Quito Botanical Garden: March 27, 2010

Aimee and I are headed to Southern Ecuador during Semana Santa, with plans to bird the Bombuscaro entrance of Podocarpus National Park and the Cordillera del Condor with bases at Cabañas Copalinga and Cabañas Yankuam, respectively (yes, I'm going after the Orange-Throated Tanager again). Before heading south, though, we made an early morning visit today to the Quito Botanical Garden in search of unusual migrants. Roger Ahlman has been recording some unusual sightings here during the last few years, including a Great Crested Flycatcher last year, and he tipped us on to a Northern Waterthrush that is wintering here. With a bit of playback, we were on the bird just a few minutes after arrival, noting little more than a lethargic Swainson's Thrush and a bold Plain-Breasted Hawk during the rest of our brief visit.

Notable birds seen: Plain-Breasted Hawk, Black-Tailed Trainbearer, Swainson's Thrush, Northern Waterthrush.

Atacazo: February 6, 2010

Reaching almost 4500m, Atacazo is part of a larger volcanic complex located immediately south of Pichincha, making it easily accessible from Quito. On Saturday Mark Thurber and I had planned to hike around the backside of the main peak towards Ninahuilca, a sizable volcanic dome, passing through temperate scrub, woodland, and forest along the way. Unfortunately, it was a miserable day of weather in the highlands and visibility was extremely low in the paramo, making our descent down the western slope of the mountain nearly impossible. Although this isn't a proper birding site, the rare and endemic Black-Breasted Puffleg has been recorded here, and the paramo and woodland patches on the eastern slope of the mountain offered plenty of fine birds, whether seen or heard, including Ocellated Tapaculo, Andean Guan, Andean Snipe, Paramo Pipit, and Curved-Billed Tinamou. The latter was flushed along the roadside towards the end of the day as we finally reached our car after hiking for hours in the pouring rain.

Notable birds seen: Curve-Billed Tinamou, Variable Hawk, Andean Snipe, Ecuadorian Hillstar, Blue-Mantled Thornbill, Many-Striped Canastero, Bar-Winged Cinclodes, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, Paramo Ground-Tyrant, Grass Wren, Tawny Antpitta, Scarlet-Bellied Mountain-Tanager, Paramo Pipit.

Cerro Mongus: January 16, 2010

Cerro Mongus is a punishing birding site located in far northern Ecuador: it's cold, wet, muddy, and very remote. Until recently, it was one of two places in the country where the exquisite Crescent-Faced Antpitta could be seen reliably, although the bird was recently discovered in the Papallacta region, which is just an hour's drive from Quito. The remaining attraction at Cerro Mongus, then, is the rare and local Chestnut-Bellied Cotinga, which has only been found at a few scattered sites at treeline along the eastern slope of the Andes. Beyond the allure of seeing a few scarce eastern slope specialties, such as the Masked Mountain-Tanager, there is little reason for birders to make their way out here, unless of course they're making their fourth birding trip to Ecuador or are looking to expand their country list.

More than a little temerity is required to access the site and a 4x4 is absolutely necessary if you want to minimize the amount of time you're hiking uphill and not birding. First, you make the four-hour drive north along the Panamerican Highway from Quito to Ambuqui in the Chota Valley, staying in one of the many water park hotels in town (I stayed at the Oasis Hotel, which was recommended by other birders and offered decent rooms and food). Leaving at 4am the following morning, you drive up to the distant village of Impueran on a cobblestone road, climbing way up to 3000m out of the arid interandean valley. There are various forks in the road and many other villages where you can potentially lose your way, so it's best to get directions in Ambuqui and scout out the drive on the previous afternoon before trying it for the first time in the dark. From Impueran, depending on the conditions of the dirt road, you can drive up to the forest edge, and from there it is another thirty minutes' strenuous climb to treeline. Again, Roger Ahlman covers the logistics to the site well in his country report from 2003, which I used without much trouble.

The paramo in this region of the highlands is dominated by the unique frailejone plant, which is a genus of hardy, and hairy, subshrubs that produce a massive daisy-like perennial flower. These frailejones can grow several meters tall and rise out of the paramo grass in an eery zombie-like way. The dense temperate and elfin forest at the site clings to the steep hillsides, and access to the interior is limited except for a level trail along a canal. In addition to the trail leading up to treeline, I birded along this canal for most of the day, scanning the forest below whenever the fog parted in search of the Chestnut-Bellied Cotinga. Much like the Red-Crested Cotinga, which seems quite common here, the Chestnut-Bellied Cotinga perches stolidly on the thick treetops sometimes sallying out but mostly remaining motionless. Given the low visibility throughout the day and the general rarity of the bird, it wasn't surprising that I missed it, nor have many other visitors seen it recently either. A few local farmers told me about some researchers coming up here to Mondragon, as they call it, with mist nets without capturing any of the cotingas.

As I had seen the Crescent-Faced Antpitta a few months ago at Papallacta, I didn't waste any time looking for it here, which might have been a mistake given that it's a pretty great consolation bird. I did enjoy several mixed flocks in which the impressive but shy Masked Mountain-Tanager was numerous with sometimes groups of three or four birds foraging with Scarlet-Bellied Mountain-Tanagers and Black-Backed Bush-Tanagers. The Black-Chested Mountain-Tanager also appeared in one flock during the early morning, perching out in the rain for several minutes much like the Red-Crested Cotinga. Along the canal trail there are three open clearings that Roger describes as landslides; these are good places for scanning for the cotinga, and they also attract the excellent Rainbow-Bearded Thornbill, which is a powerfully built-hummingbird that seems to prefer open shrubby areas in temperate and elfin forest. The male is quite aptly named!

The other sections of the canal trail pass through dense elfin forest and are good places to try for various antpittas, including the Crescent-Faced, Rufous, and Undulated Antpittas, the latter two which could be heard calling throughout the day. Lower down on the trail, which passes through some patches of temperate forest, there was some decent bird activity as well, including Barred Fruiteater, and the hummingbirds were especially active throughout the day. Most notably the Purple-Backed Thornbill and Black-Thighed Puffleg were seen well at the start of the trail, the latter being one of the northern specialties possible at the site. I've heard that this first forested patch is good for Flamulated Treehunter as well. Interestingly enough, given the inclement weather at the site, one of the best birds of the day was probably the Short-Eared Owl I drove past on the way up to Impueran.

Notable birds seen: Carunculated Caracara, Andean Guan, Short-Eared Owl, Band-Winged Nightjar, Sapphire-Vented Puffleg, Golden-Breasted Puffleg, Tyrian Metaltail, Purple-Backed Thornbill, Black-Thighed Puffleg, Great Sapphirewing, Barred Fruiteater, Red-Crested Cotinga, Rufous-Breasted Chat-Tyrant, White-Throated Tyrannulet, Grass Wren, Masked Flowerpiercer, Glossy Flowerpiercer, Blue-and-Black Tanager, Masked Mountain-Tanager, Black-Chested Mountain-Tanager, Scarlet-Bellied Mountain-Tanager, Black-Backed Bush-Tanager, Plain-Colored Seedeater.

Yaguarcocha: January 17, 2010

Yaguarcocha is a relatively large highlands lake located just north along the Panamerican Highway past the regional capital of Ibarra. Bordered in places by marsh habitat, it's a good site for ducks and grebes as well as shorebirds and rails. Supposedly, it was also once the site of a brutal massacre in which the Inca invaders slaughtered thousands of the indigenous Cara people, hence its name, which means "lake of blood" in Quichua. Now, it's simply a pleasant place for the people of Ibarra to get away from the city and enjoy nature, as well as the delicious platos tipicos which are served by the hundreds in the town on the far side of the lake (the yaguarlocro is particularly good).

I stopped by Yaguarcocha Sunday afternoon to stretch my legs while returning from my recent trip to northern Ecuador, which included a visit to Cerro Mongus and La Bonita Road along the Colombian border. Stopping at a few places along the shore as I drove around the lake, I noted a large number of Andean Coot and Pied-Billed Grebe as well as a few unusual records, including Laughing Gull and Black-Necked Stilt. The latter seems suprising enough that I'm posting a record shot below in which the distinctive orange achote flowers of the interandean valley can be seen in foreground. The lake is also a popular spot for Neotropic Cormorants, which were perched by the dozen in the pine trees that were being buffeted by the wind on the border of the lake, presumably to dry out.

The hills to the north of the lake are blanketed in very arid scrub habitat and might be good for interandean species such as the Scrub Tanager, Giant Hummingbird, and Southern Yellow Grosbeak. An early morning search through the marsh habitat should also yield Ecuadorian Rail and perhaps even Subtropical Doradito. I spotted the Tropical Mockingbird here and at other places in the Chota Valley further to the north, which seems to be spreading south through the highlands according to the information in the field guide. Recently it was even spotted in Quito at the Cumbaya Reservoir.

Notable birds seen: Pied-Billed Grebe, Andean Coot, Black-Necked Stilt, Andean Gull, Laughing Gull, Vermilion Flycatcher, Tropical Mockingbird.

Pululahua: December 12-13, 2009

Just a short drive north of Quito, Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve lies within one of the largest volcanic craters in the Americas. At 6km in diameter, the massive crater surrounds an impressive resurgent cone in its center, and the steep inner walls are richly draped in temperate woodland and scrub, including huge swaths of chusquea bamboo. As the most recent eruption was well over two millennia ago, the fertile bottom of the crater is now farmed extensively and inhabited by a small community of approximately fifty people, including our amiable hosts last weekend, Renato and Paola, the owners of Pululahua Hostal. Designed with an ecological conscience, this comfortable hostal boasts both wind and solar power as well as offering excellent birding, hiking, and horseback riding excursions.

Hardcore listers will no doubt be familiar with the site for harboring one of only two populations of the Rusty-Breasted Antpitta, a diminutive skulker that was found in Ecuador so recently that it's not even included in the field guide. The site deserves attention from more casual birders, though, for the number of difficult temperate forest birds that lurk in the dense vegetation below the crater rim, including the Undulated, Chestnut-Crowned, Chestnut-Naped, and Rufous Antpittas; Ocellated, Ash-Colored and Unicolored Tapaculos, Stripe-Headed Brush-Finch; White-Browed Spinetail; and Plain-Tailed Wren. Although you won't find mature montane forest here like at the nearby Yanacocha Reserve, you'll have a greater chance of locating these hallowed skulkers, especially with the help of local knowledge. While I had birded the crater by myself on several occasions previously, I was delighted by the facility with which Renato and I located the Rusty-Breasted Antpitta, Ocellated Tapaculo, and Undulated Antpitta, all lifers for me.

Our first target was the Rusty-Breasted Antpitta, and late Saturday afternoon Renato and Paola took Aimee and me to one of their stakeouts not far from the hostal. With a touch of playback and a lot of luck, I soon had the beautiful antpitta in sight, its white lores and deep rusty breast stunning against the browns and greens of the bamboo. An early start the following morning found us along a trail near the crater rim, where our second target, the Undulated Antpitta, was spotted several times out in front of us, hopping daringly out in the open in search of worms. This very large antpitta looks quite similar to the Giant Antpitta, which is now a commonly seen and photographed bird thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Angel Paz; the Undulated Antpitta, however, is more deeply scalloped on its underparts and has a white throat and dark malar stripe, features which are barely visible in the photograph above. Aside from the elevation at which we saw this scarcely-seen bird, there was no doubt in its identification when we first encountered it on the trail as it stood facing us several meters ahead, its unique underparts clearly visible.

Despite all the antpitta action, the bird of the trip was undoubtedly the magnificent Ocellated Tapaculo, one of the finest skulkers of the upper slopes of the Andes. When Renato had asked me earlier if there were any birds in the crater that I hadn't seen before, he was surprised when I told him that the tapaculo was missing from my list. The bird is quite common in certain locations within the crater, he explained, and promised we would have a good chance at seeing it the following morning. Although we had three birds loudly calling in close proximity at his stakeout, we didn't lay our eyes on one until later on the trail where we had our close encounter with the Undulated Antpitta. While the Ocellated Tapaculo typically remains in incredibly deep cover as it forages and piercingly claims its territory, this individual bird was relatively visible as it moved in the undergrowth at eye level just off the trail. In fact, at one point the bird was only a meter in front of me, oddly unaware of my camera shutter clattering away several times per second.

Notable birds seen: Andean Guan, Squirrel Cuckoo, Collared Inca, Black-Tailed Trainbearer, Sapphire-Vented Puffleg, Turquoise Jay, White-Browed Spinetail, Rusty-Breasted Antpitta, Undulated Antpitta, Ocellated Tapaculo, Unicolored Tapaculo, White-Tailed Tyrannulet, Smoke-Colored Pewee, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, Yellow-Bellied Chat-Tyrant, Red-Crested Cotinga, Russet-Crowned Warbler, Rusty Flowerpiercer, Fawn-Breasted Tanager, Buff-Breasted Mountain-Tanager, Rufous-Chested Tanager, Band-Tailed Seedeater, Stripe-Headed Brush-Finch, White-Winged Brush-Finch.

Quito Botanical Garden: December 11, 2009

The Quito Botanical Garden in Parque Carolina continues to yield unusual boreal migrants, offering temporary refuge to birds on their way to the eastern slope and lowlands. Last year, a Great Crested Flycatcher spent the entire winter in the garden; more recently this week a Northern Waterthrush was recorded by Roger Ahlman, who's been visiting the garden regularly and making some surprising observations. I stopped by for a few hours one morning to try for the Northern Waterthrush, and while I missed it, I still noted a handful of migrants myself, including the Yellow Warbler, Swainson's Thrush, Summer Tanager, and perhaps Alder or Willow Flycatcher. Activity was particularly high in the wooded area just behind the pond at the entrance to the park.

Notable birds seen: Black-Tailed Trainbearer, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Yellow Warbler, Swainson's Thrush, Black Flowerpiercer, Masked Flowerpiercer, Rusty Flowerpiercer, Cinerous Conebill, Scrub Tanager, Summer Tanager, Southern Yellow Grosbeak.

Bosque Protector Jerusalem: December 4, 2009

It's the Fiestas de Quito this weekend, and life in the capital city has been noisy and wild. There are outdoor public concerts on seemingly every block, and open air buses with brass bands playing on the roof drive around the city aimlessly. Despite being sick for the last week, I simply had to escape the din for a few hours, heading off to Bosque Protector Jerusalem for some late afternoon birding and early evening owling. Although it doesn't boast a big bird list compared to most other sites in Ecuador, the reserve is only an hour away and supposedly contains a few gems I have yet to see, such as the Buff-Fronted Owl.

The Casa de Aves Trail yielded some typical interandean species, such as the Scrub Tanager, Streaked Saltator, and Common Ground-Dove, and down by the reservoir I spotted two male Blue-and-Yellow Tanagers and a pair of Golden-Rumped Euphonias. The Giant Hummingbird is also quite common here, and they could be heard calling throughout the afternoon. The real mystery of the visit had to be the elaenia I observed feeding in the shrubs along the water. The species of this genus of tyrant flycatchers are almost impossible to identify on sight alone, and birders typically distinguish them based on their distributions in the field guide, as some species even have remarkably similar vocalizations. I'm going way out on a limb, then, when I claim it was a Sierran Elaenia even though this bird seemed very large and impressively yellow; it just as easily might have been a fresh-plumaged White-Crested Elaenia or even a Lesser Elaenia, for all I know.

As dusk fell I walked through the camping area under a row of massive eucalyptus trees. Meanwhile, high above an adult Harris's Hawk wasn't comfortable with my presence and moved ahead of me from tree to tree as I passed underneath. Despite putting in over an hour after nightfall, I only heard one owl call once, which didn't give me much to follow up on. I also tried trolling briefly for the Buff-Fronted Owl in a few shallow ravines but no luck. Quito was still a mess when I got back, but at least I had successfully distanced myself from the mayhem, if only for an afternoon.

Notable birds seen: Harris's Hawk, American Kestrel, Common Ground-Dove, Black-Tailed Trainbearer, Giant Hummingbird, Azara's Spinetail, Sierran Elaenia, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Vermilion Flycatcher, Golden-Rumped Euphonia, Blue-and-Yellow Tanager, Scrub Tanager, Streaked Saltator, Hooded Siskin.

Cumbayá Reservoir: November 22, 2009

Cumbayá Reservoir is another migrant trap, located in a suburban community in the interandean valley east of Quito. I used to live very near here actually, but never bothered to check around the reservoir for birds as there is little native vegetation except for a few bushes and trees. Checking the observation database at Aves Ecuador, though, I noticed some recent good finds, including Yellow-Green Vireo, White-Cheeked Pintail, and Sand Martin. Last Sunday afternoon, I found Blue-Winged Teal on the water, Spotted Sandpiper patrolling the shore, Barn Swallow feeding over the water, and Sand Martin perched on some wires overhead. Other interesting sightings here during the last few months include Tropical Mockingbird and Saffron Finch; the latter is normally restricted to Loja Province, but Aimee and I found a pair in September on the nearby Ciclovia just behind Colegio Menor.

Notable birds seen: Blue-Winged Teal, Spotted Sandpiper, Vermilion Flycatcher, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Hooded Siskin.

Antisana Reserve: November 14-15, 2009

The months of September through December are usually cold and wet in the highlands, but this year the weather has been shockingly clear and sunny. Day after day the storm clouds fail to appear in the afternoon, and the sun blazes on as the air pollution in Quito builds to insupportable levels. The paucity of precipitation has created an energy crisis in Ecuador, which runs primarily on hydroelectric power and purchases electricity from neighboring Peru and Colombia. Economically and politically, then, these are challenging times for this modest Andean country. For the intrepid adventurer, though, the extended summer has allowed for extensive exploration in the highlands, where the paramo is unseasonably dry and navigable.

My friend Mark Thurber, author of Climbing and Hiking in Ecuador, recently proposed a weekend trip into Antisana Reserve, where we were to trek in to the base of a little-climbed peak called Plaza de Armas, camp, summit the following morning, and then hike back to El Tambo, a hamlet off the road near Papallacta Pass. Normally, this would be a disastrous time for such a trip, but this year it made perfect sense as Antisana has been visible from Quito throughout the day these last few weeks. The reserve is, of course, the last refuge of the Andean Condor in Ecuador, and our party had the most awesome condor sighting imaginable an hour short of our campsite. Spread wide along a steep ridge, we watched dumbstruck as a juvenile and two adult Andean Condors made pass after pass in the air just over our heads. Indeed, Ron Mustain, the senior member of our group, claimed he was close enough to jump on the back of one as it soared by right underneath where he was standing.

Camping out in the paramo is always a risky endeavor as temperatures regularly drop below freezing at night and thunderstorms are not uncommon. Fortunately, the skies continued to be clear as we settled around our campfire and listened to the Andean Snipes calling around us in the growing darkness. The ground was covered in frost the following morning when Mark, Louis, and I set out to ascend the rocky 4500m peak rising from our campsite. Hustling up a long and scenic ridge, we took in great views of Variable Hawks and Carunculated Caracaras as they rode the early morning thermals. Nearing the top, we startled a pair of Rufous-Bellied Seedsnipes that arched magnificently in flight ahead of us, landing just at the base of the summit pyramid. Approaching cautiously, I managed to get close enough to capture their gorgeous plumage in a photograph before they took to the air again, this time diving far below us and calling boisterously all the way.

The hike back to civilization was just as fine as on the way in, if a little less inspiring. Who would want to leave such a spectacular scene with all of Ecuador's famous peaks forming a dramatic background for such hallowed and iconic wildlife? The birds were only part of the spectacle, too, as White-Tailed Deer were sighted on multiple occasions; our guide and horse driver even claimed to have startled a Spectacled Bear as we were admiring the condors on the previous afternoon. Passing by the same ridge on the way back, we spotted a pair of condors again, probably the same birds as before, swooping in for a tight landing on a huge, exposed cliff far across the gorge from us. With the sun high in the sky and the mighty peak of Antisana in the background, we could have watched for hours.

Notable birds seen: Andean Condor, Aplomado Falcon, Black-Chested Buzzard-Eagle, Carunculated Caracara, Variable Caracara, Andean Snipe, Rufous-Bellied Seedsnipe, Ecuadorian Hillstar, Blue-Mantled Thornbill, Glowing Puffleg, Many-Striped Canastero, Stout-Billed Cinclodes, Tawny Antpitta, Paramo Ground-Tyrant, Brown-Backed Chat-Tyrant, Red-Crested Cotinga, Grass Wren, Black-Backed Bush-Tanager.

End of Days

After living in the central interandean valley for four years, Aimee and I finally moved back up to Quito a few weeks ago, leaving behind my burgeoning backyard bird list in Cumbaya. Interestingly enough, there still is a fair amount of bird activity in the small garden of my apartment building, and I've seen four different species of hummingbirds, including the Giant Hummingbird, which sometimes perches on a television antenna on a neighboring building. Great Thrushes can also be heard calling before dawn each morning, and the Sparkling Violetears chirp loudly all day long marking their territory. Unfortunately, even the resident birds struggle with the mostly concrete and glass environment in our new neighborhood, and birds crash into our windows occasionally, although mostly Eared Doves. Just the other day I noticed this Black-Tailed Trainbearer dead on our balcony, its neck only a few hours broken. Who knows what boreal migrant species suffer a similar fate throughout the city?

Bosque Protector Jerusalem: October 25, 2009

This unique interandean reserve is bound to become a regular site on the birding circuit in Ecuador, as it's located less than an hour from Quito and offers the best chance for birders to sweep up a nice variety of birds of the highlands, including Scrub Tanager, Blue-and-Yellow Tanager, Giant Hummingbird, Streaked Saltator, Golden-Rumped Euphonia, Harris's Hawk, Purple-Collared Woodstar, Black-Tailed Trainbearer, Streak-Throated Bush-Tyrant, Vermilion Flycatcher, Southern Yellow Grosbeak, Common Ground-Dove, Band-Tailed Seedeater, and a few others. Granted, you won't see many other birds besides those listed above, but that's a substantial addition to any birder's list who is principally visiting the northwestern slope or the eastern lowlands. The acacia forest and dry scrub also harbor a few rare birds like the Buff-Fronted Owl, which should be reason alone to check it out.

I visited the reserve most recently on a Sunday morning, when swarms of vicious gnats permitted me only a few hour's stay. Fortunately, in a short period of time I managed to round up almost all of the northern highlands specialties, including a pair of adult Harris's Hawks and multiple displaying Purple-Collared Woodstars. There's a small reservoir near the parking area where a pair of Giant Hummingbirds were busy sallying over the water to catch insects, their white rumps obvious in the morning light; Blue-and-White Swallows and a male Vermillion Flycatcher were also feasting on the recently hatched insects, which seem to be pervasive right now in the interandean valley communities of Cumbaya and Tumbaco.

With its considerable infrastructure, the reserve also functions as a recreational center, and Ecuadorians flood the park with music and loud conversation sometimes on the weekends. A fair amount of people also make use of the camping sites, rising early to play games with their children and noisily explore the trails. In addition, there are frequently model planes soaring overhead emitting an irritating buzz and whine all morning. I'm not saying that all these distractions will necessarily spoil your visit, though, as there is plenty of space to explore the reserve in relative quiet. If you arrange to come on a weekday, however, you can be sure to bird in peace.

Notable birds seen: Harris's Hawk, American Kestrel, Common Ground-Dove, White-Bellied Woodstar, Purple-Collared Woodstar, Black-Tailed Trainbearer, Giant Hummingbird, Crimson-Mantled Woodpecker, Azara's Spinetail, White-Crested Elaenia, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Vermilion Flycatcher, House Wren, Rusty Flowerpiercer, Golden-Rumped Euphonia, Blue-and-Yellow Tanager, Scrub Tanager, Streaked Saltator, Hooded Siskin, Band-Tailed Seedeater, Ash-Breasted Sierra-Finch.

Quito Botanical Garden: October 2, 2009

Located in Parque Carolina in the center of a city of at least two million people, the Botanical Garden is a modest place with only a few mature trees and a handful of different small gardens. From the air, though, it must present a welcome sight, as a diverse array of migrating birds are often found here during the northern hemisphere winter. Last year, in fact, Roger Ahlman et al associated with Aves Ecuador recorded an impressive number of rarities for the highlands, including the Great Crested Flycatcher, Tennessee Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, and Prothonatory Warbler. As the boreal migrants are now beginning to arrive in Ecuador, I've decided to start visiting the Garden regularly in the afternoon, especially considering it's on the way to my new apartment in Quito.

Devoid of people on a fine afternoon, the Garden made for a perfect respite after a tiring week of work. I didn't see much out of the ordinary during the first hour that I walked the paths, noting the Black and Rusty Flowerpiercers, Black-Tailed Trainbearer, and Great Thrush, but as evening drew near the activity picked up a bit. The first migrant I spotted was an Olive-Sided Flycatcher perched high in a dead branch of a pine tree. Then, another migratory flycatcher caught my eye as it was sallying frequently from a perch up in a palm tree; I'm still not sure what it was, but I'm guessing Eastern Wood-Pewee as its wing bars weren't distinct enough to be an Alder or Willow Flycatcher. Roger recorded Eastern Kingbird, Yellow Warbler, Summer Tanager, and Eastern and Western Wood-Pewees here a few days ago, but either I overlooked them or they must have moved on.

A pair of American Kestrels were calling madly for a while until I finally looked up and spotted them harassing a massive raptor, which I first hoped was the Broad-Winged Hawk, another borreal migrant, but soon realized was a juvenile Harris's Hawk (it's not as if the two raptors look that much alike, or anything; I was just hoping to see a lot of migratory birds on my first visit to the Garden this winter). It's interesting, though, that Parque Carolina offers enough habitat to support at least one Harris's Hawk, as the field guide mentions it only is found locally in intermontane valleys of the northern highlands. All things considered, it was a productive first visit to the Garden, but an hour-long stay the following morning would have no doubt been better.

Notable birds seen: Harris's Hawk, Olive-Sided Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee.

Bosque Protector Jerusalem: September 12, 2009

Bosque Protector Jerusalem is a modest reserve in the interandean valley, located about an hour north of Quito. Despite living in Ecuador for almost six years, I had never heard about this site until last week, when a little bit of research on the Internet finally yielded the place where Charlie Vogt and Roger Ahlman found a Buff-Fronted Owl in May. Offering good arid scrub, cactus, and acacia forest habitat, the site is great for picking up interandean species such as the Scrub Tanager, Giant Hummingbird, and Southern Yellow-Grosbeak, and it supposedly boasts quite a few species of owls, including Great-Horned, Stygian, and Barn Owls.

Although I've been feeling under the weather recently, I dragged Aimee out there on Saturday afternoon in hopes of birding the last few hours of daylight and the first hour of darkness. After finally finding the reserve, which is located off the Panamerican Highway between the towns of Guayllabamba and Tabacundo, we only had an hour of light remaining, and rushed out onto one of the many trails to try and get a sense of the place. Happily, we encountered a handful of decent birds, including a singing female Golden-Rumped Euphonia, a pair of hungry Scrub Tanagers, a lone Giant Hummingbird, and a juvenile Harris's Hawk. We reached a lookout just as the sun was setting and stopped to admire the glacier of Volcán Cayambe to the east as the wind blew forcefully through the moss-laden trees.

Heading back to the car for sweaters and spotlights, we encountered a final few birds before the sun set: Black-Tailed Trainbearers sped away overhead while a huge group of Rufous-Collared Sparrows made off somewhere to bed down for the night; even in total darkness these sparrows can be heard calling sometimes. Not far from where the car was parked, we heard a pair of owls hooting away, probably Great-Horned Owls given the cadence of their profound calls. We stumbled around for a while, hoping to get closer to the trees they were calling from, but never managed to locate them. After poking around the camping areas, where Roger had reported a Stygian Owl, without any luck, we decided to hike deeper into the park, looking for a ravine where Charlie and Roger had seen the Buff-Fronted Owl.

The trail we chose was lined with foreboding cactus and proved fruitless in terms of owls; on the other hand, we did hear what was most likely a Band-Winged Nightjar calling, and after working the spotlight back and forth, Aimee had fleeting looks at the bird as it flew past us. The light revealed that the forest was literally clouded above with moths and insects, no doubt making for an ample repast for various nightbirds and owls. Given the promise of the site, I hope to make my next visit a two-day one, camping at one of the many safe and well-tended sites to allow for more time birding and owling in the late afternoon and early morning.

Notable birds seen: Harris's Hawk, Band-Winged Nightjar, Black-Tailed Trainbearer, Vermillion Flycatcher, Golden-Rumped Euphonia, Scrub Tanager, Southern Yellow-Grosbeak.

Parque Condor: August 23, 2009

Zoos typically aren't very inspiring places to watch birds, but Parque Condor serves a particular need for birders in Ecuador, giving them the unique opportunity to get familiar with rare raptors that they might only glimpse from a great distance in the field. Parque Condor is not a typical zoo either, as it provides refuge to injured birds and those that have been decapacitated from living in captivity, releasing them back into the wild when appropriate; in fact, it's important to note that no bird at Parque Condor was taken directly from its original habitat. Scenically located on the top of a hill between Otavalo and Laguna San Pablo, the reserve boasts panoramic views of Imbabura province, including those of two spectacular extinct volcanoes, Imbabura and Cotacachi. Housed in ample and respectful enclosures, birds of prey from all over Ecuador are found here, ranging from the Harpy Eagle of the Eastern lowlands to the Andean Condor of the northern highlands.

For the average visitor, the principle attraction is the bidaily falconry exhibition, in which different birds are taken from their enclosures and allowed to fly around and perform tricks such as catching pieces of meat in the air. On several different visits in the past couple of weeks, I've seen Black-Chested Buzzard Eagle soaring triumphantly for kilometers and then return on call; Aplomado Falcon diving in a blur of speed for a lure; and Harris's Hawk violently overpowering a wild American Kestrel that was competing for its food. Variable Hawk, Solitary Eagle, and White Hawk are also part of the exhibition on occasion, although I haven't seen them perform myself. At the end of each show, a pair of American Kestrels are taken out to the amphitheatre, where members of the audience can admire them up close wearing the falconer's glove for themselves.

In the permanent enclosures there are some beautiful raptors, only a few of which I've seen in the wild. First is a pair of massive Barred Hawks, photographed nesting in the wild by Murray Cooper in his excellent book Plumas: Birds in Ecuador. Second, I believe, is a pair of Black-Chested Buzzard-Eagles, a common enough but still impressive raptor of the highlands. Third is perhaps my favorite, a glorious Black Hawk-Eagle, which I've witnessed both perched and in flight in the wild but never with as much admiration. Just look at the jaunty crest, the flashing orange eyes, the black and white barred thighs, and the powerful yellow talons. Now, imagine watching it from below as it is taking off in flight, revealing thick black and white barring on the underside of its wings and tail. What a glorious bird. Further along are enclosures containing two juvenile Andean Condors, an adult female Harpy Eagle that has given birth to sixteen birds while in captivity, a large collection of American Kestrels, a pair of Harris's Hawks, and a final massive enclosure with two adult Andean Condors. The Harpy Eagle simply must be seen to be believed.

Also worth mentioning is the nice collection of owls at the refuge. Again, this is a great opportunity for birders to familiarize themselves with confusing birds that they might only see for an instant or in poor light. Here you'll find Mottled and Spectacled Owls, both large owls from the lowlands, as well as powerful Burrowing Owls, cute Pacific Pygmy Owls, and the odd Stygian Owl. There are also a few owls that aren't found in Ecuador that have somehow made their way here to the Parque Condor, such as the Snowy Owl. In conclusion, while this is not a mandatory site for birders to visit in Ecuador, it makes for a rewarding stop on the way back from the market at Otavalo as well as being an invaluable opportunity for study. Open all week except for Monday, with falconry exhibitions at 11:30am and 4:30pm, stop by for an hour or two, if you're in the area.

Laguna San Pablo: August 23, 2009

Most visitors to mainland Ecuador make the trip out to the indigenous town of Otavalo, home to the famous Saturday market. On the way north along the Panamerican Highway, you'll pass by the daunting but extinct Volcan Imbabura, with Laguna San Pablo stretching out from its base picturesquely. While the area is littered with small, traditional communities, there is still some decent marsh habitat along the shores of lake which is good for ducks, grebes, herons, gulls, and shorebirds. I've even heard reports that the Subtropical Doradito is found here, although I've never seriously looked for it.

On the evening before I returned to work, we stopped here to enjoy the sunset and check out the bird activity. On the northwestern side of the lake, the side closest to the town of Otavalo, there were hundreds of Andean Teal, Andean Ruddy Duck, and Andean Coot, all perhaps blown to this side by the tremendous wind that day, so I set up the scope so my dad could get some good looks at these common Andean waterfowl. Meanwhile, Blue-and-White Swallows darted about and massive streams of Cattle Egrets passed by overhead, grouping together by the hundreds nearby in the marsh for the night.

While he was digging the electric-blue bill of the male Andean Ruddy-Duck, I noticed a bird that didn't fit in, first feeding from the surface like a duck and then wading through the mud like a rail. Not being very experienced with identifying shorebirds, I first guessed it was the Ecuadorian Rail, correcting myself once I looked the bird up in the field guide, as this one was without such a long, straight, and orange-colored bill. After much deliberation and investigation on the Internet, I'd have to guess that it was an immature Sora. While the Sora is a boreal migrant, but there almost has to be some residents on the lake. Plus, this bird had some faint brown barring on its belly, which is visible in other photographs. At any rate, it was definitely surprising for me to discover a birding mystery in such a heavily populated and disturbed area. The site is certainly worth checking out, if you're visiting the market.

Update: Roger Ahlman set me straight on the bird, correctly identifying it as an immature Common Gallinule. Aves Ecuador is a great place to have your mystery birds identified, by the way, and is regularly updated with birding news from Ecuador.

Notable birds seen: Andean Ruddy-Duck, Andean Coot, Andean Teal, Common Gallinule.

Cotopaxi National Park: August 9, 2009

The weekend crowds at Cotopaxi National Park have been growing steadily over the past few years, but the birding remains outstanding. My father and I had plans to climb Ruminahui today, but we made sure to scan the various highlands habitats we passed through for interesting bird activity. No sooner had we stepped out of the car at Limpiopungo, the park's principal wetlands, then we spotted an Andean Condor soaring close overhead. I raced to set up my camera while my dad tracked its progress with his binoculars, remarking on the bird's striking white colar and splendidly splayed primaries. Amazingly, we would later encounter a group of four Andean Condors near the summit cruising along the ridge almost at eye level.

The bird of the day, or at least the most remarkable to me, was the single Curve-Billed Tinamous that crossed our path through the paramo as we approached the peak. I was busy running my mouth when my father pointed out what he described as a quail out in the open a few meters ahead of us. Indeed, a Curve-Billed Tinamous, its head raised high on its long neck, was cautiously striding about, this making only the second time I had encountered this bird despite being in its habitat well over a hundred times. Our incredible streak of seeing scarce birds on this trip would continue later that evening as we completed the long hike by circling the wetlands: two Aplomado Falcons were busy hawking the area, perching on the ground and then flying low directly overhead in the dying light.

Notable birds seen: Curve-Billed Tinamous, Yellow-Billed Pintail, Andean Condor, Variable Hawk, Aplomado Falcon, Ecuadorian Hillstar, Tawny Antpitta, Paramo Ground-Tyrant.

Yanacocha Reserve: August 3, 2009

The highlands are rather inhospitable this time of year: the sun blazes all day, scorching the earth brown, and the gusts of wind blow dust around like a sandblaster. The weather doesn't make for very good birding, and the birds themselves seem to struggle as they're buffeted about. Even a pair of enormous Variable Hawks were vanquished from the skies at Yanacocha Reserve this morning, hugging the scrubby hillsides instead of soaring high above. From a considerable distance I thought I saw briefly a resident Peregrine Falcon diving about the rocky cliffs of Pichincha at daybreak, although the white-colored raptor could just as well have been a pale morph of the Variable Hawk getting pummeled by the wind.

Fortunately I still had a few productive hours of birding within the montane forest of the reserve. In the cover mixed flocks moved about quicker than normal, with the Black-Chested Mountain-Tanager being the highlight. Meanwhile Rufous Wrens, Unicolored Tapaculos, and White-Browed Spinetails skulked about the understory, no doubt also noting the change of weather but for different reasons than their canopy counterparts. Indeed, the trails were almost completely dry, with leaves crackling underfoot, which made approaching shy birds particularly difficult. The Andean Guans no doubt heard me coming from many meters away, as they crashed noisily off into deeper cover.

Supposedly, it's the time of year for the rare endemic Black-Chested Puffleg, although I have never had sight nor sound of this hummingbird. Still, I spent a few hours lingering around the hummingbird feeders, playing with my camera in between visits by the Mountain Velvetbreast, another fine hummingbird that seems to be seasonal at the feeders. I hear that the puffleg was regular for a while last year at a private reserve slightly lower down the western slope, called Verdecocha, but somehow I doubt this bird will ever make it onto my list. The elegant Sapphire-Vented Puffleg and smaller Golden-Breasted Puffleg are certainly fine consolation, though.

At midday I walked back to my car for a cup of coffee and encountered a group of lepidopterists loitering about with their nets. Young but committed, they were eagerly erecting tents made of mesh, hoping to capture and study the various butterflies and moths in the reserve. They seemed a bit out of their element, but being around scientists always makes me feel like something of a dilettante, taking the mere act of observing birds so seriously. Regardless of our credentials, I guess we're all out in the field learning about our surroundings, but still I would feel a little more legitimate, and a little less light in the wallet, with a university backing my birding excursions. Anyway, instead of returning home midday, I rode out the afternoon back in the reserve slowly picking up a few good birds, including the Turquoise Jay, Sword-Billed Hummingbird, and Crowned Chat-Tyrant.

As a final note, the reserve is an outstanding, though still difficult, site for antpittas, with five species calling throughout the morning in certain times of the year: the Tawny, Rufous, Chesnut-Naped, Chestnut-Crowned, and Undulated Antpittas. By far the most common, the Rufous Antpitta is still tricky to see, scurrying unpredictably across trails and not responding consistently to playback. On the other hand, I have noted them regularly from the Hummingbird Garden No. 2, at the very beginning of the Polylepis Trail. Here, where a hose with running water has been set up, the antpitta has been found every hour or so moving back and forth across the trail, in search of worms presumably, as this is one of the last antpitta species in Ecuador that still has to find worms for itself!

Notable birds seen: Variable Hawk, Carunculated Caracara, Andean Guan, Mountain Velvetbreast, Sword-Billed Hummingbird, White-Bellied Woodstar, Rufous Antpitta, Smoky Bush-Tyrant, Turquoise Jay, Glossy-Black Thrush, Black-Chested Mountain-Tanager, Stripe-Headed Brush-Finch.

Feeder or Fodder?

A few well-placed hummingbird feeders around the yard have attracted a number of fine hummingbirds over the years, including the Giant Hummingbird and the Black-Tailed Trainbearer. Of course, the versatile Sparkling Violetears dominate and their constant sparing outside has become familiar background noise, like the sound of the wind in the trees or traffic on a busy street. On occasion the din attracts another type of feeder, the attractive American Kestrel, which often perches on the electricity wires above the street. Once I even saw one of these falcons on the ground ripping apart a Sparkling Violetear in the vacant lot across the street, just desserts which any birder who has been frustrated by one chasing off a Gould's Jewelfront or a Marvelous Spatuletail could appreciate.

Swiftly Arose: July 16, 2009

Recently returned home from Peru, I suddenly became aware of a little more bird activity than usual this afternoon. Far beyond the resident Blue-and-White Swallows that were circling just overhead as I stood outside, a large flock of White-Collared Swifts were diving majestically through the sky. Supposedly, there's a colony of swifts that lives up on Volcán Pichincha that comes down to the valley where I live twice a year to feed on newly hatched insects. For several days, they swoop about powerfully on their stiff and pointed wings, chippering and screeching with what surely must be delight. Although you can find this bird almost anywhere in Ecuador, and at any altitude, the speed and agility with which they fly should give every birder pause, especially from his own backyard.