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Ecuador 31/10/2019 – 21/11/2019 21 Days – 12 Antpitta’S – 64 Tanagers – 68 Hummers

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Ecuador 31/10/2019 – 21/11/2019 21 Days – 12 Antpitta’S – 64 Tanagers – 68 Hummers Ecuador 31/10/2019 – 21/11/2019 21 days – 12 antpitta’s – 64 tanagers – 68 hummers 1 Ecuador 31/10/2019 – 21/11/2019 Practical information Planning the trip We had a clear focus on how to plan our first trips in Sout-America after birding North- and Central- America. We started in Suriname to get a good and decent basis for the lowland Amazonian species and the next trip on the list was Ecuador with a focus on the Andean species. After these two trips we would be able to focus in other trips in South-America more on the targetspecies and the endemics. So after some research I had more or less a trip in my mind focusing on the Andes with the first week the eastslope, the second week the westslope and the last week the southern Andes, because we had one big target there the Jocotoco antpitta. We compared some options and decided to go with Neblina Forest (www.neblinaforest.com – [email protected]), and discussed further on our itinerary to get a final outcome. The reactions of Neblina forest were always swift, correct and helpful (Xavier Munoz – +593.99.759.1359). During the travel the preparation by Neblina was perfect and everything was arranged nicely. We never experienced any problem. Our guide was Jorge Luna ([email protected] - +593.99.458.2030), a very good birder and nice guide. We made on the place some last changements at the trip based on the birds we had seen the previous days and where we could get the most new targets. So thanks to these proposals by Jorge we got some birds we didn’t expect to see. In hindsight I think the timing and planning of the trip was pretty good and if you want to get most of the Andean species, this trip seems pretty up for the challenge. Take in account that the amount of birds is huge, so seeing everything is impossible. Besides that we will have to return to other parts of Ecuador on subsequent trips, although it’s a small country compared to other South-American countries, the country is way too big to cover on a three week trip. So better focus on some regions, rather than getting a triplist as long as possible and missing a lot of relevant species. I always make a target list (see annex 2), based on information I can find and to start planning a trip. I included this list at the back of the report. In my opinion these are relevant targets you have to look for in Ecuador. Getting there We booked flights with KLM and had a direct flight from the Netherlands to Quito. The flight is pretty long, but it saves a lot of time that it is a direct flight. Just enjoy the onboard entertainment or take a good book with you. The return flight is at night, so if you are lucky to sleep on a plane this is over quite quickly. Food Concerning food we experienced no problems at all. The lodges where we stayed have a nice kitchen. The food varied between excellent and splendid, so no complaints at all. The portions are always more than big enough and if you think you will manage, there is always a big plate of rice which is impossible to finish. 2 Climate We were travelling in the rainy season, which was mostly on the westslope. Although I think we had nearly everyday rain, the rain didn’t cause any problems for birding. One or two times we had to change plans due to the rain, but birds are more active after the rain. On warm sunny days the bird activity drops sometimes quickly, so travelling during the rainy period poses no problems. On the west slope we experienced only a lot of mist, so we maybe missed some nice views but also on this slope we got our targets no matter the weather. Road The road conditions are pretty good and certainly the big roads are perfect. Traffic is mostly very safe, only in the Andes there were some truck drivers which had a little bit more courage than I would have but we experienced never any dangerous situations. The drivers we had on our trip were also very careful and certainly didn’t do any reckless maneuvers. Visum and border control You don’t need a visum to travel to Ecuador. Just get a stamp at the airport and again one when leaving Ecuador, that’s it. The border control is quick and we could collect our bags very fast. I think that we were out of the airport in 30 – 45 minutes after landing. This is a blessing compared to some other countries. Sightings and sound recordings All the sightings, mentioned in the report, are uploaded on www.observado.org with exact GPS- locations, so I didn’t add any GPS locations in the report because you can find them on the internet for the species of your interest. I also made some sound recordings which are available on www.xeno-canto.org. Contact If you want more information, just contact me (Bram Vogels, written bramvogels and add @hotmail.com). Day 1 – 31/10/2019: arrival in Quito – Puembo Birding Garden We arrived on time in Quito and quickly got through border control and got our bags. Our shuttle to Puembo Birding Garden ([email protected]) was waiting for us. Mercedes runs this place and is a birder herself. Although it is closely situated to the airport (+/- 30 minutes) the place has some nice species we got only in this area. We had less than an hour left before dark so we birded the garden with Sparkling violetear, Rufous-tailed hummingbird, Rufous-collared sparrow, Eared dove, Godlen Grosbeak, Scrub tanager and Mercedez showed us Black-tailed trainbearer and another target here Western emerald. 3 Day 2 – 01/11/2019: Antisana – Papallacta – Guango We were picked up at 6.30 AM and drove towards Antisana. The first stop was at a viewpoint for condors in an area which is bought by the Jocotoco foundation. There were twelve Andean condors flying around and obviously there was some death animal lying which attracted them. On the same spot we had Tufted tit-tyrant, Streak-throated bush tyrant, Shining sunbeam, Giant hummingbird, Black flowerpiercer, Plain-colored seedeater and Black-chested buzzard-eagle. We continued the road, passed a checkpoint and got into the paramo. We stopped in some valleys with scrub and flowers where we found Ecuadorian hillstar. Other species we could add were Many-striped canastero, Stout-billed cinclodes, Brown-backed chat-tyrant, Chestnut-winged cinclodes, Carunculated caracara, several other Andean conors, Variable hawk, Cinereous harrier, Andean lapwing, a lot of Andean gulls, Parama ground tyrant, Paramo pipit, Brown-bellied swallow, Andean teal and Baird’s sandpiper. The road ends at a parking lot. Leave the car there and bird around the cabins and the little lake behind the cabins. In the scrub we had Grass wren, Plumbeous Sierra Finch, Great thrush, Many- striped canastero and Andean tit-spinetail. On the lake behind the cabins there were Andean coots, Andean ducks and Silvery grebe. Tawny antpitta was calling on several places, but we had no sightings. On the way back we found Andean ibis, which we missed the first time and Black-winged ground-dove. We had lunch in a restaurant a little bit below the condor viewpoint, this restaurant has feeders and attracts some nice hummers like Shining sunbeam, Tyrian metaltail, Giant hummingbird and Great sapphirewing. We searched on the slopes for Spectacled bear, but had no luck. We continued towards Papallacta and searched again for Spectacled bear on the slopes, but also at the other side of the mountain no luck. On the highest point of the pass towards Papallacta, you can 4 take a dirtroad which goes up to some antennas. Here we had nice views of a Tawny antpitta standing on top of the vegetation, but our target was the Rufous-bellied seedsnipe. After 30 minutes searching our driver found them behind the antennas. Just park the car at the antennas and walk around the antennas, mostly they are in the neighborhood apparently. In this area we added Chestnut-crestad cotinga and Great Horned owl. From this point we drove straight towards Guango lodge (https://www.guangolodge.com/). Just before dark we could check the hummingbird feeders with Chestnut-breasted coronet, Buff-tailed coronet, White-bellied woodstar, Buff-winged starfrontlet, Tourmaline sunangel, Long-tailed sylph, Collared inca and Speckled hummingbird. Mammals: White-tailed deer & Andean rabbit Day 3 – 02/11/2019: Guango – Cayambe-Coca – Papallacta - Guango We started birding around the lodge and focused on the pipeline track and the torrent duck track (see map below). This proved a fruitful walk with Northern mountain cacique, Chestnut-capped brushfinch, Masked flowerpiercer, Turquoise jay, Pearled treerunner, Grey-hooded bush-tanager, Blue-and-black tanager, Andean guan, Capped conebill, Spectacled whitestart, White-banded tyrannulet, White-collared swift, Torrent tyrannulet, Grey-breasted wood wren, White-capped dipper, Black-capped hemispingus, Streaked tuftedcheek, Mountain wren, Blue-backed conebill, Blackburnian warbler, Russet-crowned warbler, Black-crested warbler and Hooded Mountain tanager. 5 We had breakfast and after a Sword-billed hummingbird at the feeders we drove up towards the paramo of Cayambe-Coca. For this road you have to drive through the parking lot of the thermals of Papallacta. Because it was clear we immediately drove towards the parking lot high up where the park office is. A Tawny antpitta crossed the road when we started birding.
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