. It was a busy two hours. Lots of colour.

Many-banded Araçari	Eastern Sirystes

Gilded Barbet	Masked Flowerpiercer

Scale-breasted Woodpecker	Plumbeous Pigeon

Lettered Araçari

Blue-and-yellow Macaw	Blue-and-yellow Macaw

Black-headed Parrot	Squirrel Cuckoo

Ivory-billed Araçari	Ivory-billed Araçari

Crested Oropendola

For awhile it was cool with a light breeze. As it warmed up, the breeze dropped and the bugs arrived. It explains the appearance of so many insect-eating birds. By the time we hiked back, with a few side trails for extra birding, the bugs had increased. Bill and I put on our bug jackets (hot in there!!). Bill got a few chigger bites. Later we heard that one of the local paddlers received a serious injury (he was walking barefoot) and had to be paddled to Coca for a tetanus shot.

We spotted some tiny frogs – one was poisonous. One was so small it was tucked in at the end of a leaf where it meets the stem.

Amazonian White-tailed Trogon	Orange-crested Manakin

When we arrived back at our lodge about 1pm, we downed the welcome juice on the dock and hopped into cool showers. While waiting for lunch, Bill and I climbed a small viewing platform right near the dining room. I tested out a hammock swing. The other group arrived from a jungle hike, with mud to the tops of their boots. A few boots got stuck in the mud and feet landed in the mud. Nobody complained, as they saw some rare birds. After a late lunch, we had a break until 4pm. Not too many birds in the early afternoon. It was a time to do some laundry and to check out the lodge property.

Masked Crimson Tanager	Yellow-rumped Cacique

	Russet-backed Oropendola

Black-capped Donacobius	Smooth-billed Ani

From 4-7pm, we were paddled about our lake and river, making new discoveries. Caimans have very big eyes! We all appreciated the leisurely pace. Interesting that some of the water plants are the same as the pond plants that we buy at RONA. As we returned, we saw several squirrel monkeys crossing the river, making mad leaps from tree to tree, some with babies on their backs.

Amazon Kingfisher	Spectacled Caiman

Striated Heron	Greater Ani

Anhinga	Anhinga

Ringed Kingfisher	Limpkin

Scarlet-crowned Barbet	Green-and-Rufous Kingfisher

Spectacled Caiman

At dinner I was able to give our native guide, Hore, some of the “Canada” pencils I brought. He has two young children here who attend a local school which has 30 students, ages 5-12. His three older children are in Tena, a city where his sister lives, so they can continue their education.

Every day we are absorbing more of the atmosphere of this beautiful natural place.