Ecuador Mi Pais

Tayra

Turquoise Jay

Wonderful to see them interacting and working on the nest. Its not 100% that they will use it but they sure seem interested!

Plate-billed Mountain Toucan

A very shy and intelligent bird. They can be skittish even at the feeders but I got lucky to them display and call!

Casa Neblina 2016!

Now online and hosting great birds such as... Fawn-breasted brilliant. Plate-billed Mountain Toucan. Masked Trogon. Collared Inca. Hook-billed Kite. Prospero Ano Nuevo!

Slow Motion Hummingbirds

There are almost 40 different species that come to the feeders. Here's a small sample!

Un Niedo de los Quetzales Crestados

Toucans, Woodpeckers and Flycatchers

Choco Toucan 276, Pale-mandibled Aracari 277, Crimson-rumped Toucanet 278, Emerald Toucanet 279, Crimson-mantled woodpecker 280, Scarlet-backed woodpecker 281, Golden-Olive Woodpecker 282, black-cheeked woodpecker 283, Powerful Woodpecker 284, Pearl tree-runner 285, Plain brown woodcreeper 286, Rufous Mot-mot 287, streaked-tufted cheek 288, Cinnamon flycatcher 289, smoke colored peewee 290, elenia 291, beardless tyrannulet 292, tody flycatcher 293, dusky capped flycatcher 294, yellow-bellied siskin 295. I'd also like to add a few more hummingbirds such as speckled hummingbird 296, and buff-throated saltator 297. Rounding it all out are red-headed barbet 298, masked trogon 299, sickle-winged guan 300, and warbling antbird 301.

Raptors

As you all know this is my favorite subject. Being so rich in birdlife, the raptor department is no exception. This go around I had quite a few new lifers, starting with the pearlescent kite, #266. Followed by the white-tailed kite, #267. I already counted the hook-billed kite, but this pix deserves inclusion. Another notable was the snail kite, #268. On the hawk side I had the ever present road-side hawk #269, the savannah hawk #270 and the short-tailed hawk #271. Owl wise the only one I can count is the black and white hawk #272. Also had the quite common laughing falcon #273 the collared forest falcon #274, and the bat falcon #275.

Tanagers

Even more than hummingbirds, tanagers have come to define the beauty of Ecuador. Luckily this time around I was able to see quite a few of these beauties whether at feeders or out in the wild. Starting with #240 the Blue-necked tanager. Followed by this lifer the dusky faced tanager #241. Guira tanager #242. Rufous collared tanager #243. black-chinned tanager #244. bay-headed tanager #245. The ubiquitious lemon rumped tanager #246. and the equally as common palm tanager #247. blue-winged mountain tanager #248. blue-grey tanager #249. #250 while not a tanager, I find them with them often, rufous collared sparrow. silver-throated tanager #251. dusky bush tanager #252. beryl spangled tanager #253. golden tanager #254. golden-naped tanager #255. flame-faced tanager #256. swallow tanager #257. white lined tanager #258. Also had flame rumped tanager #259, black winged saltator #258, masked flower piercer #259, slate-throated whitestart, #260 and ecuadorian thrush at #261. Finally I got some really beautiful birds but the pix werent great. Those were #262 yellow-tufted dacnis, #263 green honey creeper and #264 yellow breasted elenia. Finally had the one-colored becard #265.

Isla de la Plata

Im not even going to try to put into words how awesome this place was. My pix here will only approximate the stark yet rich beauty. The one small disappointment is that we couldnt see the waved albatross because they were nesting. We did have a few thousand blue-footed boobies #230 though. There were also thousands of frigate birds #231. My favorite was the nasca booby #232, although the tropicbird #233 is truly one of the most beautiful birds in flight. We also had red-footed booby #234, which eats predominately squid. On the trails by the station we had the little woodstar #235 and the endemic warbling finch #236. On the boat ride over we had inca tern #237, Peruvian Pelican #238 and Parkinson's shearwater. #239. Also had a close encounter with 2 humpbacks!

Birding La Segua on the way to Isla de la Plata

Took a trip to the coast to a place known as "the poor man's Galapagos." Isla de la Plata is about 25km off the coast of Manta and hosts many of the same birds as the Galapagos but is far easier and cheaper to reach. Birding along the way as well as the La Segua Wetlands, it was a truly beautiful experience despite the spartan conditions. There are many wading and waterbirds along the many farms you can pull off onto for viewings. We were able to see a great variety this way including: Black-necked Stilt #197, Ringed-kingfisher #198, and the elusive sun bittern #199. Also seen were many white-edged orioles #200, Wattled Jacana #201, Wilson's plover #202, White-faced pintail #203, tri-color heron #204, neotropical cormorant #205, vermillion flycatcher #206, peruvian meadowlark #207, tropical mockingbirds #208, boat-tailed grackle #209, least grebe #210, southern yellow grossbeak #211, paraque #212 and saffron finches #213. La Segua was teeming with birds despite being very hot. Many lifers here for me including: #214 Cocoi Heron, Purple Gallinule #215, Supercilliated Wren #216, Silver-throated kingbird #217 striated heron #218 Many smooth billed #219 and groove-billed anis #220, Also had the green kingfisher #221, The american pygmy kingfisher #222, grey-breasted martin #223, brown-chested martin #224, Many doves were in attendance. White-tipped dove #225, peruvian dove #226 and these beautiful croaking ground doves #227, Along the entire coast, there are large flocks of cute Pacific Parrolets #228 Last but not least were two kraiks...both completely new to me. The white-throated kraik #229 and this grey-breasted krail #230!

Ecuador 2014

Making new friends! 172, Gorgeted Sun Angel. 173 Buff-winged Coronet. 174 Velvet purple coronet.

Ecuador Hummingbirds

It is often cloudy and rainy in the Cloud Forest. As a result getting direct light with high shutter speeds becomes almost impossible to eliminate blur. That being said, there were great hummers at any of the places with feeders that I went. At 2000+ meters you find the violet tailed sylph which is one of the longest hummingbirds in Ecuador, and one of the smallest with the purple throated woodstar. One of my favorites is the Empress Brilliant. Due to the prevalence of feeders, the hummers become agitated if the bottles go empty too long. Its not uncommon for them to land on you while "demanding" breakfast. One of the most daring is the buff-tailed coronet. I had more than a few land on my head while up early with the sun. Once deployed, every hummingbird in the nabe comes in for a drink. Meanwhile at 1800m at the feeders in El Mirador, you get the tiny green-thorntail in the woodstar's niche. 4 Down at 1500meter, in Mindo proper the fabulous Andean Emerald. Also at the Mariposario was the fantastic White-whiskered Hermit.

Ecuador Redux

Had a nice opportunity to revisit Ecuador and peel back some of the layers of this country. I spent the majority of my time between Nanegalito and Los Bancos with Mindo Mariposarios being a favored stop. It was a special and needed break from the insanity that sees to be breaking out on daily basis back in the States. In Ecuador I am reminded that birds have lived on this planet for millions of years and survived earthquakes, volcanism, meteor strikes and a few wars. So somehow if I can find them, I too can navigate the cataclysm du jour. So here's what some of that looks like: Las Tangaras! Blue-winged Mountain tanager. Golden Naped Tanager. Flame faced tanager. Beryl Spangled Tanager. Golden Tanager. Male White lined Tanager Female White lined Tanager. Blue Necked Tanager. Rufous Necked Tanager. These Swallow Tanagers. Coming next, Hummingbirds!

The Birds of Ecuador, Part 2: Raptors

So many birds breeds a ubiquitous crop of birds that eat birds. Here are some of the highlights. The omnipresent roadside hawk, the striking laughing falcon, the female Bat Falcon. The Collared Forest Falcon, The Great Black Hawk vs the Collared Forest Falcon, Last, smallest but never least. The Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl. The also have tons of Black and Turkey Vultures.