Ecuador: November 12-21, 2016

November 29, 2016 greg

After years of arranging the WINGS departure to Southern Ecuador I always knew that this was a special trip and one that I had to do. With space still left on the 2016 tour and a few months to rearrange various deadlines I realized that this was going to be the year. Joining the WINGS group seemed to be the best option to maximize my visit though 3 weeks (the length of the set departure) was more than I could possibly manage away from the office, not to mention home, and so I would have to cut the trip in half and miss one of the more interesting sites, Cabanas Yankuam. As one of the participants reminded me, you can’t see it all and it’s always good to leave something for next time.

The 8 days that I did spend on the tour encompassed a huge range of elevations and habitats. I picked up 328 bird species on my trip (the full tour would pick up 529, including 50 species of hummingbird), and memories to last a lifetime. One of the major highlights (Buenaventura Reserve) was standing beneath three male Long-wattled Umbrellabirds as they postured in the trees above, inflating their wattles and emitting their sonorous, fog-horn-like calls. Besides the enormous diversity of hummingbirds we saw plenty of antpittas, tanagers and parrots, all special in their own right. Copied below is a basic itinerary, photos, bird list and map of my trip.

DATE	EBIRD	BASIC ITINERARY
12-Nov-16		Departed Tucson at noon with a 3 hour layover in Houston. Arrived into Quito a little after midnight and overnight in the airport lounge.
13-Nov-16	1	06:00AM TAME Airlines flight to Loja (Catamayo) arriving at 07:00AM. After claiming my baggage I met my driver, which was arranged by Catherine (the owner of Copalinga Lodge), and set out for the 2+ hour drive to the Lodge. Arriving a little after 10:00AM I met Catherine and for the next 5 hours birded the grounds. Around 05:00PM she took me to the Gray Tinamou blind just up the hill where I had perfect views of two individuals as well as 2 White-throated Quail doves. Around 05:30PM met my driver and transferred back to Loja to meet the WINGS tour group. Dinner with the tour group. Night at *Loja Howard Johnson*
14-Nov-16	1, 2, 3	Departed Loja at 05:45AM for Tapichala Reserve with birding enroute. First stop was Cajanuma HQ, where we birded the Oso Anteojos trail. Returned to the HQ around 09:00AM and ate our bagged breakfasts from the HJ. Afterwards birded our way down the road until just before lunch. Lunch at La Esquina in Vilcabamba (main plaza). Arrive at Casa Simpson around 05:00PM. Successful views of Western Peruvian (Tumbes) Screech owl after dinner. Night at *Casa Simpson – Jocotoco Foundation*
15-Nov-16	1, 2, 3, 4	Breakfast at 05:30AM, which was our normal meeting time. Morning visit to the Rufous and Chest-naped Antpitta feeding station at 06:15AM near the lodge then proceeded to the Jocotoco Antpitta site for the 08:00AM “show.” Birded our way back to the main road after getting good views of the Antpitta. After lunch we took the bus further down in elevation to Vallodolid which is much warmer and dryer. After a few hours here we returned back up the mountain, stopping at the Mirador viewing area. Night at *Casa Simpson – Jocotoco Foundation*
16-Nov-16	1, 2	Early breakfast and birding never the start of the Jocotoco Antpitta trail. Returned to the lodge at 10:00AM and walked the Ondulated Trail, picking up a few things we had missed along the way. Left the lodge at 01:00PM for Loja, with a stop along the way to look for Neblina Metaltail at Cerro Toledo. Drove to about 9,300 feet, roughly treeline, and walked down the road for an hour. Winds were extremely high and no hummingbirds were recorded. Returned back down the mtn. and to Loja. Night at Loja Howard Johnson
17-Nov-16	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	Met the group at 05:30AM in the lobby and loaded into the Volkwagen 10-seater Crafter van. First stop was Rio Tambo road which produced among other things Peruvian Pygmy Owl and Tumbes sparrow. Other stops along the way to Jorupe were less productive. Lunch on Las Cochas road next to didn’t produce any Tinamous but we did have nice views of a motmot, peppershrike, along with another Pygmy owl. Stopped to check Rio Calva bridge before taking the turnoff to Urraca Lodge. Night at Urraca Lodge- Jorupe Reserve
18-Nov-16	1, 2, 3	Early morning breakfast followed by an hour of feeder watching before heading to Utuana. Stopped again at the Rio Calva bridge for 45 minutes before striking out on the long, dusty (and bumpy!) ride to Utuana. Arrived at Utuana around 09:00AM and spent the next 4 hours birding the 1km dirt road in to the hummingsbird feeders. After lunch at the feeders we worked our way back out. Returned to the lodge around 05:00PM. Night at Urraca Lodge- Jorupe Reserve
19-Nov-16	1, 2, 3	Early AM breakfast followed by feeder watching until about 07:30AM. Birded our way down from the lodge to the main road where we were met by our driver (~10:30AM) and transferred back to the lodge for lunch. After lunch we loaded up the van and began the long drive to the Umbrellabird Lodge. Over the next 4+ hours we made 1 quick birding stop and another for ice cream. Arrived at the lodge at 05:30PM just as it was getting dark. It started to drizzle but didn’t last long, and was the only precipitation throughout my entire trip, which was extremely hot, dry, and sunny. I think we were all blown away by the number of hummingsbirds at the feeders here. What a show! Night at Umbrellabird Lodge – Buenaventura Reserve
20-Nov-16	1, 2, 3, 4	The usual 05:30AM breakfast then a bit of feeder watching before leaving for our first site for the day. I could spend days at these feeders and never tire. At around 08:00AM we reached the trail to the El Oro parakeets inside the reserve. Two parakeets were found staring out at us from the nest boxes. The birding from the trail was really productive though things seemed to trail off as we walked the road down. Returned to the lodge for lunch. At 02:30PM we regrouped and headed up the road from the lodge to the Umbrellabird lek. At 04:15PM we picked up our first bird followed by two more 45 minutes later. Jon Feenstra mentioned that this was his best experience at the lek, and there were many hi-fives afterwards. Night at Umbrellabird Lodge – Buenaventura Reserve
21-Nov-16	1, 2, 3	Breakfast at 05:30AM, then packed our bags and loaded the van. Tearing myself away from the feeders here was tough. This was by far my favorite stop and I knew things would go downhill from here, especially since we were heading for a major city. From 07:00AM to 10:00AM we birded our way down the road from the lodge towards the highway. We stopped in Puerto Jeli, a fishing outpost, where we picked up Frigatebird and a few other species in the mangroves. After lunch we made one last stop along La Flor road to bird the rice fields and nearby park. Mosquitoes were bad however I did pick up a handful of lifers here including Jet Antbird and Guira Tanager. Arrived into Guayaquil (Grand Hotel) around 06:00PM and then transferred to the Int. airport to catch my 09:00PM flight to Quito. Arrived in Quito a little after 10:00PM and checked in for my 12:05AM flight to Houston.
22-Nov-16		Arrived in Houston a little after 06:00AM. After clearing customs I had a few hours to kill before catching a connecting flight to Tucson which arrived a few minutes after 11:00AM. By 12:30PM I was back in the office checking email.