Becky and I traveled to Galveston, Texas in late-April 2026.  Our goal was to photograph birds during the spring migration.  Many North American breeders winter in Mexico, Central America or even South America.  Many of these neotropical migrants fly non-stop directly from the Yucatan Peninsula to the Texas coast, a distance of 720 miles.  They begin their flight at dusk and arrive on the Texas coast around mid-afternoon the following day.  They arrive tired, hungry and thirsty.  If they have a tailwind they can travel far inland.  If they experience a storm or strong headwinds they drop in the first patch of trees they encounter.

We chose Trogon Tours for this trip as they have access to Stevenson's Woods on Galveston Island.  Stevenson's Woods has the largest "yard list" of any location in North America at 326 species.  The property has many improvements which make it attractive for both birds and bird photographers.  The site offers a large photo blind, a water drip, various bird foods, attractive perches, nice afternoon light. and clean backgrounds.  We shot here four afternoons (we were rained out on the fifth).  Each morning we photographed different locations around the Galveston area.

Galveston-setup1 copy Blind Setup (I-phone image)

The first morning of the tour we photographed at San Luis Pass on the west end of Galveston Island.  We primarily focused on shorebirds including black-bellied plover, dunlin, sanderling, ruddy turnstone, semipalmated plover,  white ibis, great blue heron, least sandpiper, snowy egret, willit, and clapper rail.  I normally only see shorebirds in drab winter plumage.  It was a treat to see them coming into their much more colorful breeding plumage.

Black-Bellied Plover in Breeding Plumage

dunlincopy Dunlin in Breeding Plumage

ruddy-turnstone copy Ruddy Turnstone in Breeding Plumage

clapper-rail copy Clapper Rail - I had observed this species previously, but this was my best photo opportunity.

clapper-rail1 copy Clapper Rail

reddish-egret copy

Reddish Egret

reddish-egret2 copy

Reddish Egret - White Morph

reddish-egret1copy Reddish Egret - White Morph

reddish-egret3 copy Reddish Egret (White Morph) with a Snack

white-ibiscopy White Ibis in Breeding Plumage

great-blue-heron copy Great Blue Heron with Breakfast

We photographed reddish egret including the white morph as they foraged in the shallow waters.  We worked this area until lunch.  After lunch we took a break until 2:30 and headed to Stevenson's Woods until dark.  Shooting was steady and we had an abundance of Baltimore orioles.  We also photographed black and white warbler, common yellowthroat, gray-cheeked thrush, gray catbird, painted bunting, and yellow warbler.  Gray-cheeked thrush was a "life bird" for me.  Not a bad start.

Baltimore Oriole

Black and White Warbler

northern-cardinal copy Northern Cardinal

common-yellowthroatcopy

Common Yellowthroat

gray-cheeked-thrush copy Gray-Cheeked Thrush (Life Bird)

gray-catbird copy Gray Catbird

painted-bunting2copy Painted Bunting - My choice for the most colorful of all North American birds

yellow-warbler1 copy 2 Yellow Warbler

Our second morning we spent at Bolivar Flats, a popular shorebird location.  We photographed many of the same species observed the previous morning, but added a few new ones including scissor-tailed flycatcher, king rail, laughing gull, black skimmer, Wilson's plover, semi-palmated sandpiper, least tern, common tern, and Forster's tern.  Light was difficult and my keeper rate was low.

least-tern copy

Least Tern

scissor-tailed-flycatcher copy Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher

semi-palmated-sandpiper copy Semipalmated Sandpiper (Life Bird)

king-rail copy King Rail (Life Bird)

semi-palmated-plovercopy Semipalmated Plover

During our second afternoon in the blinds we photographed several new species including orchard oriole, northern waterthrush, bay-breasted warbler, indigo bunting, American redstart, Tennessee warbler, and yellow-billed cuckoo.

orchard-oriole1 copy

Orchard Oriole

Bay-Breasted Warbler (Life Bird)

indigo-bunting copy Indigo Bunting

Tennessee-warblercopy Tennessee Warbler

American Redstart

American Redstart (Female)

orchard-oriolecopy Orchard Oriole

yellow-billed-cuckoo1 copy Yellow-Billed Cuckoo

northern-waterthrush copy Northern Waterthrush

Rain was forecast the following day, so the schedule was revised.  We visited a mixed species rookery on islands in a small lake at an inland community park.  Nesting cattle egrets were abundant, but great egret, neotropical cormorant, roseate spoonbill, little blue heron, and great blue heron were also present.  A lot of shooting was at a pretty fair distance, and in the mist but, I captured some shots I liked.  I also found a nutria, a "life mammal".  Mottled duck, wood duck, and blue winged teal were also present.

cattle-egret copy Cattle Egret in Breeding Plumage

great-egretcopy

Great Egret

little-blue-heron copy Little Blue Heron

nutriacopy Nutria with Young

wood-duck copy Wood Duck

roseate-spoonbillcopy Nesting Roseate Spoonbill

cattle-egretcopy

Cattle Egret

After lunch the mist became a downpour that continued throughout the day.  Ken Archer, one of our Trogon Tour guides, gave us a demonstration on how he processes images in Photoshop and he also critiqued our images.  Excellent learning experience for me as I am a totally self-taught Photoshop user.

The next morning we headed to Laffites Cove a small wooded wetland surrounded by an upscale subdivision.  We had visited this site previously and it was very slow, other than a small cottonmouth snake bathing in one of the drips.  Perhaps it was slow because of the presence of the cottonmouth.

cottonmouth copy Cottonmouth

However, It was totally different on this post-storm morning.  Before we even arrived at the first drip, we encountered lesser yellowlegs, blackburnian warbler, black-bellied whistling duck, tricolored heron, roseate spoonbill, yellow-billed cuckoo, chestnut-sided warbler, yellow-bellied flycatcher, acadian flycatcher, eastern kingbird, black-necked stilt and ruby-throated hummingbird.  The drip was also very active with magnolia warbler, black-throated green warbler, black and white warbler, red-eyed vireo, veery, and hooded warbler. I believe the storm had resulted in a fall-out of birds.  we were all anxious to get to Stevenson's Woods for our afternoon shoot.  It did not disappoint.

Acadian Flycatcher

Black-Bellied Whistling Duck

eastern-kingbird copy

Eastern Kingbird

roseate-spoonbill copy Roseate Spoonbill

Blackburnian Warbler

yellow-bellied-flycatcher copy Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher

Black-Throated Green Warbler

chestnut-sided-warbler copy Chestnut-Sided Warbler

yellow-billed-cuckoocopy Yellow-Billed Cuckoo

Blue-Winged Teal

lesser-yellowlegscopy Lesser Yellowlegs

tricolored-heron copy Tricolored Heron with a Double Catch

veerycopy Veery (Life Bird)

We immediately began to experience large numbers of birds, including those we had seen previously.  Additional species included rose-breasted grosbeak, Swainson's thrush, yellow-billed cuckoo, Philadelphia vireo, ovenbird, summer tanager, hooded warbler, and scarlet tanager.

ovenbird copy Ovenbird

magnolia-warbler copy Magnolia Warbler

Philadelphia-vireocopy Philadelphia Vireo (Life Bird)

red-eyed-vireo copy Red-Eyed Vireo

rose-breasted-grosbeak1 copy

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

scarlet-tanagercopy

Scarlet Tanager

summer-tanager copy Summer Tanager

Swainson's-thrush copy Swainson's Thrush

hooded-warbler copy Hooded Warbler

Our last morning we headed to Brazos Bend State Park.  I had visited this location years ago and knew it could be quite good for waders.  Almost immediately we detected a prothonotary warbler singing.  He gave us a few nice looks.  Purple gallinule, and a displaying great-tailed grackle had our group's shutters going.  White-faced, white, and glossy ibis were also observed along with numerous small alligators.  Almost unbelievably, I spotted a beautiful male least bittern very close and in the open.  My bird of the day.  I had seen this species elsewhere, but always in dense cover where clean images were difficult.

prothonotory-warbler copy

Prothonotary Warbler

purple-gallinule1 copy

Purple Gallinule

purple-gallinule copy

Purple Gallinule

great-tailed-gackle copy Great-Tailed Grackle Displaying

least-bittern1 copy Least Bittern

least-bittern1copy Least Bittern

prothonotory-warbler1 copy Prothonotary Warbler

roseate-spoonbill3 copy

Roseate Spoonbill

We were all looking forward to our last visit to Stevenson's Woods in the afternoon.  We improved our images of many of the same species as on previous visits with a northern mockingbird as our only new species.

painted-bunting copy Painted Bunting

yellow-billed-cuckoocopy Yellow-Billed Cuckoo (Minus a Tail)

yellow-warbler copy Yellow Warbler

Baltimore Oriole

common-yellowthroat copy

Common Yellowthroat

I would recommend this Trogon Tour.

For clarification, due to Zenfolio's restrictions on blog size I had to break this blog into four parts.  This is Part 1.

With over 1,600 species of birds, Ecuador is one richest countries in the world when it comes to bird diversity.  Ecuador has over twice as many species as the US and Canada combined.  Ecuador also boast the ecotourism infrastructure to support birders and bird photographers.  Many small ecolodges and tour companies are present throughout the country. 

The tour we selected arranged a private guide/driver for the Andean portion of the trip and a dedicated guide and assistant guide for our time in the Amazon.  We arranged our tour through Aratinga Tours.  

February 3

Direct flights from San Francisco to Ecuador are difficult to find and quite expensive.  We flew from San Francisco to Atlanta, and then Atlanta to Quito, Ecuador.  We were met at the modern Quito Airport by Luis Panama, our guide for the Andes portion of our tour.  Luis is an excellent birder and, perhaps more importantly for me, he is also an accomplished photographer.  He transported Becky and I to an airport hotel/resort where we had booked an extra night prior to the beginning of our tour.  

February 4

I wandered the hotel grounds the next day in an attempt to adjust to the elevation.  Quito is around 9,400 feet elevation and even moderate exertion left us gasping for air.  The resort has four free-roaming llama which keep the lawn trimmed nicely.  I managed to photograph a number of common Andean species including eared dove, sparkling violetear, and great thrush in the resort gardens.  Less common species included black-tailed trainbearer, saffron finch, rufous-collared sparrow, vermillion flycatcher, black vulture, southern beardless tyrannulet, tropical mockingbird, and rusty flowerpiercer.

Eared Dove Eared Dove

Black-Tailed Trainbearer

Black-Tailed Trainbearer

Saffron Finch Saffron Finch

Vermillion Flycatcher

Vermillion Flycatcher

February 5

Luis picked us up early in the morning in his SUV.  We spent the next 1.5 hours transiting Quito and its suburbs.  About 2 million people live in Quito which is the capital and second largest city in Ecuador.

Within a few miles we were grateful that we had not opted for a self-driving tour.  Traffic was heavy and drivers were aggressive.  Luis skillfully and calmly negotiated the traffic.  At one point we entered the "traffic circle from hell" with 4 lanes of every driver for himself.  We survived.

After leaving the city we exited onto a gravel road and traversed an area of lush highlands.  The area had been largely deforested and was occupied by many small dairy farms.

Our first photography destination was Zuraloma Reserve at 10,200 feet elevation.  This reserve is in the foothills of Pichincha Volcano adjacent to the Yanacocha Reserve.  

We photographed an immature black-chested buzzard-eagle and a sapphire- vented puffleg (hummingbird) even before we arrived.  A nice start.  

Black-Chested Buzzard-Eagle

Black-Chested Buzzard-Eagle

Sapphire-Vented Puffleg

Saphire-Vented Puffleg

The reserve is known as one of the best locations to photograph equatorial and chestnut-naped antpittas.  Antpitta's are generally difficult to observe or photograph as they prefer dense, dark, low vegetation.Both antpitta species have been trained to come to a feeding station on a schedule and readily pose while consuming earthworms placed for them.

Chestnut-Naped Antpitta

Chestnut-Naped Antpitta

Equatorial Antpitta Equatorial Antpitta

I took many images of each antpitta species and then moved on to the fruit and sugar feeders.  At least 10 species of hummingbird were present including black-tailed trainbearer, green-tailed trainbearer, tyrian metaltail, mountain velvetbreast, white-bellied woodstar, sparkling violetear, collared inca, buff-winged starfrontlet and the spectacular sword-billed hummingbird.   The sword-billed hummingbird has the longest beak per body size of any bird.

Sword-Billed Hummingbird Sword-Billed Hummingbird 

Three species of flowerpiercers (masked, black, and glossy) were present and attracted to the sugar feeders.  Flowerpiercers are nectar feeders and utilize a short hooked bill tip to feed on flowers at their base.

Masked Flowerpiercer Masked Flowerpiercer 

The fruit feeders were also active with scarlet-bellied mountain tanager, Andean guan, blue-capped tanager, yellow-breasted brushfinch, gray-browed brushfinch, and chestnut-capped brushfinch.

Andean Guan Andean Guan

Scarlet-Bellied Mountain Tanager Red-Bellied Mountain Tanager

We hiked up a steep adjacent hillside in search of the striking ocellated tapaculo.  Unlike the antpittas, the tapaculo failed to appear even after much calling by the local guides.  Hills are steeper at 10,000 feet than at sea level.

We stopped for lunch at the Mirador Guay Cap.  Excellent grilled steak and an incredible diversity of birds. The sugar feeders were set up within feet of our lunch table and the fruit feeders were not much further.  It rained the entire time we were dining, however, the bird activity was constant and overwhelming.  The patio area is covered so I was able to take hundreds of photos at very close range.  

The fruit feeders attracted golden-olive woodpecker, rufous motmot, collared aracari, crimson-rumped toucanet, red-headed barbet, bananaquit, summer tanager, thick-billed euphonia, bay-headed tanager, blue-gray tanager, palm tanager, white-lined tanager, flame-rumped tanager, golden tanager, golden-naped tanager, and blue-necked tanager. Wow!

Bay-Headed Tanager Bay-Headed Tanager

Black-Capped Tanager Black-Capped Tanager

Blue-Necked Tanager Blue-Necked Tanager

Collared Aracari Collared Aracari

Crinsom-Rumped Toucanet Crimson-Rumped Toucanet

Golden Tanager Golden Tanager

Red-Headed Barbet

Red-Headed Barbet

Hummingbirds were also numerous as they battled for dominance at the feeders.  I was able to photograph booted racket-tail, purple-throated woodstar, white-whiskered hermit, Andean emerald, white-necked jacobin, rufous-tailed hummingbird, green-crowned brilliant, and crowned woodnymph.

Booted Rackettail Booted Racket-Tail

Rufous-Tailed Hummingbird

Rufous-Tailed Hummingbird

Sparkling Violetear

Sparkling Violetear

Luis Panama, Becky and I Luis Panama, Becky and I.

We left the restaurant in a heavy downpour and drove a short distance to our next west Andean lodge (Sachatamia Lodge).  We choose to avoid the heavy afternoon rain and settle into our cozy cabin.  We enjoyed a nice dinner at the lodge and were introduced to the local custom of adding popcorn to our soup.  Better than it sounds.

Feb 6

We departed early for Refugio Aves de Paz.  This refuge is a private nature reserve founded by Angel Paz in 2005.  Angel pioneered the practice of training antpittas to come on a schedule to a call for earthworms.  Five species of antpitta are present on the preserve.  We were fortunate to photograph three antpitta species including the giant antpitta.

Giant Antpitta Giant Antpitta

Chestnut-Crowned Antpitta

Chestnut-Crowned Antpitta

Yellow-Breasted Antpitta Yellow-Breasted Antpitta

We photographed a number of species we had not previously seen in Ecuador including three-striped warbler, lyre-tailed nightjar, ornate flycatcher, toucan barbet, blue-winged mountain tanager, white-tipped dove, crested guan, flame-faced tanager, montane woodcreeper, rufous-breasted antthrush, giant antpitta, chestnut-crowned antpitta, yellow-breasted antpitta and smoky-brown woodpecker.

Blue-Winged Mountain Tanager  Blue-Winged Mountain Tanager

Toucan Barbet Toucan Barbet

Rufous-Breasted Antthrush Rufous-Breasted Antthrush

Flame-Faced Tanager Flame-Faced Tanager

Additional hummingbird species included velvet-purple coronet, brown inca, brown violetear, purple-bibbed whitetip, empress brilliant and speckled hummingbird. 

Empress Brilliant Empress Brilliant

Purple-Bibbed Whitetip

Purple-Bibbed Whitetip  

We were scheduled to also visit an Andean cock-of-the-rock lek on the reserve, however Luis opted to take us to an alternative location the next morning to photograph this amazing display. 

While driving back to the lodge for lunch Luis spotted a golden-headed quetzal.  I managed to get out along a busy highway and grab a few backlit shots of this fabulous trogon species.

Golden-Headed Quetzal Golden-Headed Quetzal 

If it was raining or we were seeing little bird activity Luis always knew another good place.  After lunch at Sachatamia Lodge it was once again raining.  This is a weather pattern that occurred regularly with clear morning and rainy afternoons.  After lunch Becky opted to rest at the resort while Luis and I drove about an hour to get to an elevation below the rain.  We drove some backroads and picked up a few new species including a masked water tyrant, laughing falcon, roadside hawk, and collared forest falcon.

Collared Forest Falcon

Collared Forest Falcon 

We returned to the lodge where the rain continued.  We picked up the now well rested Becky and dropped down to a lower elevation for a visit to the feeders at Sendero Family Tour (SFT).  These feeders were excellent and we encountered and photographed many new species.  In addition to the sugar and fruit feeders they also provided corn feeders.

At SFT we immediately spotted a hook-billed kite and a small flock of yellow-bellied siskin.  The fruit feeders attracted lineated woodpeckers as well as black-cheeked woodpecker and golden-olive woodpecker.  Other new species included black-winged saltator, buff-throated saltator, dusky-faced tanager, orange-billed sparrow, great antshrike, yellow-rumped cacique, red-billed scyebill, streak-headed woodcreeper, cinnamon becard, rusty margined flycatcher, and blue-black grassquit. 

Hook-Billed Kite

Hook-Billed Kite

Great Antshrike Great Antshrike

Lineated Woodpecker Lineated Woodpecker

Black-Winged Saltator Black-Winged Saltator

We also photographed a few new species of hummingbird including black-throated mango and long-billed starthroat.  Pretty amazing day of photography.

Black-Throated Mango Black-Throated Mango

Green Thorntail

Green Thorntail

Feb 7

We left well before daylight to allow travel time to our next photo venue (La Victoriana).  This location contains a large 15-60 bird lek of Andean cock-of-the-rock.  We walked over an hour in the dark to reach the lek before daylight.  As we approached the lek the noise of the displaying males was amazing.  They sounded like the squealing of dozens of pigs.  As the sky slightly lightened we began to see a dozen or more of the large beautiful coatingas calling and displaying.  What a treat.  Some were quite close and a few were even in open situations without intervening limbs. It was quite dark under the tree canopy.   I was shooting at very high ISO and still had ridiculously low shutter speeds.  I did ok on stationary birds, but had insufficient shutter speed to capture the wing flaps and side-shuffle dance of the display.  These displays last around an hour.  I never saw a female, but suspect a few may have been present based on the males behavior.

Andean Cock-of-the-Rock Andean Cock-of-the-Rock

Andean Cock-of-the-Rock

Andean Cock-of-the-Rock 

Luis shared how this venue had been developed.  The owner/operator lost her job in Quito due to the pandemic and returned to the family farm.  While out early one morning moving cows she happened upon the lek.  She mentioned it to a local birding guide who encouraged her to develop the site.  She cut over a mile of trail, added fencing to exclude cattle, and constructed a blind adjacent to the lek large enough to accommodate 12-15 photographers.  Ecotourism at work.

We traveled back to Sachatamia Lodge for lunch and shot the lodge feeders in the early afternoon. Even though it was still sprinkling, the birds were active.  Several hummingbird species were photographed including violet-tailed sylph, velvet-purple coronet, purple-bibbed whitetip, fawn-breasted brilliant, and purple-throated woodstar.

Violet-Tailed Sylph Violet-Tailed Sylph

Velvet-Purple Coronet Velvet-Purple Coronet

The fruit feeders were also active with several species observed including, choco toucan, bronze-winged parrot, black-capped tanager, blue-winged mountain tanager, dusky chlorospringus, chestnut-capped brushfinch, Ecuadorian thrush, and blue-capped tanager.

Choco Toucan Choco Toucan

Later that afternoon we drove to Bellavista Lodge, deep in the cloud forest.  Bellavista Lodge is one of the best known birding lodges in Ecuador.  On the drive up we encountered an earthworm in the road which was nearly 24 inches in length and 2 inches in diameter.  Becky was not a fan.  Bellavista Lodge is a former cattle ranch that has over the last 30+ years regenerated into mature cloud forest habitat.  We checked into our unit which was almost new and quite cozy.  We had a wall of glass opening onto the cloud forest and a small outdoor patio seating area.  I shot the fruit feeders near the lodge during the afternoon in the rain.  A few new and interesting species were present including crimson-mantled woodpecker, turquoise jay, glossy-black thrush, tricolored (choco) brushfinch, white-winged brushfinch, spectacled redstart.

Turquoise Jay Turquoise Jay

White-Winged Brushfinch White-Winged Brushfinch

Glossy-Black Thrush Glossy Black Thrush

After dinner we all congregated outside of the dining area and waited for a kinkajou to arrive at the bait station.  These nocturnal relatives of the raccoon have a prehensile tail and as we found out can be quite tame.  The kinkajou wove through the legs of the 20 observers gathered near the bait station and marched out onto the platform feeding station where he devoured several bananas.  An olinguito waited patiently well above the feeding platform for the kinkajou to depart.  Olinguitos were not discovered until 1963.

Kinkajou Kinkajou

Olinguito Olinguito 

We were getting ready for bed when Luis knocked on our door,  He had heard a black-and-white owl calling nearby.  I managed a few images by the light of Luis's flashlight.  Photography from before dawn to well after dark.

Black-and-White Owl Black-and-White-Owl

Feb 8

Bellavista Lodge has an excellent moth trap.  This moth trap was constructed of netting exposed to ultraviolet light all night.  By morning the netting is covered in insects, creating a banquet for insectivores birds.  The trap attracted strong-billed woodcreeper, masked trogon, cinnamon flycatcher,  white-tailed tyrannulet, white-faced nunbird, striped treehunter, golden-bellied flycatcher, pearled treerunner, blackburnian warbler, slate-throated redstart, gray-breasted wren, and white-shouldered tanager.  The adjacent fruit feeders attracted the gorgeous plate-billed mountain toucan, toucan barbet, and sickle-winged guan.  We spent the rainy afternoon driving and walking the lodge trails and roads without much to show for it.  After dinner I once again photographed the kinkajou at the feeding station.

Moth Trap

Moth Trap

Masked Trogon

Masked Trogon

Continued in Ecuador 2025 Part 2

Photos from Bella Vista Lodge continued

Plate-Billed Mountain Trogon Plate-Billed Mountain Trogon

Strong-Billed Woodcreeper Strong-Billed Woodcreeper

Cinnamon Flycatcher Cinnamon Flycatcher

Powerful Woodpecker

Powerful Woodpecker

White-Faced Nunbird

White-Faced Nunbird

Feb 9

Instead of working the moth trap a second morning, Luis took us to another spot he knew, the Mashpi Amagusa Reserve.  This reserve is located in an area of incredible diversity.  This location provides corn, fruit, and sugar feeders plus a moth trap.  It made for excellent photography.  This was the only venue on the trip where the birds came faster than my ability to photograph them.  New species included, golden-winged manakin, dark-backed wood-quail, white-throated quail-dove, fawn-breasted tanager, swallow tanager, black-striped sparrow, streak-capped treehunter, scaly-throated foliage-gleaner, bay wren, southern house wren, wedge-billed woodcreeper, dusky-capped flycatcher, slaty-capped flycatcher, cinnamon becard, moss-backed tanager, glistening-green tanager, golden-collared honeycreeper, black-chinned mountain tanager, rufous-throated tanager, black solitaire, variable seedeater, Andean solitaire, orange-breasted fruiteater, scaled fruiteater, rose-faced parrot, russet-crowned warbler, Zeldon's antbird, white-winged tanager, and ochre-breasted tanager.  I probably failed to record some of the species observed and certainly was unable to photograph every species Luis tried to point out.  We also saw two south american coati.  An amazing morning.

Glistening-Green Tanager Glistening-Green Tanager

Golden-Collared Honeycreeper Golden-Collared Honeycreeper

Golden-Naped Tanager Golden-Naped Tananger

Moss-Backed Tanager Moss-Backed Tanager

Dark-Backed Wood-Quail Dark-Backed Wood-Quail

Orange-Breasted Fruiteater

Orange-Breasted Fruiteater

White-Throated Quail-Dove White-Throated Quail-Dove

Rose-Faced Parrot Rose-Faced Parrot

Rufous-Throated Tanager Rufous-Throated Tanager

Zeldon's Antbird Zeldon's Antbird

Ornate Flycatcher Ornate Flycatcher

We headed back to Mirador Guay Cap for another excellent lunch and yet more bird photography.  After lunch we birded a few dry shrub habitats on the road back to Quito and the San Jose de Puembo Resort.  We picked up an American kestrel, golden grosbeak, hooded siskin, Harris hawk, tropical kingbird and plumbeous sierra finch.

Golden Grosbeak Golden Grosbeak

Feb 10

After a breakfast at the resort we headed toward the Antisana Ecological Reserve.  The Reserve is an area quite unlike any other we had visited it Ecuador.  The lower elevations of the reserve have a few low shrubs and trees, but as the elevation increased we entered open grassland with scattered low shrubs called paramo.  At elevation over 12,000 feet the reserve forms the foothills of the Antisana Volcano (18,870 feet) and is only 60 miles from Quito.  The reserve is considered one of the better places to observe Andean condor in Ecuador.

We spotted and then photographed an aplomado falcon close to the road. I was pretty excited as we had unsuccessfully searched for this small falcon in south Texas on numerous occasions.

Aplomado Falcon Aplomado Falcon

In the open grasslands we started picking up new species including, caniculated caracara, Andean lapwing, Andean (black-faced) ibis, chestnut-winged cincloides, stout-billed cincloides, tawny antpitta, paramo pipit, brown-backed chat-tyrant, white-collared swift, Andean gull, black-winged ground dove, and variable hawk.  We briefly hiked to Laguna Micacocha, a fair-sized lake where we had distant views of slaty coot, and Andean duck.

Canunculated Caracara Carunculated Caracara

Andean Gull

Andean Gull

Andean Ibis Andean Ibis

Tawny Antpitta

Tawny Antpitta

Stout-Billed Cinclodes

Stout-Billed Cinclodes

The clouds briefly parted and we had distant views of the snow covered, 18,870 foot Antisana Volcano.  Becky spotted some movement in the tall grasses.  After a lengthy search we saw a pair of ear tips in the grass.  We waited for the creature to further expose itself.  Just as we were about to give up and move on I remembered that I had my varmint call (never leave home without it) in my backpack.  I gave it a few squeals and not one, but two Andean fox stood up and gave us some solid eye contact.

Andean Fox Andean Fox

Antisana Reserve was at one time a large cattle ranch.  We saw numerous wild horses, cattle, white-tailed deer, and llama which remain on the reserve and provide a food source for the Andean condor. 

We headed back down the mountain and located the striking Ecuadorian hillstar, many-striped canastero, and hooded siskin.

Ecuadorian Hillstar

Ecuadorian Hillstar

Many-Striped Canastero Many-Striped Canastero 

Our next stop was the Isco Lookout where we had very distant views of the Andean condors on the cliff face across the canyon.  This condor has a wingspan of over 10 feet and can weigh up to 33 pounds. I took a few images, but the distances were just too great for anything other than a documentation shot.

Andean Condor Andean Condor

We stopped for lunch at Tambor Condor and photographed the giant hummingbird, the largest hummingbird in the world!  Also present were shining sunbeam, Tyrian metaltail, and cinereous conebill.

Giant Hummingbird

Giant Hummingbird

Shining Sunbeam Shining Sunbeam

Tyrian Metaltail Tyrian Metaltail 

At lunch we joined a lecture on spectacled bear ecology with a large group of young American students.

After lunch we traveled over the Papallacta Pass to the Gurango Lodge on the eastern slope of the Andes.  We spent a few hours searching the roads within the Cayambe-Coca National Park but were unable to locate the spectacled bears occasionally found here.

Feb 11

At Gurango Lodge we had great views of the river from our unit's back deck.  The lodge has a moth trap and associated blind a few feet from the main lodge.  I used a flash and was able to get a few decent images of green jay, mountain wren, mountain cacique, and rufous collared sparrow as they came in to pick insects off the trap netting.

Green Jay Green Jay

Mountain Cacique Mountain Cacique

I was keen to photograph the rufous-bellied seedsnipe which occurs at high elevations, so after breakfast we drove to the end of the road above Papallacta Pass at an elevation of 14,000 feet.  The vegetation is low, tundra type with a diversity of mosses.  Luis headed uphill and I went downhill in search of these grouse-sized seedsnipe.  After about 30 minutes Luis called and indicated that he had located a pair close to the road.  I huffed and puffed back up the hill and eventually arrived breathlessly as the birds slowly feed along the road with the high elevation Andes as a background.  After a few hundred photos we worked back down the the road, picking up an Andean tit-spinetail, and white-throated tyrannulet.

Rufous-Bellied Seedsnipe Rufous-Bellied Seedsnipe

Andean Tit-Spinetail

Andean Tit-Spinetail 

After lunch at the lodge we hiked the river trails in search of the torrent duck.  We eventually found a male torrent duck perched on a large rock mid-river.   These ducks are powerful swimmers and easily negotiate the river rapids. Further search failed to find the female torrent duck or the white-capped dipper which also is found in this habitat.  

Torrent Duck Torrent Duck

I spent the overcast, rainy afternoon attempting to photograph hummingbirds in the rain.  I had some luck and picked up a few interesting hummingbird species including tourmaline sunangel, white-bellied woodstar, collared inca, viridian metaltail, and long-tailed sylph.

White-Bellied Woodstar White-Bellied Woodstar

Viridian Metaltail

Viridian Metaltail

Feb 12

We spent the morning in the moth trap blind capturing more images of the same species we observed on Feb 11.  After breakfast Luis found a road above the town of Papallacta with many fruiting trees.  Along this road, I photographed plain-colored seedeater, chestnut-bellied chat-tyrant, pearled treerunner, rufous wren, golden-crowned tanager, northern slaty brushfinch, pale-naped brushfinch, spectacled redstart, rufous-breasted chat-tyrant, supercilliaried hemispingus, buff-breasted mountain tanager, blue-backed conebill, red-creasted cotinga, and Lacrimose mountain tanager.  A very good road!  It was also a reminder that shooting over feeders is much easier than trying to get good images of small birds feeding in dense brush.

Blue-Backed Conebill Blue-Backed Conebill

Buff-Breasted Mountain Tanager

Buff-Breasted Mountain Tanager

Golden-Crowned Tanager Golden-Crowned Tanager

Lacrimose Mountain Tanager Lacrimose Mountain Tanager

We had a late lunch and headed to Rio Quitos Lodge, our next East Andean lodge.  We stopped along the way at Concierta de las Aves, which was a newer photo/birding venue where the landowner was in the process of reforestation.  New species here included smooth-billed ani, chestnut-breasted coronet, barred becard, orange-bellied euphonia, tawny-bellied hermit, violet-fronted brilliant, green-backed hillstar, and torrent tyrrannulet.  On the Rio Quito access road we saw a pair of Andean motmot.

Barred Becard

Barred Becard

Chestnut-Breasted Coronet Chestnut-Breasted Coronet

Yellow-Bellied Euphonia Orange-Bellied Euphonia

Tawny-Bellied Hermit Tawny-Bellied Hermit

Feb 13

Rio Quitos Lodge is at a much lower elevation (4,900 feet) than our previous locations.  We had a drizzly morning at the Rio Quitos feeders.  Pretty slow with hordes of russet-backed oropendola cleaning out the fruit and driving other species away.  A few scarlet-rumped cacique, and Swainson's thrush braved the oropendolas for scraps.  As Rio Quito was unproductive, Luis took as about an hour away to another ecolodge where we  photographed gorgeted woodstar, collared inca, long-tailed sylph, bronze-green euphonia, olive-backed woodcreeper, chestnut-breasted coronet, and bronzy inca.  A Peruvian rackettail was seen briefly by Luis, but it eluded me.

  Goregeted Woodstar

Gorgeted Woodstar (Note the beads of water on his crown)

Swainson's Thrush Swainson's Thrush

Collared Inca Collared Inca

Summer Tanager Summer Tanager

We drove back to Rio Quitos for lunch and worked the lodge trails most of the afternoon.  We managed to find a pair of torrent ducks, green kingfisher, smoky-brown woodpecker, blackburnian warbler, cerulean warbler, solitary eagle, and black phoebe.

Smoky-Brown Woodpecker

Smoky-Brown Woodpecker

Feb 14

We left Rio Quito Lodge early the next morning and drove about 4 hours to Cocoa in the low elevation Amazon.  Along the way we observed a few new species including cliff flycatcher, yellow-headed caracara, crested oropendola, white-throated toucan, greater ani, and white-winged swallow.  

Cliff Flycatcher Cliff Flycatcher

Yellow-Headed Caracara Yellow-Headed Caracara

Cocoa is somewhat of a boomtown as this portion of the Amazon contains many oilfields.  We caught our boat at the city dock and said goodbye to Luis.  We were transported in a long, narrow motor boat about three hours down the Napo River to Sani Lodge. The Napo River is a major tributary to the Amazon River.  The width of the river varied from as little as 600 yards to over a 1,000 yards with many in-channel islands and sand bars.  Although we were frequently close to the bank, no birds, or other wildlife were seen on the ride to the the Lodge landing. 

Sani Lodge Transport Motorized Canoe Used for Napo River Travel

Sani Lodge is 100% owned by the Sani community which are part of the Kichuwa indigenous culture.  Our guide Carlos belongs to the Sani community and seemed to be somehow related to nearly everyone we met.  We also met Maxie, our guide in training.  From the Sani Lodge landing we had a 15 minute walk along an elevated walkway to the backchannel where our small non-motorized canoes awaited. It was very quickly apparent that we were no longer in the Andes.  The Amazon was hot and humid.

The Lodge is located on an off-channel oxbow lake.  On our way to the Lodge, Carlos spotted a two-toed sloth, crimson-crested woodpecker, white-winged swallow, long-legged bats, and the unique creme-colored woodpecker.  While Becky unpacked, I checked out the lodge.  I saw a green-backed trogon and photographed the greater kiskadee, lesser kiskadee, red-capped cardinal, and pale vented pigeon.

Long-Legged Bat  

Long-Legged Bat

Red-Capped Cardinal Red-Capped Cardinal

Carlos and Maxie met us for an evening bird adventure.  They first took us to a trail near the perimeter of the camp where they had spotted a pair of roosting crested owls.  This was a species I had hoped to photograph.  However, the vegetation was dense and the birds were strongly backlit.  No problem , Maxie whipped out his machete and cut a path through the jungle to a location that allowed much better photography.  Off to a great start.  We picked up a troop of squirrel monkeys near some of the lodge cabins.

Crested Owl Creasted Owl

Squirrel Monkey Squirrel Monkey

We loaded into one of the canoes and explored one of the small streams.  I was able to photograph spot-breasted woodpecker, blue-and-yellow macaw, cocoa heron, and a hoatzin.  The hoatzin is a primitive bird that retains its wing claws like its reptilian ancestors.  They appear clumsy and are very noisy.  We made it back to the lodge by sunset and enjoyed dinner and drinks in the open air restaurant.  The lodge was busy but, we were the only birders.  A Danish family of five and British and Australian couples made it an international meal.

Blue-and-Yellow Macaw Blue-and-Yellow Macaw

Continued in Ecuador 2025 Part 3