Botrosa Road: June 19, 2009

As you cross the Rio Canande, you step back into time where you can watch the remainder of the Choco lowlands in the early stages of their destruction. Here Endesa-Botrosa, one of the largest logging companies at work in Ecuador, reigns, as colonizers from Manabi province scramble to convert the selectively-logged hillsides into modest farms and pastureland. The hills ring with the sound of chainsaws as Botrosa rips out the choicest timber and the settlers clear the rest. It´s a wild scene and a painful one to contemplate from the noble heights of the Jocotoco Foundation´s Rio Canande Reserve, which seeks to buy up remaining forest to expand eventually to 10,000 hectares in size. While the ultimate fate of the region is only too clear, for now the foundation maintains an amicable arrangement with the logging company, in which birders are free to pass many kilometers beyond the reserve birding the excellent forest along the road. Here, in foothill forest above 500m, it´s likely you´ll find the Scarlet-and-White Tanager, Black-Tipped Cotinga, Rose-Faced Parrot, and Scarlet-Breasted Dacnis; there´s a small chance you´ll encounter the Blue-Whiskered and Lemon-Spectacled Tanagers, Baudo Guan, and rare raptors as well.

On the second day I was staying at Rio Canande, Galo and I spent the morning along the road, heading out early enough to consider whether the nightbirds sitting along the road were Pauraques or Choco Poorwills. With his local knowledge of the best lookouts along the road, it didn´t take long for us to find a few mixed canopy flocks, two that contained a pair of Scarlet-and-White Tanagers, the male of which is one of those jaw-dropping neotropical birds that birders travel thousands of miles to see; the name basically says it all as they´re aren´t a lot of birds that contrast more strikingly with the many shades of green found in Ecuador. Other good tanagers in the flocks include Guira, Emerald, Gray-and-Gold, Golden-Hooded, Rufous-Winged, and Scarlet-Browed Tanagers. Sifting the roadside flocks for rarities wasn´t as idyllic as it sounds as loaded logging trucks frequently rattled by, and several times I had to scramble out of the way with my scope.

Throughout the morning we scanned the treetops looking for the ethereal male Black-Tipped Cotinga, a huge pure-white bird with a speck of black at the end of its tail that is usually found perched high in exposed branches along the road. Oddly, I was able to line up several females, which are much less spectacular, in the scope and saw only one male as it flirted about, moving like a ghost in the canopy many meters above. The most exciting moment of the morning was just before lunch as one last flock poured past Galo and me. Passing from one Tawny Crested Tanager to another I let out some incomprehensible exclamation as my binoculars settled on a large olive-colored tanager with a small but clear yellow ring around its eye. Foraging at eye-level just a few meters away, the Lemon-Spectacled Tanager was positively identified by Galo, who had seen it just a few times before himself. We located it one more time before the flock moved on, leaving us giddy and light-headed as we turned to our boxed lunch.

With three terrific target birds already seen, it made little sense to linger any longer along the road, but before we headed back to the reserve we stopped to admire a Black Hawk-Eagle soaring majestically way overhead. Shortly afterward several Barred Puffbirds were heard calling nearby, their rising and descending whistles easily identifiable; we found them perched on some power lines along the road, although the backlighting didn´t make for very good photographs. Usually, I´d rather spend the morning birding inside the forest instead of along the side of it, which is what road birding usually amounts to, but this morning was different. Although the quantity of birds seen is always higher in these situations, the quality in this case is what draws birders out here. While there are several viewpoints along the ridge trails within the reserve, the chances of finding good foothill canopy flocks are simply too low.

Notable birds seen: Swallow-Tailed Kite, Black Hawk-Eagle, Laughing Falcon, Blue-Headed Parrot, Bronze-Winged Parrot, Pauraque, Bronzy Hermit, Purple-Crowned Fairy, Western White-Tailed Trogon, Barred Puffbird, Orange-Fronted Barbet, Choco Toucan, Lita Woodpecker, Guayaquil Woodpecker, Scale-Crested Pygmy-Tyrant, Black-Tipped Cotinga, Red-Eyed Vireo, Yellow-Tufted Dacnis, Scarlet-Thighed Dacnis, Guira Tanager, Scarlet-and-White Tanager, Gray-and-Gold Tanager, Golden-Hooded Tanager, Rufous-Winged Tanager, Lemon-Spectacled Tanager, Scarlet-Browed Tanager, Slate-Colored Grosbeak.

Rio Canandé Reserve: June 17-20, 2009

Perhaps the most critically important of the eight Jocotoco Foundation reserves, Rio Canande protects several thousand hectares of humid forest in the fast disappearing Choco lowlands. Here you can find dozens of endemic bird species, including the spectacular Rufous-Crowned Antpitta, Long-Wattled Umbrellabird, and Banded Ground-Cuckoo, as well the more widespread Ocellated Antbird, Great-Green Macaw, and Lemon-Spectacled Tanager. Indeed, visiting extreme northwestern Ecuador is a must for hardcore birders and listers, but access is limited to a handful of reserves and protected areas, such as Bilsa Ecological Reserve and Playa del Oro. Although reaching Rio Canande is certainly an adventure of its own, no other site in the Ecuadorian Choco lowlands offers such safe and varied access to the region´s exceptionally rich avifauna.

Departing via private transportation from Pedro Vincente Maldonado, the most northwestern of sites on the typical Choco birding circuit, it´s still a four-hour drive along dirt roads through a labyrinth of clearings, African palm plantations, and balsa woodlots to reach the actual Rio Canande. Birders will feel their blood pressure rise when they approach the river, as relatively pristine humid forest blankets the dramatic foothills that rise impressively from the other side, but access via ferry is strictly controlled by Botrosa, an Ecuadorian logging company that owns tens of thousands of hectares of land on the other side. Be advised that in addition to making reservations with the Jocotoco office in Quito well in advance, you must also receive written permission to cross the river (I had to wait a few hours myself as park guards scrambled to make emergency arrangements). The reserve itself is still another hour down the road, which now winds steeply along forested ridges and past a few settlements; have your binoculars ready.

I passed three nights here myself, and it would be ridiculous to stay any fewer as at least one full day should be spent walking the trails and another birding the logging road approximately 10km past the reserve. The park guards, Alcides and Galo, will gladly accompany independent birders, sharing their local knowledge of specific bird territories and calls, but they´re also willing to let you explore the trails on your own, as I did for much of the time. The trail network is truly impressive, as a variety of well-marked paths take you through a nice range of habitats, including classic lowlands and ridge-top foothill forest. Imagine walking the Banded Ground-Cuckoo Trail and facing a fork to the Choco Tapaculo and Golden-Chested Tanager Trails; that´s a fine decision to consider! A typical full day on the trails takes you up to the Black-Tipped Cotinga viewpoint and further along the ridge in the morning, and then loops back down to the lodge; this circuit gives you a good chance of encountering an antswarm and attending antbirds as well as mixed understory and canopy flocks.

The target bird for my week-long trip to the Choco lowlands was the strange and beautiful Ocellated Antbird, so as soon as I arrived at the reserve in the early afternoon I hit the trails by myself in search of an antswarm. Although I haven´t had much luck with antswarms in Ecuador myself, in dry weather they´re supposed to be frequently encountered, at which a variety of birds can be found, including the Ocellated, Bicolored, and Spotted Antbirds as well as the Spot-Crowned Antvireo and various antwrens and woodcreepers. There were no antswarms along the Red-Capped Manakin Trail this afternoon, but I did find a bustling mixed canopy flock at one of the viewpoints, admiring the Lita Woodpecker for five minutes as it drilled impressively into an exposed branch of a tree. Dusk fell soon after when I encountered a pair of Esmeraldas Antbirds near a stream, pumping their tails vigorously as they foraged in the growing darkness. A noisy understory flock of Tawny-Crested and Dusky-Faced Tanagers finally alerted me to the need to get back to the lodge before total darkness, and I ended up jogging back, which left me in a rather panicked, sweaty state.

The next morning, Alcides and I headed up to the Black-Tipped Cotinga Viewpoint in search of foothill flocks and antswarms along the way. The Black-Throated Trogon highlighted an otherwise unexciting morning as we found little more than the more common birds such as Chestnut-Backed Antbird, White-Whiskered Puffbird, and Rufous Motmot. On the other hand, we did hear the Plumbeous Hawk calling from inside the forest below the ridge and perhaps even spotted it from the viewpoint, although it was perched too distant to be certain. Hardly any birds were visible from the viewpoint, and walking the Golden-Chested Tanager and Great-Green Macaw Trails yielded only the Song Wren, Tawny-Faced Gnatwren, and Rufous Piha, among a few others. Descending back to the lodge wasn´t much more productive, although we flushed several Great Tinamous and actually watched one scamper up the trail ahead of us. Definitely the best bird of the day was the Broad-Billed Sapoya, which we encountered alone, foraging in the understory just next to the trail. This subtle but distinct bird is richly olive-colored with large dark eyes, behaving somewhere between a manakin and an understory flycatcher as it perches for long intervals and sallies out occasionally for insects.

I spent the late afternoon and evening birding the grounds of the lodge and the road, which was highly productive. I finally had good looks at the Little Tinamous which was feeding with a juvenile in some roadside scrub as the huge Laughing Falcon called raucously overhead. A mixed flock moving about the road contained a variety of good birds such as the Red-Rumped Woodpecker, Scarlet-Thighed Dacnis, and Orange-Fronted Barbet, and the hummingbird feeders near the worker´s quarters attracted the endemic Purple-Chested Hummingbird among others. The vine-covered secondary forest leading down to the dining hall was good for the Pacific Antwren, Bay Wren, and Golden-Hooded Tanager, and during the early part of the night I heard the Black-and-White and Crested Owls calling; Galo said he heard the Spectacled and Mottled Owls that night, too.

My luck changed for the better on the following morning as Galo and I birded the Botrosa road, which is covered in the next post. That afternoon I was back on the trails, picking up several male Red-Capped Manakins at the lek before stumbling upon a group of Ocellated Antbirds just off the trail. Three or four of these magnificent birds were behaving as if they were at an antswarm, flitting from sappling to sappling less than a meter above the ground all the while pumping their tails, but no other birds were in attendance and I saw no sign of ants anywhere. Regardless, I was thrilled and relieved to see my target bird and spent the next hour absorbing their amazing appearance and remarkably shy, almost bashful, behavior. It´s funny how despite my complete sense of satisfaction I was still annoyed when Galo reported he had found an antswarm on the Banded Ground-Cuckoo Trail that afternoon with both the Ocellated Antbird and others in attendance.

Before driving back to Quito, I spent the final morning by myself on the trails, making a loop around the Tawny-Faced Quail, Choco Tapaculo, and Banded Ground-Cuckoo Trails. With so many terrific birds already seen, I felt that any others would only be gravy so to speak, and I birded that morning with little expectation and no anxiety, which is pretty rare on the last day of a birding trip. The Immaculate Antbird and Sulphur-Rumped Flycatcher were decent finds, but the bird of the morning was the Indigo-Crowned Quail-Dove, which was digging through the leaf litter on the Choco Tapaculo trail as I rounded a bend. While I had seen this bird a few times in Milpe, nothing could prepare me for the sight of it gloriously out in the open, its complex mantle morphing colors as it moved about completely unaware of my presence. Again, there were no antswarms, but I spent a good hour waiting at a large stand of heliconia flowers, catching in compensation several glimpses of the White-Tipped Sicklebill with its claws clenched and its head burried deep within.

Notable birds seen: Great Tinamous, Little Tinamous, Plumbeous Hawk, Laughing Falcon, Indigo-Crowned Quail-Dove, Pacific Parrotlet, Blue-Headed Parrot, Bronze-Winged Parrot, Pauraque, White-Collared Swift, Gray-Rumped Swift, Bronzy Hermit, Band-Tailed Barbthroat, White-Tipped Sicklebill, Tooth-Billed Hummingbird, Green Thorntail, Purple-Chested Hummingbird, Black-Throated Trogon, Rufous Motmot, White-Whiskered Puffbird, Orange-Fronted Barbet, Choco Toucan, Lita Woodpecker, Red-Rumped Woodpecker, Plain-Brown Woodcreeper, Black-Striped Woodcreeper, Spotted Woodcreeper, Pacific Antwren, Checker-Throated Antwren, Immaculate Antbird, Esmeraldas Antbird, Ocellated Antbird, Sulphur-Rumped Flycatcher, Boat-Billed Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Masked Tityra, Rufous Piha, Red-Capped Manakin, Blue-Crowned Manakin, Golden-Winged Manakin, Broad-Billed Sapoya, Dagua Thrush, Stripe-Throated Wren, Song Wren, Southern Nightingale-Wren, Tawny-Faced Gnatwren, Buff-Rumped Warbler, Yellow-Tufted Dacnis, Scarlet-Thighed Dacnis, Gray-and-Gold Tanager, Golden-Hooded Tanager, Ochre-Breasted Tanager, Scarlet-Rumped Cacique.

Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary: June 16, 2009

I've visited this western lowlands site multiple times and despite seeing some excellent birds each time, I've always felt ambivalent about my experiences there, as if they didn't live up to the high standards that I've read about in various trip reports. My frustration with the site has been manifest in the manner in which I've described it, generally as a hopeless woodlot destined to become a postage stamp of a reserve in a sea of African Palm plantations. Well, I'm still convinced that's the fate of all western lowlands birding reserves in northwestern Ecuador, but after my last visit to Rio Silanche, I'm simply ecstatic that reserve exists in the first place. What a tremendous day I had there with almost one hundred birds seen and several shockers, such as the Rufous-Fronted Wood-Quail, Blue-Fronted Parrotlet, and Blue-Whiskered Tanager.

Although most birding tours stop at several places along the road on the 8km drive to the reserve, I don't bother anymore, preferring instead to take my early morning chances on the trails and in the tower instead of standing along the road vulnerable to being preyed upon by any logger, colonist, or vagabond who sizes me up. Birds that have been reported along the road are outstanding though, including Stub-Tailed Antbird, Brown Wood-Rail, and various rare hawks and falcons. If I had spent an hour birding the road though, I would have missed encountering two calling coveys of Rufous-Fronted Wood-Quail, one straggler of which crossed the wide trail right before my ready eyes. This raucous, gorgeous bird is no doubt prized game, and I can't imagine the reserve is large enough to support such a population, making this encounter a lucky one, not bound to happen for much longer at the current rate of deforestation along the road.

Whether walking the trails or standing in the observation tower, I scored one mixed flock after another for most of the day. The second that passed by the tower was certainly the most spectacular as a number of the reserve's special tanagers descended on one cecropia tree momentarily just below: Blue-Whiskered, Scarlet-Browed, Emerald, and Guira Tanagers, Scarlet-Thighed Dacnis, and assorted antwrens among others were swarming about for some reason, while I could only stand there dumbfounded without even raising my binoculars to the sight. I encountered another interesting group of birds midday on the loop trail: a pair of White-Whiskered Puffbirds were cantankerously dealing with foraging Checker-Throated Antwrens and Wedge-Billed Woodcreepers, while a single Ruddy-Tailed Flycatcher gleaned unobtrusively nearby. A subtle but lovely group of birds indeed.

The weather held all day as I waited in the tower for a final late-afternoon flock that never came. There's a famous mega flock in the area that sometimes comes through, and while I think I've experienced it from the tower, I can't actually be sure. How big is a mega flock anyway: fifty different species? two-hundred individual birds? Sharper eyes than mine have supposedly picked out the extremely rare and local Double-Banded Graytail from the legendary flock, foraging in the dense tangles of vines in the canopy. Regardless, it was unique to leave the reserve after a long day of birding finally feeling satisfied.

Notable birds seen: Striated Heron, Rufous-Fronted Wood-Quail, Dusky Pigeon, Blue-Fronted Parrotlet, Bronze-Winged Parrot, Band-Tailed Barbthroat, Purple-Chested Hummingbird, Purple-Crowned Fairy, Western White-Tailed Trogon, Collared Trogon, Broad-Billed Motmot, Rufous Motmot, White-Whiskered Puffbird, Orange-Fronted Barbet, Pale-Mandibled Aracari, Red-Rumped Woodpecker, Black-Cheeked Woodpecker, Guayaquil Woodpecker, Streaked Xenops, Plain Xenops, Western Slaty-Antshrike, Checker-Throated Antwren, White-Flanked Antwren, Dot-Winged Antwren, Yellow Tyrannulet, Scale-Crested Pygmy-Tyrant, Masked Water-Tyrant, Streaked Flycatcher, Ruddy-Tailed Flycatcher, Masked Tityra, Blue-Crowned Manakin, White-Bearded Manakin, Slaty-Capped Shrike-Vireo, Red-Eyed Vireo, Blue Dacnis, Scarlet-Thighed Dacnis, Guira Tanager, Gray-and-Gold Tanager, Emerald Tanager, Blue-Whiskered Tanager, Golden-Hooded Tanager, Rufous-Winged Tanager, Dusky-Faced Tanager, Tawny-Crested Tanager, Scarlet-Browed Tanager.

Restaurant El Mirador de Los Bancos: June 15, 2009

This is certainly one of the easiest birding sites in northwestern Ecuador and deserves a visit from any birder traveling in the area. Located in the rough and tumble town of San Miguel de los Bancos, this restaurant cum cabins offers good food, great service, and spectacular birds that flock to the nectar and fruit feeders throughout the day. While most birding tours stop here for lunch, preferring to stay the night at a fancy lodge in Mindo, independent birders like myself make this our base camp for birding the northwestern foothills as clean and comfortable accommodations are only $10 a night.

Although the usual birds that visit the feeder aren't worth getting too excited about, it's great to see them up close and at eye-level for once, instead of straining your neck to look at them overhead in the canopy. Birders have reported some excellent birds on occasion though, including the Glistening-Green, Guira, and Emerald Tanagers, Crimson-Rumped Toucanet, Yellow-Collared Chlorophonia, and Black-Throated Mango. Imagine the opportunity of photographing some of those beauties from two meters distance!

Notable birds seen: Black-Cheeked Woodpecker, Red-Faced Spinetail, Golden Tanager, Thick-Billed Euphonia, Black-Striped Sparrow, Orange-Billed Sparrow.

Milpe Road: June 15, 2009

Driving past the entrance to the Milpe Bird Sanctuary, you can continue for approximately 10 km through several stands of disturbed but productive foothill forest. Descending slightly to the end of the Milpe Road, as its known, the bird species shift perceptibly to the lowlands end of the spectrum, making it worthy of exploration if you're not headed much lower in elevation on your visit to the Ecuadorian Chocó. As with all road birding, there are several places that offer good views of the edge of the forest canopy, which are typically bursting with bird activity in the morning. Near the end of the road, there is a fork, the left of which quickly peters out into recently cut clearings and pastureland, and the right of which offers beautiful views of the Rio Pachijal below. Bountiful mixed flocks are the norm here, and the occasional lowlands speciality such as the Black-Tipped Cotinga has also been reported.

Again, I spent my time scanning mixed flocks for the Moss-Backed Tanager, which either didn't materialize or I neglected to notice, the latter being more likely as it definitely takes more than one pair of eyes to identify every bird in a fast-moving flock. One particularly nice flock included a pair of One-Colored Becards, several White-Bearded Manakins, and a fine array of tanagers, including the Flame-Faced and Fawn-Breasted Tanagers. The noisy Band-Backed Wrens and colorful Yellow-Tufted Dacnis were typical lowlands representatives in another flock. Out in the middle of road with my scope I managed great views of the Broad-Billed Motmot and Bronze-Winged Parrot as well (it's not a highly trafficked road unless you count Yellow-Bellied and Variable Seedeaters).

I picked up a strange, contradictory vibe at the end of the road though, which is getting a reputation for being something of a grass-roots conservationist hotbed. On the right fork an old man offered to sell me his finca which still contained nice forest and many birds, he claimed. But on the left fork some tough-looking colonists were busy clear-cutting forest that I was in the very act of birding; they literally walked right by me with their chainsaws and starting clearing the land! I've thought a lot about buying some land in Ecuador for conservation purposes, and I know several wealthier ex patriots who have made just such an investment in several regions in Ecuador, but something about the Milpe Road doesn't feel right, especially on the southern side. A meaningful private purchase of land, especially with my limited savings, would almost certainly need to be adjacent to an existing reserve; a more constructive investment would probably be through a donation to an existing foundation such as Jocotoco.

Notable birds seen: Bronze-Winged Parrot, Collared Trogon, Broad-Billed Motmot, Crimson-Rumped Toucanet, Pale-Mandibled Aracari, Chocó Toucan, Golden-Olive Woodpecker, Black-Cheeked Woodpecker, Plain Xenops, Russet Antshrike, Pacific Antwren, Scale-Crested Pygmy-Tyrant, Masked Water-Tyrant, One-Colored Becard, Masked Tityra, White-Bearded Manakin, Red-Eyed Vireo, Band-Backed Wren, Yellow-Tufted Dacnis, Fawn-Breasted Tanager, Rufous-Throated Tanager, Gray-and-Gold Tanager, Flame-Faced Tanager, Silver-Throated Tanager, Swallow Tanager, White-Lined Tanager, Black-Winged Saltator.