NORTHERN ECUADOR HUMMINGBIRD & TANAGER EXTRAVAGANZA A RELAXED & EASY TOUR MARCH 15–24, 2018 Velvet-purple Coronet ©Cathy Summa-Wolfe LEADER : PAUL GREENFIELD LIST COMPILED BY : PAUL GREENFIELD VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS , INC . 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE , SUITE 1003 AUSTIN , TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD .COM NORTHERN ECUADOR HUMMINGBIRD & TANAGER EXTRAVAGANZA A RELAXED & EASY TOUR March 15–24, 2018 By Paul Greenfield Flame-faced Tanager © Paul J. Greenfield COLOR—all varieties and qualities of color: bright, glistening, shimmering, glowing, shining, iridescent, opalescent, glossy, velvety, opaque, pastel, gaudy, subdued, contrasting, blended, primary, secondary, terciary and on and on—could well have been the underlying theme of this year’s first Relaxed & Easy Northern Ecuador Hummingbird & Tanager Extravaganza. During this weeklong Andean adventure, we found ourselves fully immersed in a spectacular feathered festival of hummingbirds and tanagers. The superlatives are hard to match…what could be better! Our rather comfortable itinerary took advantage of Ecuador’s compact size and birder- friendly infrastructure as we ventured up and over the Andes first east then west, initiated by a morning just below Antisana National Park—spying a Giant Hummingbird before even disembarking from our bus! Hummingbirds everywhere, in brilliant light— Sparkling Violetears, Shining Sunbeams, a stunning male Black-tailed Trainbearer, the oversized Great Sapphirewing with its shining blue wings, the pint-sized Tyrian Metaltail… each as incredible as the next! Then, a pair of huge Andean Condors showed up above the horizon in graceful buoyant flight, only to touch down on a rocky cliff-face and proceed to copulate ! WOW! And our journey had barely begun ! We eventually continued on to Papallacta Pass for a brief visit along the ‘old’ road there, spying a soaring Puna Hawk and a Carunculated Caracara, along with a Viridian Metaltail and Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 Northern Ecuador Hummingbird & Tanager Extravaganza R&E, 2018 Blue-mantled Thornbill perched up on the same Polylepis shrub (these two species in obvious competition for the same food sources), before advancing to Guango Lodge for lunch—and more birds. At this renowned site, the hummers were buzzing and combative all around us: Tourmaline Sunangels everywhere, Speckled Hummingbirds, Long-tailed Sylphs (can’t you just hear the “oohs’ and the “aahs”), “snappy” Collared Incas, Buff- tailed and Chestnut-breasted coronets (so cool but aggressive), bee-like White-bellied Woodstars, and a “Ripley’s Believe-it-or-not” Sword-billed Hummingbird (OMG!). We then took a short walk down to the nearby river where 2 Torrent Tyrannulets and a Spotted Sandpiper awaited, along with a fairly large band of noisy Turquoise Jays that marauded about; an Andean Motmot surprised us, allowing for brief but excellent scope views before disappearing—this may well be a first record for the species at this site and this altitude! Alas, it was time to head for our first lodge, Cabañas San Isidro, in time to add a few more species to the day’s tally, including Bronzy Inca, Fawn-breasted Brilliants, and a minute female Gorgeted Woodstar. But our day’s birding would not be complete until we secured excellent, after-dinner looks at the enigmatic ‘San Isidro Mystery Owl ’—an as-yet-to-be fully identified taxa that has the scientific community still guessing! San Isidro is situated in the upper subtropic-lower temperate ecotone along the eastern slope of the Andes and is well-renowned for its birdlife and fine cuisine (an extra plus!). Our half-day here confirmed this handily; pre-breakfast birding brought forth several interesting species: a pair of Crimson-mantled Woodpeckers, Olive-backed and Montane woodcreepers, White-bellied Antpitta at its ‘feeding station,’ a really endearing Rufous- crowned Tody-Flycatcher in Chusquea bamboo, and Gray-breasted Wood-Wren. Later that morning we explored the ‘Eco-corridor’ that runs right past the lodge’s entrance, rendering encounters with Sickle-winged Guans, Cinnamon Flycatchers, Marble-faced Bristle-Tyrants, wonderfully colorful and animated Inca (Green) Jays, Mountain Wren, Saffron-crowned and Flame-faced tanagers (more outrageous color!), Capped Conebill, Bluish Flowerpiercer, Russet-backed Oropendolas, and Subtropical and Yellow-rumped caciques among the species seen. At the porch nectar feeders, we encountered Lesser Violetear and Andean Emerald. After a delicious lunch, we departed eastward towards the Amazonian foothills, with an enjoyable stop at Río Hollín, where we checked out more nectar feeders and the views of the white-water Hollín River and waterfall along with special looks at glowing White-tailed Hillstars, Many-spotted Hummingbirds, Glittering-throated Emerald, multicolored Golden-tailed Sapphires, a pair of White- capped Dippers, and a nesting pair of Common Tody-Flycatchers. We continued on to our day’s final destination, spotting Crimson-mantled Woodpecker and a male Golden- collared Honeycreeper before arriving at Wildsumaco Lodge in time to settle in and, of course, sample some new hummers from the lodge’s ample porch, among them Green Hermit, Brown Violetear, extravagant Wire-crested Thorntails and Peruvian (Booted) Racket-tails, Rufous-vented Whitetip, Black-throated and Violet-fronted brilliants, a ‘showstopping’ Gould’s Jewelfront, Violet-headed Hummingbird, Napo Sabrewing, and Fork-tailed Woodnymph. Quite a show—quite a day! We spent two full days exploring the rich and diverse habitats around Wildsumaco, from forest edge, pastures, and clearings to forest, and, of course, we enjoyed protracted views of the lodge’s two nectar feeding-stations and their hummingbirds. We also sat over a forest feeding-station where worms were ‘served’ to a pair of hungry Plain-backed Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 3 Northern Ecuador Hummingbird & Tanager Extravaganza R&E, 2018 Antpittas, an adorable Ochre-breasted Antpitta, and a Gray-cheeked Thrush. As it turned out, many species had taken to nesting here, somewhat unseasonally, and we faced some unexpected challenges, but enjoyed some great birding—with Swallow-tailed Kites, Black Hawk-Eagle, Squirrel Cuckoo, more and repeated looks at the hummers we sampled upon our arrival (with many photo ops!), Gilded Barbet, Golden-collared Toucanet, Channel-billed Toucan, Yellow-tufted and Golden-olive woodpeckers, Maroon-tailed Parakeets, Chestnut-fronted Macaws, Short-tailed Antthrush (Rob got stunning photos!), Buff-fronted and Montane foliage-gleaners, White-tailed and Golden- faced tyrannulets, Ornate and Lemon-browed flycatchers, Olivaceous Greenlet, White- winged Becard, a bunch of boreal migrants (American Redstart, Blackburnian and Canada warblers, Summer and Scarlet tanagers, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks), Crested Oropendolas, and White-lined, Silver-beaked, Blue-necked, and Golden-eared tanagers among the many. Our eventual departure and drive back to Quito brought other noteworthy species, including a lovely Torrent Duck family along the Río Cosanga, a pair of Crimson-crested Woodpeckers as we exited Wildsumaco, some Cliff Flycatchers, a pair of Masked Tityras, Rufous-naped Greenlet, Violaceous Jays, White-thighed Swallow, Tropical Parula, Magpie and two male Swallow tanagers, Blue Dacnis, Chestnut-bellied Seedeater, Chestnut-bellied Seed-Finch, and Grayish Saltator. Great Sapphirewing © Paul J. Greenfield The ‘second act’ of our Extravaganza began the following morning as we departed from Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 4 Northern Ecuador Hummingbird & Tanager Extravaganza R&E, 2018 Quito and climbed to Jocotoco Foundation’s Yanacocha Reserve at around 11,500 altitude. Hummingbirds dazzled us at point-blank with full-on looks at Tyrian Metaltails, a Sapphire-vented Puffleg, more aggressive Shining Sunbeams, bold Buff-winged Starfrontlets, repeated views of a wonderful male Sword-billed Hummingbird, and a pair of Great Sapphirewings. We were also wowed by high elevation tanagers that came to the plantain feeders set up here: pairs of the scarce and local Black-chested Mountain- Tanager and the truly splendid Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager left us rather speechless (except for those now familiar ‘oohs’and ‘aahs’); these were followed by Yellow- breasted and Gray-browed brushfinches, Glossy and Masked flowerpierces, and the occasional Rufous-collared Sparrow and Great Thrush, not to forget the surprising pair of Andean Guans that stuffed themselves obligingly. We eventually walked a bit along the reserve’s main trail where we came across a small band of Rufous Wrens and a quite similar Rufous Spinetail amidst marvelous scenery and awesome vegetation (orchids, huge Gunnera leaves, etc.). But the day had just begun, and what a day it would be…we continued on our journey, this time downslope—stopping for a Brown-backed Chat- Tyrant and Red-crested Cotinga—to Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge for lunch and more avian delights, including many Chocó bioregional endemics: Lesser Violetear, Speckled Hummingbirds, our first fabulous male Violet-tailed Sylphs (could you believe those tails!), Collared Incas, some 40 or so Buff-tailed Coronets, astonishing White-booted (Booted) Racket-tails, Purple-bibbed Whitetip, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, and Andean Emerald kept us glued to the feeders. Blue-winged Mountain-Tanagers also came to sip nectar, as did Masked and a pair of White-sided flowerpiercers. Before heading on our way, we encountered a splendid Toucan Barbet threesome, a Strong-billed Woodcreeper (seen best by Lynn), a pair of Smoke-colored