We were again up fairly early, meeting on the terrace at 6am to enjoy a simple moth trap set up to entice a variety of birds in for their breakfast. It was certainly effective, and there was an immediate frenzy of birds buzzing before our eyes. Woodcreepers were amongst the first to arrive, with both Strong-billed and Montane Woodcreepers seen, dropping down to grab a moth, or clinging tenaciously to the trunk of a tree.
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| Montane Woodcreeper |
The terrace looked down over an area of scrub and low vegetation, and here we saw Blue-winged Mountain Tanagers, Dusky Chlorospingus and White-winged Brushfinch moving through the bushes. Up in the canopy of some taller trees at the back, we caught frequent glimpses of Blackburnian Warbler, Tropical Parula, and White-tailed Tyrannulet. On some mossy branches arranged across two wooden posts, we noted Black-headed Tanager and Yellow billed Euphonia coming down to feed. A Tropical Kingbird posed on a post, whilst a Golden-bellied Flycatcher landed on a nearby branch, enabling us to note the differences in plumage of these superficially similar birds. A Smoky Pewee made regular forays from a curved horizontal branch, pausing to rest in between each sortie. A Golden Tanager was present here too.
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| White-winged Brushfinch |
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| Golden-bellied Flycatcher |
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| Smoky Pewee |
On the hummingbird feeders in front of the terrace we found three new hummers - Buff-tailed Coronet, revealing rich, buffy underwings as it hovered to feed, the tiny Western Emerald, with females showing a distinctive white stripe behind the eye, and the stunning Velvet-purple Coronet, looking dark in poor light, but in sunshine displaying a dazzling shimmer of purple, turquoise and green. This was possibly my favourite hummer. Elsewhere, a female Violet-tailed Sylph, minus the long trailing tail of the male, was nevertheless a beautiful bird.
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| Violet-tailed Sylph, f |
Looking beyond the feeders, to a large tree behind, a young Shiny Cowbird caused some confusion, and Roberto's assistance was needed to convince us this was nothing of more interest. An Ecuadorean Thrush also appeared here, not the most exciting of birds, but the yellow bill and orange eye ring clinching its identification.
After a strenuous couple of days since leaving the UK, we opted to spend a leisurely morning on the terrace, enjoying the comings and goings of these different species, and studying our guidebooks and checklists to catch up on what we'd seen so far. Looking out across the valley, the scenery was magnificent, with grey, wispy clouds drifting between the mountain slopes lit up by glorious sunshine. Several raptors drifted across during the morning, including a Black Vulture, Roadside Hawk and a probable Hook-billed Kite, plus a delightful Swallow-tailed Kite, drifting across in a leisurely fashion.
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| Balcony birding! |
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| Black Vulture |
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| Swallow-tailed Kite (Roberto de Cedeno) |
Eventually we took a slow walk up the road from the hotel. The birding here was slow, with the sun now hot in the sky, but we slowly added a few species, with Streaked Tuftedcheek probably our best sighting, flying overhead several times as it crossed the narrow road between the trees.
After lunch we drove to nearby Bellavista in an unsuccessful search for a Plate-billed Mountain Tanager. However, we were all wowed by stonking views of a pair of Beryl-spangled Tanagers, absolute stunners with sparkling blue laced plumage, busy moving around amongst some vines and a moss dripping tree.
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| Beryl-spangled Tanager |
We took a walk towards the Bellavista Lodge, where Tony has stayed many years previously. On our way we heard a Chestnut Crowned Antpitta calling very close, but failed to locate it. After a drink at the Bellavista, we set off back towards our lodge. Then Roberto heard a Glossy-black Thrush singing from a nearby tree, and scrambling up the bank we all managed to spot it perched on a high branch, looking rather like a large Blackbird, with an orange bill and eye ring. And finally, at the top of another tree we spotted a Blue capped Tanager, giving a tally for the day of over 45 species.
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