Northern Ecuador July 2016

Transcription

1 Northern Ecuador July 2016 OSCAR CAMPBELL Introduction This trip reports outlines a visit made to Northern Ecuador in July This being my first time in Ecuador, one of the hardest things when planning this was to work out exactly where, out of the myriad of sites worth visiting, to invest time. In the end, over three weeks five or six would have been better - we spent 14 days going down the east slope from Quito to the edge of the Amazonian basin beyond Tena and back up again, six nights in the Mindo area sampling the west slope at various elevations, all easily reached from Mindo, and a total of six days on the dry plateau, visiting Cotopaxi and Antisana National Parks for one day each and also some tourist time in both Otavalo and Quito. This was sufficient to find a good cross-section of the avifauna, although the whole three weeks could profitably have been spent on either the east or west slopes alone. Birding in Ecuador for anyone, but especially first-timers (including myself, despite time in Peru 15 years ago and Costa Rica last year) is exhilarating but also complex and timeconsuming, especially if you are operating mainly without guides and in the rainy season. First and foremost, see this brilliant and very detailed website for very thorough access and bird information for a great range of sites, all over Ecuador. Many thanks to Lelis Navarrete for bothering to take the time to put together this comprehensive online site guide; I referred to it extensively during planning and implementation of this trip. Route and accommodation After realizing that there would plenty to do well within striking range of Quito, to get a sampling of the rich variety of habitats in northern Ecuador, the following sites were visited:

2 1. East Slope: It s an amazing journey downhill from Quito to the Amazonian fringes at Tena, with forest still extant on a spectacular scale and just a few remote villages along the way. Other than at Papallacta near the top and Tena and Tena at the bottom (I am not sure how much good habitat there is close to the latter), there are very few places to stay and the accommodation available, whilst good, is pricey, to put it mildly. We visited a range of sites, at various elevations and listed below as you go downhill: Papallacta Pass (1 hour driving from the international airport in Quito): Wild paramo; m. We drove here from Yaruqui near the airport (see below) en-route to Guango and also stayed a night on the return journey at La Choza de Don Wilson, a small hotel at the top of the village just below the right turn up to the famous Termas da Papallacta booked a fortnight earlier whilst we passed downhill. Guango Lodge (20mins below Papallacta): c2900m; wet temperate forest and raging rivers. Accommodation on-site at the excellent lodge here ( and great birding right on your doorstep and from the road plus some nice, short trails. San Isidro Lodge (1-1.5 hrs from Guango): c2000m; temperate and subtropical forest. Accommodation again at the excellent lodge here ( same operation as Guango and both bookable via an to the same office). Birding was great in the garden and on the access track running from the gate; the famous, if tough, Guacomayos ridge is easily reachable too. Wild Sumaco (1.5-2 hrs from San Isidro, via one hour along the Loreto Road): c1200m; subtropical forest. Accommodation at the very pricey but superb lodge here ( with wonderful habitat all around. The local guide Byron, who I teamed up for a day, was sensational and one of the best guides I have ever birded with. All birding was done on foot (which was fortunate, as the 8km road from the highway is quite rough, although not as bad as Gareno; see below), along the access road and in some very nice trails inside the forest at various elevations. Gareno Lodge (c50km from Tena which is one hour below San Isidro but the road beyond Tena includes over 30km on bone-jarring gravel so it s a lengthy and tiresome trek): c400m; Terra firme Amazonian forest. See Accommodation is at the basic rustic would put a gloss on it - and somewhat rundown Gareno Lodge (definitely in need of a renovation and some money spent on it). From a birding point of view, this site is great; remote and in good quality forest. The long access road is effectively an infinite canopy watchtower and the interior trails get you into good forest although it was much quieter than the access road most of the time. Sandro, who answered s promptly and helpfully, accompanied and guided us throughout and is both a friendly guy and a very good, knowledgeable guide, happy to be out looking hard for things all day plus well before dawn. He also has megas that are very tough (or harder) at other sites (i.e. Rufous Potoo, Fiery Topaz) totally pinned down, in or very close to the lodge garden. However, be aware: whilst fine for a crew of desperado birders, accommodation is very basic: there are no electrical lights (one socket is available for charging), running water is cold and comes from the adjacent river and the food whilst good (under the circumstances) has limited variety. Bring your own beer (you ll need it ) Although this place is a tiny fraction of the cost of some of the lodges on the Napo at Coca, 100USD pppn still seemed quite pricy for what we got (although, to be fair, that did include all guiding and this rate is apparently very low by Amazonian standards - Sascha Lodge quoted us a crazy price for much less time when we naively enquired). Although good, the habitat at Gareno is much less varied than on the Napo (no big rivers or floodplain forest) and mammals are much scarcer (or maybe simply harder to see). Back to the plus side, you can wander about at will and, at least if you haven t done much Amazonian birding, there are a lot of great birds. Just make sure any non-birding civilians accompanying you are mentally prepared in advance. Also note that Sandro does not, or at least was reluctant too, speak English, although we actually preferred and appreciated our four days of Spanish emersion. 2 West slope: Mindo area (1.5hr drive from Quito without stops). We spent four nights in the small town of Mindo itself, two at each of La Posada de Mindo and Mindo Ananaw (both reached via Both were small, friendly and family-run hotels, very good value and within very easy walking distance of the main square and all the main Mindo sites. Mindo itself is a really laid back, easy sort of place with lots restaurants and terrific birding options within minutes of town and hence a nice change from isolated, expensive lodges. I spent about three days birding in the immediate Mindo area and also spent a day at lower elevations at the Rio Silanche / Milpe Reserves. This is the minimum amount of time you would want to donate to these areas. Despite initially intending too, I didn t make it too the Tandayapa Valley sites due to lack of time, the apparently terrible state of the road there from Mindo and the fact that a good proportion although not all - of the west slope upper elevation birds available there were at the following site.

3 In between our two Mindo locations we spent further two nights at Refugio Paz de las Aves (see about 45 mins uphill from Mindo. The 4.5km from the highway are on an unsealed but pretty ok road; easily drivable (at least if it doesn t rain relentlessly). Angel and Rodrigo Paz, owners of this world-famous reserve have recently opened accommodation and, without quite knowing what it would be like, we elected to stay. This proved to be probably the highlight of the trip and we were really glad stopped here instead of a fleeting half-day trip from Mindo, which most people do. Accommodation in the recently built lodge was top-notch, the food fantastic and, most of all, the entire Paz family extremely friendly and welcoming. They looked after us really well and, antpittas and Cock-of-the-Rocks apart, there is lots more terrific birding here that takes time to discover. We had three visits to different Cock-of-the- Rock leks and also bonuses such as Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan and even a lucky Oilbird at a day-roost. The price was very reasonable, especially compared to the East slope lodges and given that as much guiding as you wanted was included. Conclusion: don t miss it! 3. Inter-Andean valley sites visited (all within 2hrs of Quito) Yaruqui: This small Ecuadorian town is mostly tourist-free and essentially an outer suburb of Quito. We ended up here as we used the hotel Casa Yaruqui (reached via as our base for visiting Quito and getting to and from flights for the Galapagos Islands. A simple but decent hotel with very friendly staff who were happy to store bags and ferry us to and from the airport (10 mins away) as needed, and they also arranged a full-day taxi visit to the tourist sites of Quito (one hour away) at an unbeatable rate. A short walk from the hotel there was a nice scrubby valley for some pre-breakfast birding (see below) including a few species that I never saw anywhere else. Cotopaxi: Visited from the town of Lasso (1-1.5 hrs south of Quito), where stayed at Cabanas Los Volcanos, reached via Another good, family run hotel and only 20mins back up the Panamericana to the entrance of Cotopaxi National Park, where the roads are gravel but graded and a very easy drive. Note that the hotel itself is not exactly where the website says it is; you need to drive into Lasso itself and the Cabanas are on the immediate left, and set back from the road a little, just south of the only big petrol station in town. We had to ask, as probably will you.

4 Antisana: visited whilst en-route from Cotopaxi back to Yaruqui; the Highway #35, heading north east from the Panamericana towards the international airport, totally bypasses Quito; Antisana is reached by turning uphill and going through the small town of Pintag not far from Sangloqui; the Mica Lake is about 30km further on a narrow but good sealed road from Pintag (one early km is very rough as the road goes round a quarry but then improves greatly again). Otavalo: 1.5hrs north of Quito airport. We stayed at the very quaint and original, albeit noisy, Doña Esther Otavalo (reached via We came here to visit the famous Saturday market but, of course, some pre-breakfast birding was fitted in at Laguna San Pedro, only 10mins away. The spectacular, but peculiarly bird-deficient Cuicocha Crater Lake was also day-tripped from here. Getting around Somewhat unusually for Ecuador, we opted to self-drive. A bottom-of-the-range economy car was arranged from Localiza, booked online. A few points to bear in mind with regard to driving yourself: The car we got, whilst well-maintained structurally, was easily the most well-worn (c150,000km), scratched, nicked and most expensive car we have ever rented. Ecuador really is an expensive place to rent a vehicle, although doing it our way was still significantly less expensive than getting the lodges to provide transfers for you, far more time-efficient that bussing it and far more flexible and versatile than either. That s the main bad news. Otherwise: Self-driving in Ecuador is dead easy; all main roads are good or very good and have little traffic. The road between Guango and San Isidro is a little rough for very short sections and also prone, in the rainy season, to mudslides we got delayed over 2 hours on the return as they had the diggers out clearing up after a deluge. Various sites (to be specific: the road to the radiomast at Papallacta, access tracks to San Isidro, Wild Sumaco, Gareno, Refugio Paz de las Aves, the Rio Silanche reserve and Cotopaxi) are off all off the main road and on unsealed tracks; however these were all easily passable (at least in July) in a small 2WD save for Wild Sumaco and Gareno. The track (8.5km) to Wild Sumaco was rather rough but doable whilst the track to Gareno excessively rough, very long (30-35km) and arduous. With hindsight, talking a small car to Gareno was not clever; we were lucky to escape with no more than a puncture. Signage and navigation is not too bad, although a sat nav on the phone really helped. We purposefully did not drive into Quito (apparently traumatic) although we did drive round it en-route from Mindo to Cotopaxi. This was on a Saturday afternoon and easy enough, at least compared to Dubai or Manila... Getting right into the middle of other towns, for example Otavalo and Mindo, was dead easy. Petrol and tolls were stupidly cheap. Weather July is not prime time to visit Ecuador as it is rainy season on the east slope. We had heavy rain once on the Papallacta pass (out of three visits), heavy overnight rain at Guango (but fine during the day), heavy overnight rain at San Isidro and showers for a few hours during the middle of the day, and heavy showers for part of the day two days out of three at Wild Sumaco. However, it was only really at San Isidro where we were forced to put things on hold for a bit. The weather, unlike the road, at Gareno i.e. in Amazonia itself, was perfect lots of high cloud cover, so relatively cool but dry (just a short shower on one day) and not at all humid or sweaty at night. Weather elsewhere was mostly rather better dry and bright throughout on the altiplano and pretty good most of the time in the Mindo area, although we had quite heavy rain several afternoons for an hour or two (this apparently was a little unusual). The exception was Rio Silanche and, to a lesser extent, Milpe where, on the one day we had there, sadly we had a lot of rain and which really put a damper on things for quite a while and we definitely missed a few birds due to this. Temperatures were never too hot, nor excessively cold, bar for short periods at dawn on the Papallacta Pass and Otavalo. Activity in the forest was reasonable most of the time although there was not a lot of song or calling in a lot of places and it was necessary to keep on the move to find flocks. This was true at almost every forest site throughout, on both slopes. What to bring Ridgely & Greenfield is required reading and still a very a good book, despite being quite old now. I used my scope a lot for scanning in the forest and along roads; it got me much better views of a lot of things. Photography opportunities were quite good in many of the lodge gardens and especially, Refugio Paz de las Aves but it was a bit wet and dull in the forest interior a lot of the time. A sound recorder and the ability to playback were far more useful than

5 gigabytes of preloaded sound-recordings; some of the recordings I made on this trip are freely downloadable at this link. Rubber boats were very useful at Gareno and Guango (there is a river crossing at the former and trails very boggy at the latter) but not really needed elsewhere. Bug repellent and long sleeves were far more use than sunscreen. Although nasty bugs were not frequent, over time the inevitable jungle nicks, scratches and rashes materialised. Finally, an umbrella, raincoat and many ziplock plastic bags were vital. Guiding This is something I don t generally go in for, preferring to go at my own pace and find my own stuff but it makes a helluva difference in Ecuador where so much is so complicated. Guiding was included in the rate at Gareno and Refugio Paz de las Aves and, as mentioned above, Sandro (at the former) and Angel and Rodrigo (at the latter) were great company. On a whim and on arrival, for one day each I also arranged a guide at Wild Sumaco (where I had a sensational day with Byron) and at Mindo, after by chance I struck up a conversation with a guide called Javier who I met in his crepe shop visible just off the main square in town (cannot recall the shop s name but it was on the far top right corner of the square as you drive into square on the main road from the junction). We teamed up for Rio Silanche and Milpe and, despite wet weather, had a good day and certainly saw much more than I would have accumulated on my own. Birding sites Brief details of highlights and key species are given for each entry below, but these accounts are personal and by no means comprehensive; see the relevant chapter of the aforementioned website for a fuller breakdown and exact details. 1 East Slope: (see above for approximate timing between sites) A. Papallacta Pass and temperate forest around Papallacta lake and village Whilst cold, barren, windy and with very low densities of birds, the jagged, boggy paramo and Polylepsis groves around Papallacta Pass is still compulsive birding. Note that site details given on the website are well out of date; it looks like the road has been improved and widened; I couldn t find some of the side roads. After being rained out on at the first attempt, we spent the next afternoon up here from Guango and I also had a chilly dawn the morning after we stayed in Papallacta village. Species on sidetracks from the pass itself and on the steep and uneven (but manageable) drive up to the radiomast included Andean Teal, Noble Snipe (first lake after the ranger station in the really boggy grass on the edge), Andean Snipe (at the very top just beyond the radiomast), Great Sapphirewing (one female) Stout-billed Cinclodes (few relative to Barwinged), Andean Tit-Spinetail, White-chinned Thistletail,) Tawny Antpitta (everywhere; very vocal), Black-backed Bush- Tanager and Pale-naped Brush-Finch. Raptors overhead included a single Carunculated Caracara but there was no sign of Andean Condor whilst Ecuadorian Hillstar and Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant both let me down. The temperate, scrubby forests around Papallacta Lake and village were also well worth several looks. The lakeside track accessible from Jamanco hot springs produced a few nice flocks, based on the common conebills, treerunners and warblers and including White-throated and White-banded Tyrannulets, Rufous-breasted and Brown-backed Chat-Tyrants, Rufous Wren, Superciliared Hemispingus, the excellent Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager and Pale-naped Brush-Finch. The lake itself produced Andean Ruddy Duck and Andean Gull with Plain-coloured Seedeater in the grassy carpark. Other species about included Andean Guan, and a brief but startling look at Sword-billed Hummingbird. Above the actual village of Papallacta, we also checked the similar scrubby forest a km or so up the easy unsealed track beyond Termas Papallactas (where the only Shining Sunbeam of the trip added to the aura of the hot springs themselves). It would take days to explore this properly and the valley soon becomes really wild and evocative. In an hour, in rather damp, breezy conditions, species were rather similar to the lakeside track at Jamanco but included Buff-winged Starfrontlet. No joy with the rare Masked Mountain-Tanager.

6 B. Guango Lodge Although right by the main road, this is a gem of a site with any noise from highway easily drowned out by the raging river a hundred metres away. A network of short, rather muddy trails give access to the river and up the slope above the road whilst the pipeline trail parallel to the river and road itself provide access to more forest edge. Birdsongs and calls were limited here, but flocks, once found were very good indeed and then it was all systems go. The garden right by the lodge was also excellent with Turquoise Jay and 13 species of hummingbird evident throughout, including Tourmaline Sunangel (common) and small numbers of Tyrian Metaltail and Glowing Puffleg (all species not seen elsewhere) plus coronets (two species) and Collared Inca especially good value. Several Sword-billed Hummingbirds were also present erratically whilst lucky breaks along the pipeline trail produced an amazing Purple-backed Thornbill and Mountain Velvetbreast. Chestnut-crowned Antpitta put on an amazing show in the car park on the first morning, but was a total no show the next. Highlights amongst flocks included a single Powerful Woodpecker, Inca Jay, Lacrimose and the amazing Hooded Mountain- Tanagers (needs to be seen to be believed) with Slaty Brush-finch and Capped Conebill fairly common, one group of Blackcapped Hemispingus and many more of Northern Montane Cacique. Torrent Duck and Masked Trogon appeared along the river (the latter several times) whilst the trails above the road near the waterfall., although very boggy in places, produced Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Andean Guan very well closely and Grass-green Tanager.

7 C. San Isidro Lodge and Guacomayos Ridge This site had been getting a lot of rain prior to and during our visit, so the interior trails were extremely boggy and not worth worrying about too much. Staff reckoned this might also account for why White-bellied Antpitta refused to co-operate. The best birding, by some margin, was in the lodge garden which was frequently busy with flocks of tame and obliging birds; many species were common and easy to see but also included scarcer highlights such as Sickle-winged Guan, Black-billed Mountain- Toucan, Black-billed Peppershrike, Pale-edged Flycatcher and the sensational Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonia. In contrast to Wild Sumaco and Guango, hummer variety was rather low with perhaps too many Chestnut-breasted Coronets beating the hell out of everything else. Bronzy Inca was the main addition, although Long-tailed Sylph and Gorgetted Woodstar were much easier to see here than at Guango. When not birding the garden, I tackled the track running away from the gate, soon leading into some good forest. Despite a lot of patient waiting, activity was rather low a lot of the time with flocks sparse and fast and stuff had to be dug out one by one. Highlights included Masked Trogon, several examples of Chestnut-tipped Toucanet, Long-tailed Antbird and Rufous-crowned Tody-Flycatcher (both frequenting dense roadside bamboo stands), Blackish Tapaculo and Azara s Spinetail both a pushover in tape duels, Sepia-brown Wren, Blue-winged Mountain- and Flame-faced Tanagers (both much commoner in Mindo area) and Slaty Finch. The all-important San Isidro Owl was heard only the first night but put on a spectacular show the second night, low and close in the open trees right under the carpark lights. Watching this stunning and enigmatic bird at point blank range for ages was one of the highlights of the trip. In contrast, the Guacomayos Ridge was, frankly, very disappointing. Two hours in perfect still, settled conditions (before three hours of rain set in ) produced little of note, with several flocks fast and unworkable. Plushcap and several Grass-green Tanagers made some amends, whilst the only Slaty-backed Chat-Tyrant also appeared.

8 D. Wild Sumaco Wow! Where to start? This awesome place has got to be one of the birdiest mountains on the planet with loads of forest within a km or two of the gates. There is an excellent maze of trails, three different hummingbird stations at different elevations and some cutover fields and scrubby gardens and edges also provide further variety. We were slightly hampered by rain here on two days out of three and a lot of stuff was not calling much, although some flocks, when found, were really excellent. In brief, highlights included: Lots of good hummer action, especially at the main lodge feeders, where those in residence in small numbers included Rufous-vented Whitetip, Blue-fronted Lancebill, Napo Sabrewing, Gould s Jewelfront, Blackthroated Brilliant and Fork-tailed Woodnymph amongst much bigger numbers of racquet-tails, thorntails, the sensational Golden-tailed Sapphire etc. Finding a very rare Lazuline Sabrewing on some porterweed in a small disused garden c500m below the lodge, near the house selling mushrooms. This was later twitched by a Swedish group also staying! Collared Trogon, Black-billed Treehaunter, Lined Antshrike, Golden-collared Honeycreeper and Golden-eared Tanager all seen in the lodge garden very well and several times, plus a single female White-crowned Manakin. Simple roadside birding or hanging around on the restaurant verandah and taking a break from hummers yielded the likes of White-winged Becard with a nest (male seen chasing Yellow-cheeked Becard!), Slaty-capped Shrike- Vireo and an amazing variety of common tanagers, dacnis, euphonias and co. The forest trail from the lodge carpark produced Black-streaked Puffbird, Blue-rumped Manakin and Chestnutcrowned Gnateater all in one strike. The mega Buckley s Forest-Falcon calling and then seen really close just below the lodge, soon followed by Golden-collared Toucanet and Coppery-chested Jacamar nearby. A few Military Macaws flying over each morning, although Chestnut-fronted Macaws were much commoner and easier to see perched.

9 Several afternoon sessions at the worm station, produced Plain-backed Antpitta and Spotted Nightingale-Thrush (both hungry and easy) but also Ochre-breasted Antpitta, White-backed Fire-eye and Northern White-crowned Tapaculo. Canopy flocks in the forest interior along the lower network of trails, whilst hard to keep find and keep hold of, produced the likes of Russet Antshrike, Tawny-breasted Myiobius, Golden-winged Manakin, Fulvous Shrike- Tanager and Slate-coloured Grosbeak. Olive Finch was also found close to the trail down here, whilst an amazing Wing-banded Wren, one of the birds of the trip, came right in at the very bottom of the Piha Trail and made up for a very poor look at Grey-tailed Piha itself. Flocks on the trails uphill of the lodge and worming station were harder to find but included Highland Motmot and Rufous-tailed Foilage-gleaner and I also found Glossy Black-Thrush here too (scarce; rather easier at San Isidro). I could easily have spent a week here, had I been able to afford it timewise and moneywise. Conclusion: obligatory! E. Gareno Lodge Make sure you read the information under Route and Accommodation as well as the birding highlights noted below! The two key species at Gareno are both easily seen close to the lodge: Fiery Topaz sang around about 0700 each morning, four days in a row, from perches on the top of low garden trees and higher riverside trees near the furtherest cabin and could easily be scoped, except when it shot up into songflight. Two birds were present one morning. Sandro had a staked-out Rufous Potoo less than 50m into the forest behind the parking pull-in and that too used its roost throughout, doing no more than sway gently when approached to about 3 metres. Once we walked in to check up on the potoo to find an enormous Crested Owl roosting fully exposed at head height! Other birds in the garden included Spot-winged Antbird (in the streamside scrub), White-winged Becard, Purple-ruffed Fruitcrow displaying, White-fronted Nunbird, Brown Nunlet (very tricky, in high canopy on garden edge) and Yellow-bellied Tanager. Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl and, once, Spectacled Owl called quite strongly at night with the amazing rambling moans of Nocturnal Currasow audible on two nights. Each morning we had a long morning walk along the access road. This was often quite birdy and, with a scope, many of the flocks and species perched out could be seen very well. Particular highlights included Blackbilled Cuckoo, and several groups of Black-

10 bellied Parrots, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, Violaceous and Green-backed Trogons, Yellow-billed and Great Jacamars, Yellowbilled Nunbird, Many-banded Araçari, both Channel-billed and White-throated Toucans, Golden-winged Tody-Flycatcher, frequent Crowned Slaty-Flycatchers and several Dusky-chested Flycatchers perched up on exposed perches, three single male Spangled Cotingas, single White-bearded and Golden-headed Manakins (with Blue-crowned Manakin pretty common) and many good flocks of honeycreepers (including Purple), dacnis (including Yellow-bellied) and a terrific variety of tanagers (including Yellow-backed, Masked, Flame-crested and Opal-rumped). A number of raptors were seen, with King Vulture being the most notable. Apparently Harpy Eagle is still in the area, but seen very erratically. Part of each afternoon was spent on trails in the forest interior behind the lodge. Activity was often low with a few small victories including duetting Blue-backed Manakins right alongside Black-faced Antbird, and walking right through a raucous Screaming Piha lek. The same male Western Striped Manakin was seen well on two dates along the trail back up to the road with Yellow-browed Antbird nearby. Flocks were hard work a lot of the time but included a rather limited selection of antbirds and co, plus Fulvouscrested Tanager. On the drive out, a pause at the large clearing not far beyond the gate was good for swallows and swifts and the river at Tena also produced a nice selection. Best of all, however, was a short boat trip round a small backwater lagoon on the edge of Misahualli. Sandro s family maintains this as a small reserve and several notable species, which don t occur in the dry forest of the main lodge, can be seen here. We stopped both going to and coming back from the lodge and got Sungrebe both times. A small group of Hoatzin is also in residence here, as is American Purple Gallinule and Greater Ani, various kingfishers and spider monkeys. 2. West Slope: Mindo area A. Mindo upper road: highway junction to access road for Septimo Paraiso Lodge (10mins uphill from the town of Mindo) I visited here a couple of times in the early morning and found it great birding, with the road pretty quiet for traffic and good views into the verging trees, plus some more open areas for a bit of variety. A scope was quite useful to deal with high canopy flocks. There was a small but surprising degree of overlap in other words, very handy revision - with species from San Isidro on the east slope. Highlights included Swallow-tailed Kite, Sickle-winged Guan, Plumbeous Pigeon, Brown Inca, a single Toucan Barbet, Crimson-rumped Toucanet (latter two species both far easier at Paz de las Aves), Golden-Olive and Smoky-Brown Woodpeckers, a noisy group of Golden-headed Quetzals, Buff-fronted Foilage-Gleaner, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant and reasonable number of tanagers (including Flame-faced, Metallic-green and Dusky Bush-Tanagers) plus Tricoloured (Choco) Brush-finch right at the top. The track to Septimo Paraiso was short but through superb forest and the garden and hummingbird feeders, where I had a quick look, seemed pretty birdy too. This would be a good choice if you wanted a plush lodge in the Mindo area. My best finds here included Broad-billed Motmot, Scaly-throated Foilage-Gleaner and a nice flock of Black-winged Saltators. B. Mindo to the San Lorenzo Ridge road (maximum 20 mins from Mindo on good unsealed road) I made a number of stops here one late afternoon as we descended from the waterfall trail and also returned early one morning. The gravel road is an easy enough drive all the way to the carpark for the waterfalls, and maybe further. The forest was quite active in places, especially early morning along the river with things like parrots Bronze-winged was very common - perched up nicely; I found the denser, upper forests a bit quieter despite walking a lot of this stretch at prime time. However, there was a rather different mix of species here compared to the Upper road / Septimo Paraiso area and highlights included Red-tailed Parrot, Violet-tailed Sylph, Pale-mandibled Araçari, Cinnamon and Black-and-white Becards, a second and improved Tricolored Brush-finch and a very lucky break with a vocalizing female Immaculate (Zeledon s) Antbird. Lower down around the river, whilst I failed to find Torrent Duck or White-capped Dipper despite quite a lot of checking, I did have another araçari, Fawn-breasted and Silver-throated Tanagers and Black-winged Saltator amongst quite a lot of common species. Note that the Mariposaria (along the left road from the fork just before you start to climb up the ridge) was well worth visiting for some good hummingbird action with seven species almost touchable coming into feeders at the entrance (including

11 Purple-throated Woodstar, Whitewhiskered Hermit and Greencrowned Woodnymph) plus Strongbilled Woodcreeper, Rustymargined Flycatcher and Ecuadorian Thrush nearby, in the small garden around the rooms. C. Waterfall forest and trail (at the end of the San Lorenzo Ridge road) We visited here one afternoon and only had time to explore to the first couple of waterfalls. The forest here looks superb and would surely merit a lot more slow starting, stopping and stalking. In a few flocks, Threestriped Warbler and Yellowthroated Bush-Tanager were very common and other highlights included Marble-faced Bristle- Tyrant and a White-tailed (Rufousgaped) Hillstar nicely perched below us, looking far more distinctive than the single bird noted at Wild Sumaco. D. Hotel el Descanso, the bird hotel (2min walk from Mindo main square) This famous Mindo institution is well worth visiting (and presumably worth even considering staying at) for an hour or two as the wellstocked feeders were full of birds, all at ridiculously close range. These included the common tanagers and euphonias, plus very easy Ecuadorian Thrushes and Goldenolive Woodpecker. Seven species of hummer were mainly similar to those at the Mariposaria but included superb views of several Andean Emeralds, plus perched White-whiskered Hermit and frequent White-necked Jacobins. E. Lyre-tailed Nightjar road (5-10min from Mindo) Exact details for how to get here and where to stop are presented in the website and, as of July 2016 are still spot on. We saw several roosting Lyre-tailed Nightjars at Paz de las Aves but none had streamers. At this site, you can hear these evocative birds give their eerie, yodeling song (from about 1815) and, with a strong torch, spotlight and scope males on the trailing twigs overhanging the small, second rockface. On a second visit we actually had males chasing each other several times with their stupendous streamers in full flow, an amazing sight. The fields on the trip out to here from Mindo are worth looking at well before dark, even during wet afternoons, as they hold a nice range of common species, some of which will not be evident in the more forested habitats where you will want to spend

12 most of your time. Species included White-throated Crake (common on voice), Red-faced Spinetail and Fawn-breasted Tanager with the dense edges yielding Bay Wren, Orange-billed Sparrow and even Rufous Motmot. F. Refugio Paz de las Aves (45min from Mindo) This fantastic place will surely be one the highlights of your visit to Ecuador with a mouthwatering range of epic species. It is several hundred metres higher than anywhere in the immediate Mindo area itself and comprises a mosaic of cloudforest patches and slopes, vegetated gullies, cutover fields and small orchards. Most of the best forest is along the section by the road above the river bridge and below Angel s lodge; here there are several Cock-of-the-Rock leks each with screens that get you get up close and personal to the birds. We made three visits in all; the birds were active until about 0730 and from 1600 regardless of weather and had birds when busiest. The sound and sight of these amazing birds lekking is matched by nothing else in the Neotropics and has got to be comparable with the best birds-ofparadise in New Guinea. Angel also specializes in befriending and then habituating a spectacular array of monster ground skulkers that normally would be next to impossible for touring birders to encounter, at least without an enormous stroke of luck. Whilst removing some of the thrill of the hunt, the (virtually) guaranteed results and sensational close up views will seem ample compensation. In this vein, we had several families of banana-devouring Dark-backed Wood-Quails almost touchable, Rufous-breasted Anthrush coming to worms on a log and no less than four species antpittas: several Ochre-breasted and even, in the deepest shade, Moustached Antpitta in the trail behind the lodge, Yellow-breasted in a deep gully below the lodge and, on the second morning after a no-show (apparently most unusual) on the first, king of them all, a Giant Antpitta not far from the lower hummingbird feeders. Another real special of this area is the very tough (Western) Wedge-billed Hummingbird, present both mornings at the lower feeders (although I later found another on the road back to Quito: see J below).

13 So much for the specials; whilst waiting for them the backup cast is nothing short of spectacular. Lower down, near the river bridge, species found included Doubletoothed Kite, several roosting Lyre-tailed Nightjars, Golden-headed Quetzal, Narino Tapaculo (noisy but needs some professional playback to see), not to mention Red-headed Barbet, Masked Trogon etc. The lodge garden and feeders were busy continually with a particularly superb selection of hummers (16 species and hence exceeding anywhere on the east slope for diversity; this was the only place we saw Purple-bibbed White-tip and Violet-purple Coronet whilst Empress Brilliant was also in and out regularly) whilst the Violet-tailed Sylphs here were particularly obliging. Amongst the frugivores, Toucan Barbet, Crimson-rumped Toucanet and Sickle-winged Guan highlighted, with birds repeatedly almost touchable. Mottled Owl was in the garden one night, close to the small carport, and not far downhill we had superb looks at more toucanets, Golden-headed Quetzal and Strong-billed Woodpecker. A small trail goes downhill into the forest below the lodge; whilst quiet lower down, the first part of this had the Moustached Antpitta (see above) and also Olivaceous Piha. The real shocker down here, however, was the finding of a roosting Oilbird on a high horizontal branch above the trail. We had considered visiting the well-known nesting cave in this part of Ecuador (details here) but by all accounts the road is in terrible condition (something not made clear on the website) and you are looking at a several hour drive. For that reason, locating this mythical bird in daylight was extremely convenient as well as extremely fortuitous and extremely exciting. The road through the fields above the lodge passes through some open country where, when the sun finally came out, we had great views of Chestnut-collared Swift and distant ones of Hook-billed Kite. Andean Solitaire in a roadside fruit patch was notable here, but not quite compensation for the lack of any Pipreola fruiteaters. Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan is not too rare up here and, despite a rainy afternoon we eventually found two for good views as they called from the tops of isolated trees. The road peters out at a small forest patch, where several Black-chinned Mountain-Tanagers were eventually found in a mixed flock along with Flavescent and Golden-ringed Flycatchers whilst and Dusky Bush-Tanager proved quite common.

14 The next three sites were all visited on a single day trip leaving Mindo at 0430 and getting back for Heading west and downhill from Mindo, the land becomes much more open and degraded but there is still great birding in places. I did all of this in the company of Javier, a Mindo guide and, even if we hadn t been hit by rain, a second day doing a repeat run would certainly have been very worthwhile. G. Rio Silanche reserve ( hour drive from Mindo) This small site is famous as being a classic remnant of lowland Choco rainforest, sadly swamped in a swelling sea of plantations. It is about 6km from the highway, along a fairly passable road. Our visit here, from dawn to 1100 was spoilt by persistent and heavy rain which really put a damper on things for long periods. There is a deservedly famous canopy tower where we spent several hours but the short loop trails were deadly quiet and we struggled to get anything at all there. However the edge and clearing by the ranger s hut was quite good and the things we did see were mostly seen very well. Notable species included Double-toothed Kite devouring a massive katydid, Maroon-tailed Parakeet (a species I failed to get proper views of at Wild Sumaco), Purple-chested Hummingbird, White-whiskered Hermit, Guayaquil Woodpecker (common and obvious around the tower), six Pale-mandibled Araçari, several Choco Toucans, the splendid Black-striped Woodcreeper, Choco Tyrannulet, Masked Tityra (both particularly common), White-bearded Manakin suddenly and magically materialising, Slaty-capped Shrike- Vireo (and Red-eyed Vireo everywhere ), several Yellow-tufted Dacnis seen repeatedly, two single Grey-and-Gold Tanagers and plenty of Bay-headed Tanagers. This wasn t an awful haul by any means but we were only scratching the surface here and it was so grey and wet that it was hardly fun. Next time. H. Access road to Mangaloma Reserve (c50 mins from Mindo) This site was visited en-route between Rio Silanche and Milpe and we fitted in over an hour here before the low cloud turned into low, dense mist. Once you turn off the tar, the road (4-5km) is very rough so we drove only 1.5km and then walked. The habitat is boggy fields and secondary forest patches, with minor rises in the road giving good chances for scanning. Birding was easy and, in a short time, we racked up a number of species typical of more open country. Highlights included Grey Hawk, a low Hook-billed Kite (after several more distant ones), Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Snowy-throated Kingbird alongside Tropical (and surprisingly distinctive), the ghostly and wheatear-resembling Masked Water-Tyrant near livestock, White-thighed Swallow on the wires and Grey-rumped Swift overhead. A hotel in nearby Los Bancos was a good place to stop for lunch as well-stocked feeders gave awesome looks at Pale-mandibled Araçari and a whole troop of Choco Toucans, along with Silverthroated Tanager amongst the more expected tanagers plus Green Thorntail and Andean Emerald at the hummer station. I. Milpe Reserve (c30mins from Mindo) We arrived at Milpe mid-afternoon in heavy rain and came close to aborting the whole thing. The feeders at the entrance yielded a few hummers including Green Thorntail, White-necked Jacobin and Green-crowned Brilliant and several fantastically menacing Rufous Motmots gorging on fruit. By some miracle the rain eased by 1600 and the bird rebound was remarkable. Suddenly we had flocks everywhere, feeding like crazy, presumably after a squandered few hours. One of the commonest species was Choco Warblers (looking rather more subdued and duller-crowned than illustrated) and Dusky-faced Tanager groups low in the undergrowth eventually gave good views, alongside Lineated Foilage-gleaner. Looking up produced frequent Ornate Flycatchers, Cinnamon Becards, several Rufous-throated and rather more Flame-faced and Silver-throated Tanagers. Casting around for long enough eventually produced Choco Trogon, with Masked Trogon on the other side of the track at the

15 same time. We ran out of light well before we ran out of birds; the track along from the entrance looks like it would be worth a try for some late flyovers and edge species; we had a few groups of parrots flying through. J. Road from Mindo to Quito via Nanegalito (total 1.5 hrs Mindo to Quito without stops). There is some very nice forest all along the road from soon after the small township of Nanegalito (less than 30mins from Mindo) right until the forest dwindles as you reach the plateau. Access into the forest wasn t too obvious however and the road wasn t too birdy in the middle of the day. The obvious place to stop is at the wellknown Alambi Colibri feeders, on the right hand side c3km beyond Nanegalito and just before the big, obvious road bridge. We had our final blizzard of hummers here totaling 11 species in all, including, after quite some wait, two visits from a Western Emerald, the local special. Green-crowned Woodnymph was another notable with most other species easy around Mindo. Other species about included a fair selection of frugivores plus White-winged Brush-finch on the more solid offerings. It is easy to access the river here and we got a hot tip about a nesting Cock-of-the-Rock; there was an incubating female, although not giving great views, in deep shade. About 20mins further uphill, we stopped at Los Armadillos restaurant on the right. Again, the forest looked epic here and, again, the hummers were abundant and easy. Five additional species, not present at Alambi included a nice example of the hard-to-come-by Empress Brilliant, plus Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Buff-tailed Coronet and even a Western Wedge-billed Hummer seen well (this last otherwise limited to one elusive example at Paz de las Aves). Male Purple-throated Woodstar were also very conspicuous here. Just as we hit the altiplano, a stop was made in the dry valley above Mitad del Mundo the trail is obvious right by a tiny chapel on the right (south) side of the road just as you crest the hill and see the sprawl of Quito beginning below; however any parking space on the busy highway is almost non-existent. This is a well-known spot for White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant, although it was very quiet on my mid-afternoon stop. The only notable species was Tufted Tit-Tyrant; I was surprised not to find this one commonly elsewhere, for example at Cotopaxi. 3 Inter-Andean valley areas A. Yaruqui We choose this place mainly because it was convenient to the airport but some close and reasonable birding was a bonus. I found a small, sunny valley filled with native scrub less than a 10min walk from the main square. Whilst unpromising, the relative absence of gloomy, tedious introduced gum trees was very welcome and I had a few species, several repeatedly, that I didn t see anywhere else: Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant, Southern-beardless Tyrannulet, Golden-rumped Euphonia and Scrub and Rufous-chested Tanagers. Other notables included White-bellied Woodstar, whilst Black-tailed Trainbearers were frequent, despite the Sparkling Violet-ears. In Yaruqui proper, I was surprised to find several pairs of Tropical Mockingbirds (presumably now widespread in the greater Quito region?) and a track up into the hills from the back edge of town, whilst mainly deadly quiet (through gum trees and overgrazed pasture a lot of the time) yielded a few raptors including Plainbreasted Hawk and Crimson-mantled Woodpecker. B. Cotopaxi The main entrance, Caspi, of this national park is easily signposted and reached from the Panamericana. With a car it is possible to drive right through the park and out the other side at Control Norte; the gravel road is pretty good and it is possible to make many roadside stops. Although much dryer and less vegetated than Papallacta, birds are at similarly very low densities and quite hard to find. A lot of the initial roadside habitat beyond the Caspi entrance is ruined by sterile plantations with most birds around Limpiopungo Lake. Due to recent volcanic activity, as of 2015, it is no longer possible to drive or even walk to the climber s Refugio on the upper volcano slopes. On and around the lake, species such as Carunculated Caracara, Andean Gull, Andean Teal and Yellow-billed Pintail were straightforward. A Greater Yellowlegs was a nice bonus, but not as big as Ecuadorian Hillstar on the slope behind the lake. The lack of flowering Chuquiragua bushes either here or at Papallacta presumably made this species much less obvious than it otherwise would be. Stout-billed Cinclodes was also about here, with Tawny Antpitta numerous on voice. Other species seen included several Paramo Ground-Tyrant with Spot-billed Ground- Tyrant found at Tambopaxi, a single Plain-tailed Seedeater and Plumbeous Sierra-Finch common everywhere. Andean Condor is possible here, but I had only one potential candidate at extremely long range, so onto the next site

16 C. Antisana Although in some ways similar to Cotopaxi, a number of different species, not least Andean Condor, make this site well worth visiting; indeed most bird tour groups go only here and don t bother with Cotopaxi. Access information given here is now outdated and you no longer need to apply to visit in advance; just sign in at the ranger station on arrival. During our visit we had a lot of low, misty cloud and erratic cold squalls, making the vast paramo grasslands miserable and empty at times. It is worth stopping anywhere there is some shelter or scrubby cover and it is also well worth getting all the way to Mica Lake at the far end. It felt a bit like winter here in July and a visit in October November would presumably be much more productive, especially for hummers. One key species here is Andean Condor, at its only regular, or at least easy-to-access Ecuadorian location. On the road in, below and mainly before the ranger checkpoint, a striking gorge on the left not far beyond the quarry is the place to look; Fundacion Jocotoco and other organisations have put in several attractive viewing platforms. By c0930 when we arrived, no birds were on the cliffs but we found an immature low over a field at the ranger station and, on the return at 1430 remedied things greatly with two massive and striking adults back on the cliffs. Tyrian Metaltail also appeared here. The long drive to Mica Lake was barren for long periods, although Carunculated Caracara was abundant, a few Black-winged Ground-Doves and lots of cinclodes appeared on the verges and a female Ecuadorian Hillstar on a fence line at 4000m, seemingly kilometres from the nearest flower, was quite amazing. No amount of roadside scanning yielded Andean Ibis. The marshy environs of the enormous Mica Lake quickly revealed about 15 Northern Silvery Grebes, with small numbers of other waterbird species, much as those at Cotopaxi. Tawny Antpitta was easy to see around the parking lot and Grass (Sedge) Wren was eventually kicked out of the tussock grass. Less obliging was Paramo Pipit, with several located not far from the dam but very flighty and well-nigh impossible to get a decent view of. D. Otavalo This busy town is only a short drive away from San Pablo Lake which I tried for an hour or two on two mornings, by taking the road running north of the lake, easily accessed from the Panamericana and parking at the small jetty on the right. Scanning the boggy edges and walking across nearby fields to the lake edge produced a limited selection of common species with the most notable being Band-tailed and Black-and-white Seedeaters (a few of each), good views of Black-tailed Trainbearers, lots of Southern Yellow Grosbeak and, most notably Subtropical Doradito (seen both mornings by scanning the flooded edges; scope needed). Waterbirds were fairly limited but included 25 Andean Ruddy Ducks and the only Southern Lapwing of the trip; a scattering of Vermillion Flycatchers were also in the latter category. An afternoon visit to Cuicocha Lake, an easy 20min drive from Otavalo, got us to a spectacular crater lake ringed by a tough path and with 360 o dramatic views. It was possible to walk the entire crater rim, but that would take 5-6 hours. Whilst a great place to visit, the surrounding scrubby slopes were pretty deficient in birds. Species included a few Band-tailed Pigeon, several Black-tailed Trainbearers, Black Flowerpiercer and two groups of Rufous-naped Brush-Finch.

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