Blue-footed Booby, adult male, Isla de la Plata, Ecuador, 7 June 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

introduction
On 16 June we flew from Amsterdam to Quito, where we arrived at the 17th. Departure back to Holland was at the early morning of 17 July, where we arrived on the 18th. It was my first trip to South-America. Even though I was already familiar with several species and families due to earlier trips to Central and North America, this was something completely different in a birding point of view. Being used to the relatively poor Europe, the abundance of birds here is often bizarre. We travelled throughout the country: we came close to the Colombian and Peruvian border in the north east, travelled through the Andes southward to Cuenca and worked our way up along the coast again. Just four days were spent on the east slope of the Andes, where we had a lot of rain. Therefore only two species typical for this side of the Andes are on the bird list. As usual I made the trip together with my girlfriend, so even though I birded on most days, it was not a full time business and several days were spent in cities. My goal was seeing 350 species, in which I almost succeeded: 341. Again I saw a rarity - the second documented record of South American Tern for the country. The mammals I saw were above my expectations, with many spectacular species that are easy to miss. Most of these species were seen in the excellent Cuyabeno and Machalilla N.P. The number of species seen was also reduced by the unusual amount of rain we had in the Andes and because my tape recorder broke down on the first day in the jungle, though I don't really mind: the birds, mammals and landscapes were great, I saw numerous other very interesting animals such as reptiles, amphibians (treefrogs!), large spiders, ants etc., the colonial city-centres are beautiful, in general the people are very nice and most of all the amount, beauty and diversity of natural habitats is astonishing. Grab your bins, some cloths and take the plane right away!

weather
It supposed to be the dry season in the Andes, but in fact we had a lot of overcast days - often with rain - here. Only the last days were really sunny. In the Oriente it's the rainy season at this time of year. We had an occasional tropical downpour, but a lot of sun too. In our summer the coastal area is usually overcast, but without rain. The overcast part was correct, but apart from the Isla de la Plata trip it was raining every day (though not heavy). In Mindo finally had the weather we expected: sunny mornings, rainy (late) afternoons.

books
The Birds of Ecuador by Robert S. Ridgeley & Paul J. Greenfeld (both the Field Guide and Status, Distribution and Taxonomy)
A Guide to Bird-Watching in Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands by Biosphere Publications
The Ecotraveler´s Wildlife Guide to Ecuador and the Galápagos
For general bird and mammal books see literature South America.

the pictures
It was my first time in South America and that was obvious when making the pictures. I didn't take enough 400 ISO with and I took too much 100 ISO. Especially in the jungle this was very evident, with a lot of motion in a lot of pictures. Also the weather proved to be worse than expected. The clouds along the coast however, gave me the opportunity to make pictures at daytime too: pictures on Dutch sunny days become are ugly, but with the sun this high in the sky the become horrific! Jasmijn used here digital camera, which was ideal for the macro close-ups.

photographic information Vincent:
camera: Nikon F70
lenses: Nikkor F4 35-80 mm, Nikon ED F4 300 mm
film: Fujichrome Sensia 100, 200 and 400 ISO
filter: Hama PL circular M 52 (for the Nikkor lens)
further: Manfrotto monopod, Hama film safe bag for the x-ray at the airport

photographic information Jasmijn:
camera: Sony Cybershot
ISO: mostly 100, sometimes 200
also check her butterfly pages

itinerary

Quito 18 -19 & 21-22 June, 10-11 & 13-16 July
Quito is not interesting for birds, but is needed as a stop over several times. In all we spent three full days here, on the other days mentioned we just used it as a place to sleep and eat. The old town is a must see. Eared Doves, Great Thrushes and Rufous-crowned Sparrows occur everywhere and the gardens are good for Sparkling Violetears and Black-tailed Trainbearers. Other birds seen in Quito: Variable Hawk, Brown-bellied Swallow and Rusty Flowerpiercer.

Mindo 20-21 June, 11-13 July
Mindo is a spot not to be missed and is easily reached by 2½ bus ride from Quito. This nice and tranquil village has plenty of accommodation and food and there's very good birding within walking distance. We slept at Rubby's, at the far side of the football pitch. Vinicio Perez is a well knwon guide, but he's very expensive too (100$ for a day or two mornings; with car even 180$!). Despite we (over)paid him the 100$, he still screwed us for 10$: the second day we went to the Cock-of-the-rock lek and when we came back, we suddenly had to pay for the car - he didn't tell us that in advance. In all we paid 100$ for two mornings + 10$ for the car + 14$ fee to access the lek= 124$. He was indeed very good (excellent knowledge of sounds for instance), but for that kind of money I expected to see the specialities like Giant Antpitta and Toucan Barbet. Instead we just went hiking, just ticking of what we accidentally encountered. There are other, cheaper guides available too (Marcelo is said to be ok and cheap, but he hardly speaks any English). Anyway, birding around Mindo is excellent, with several good trails in the immediate area of the village. Many birds can be found in the village itself too, where Blue-grey, Golden and Silver-throated Tanagers are common, with the occasional Bay-headed amongst them. Around dusk large groups of White-collared Swifts fly above the village, including the occasional Grey-rumped and Red-collared Swift. Ecuadorian Thrushes are easily found, White-throated Crakes can be heard at the larger fields and I saw my only three Bronze-winged Parrots, pair of Pacific Antwren, Common Tody-flycatcher, Swallow Tanager and Little Cuckoo within the borders of the village. The access road to the village, which goes down from from the main road to Quito, is quite good (often called the obelisk road). An option is taking the 7:00 bus until you reach the main road, get out there and walk down hill to the village again. My best birds here were a soaring Black Hawk Eagle, a Black-winged Saltator and several Golden-headed Quetzals (commonly heard and occasionally seen everywhere around Mindo). Another nice spot is Mindo Lindo, run by a German-Ecuadorian couple. It has several hummingbird feeders and a nice patch of forest. The hummers can be viewed from the veranda with bins in one and a cup of coffee in the other hand. Admission is 5$ a person. The spot can be found along the main road: again take the 7:00 bus and get out when you reach the main road, turn left (west; "away" from Quito) and walk a few hundred metres until you reach the obvious sign on the right side of the road. We saw no less than ten species of hummers here, including the difficult and semi-endemic Empress Brilliant and Velvet-purple Coronet. The river behind the village used to be good for both Torrent Duck and Fasciated Tiger-heron, but nowadays day disappeared here. The Río Mindo does have plenty of Masked Water-tyrants, Torrent Flycatchers and White-capped Dippers though. If you go inner tubing (fun!), close approaches are guaranteed. The refugio road is excellent, especially along the more forested patches. Too many good species to be mentioned here (see bird list). The Cock-of-the-rock lek is superb, situated in a very beautiful cloud forest. The birds don't seem to bother your presence and often dance, fight and scream at close range. In all I saw 15-20 males here. Other good birds included Uniform Antshrike, a pair of Golden Quetzals and two Chestnut-mandibled Toucans.

Velvet-purple Coronet, Mindo, Ecuador, July 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

cloud forest near the Cock-of-the-rock lek, Mindo, Ecuador, June 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

Lago Agrio 23 & 27 June
This oil town is a dump! Stay in the hotel zone, as it's not really save at other parts of this town. It is the only way to get into Cuyabeno though. I saw my only Bananaquit in the eastern part of the country here, my only Blue-black Grassquit of the whole trip, several Blue-grey Tanagers and my first White-winged Swallow though. The air strip is said to be good for birding (Pearl Kite, Black-capped Donacobius).

Cuyabeno 23-27 June
Cuyabeno very near the Columbian border in the north and to a lesser extinct the Peruvian border in the east, is an excellent and beautiful lowland rainforest which is relatively easy to access via Lago Agrio. Most tour operators offer trips to this part of the country. Look carefully to what they offer, as many trips are more culturally orientated than nature based. We booked via Dracaena for 5 days for 200$ each. Transport in the area is with motorised canoe and we made several walks through primary and varzea forest. The Dracaena camp was nicely situated - as all camps in the area probably - but has the disadvantage that there are no trails. Because of the high water level, just walking into the forest was impossible here. Going with a group consisting of common tourists was a risk, but everything worked out fine. Of course there was often no time to check a bird during a walk of course, but we did have a lot of fun. Guide Pablo was a birdwatcher himself and he was very knowledgeable: he even knew many bird sounds. Occasionally he did make mistakes. He e.g. pointed out a Cinnamon Attila out to me, which turned out to be my only Varzea Schiffornis and he was particularly weak on antbirds, so I had to pay close attention, but I still saw many species thanks to his sharp eyes and knowledge. But this was not the mid week of the birds, it was mammal time here. And as you know, the best bird of the day is often a mammal! Amongst others we saw no less than seven species of monkey (normally three), both sloth species (it was only the fourth two-toed for the guide) and three Pink River Dolphins (seen on half of the trips in summertime). Pablo even told the cook in Spanish (so not to make us feel good) that we'd been extremely lucky. Of course there were many other interesting animals, like beautiful butterflies, all sorts of ants including the very large Conga Ant (stings painful), very large grasshoppers et cetera. But one of my favorite activities was searching for reptiles and amphibians, mainly at night. We found several anoles, treefrogs - including a probable undescribed species! - toads and even an Anaconda. No caimans were seen due to the high water levels (no sand banks). Despite that there were no trails at the camp, I was with a group and my tape recorder broke down the first time I tried to use it, I did manage to see some 110 species of bird here. Too much to sum up a comprehensive list of all the goodies here, but the following species come to mind when I think of Cuyabeno: Muscovy Duck (small numbers daily), Rufescent Tiger-heron (three), Black-collared Hawk, Great Black Hawk, Sungrebe (two), Hoatzin (easily seen at Laguna Grande and along some river arms), Black-banded Owl, Common Potoo, Blue-and-Yellow and Chestnut-fronted Macaw (often seen flying), White-breasted Toucan (common), Many-banded and Ivory-billed Aracari, Fiery Topaz (a female) and Long-billed Woodcreeper (commonly heard, two seen).

Laguna Grande, Cuyabeno, Ecuador, June 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

Anaconda, Cuyabeno, Ecuador, June 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

Baños 28 - 30 June, 8 - 10 July
This was the only spot on the eastern slope we went to. The hills around Baños are said to be okay for birding, especially at the more remote hills (e.g. near the active volcano Tungurahua). There´s still plenty of forest around. The first time we visited the spot we used it to relax after the days in the jungle. The second time we wanted to go hiking and mountain biking here, but the heavy rains blocked our plans. Best birds: Green-tailed Trainbearer, Black-backed Grosbeak at the eastern part of the village (near the river) and Dark-breasted Spinetail (common in the hills; seen when I was there for a short time when it was not raining). In the village the usual stuff like Eared Dove, Sparkling Violetear and Rufous-collared Sparrow and Blue-Grey Tanager, Palm Tanager and Hooded Siskin.

Cuenca & Cajas N.P. 30 June - 3 July
In Cuenca itself common birds include Sparkling Violetear and Croaking Ground-dove and I saw several Chicuanga Thrushes and Black Phoebes. But apart from the cultural heritage of the city centre, Cajas National Park is the main reason to visit this city. Buses run straight through the park and can drop you off near the biggest lake, the Laguna Toreadora. The area is fantastic here: numerous big and small lakes, beautiful rocks, patches of Polylepis forest, paramo fields and a lot of beautiful mosses; this place is worth visiting for the landscape alone. Target birds here are mainly the Giant Conebill and the Tit-like Dacnis. The small patch of Polylepis behind Laguna Illincocha (along the main road, west of the Toreadora) is particularly (and surprisingly) good for both species. Other goodies to look out for at high altitude include Caranculated Caracara, Stout-billed Cinclodes, Tawny Antpitta and Red-rumped Bush-tyrant as well as commoner birds like Andean Ruddy Duck, Andean Teal, Bar-winged Cinclodes, Andean Tit-spinetail, Pearled Treerunner, Black-billed Shrike-tyrant and Blue-mantled Thornbill. Another speciality, the stunning and near endemic Ecuadorian Hillstar, is easily found on the orange flowers of the Chuquiragua insignis. At the lower and forested part of the park, other birds can be found, including the endemic Violet-throated Metaltail. We just made a short stop here and saw a Rainbow Starfrontlet. Andean Condor is almost extinct nowadays.

Cajas N.P, Ecuador, July 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

Stout-billed Cinclodes, Cajas N.P, Ecuador, July 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

Peruvian Pelican, first winter, Ecuasal, Salinas, Ecuador June 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

Salinas & Ecuasal: 3 - 5 July My Dutch acquaintance Ben Haase lives in Salinas and takes people into the nowadays closed down (and garded!) salinas of Ecuasal. These for birds excellent commercially exploited saltpans are very good for eg. waders, terns, gulls, herons and pelicans and are the only reliable spot in the country for Chilean Flamingo's. The area itself is not particulairy beautiful, but it attracts a huge amount of birds: it has a reputation on breeding, migratorary and rare birds. We were in Salinas in early July - not the best time of year. Later in July and especially August and September are much better, though there were still many birds here to keep us satisfied. If you have access to the side, the birding is easy: just walk along the little dikes in the area and the birds are all around you. The saltpans are very reliable for Peruvian Pelican. Here the differences with Brown Pelican is quite obvious: the two species occur together. We saw hundreds of em. At least 200 Flamingoes were present, but Ben even counted 300 in the week before. Burrowing Owls gave splendid views, the first groups of Wilson Phalaropes (sometimes 1000s are seen) had arrived, Snowy Plovers had chicks and American Oystercatcher was seen in small numbers. A large group of Royal Terns held one Elegant; the juveniles of the Gull-billed Terns were already able to fly. Grey Gulls are common as is the breeding Grey-hooded Gull. We found several nests and even chicks. At the end of the walk we found two South American Terns (see text box below). If you're interested in going into Ecuasal with Ben, mail him. He can be found two blocks north of the backside of Marcelo Miramar, at The Oystercatcher Restaurante (his oyster bar). From July to September he also does whale watching tours and he has a checklist of the area. In and around the village I e.g. saw several Red-masked Parakeets and Pacific Parrotlets (both Tumbesian endemics) and the only Amazilia Hummingbird of the trip. Tropical Gnatcatcher is easily seen in the village and Short-tailed Woodstar should be searched for at suitable habitat, though I didn't see it.

the south american terns Officially there was one previous record of South American Tern in Ecuador: in July and August 1987 four birds were present at Ecuasal, seen by Ben Haase. Ben has seen more birds at several occasions here, but details are lacking. According to his checklist of the reserve they've been seen in April, June, (July is not on the list!), August, September and October. We saw two birds flying around for several minutes, before the disappeared. I managed to make one image. Summarised they were separated from Arctic Tern by the following characters: - the proportion: bulkier than all Arctic Terns I've ever seen; they looked longer necked - the very long and heavy bill, that was even heavier than all Common Terns I've ever seen (and Common has a larger bill than Arctic) - the sound: the call in Ridgeley is described as "a drawn-out kyarrrr": this matched the birds perfectly; it obviously sounded different from all Common's and Arctic's I've ever heard, and I've got considerable experience with these species; it was drawn-out longer, lower pitched, louder and with the "r" sound at the end instead of at the beginning - both Arctic an Common Tern should be in winter plumage at this time of year, while South American should be in summer plumage The flight resembled a display, but I'm not familiar with their habits. When I returned to Holland, Ben told me via an e-mail that the birds were actually paired and that he saw a chick, which meant that the first breeding for the country had taken place.

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South American Terns, Ecuasal, Ecuador, 4 July 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

Montañita 5-6 July
This surfer's and backpack paradise is just another coastal site when it comes to birds. No real goodies were seen, but very large groups of Pacific Parrotlets were hanging around.

Puerto Lopez, Machalilla N.P. & Isla de la Plata 6-8 July

Blue-footed Booby, female, Isla de la Plata, Ecuador, July 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

Nazca Booby, adult, Isla de la Plata, Ecuador, July 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

On the 7th we went to Isla de la Plata and this is another location not to be missed, especially for people who have never been on the Galapagos. Large colonies of seabirds can be found, mainly Magnificant Frigatebirds, Blue-footed and Nazca Boobies, but also a Red-billed Tropicbirds, a few Red-footed and some five pairs of the enigmatic Wandering Albatross, which world-wide furthermore only breeds on the Galapagos. Other interesting birds are Short-tailed Woodstar, Grey-and-white Tyrannulet, the endemic subspecies of Long-tailed Mockingbird and Collared-Warbling Finch (common around the former hotel). It's easy to book day trips from Puerto Lopez. First you go whale watching (Humpbacks), than to the island and at the end there's some thirty minutes left for snorkelling. On the island you'll have to make a decision: take the left or the right route (there's only time for one walk). If you take the left turn you'll pass the frigatebird colonies and you have the change of seeing one of the few pairs of Red-footed Boobies. If you turn right you'll probably see the albatrosses (between February and August mainly). Luckily enough I saw the Red-footed Booby out on the ocean. It was a day full of highlights, as I saw all good birds possible, two Humpback Whales, a group of Bottle-nosed Dolphins, a female Killer Whale, a Green sea Turtle and beautiful fishes. Wow! I did not have much time visiting the mainland part of the Machalilla park. We rented some bikes and explored the dry scrub at the western edge of the park. Here was saw amongst others Striped Cuckoo, Collared Antshrike, Fasciated Wren a flock of Parrot-billed Seedeaters and White-edged Oriole.

Vulcan Cotopaxi, Cotopaxi N.P., Ecuador, July 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

Cotopaxi N.P. 15 July
Make sure you go to this park! It's not easily reached by public transport, so without your own transport booking a day trip at one of the travel agencies is recommended (around 35$ a person; a recommended agency is Dracaena; it's also possible to do a two day tour and climb the vulcano). The classically cone-shaped Cotopaxi is the highest active vulcano in the world and there are several other vulcanoes that can be seen from the park (if the weather allows good views, that is). The trip is worth for the landscape alone. It is very different from Cajas, the other paramo park we visited. Good places for birding are the lake at 3.800 metres, the plateau and the bushes near the second campsite. The marsh behind the lake is said to be a good spot for Imperial Snipe, but despite the effort (wet feet!) I unfortunately didn´t see it. I did see my only Plain-coloured Seedeater here (I thought it would be more common though). The expected birds of a highland lake that were seen included a colony of Andes Gulls and numerous Andes Coots. Surprisingly no ducks were seen. It can be good for migrating waders, but it was too early for that I guess: I only saw a Greater Yellowlegs. Near the campsite several Black Flowerpiercers were present, as were a pair of the nice Brown-backed Chat-tyrant. I saw another one at the lake. On the plateau Paramo Andean Lapwings were everywhere, Ground-tyrant (split Plain-capped Ground-tyrant) was common and two Spot-billed Ground-tyrants were seen (endemic subspecies). Black-winged Ground-dove was missed here.

Otavalo & Cuicocha 16 July
Otavalo was not so interesting (not only for birds: the market was disappointing too), but the crater lake Cuicocha is very beautiful and has some nice birds too. The best birds were definitely the two Silverly Grebes (irregular here). Other birds included plenty of Andean Ruddy Ducks and many Andean Coots.

species lists

THE BIRD LIST CAN BE FOUND AT PART 2 OF THIS REPORT

use the links in the lists for more pictures

Hoffmann´s Two-toed Sloth, Cuyabeno, Ecuador, June 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

Humpback Whale, Pacific Ocean near Isla de la Plata, Ecuador, July 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek) more pics

wolf spider sp. with egg sack, Cuyabeno, Ecuador June 2003 (© Vincent van der Spek)

banana spider sp., Cuyabeno, Ecuador, June 2003 (© Jasmijn van der Most van Spijk)