Ecuador Hummingbird Photo Safari 2011 (Part 5)

Note from Kevin: The text for our Hummingbird Photo Safari trip report was written by Lukas Padegimas, an intern invited to join our trip which took place in August 2011.

A distant Red-crested Cotinga

Today we left Septimo Paraiso to travel East leaving all the Ornate Flycatchers, Green-crowned Woodnymphs, and Violet-tailed Sylphs behind. On the way, we passed the equator, saw some of Quito, and viewed “the highest point from the center of the earth”… Volcán Chimborazo. We sometimes find ourselves surrounded by vistas of farmland and grazing land cut into the mountainous landscape, finding many Great Thrushes in the fields. Elsewhere, there were few remnants of forest.

At about 12,000 feet in elevation, we reached the main water intake area of the City of Quito – a mountain stream from which the water is canaled through a massive pipe. The surrounding area is shrubby with fragments of forest. We entered the gate of the park with the city of Quito as a distant backdrop. Here we saw several Red-crested Cotingas with their crests up. Perhaps an even more remarkable sight was the bright reds of the Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanagers as the Cotingas chased them away from their perches. A Giant Hummingbird called and a few of us got to see it feeding on some red flowers moments later. The way Giant Hummingbirds fly is more similar to swifts than other hummers and this species’ utilization of less energy perhaps helps them survive in these cold areas.

View from Papallacta Psss

We continued into Spectacled Bear Country – though the only Spectacled Bears we saw were the ones painted onto the bear crossing sign. The remnants of forest began to fade into shrubbery which in turn became the alpine tundra. Luckily, few clouds permeated the sky overhead. So far, we had been lucky: warm days and little rain everywhere we went. We passed through Papallacta Pass, where on both sides, we saw huge rock outcroppings attached to towering peaks. The air turned cooler as we went farther up. We reached a place with a radio station – sitting over 14,000 ft above sea level and being the highest point we would visit on this trip.

Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe

Paramo Ground-Tyrant

The alpine region is filled with lakes – lakes of the same bright blue hue as those of the Northern Arctic. A lone Andean Teal swam along the edge of such a lake far below us. As we are getting out of the bus, a Carunculated Caracara flew several meters below us. We went up to the peak in search of the elusive Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe. After about a half an hour, a ranger at the sight pointed one out on the hill below the parking area. The quail-like creature wanders around the plethora of browns and greens of this cooler climate – blending in perfectly. Another Caracara flew by and a Black-chested Buzzard Eagle put on a brief show before hiding behind the expanse of mountains to the south.

The snow-covered peak of Antisana can be seen from the road to the pass on a clear day.

We slowly made our way down to an elevation of about 8600 ft at Guango Lodge. The mountains once again became covered by lush green cloud forest. Unlike in the West, the air seems much more humid. Waterfalls cascade thousands of feet down into white rapids in the mountain valleys. A few farms and cleared pastures are seen off the road, but the land is mostly forest. The rock outcroppings are overgrown with greenery and the scene continues forever. Upon arriving at Guango, we settled into our rooms. The lodge was small, but the scenery was magnificent.

Chestnut-breasted Coronet

White-bellied Woodstar

Sword-billed Hummingbird

Though the lodge is located right off a “major” road, the lodge appears part of the natural world. The feeders attracted numerous hummingbirds including: Speckled Hummingbirds, Fawn-breasted Brilliants, Chestnut-breasted Coronets, and of course, numerous Sword-billed Hummingbirds. We also saw our first Long-tailed Sylphs, now that we were on the east slope. Despite a slight rain, the photographers continued to snap away, while some of the others went to explore the trails.

One of the trails went along a river filled with rapids flowing at a steep angle. The water appears white and pure as it cascades down the slope. All around are tall waterfalls that cut through the mountain forests and join the river. This is my favorite spot in the world. The water will flow through the Oriente and eventually join the Amazon from where it will reach the Atlantic Ocean. The journey of this water is astounding. Life echoes from the river. At the end of the day, we all had warm showers and a wonderful dinner. Everyone by far considered this the most wonderful place to stay.