Birding the Americas Trip
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ECUADOR
Mid-October - Mid-November 2002
by Robert Higbee
From mid October to mid November 2002 my wife and I took a birding trip
throughout
Ecuador in a rented 2WD car. We didn’t see much over 400
species,
perhaps because of very frequent rain (it’s evidently an El Nino
year),
perhaps because we don’t use tapes, and probably also because we’re not
as
good as the best birders. However, we do have some information
which
I think is worth passing on; much of the information in Wheatley’s
Where
To Watch Birds in South America needs to be updated, and in particular
we
can provide advice to anyone interested in doing Ecuador by rented
car.
Every site mentioned here, unless otherwise noted, was reached by 2WD
car
(a Suzuki Forza for the first half, a VW Golf for the second) without
serious
problems.
Expenses:
Gas for the Suzuki (Extra) was about $1.10 per gallon (not liter). The
VW
required unleaded Super, which was about $1.60. In the north we
spent
about $30 for 20 days; distances were longer in the south, so we spent
more.
Hotels averaged #14 for two people (habitacion con cama matrimonial),
ranging
from $4 to $25, not counting lodges which are much higher. Since
hotels
always had loud roosters, dogs and people even in the middle of the
night,
we sometimes slept in the car. It was uncomfortable and too cold
at
higher elevations (we should’ve had sleeping bags), but then we
didn’t
sleep well in hotels either and had to pay for them. We had one
restaurant
meal a day, usually almuerzo just after noon, and that cost from $1 to
$4
per person, averaging $2.50. Very little variety in restaurant
food,
and few vegetables. In addition we spent about $1 per person per
day
on fruit, bottled water, bread and liquid yogurt, which were all
readily
available and which we supplemented with nuts and dried fruit brought
from
home. We thus averaged about $25 or less per day for the
two
of us, not counting the entrances fees for national parks ($10 per
person)
and other reserves. The car rental from Budget cost a bit under
$50
per day, including high tax and obligatory insurance.
Roads were usually potholed and sometimes unpaved but bearable.
The following information is based on Wheatley,
starting
at p. 210.
MINDO and Mindo Rd
I wouldn’t take the road through Nono except for Yanacocha (see
below),
since there’s now a good paved highway. From the airport (where
the
Budget office is) turn R (N) on Ave la Prensa, from which the easiest
route
is to take a L at the first light on Ave la Florida, take it up to its
end
at Ave Occidental, a big divided road, turn R (N) & follow
Occidental
to a big traffic circle, go three quarters of the way around and turn N
on
the road (small toll) to Mitad del Mundo. Go straight
through
Mitad; at a traffic circle continue straight then soon
curve
L toward Calacali, then just stay on this highway. Just E
of
kilometer marker (KM) 43 is El Pahuma Orchid Preserve, $2 p.p., with
trails
and Cock of the Rock. Just past KM 52 and a bridge a dirt road
goes
L (S) up the TANDAYAPA VALLEY—the best area, we thought. The
cheapest
place to stay would be nearby in Nanegalito, on the highway, not
a
very good place.
We stayed at El Paraiso del Pescador for $20
(though
they wanted to charge $30). Farther up the valley is a tiny store
and
here the old road to Quito via Nono (unpaved) goes off to the L; the
first
part of this road (but not the rest, we thought) goes through some
country
that looked birdy. If you go straight at the store rather than
turning
you come in less than 1 K to the unmarked entrance drive on the R
to
Tandayapa Lodge. You can hike their extensive trails for $5
pp
and watch at their hummer feeders for another $5. About 15
species
at the feeders including the only Booted Racket-tail we saw.
Didn’t
see much on the trails; in general we didn’t do very well birding
inside
forest. If you continue on up the valley past the lodge
driveway
you come after 3 K or so to unspoilt forest and soon after it starts
the
first(?) big curve to the L; we saw Cock of the Rock and heard Toucan
Barbet
near here. If you drive on up you come to Bellavista Lodge.
Our
best birding was the area above the lodge, including just over
the
ridgetop and on the side road to the R signed to a scientific
station.
Birds seen only here included Ocellated Tapaculo and (on the
science
station road) Tanager Finch, both seen only because we were with
someone
who played tapes, and Plate-billed Mtn-toucan, Rufous-headed
Pygmy-tyrant,
Yellow-bellied Chat-tyrant, etc.
To reach MINDO it’s quickest to go back down to the highway and
continue
W Just past KM 78 the road to Mindo goes off to the L
(S)
After you go down about 1 K there’s a level area with a pulloff on the
L;
we saw a good flock here once and heard Toucan Barbet here and about 1
K
farther Continue straight when you come to Mindo and you come to
a
plaza. At its NW corner (first on the R) is a helpful
information
office. Take the street E from this office to its end and
there’s
an office on your R where you can arrange to stay in a cabin on
the
river belonging to the Centro de Educacion Ambiental which gives access
to
good trails. At the SE corner of the plaza take the street S then
E
to the Casa Amarilla where you can pay to hike trails through extensive
forest;
we didn’t see much there, though if we’d hiked farther, up the mountain
past
the area covered by their map we would’ve reached a better area.
Their
map is confusing because you have to hike 1 K or so before you come to
where
the map begins. Also from the plaza you can continue S from the
SW
corner, curving R soon, and follow the poor but drivable road till you
come
to a bridge over a fair-sized river (not the one you ford). Just
before
this bridge turn L and in about 4 K you come to a cablecar which takes
you
across the river (there1s a bridge beside it which is locked but can be
climbed
onto) to the CEA c cabins and trails.. We paid $16 for one night at the
cabins.
Didn’t see much on the lower trails and were rained out here, but got a
good
look at Sunbittern on the river near the cabins. The best trail
is
evidently the one on the ridgetop, to the Cascadas. You can reach
it
by hiking up from the CEA cabins, or you can go back to the bridge
mentioned
above and instead of turning L continue (probably on foot; it didn’t
look
drivable by 2WD)across the bridge, up the hill, then R, and follow this
track.
It’s at least 2 – 3 K to good bird forest, but it was worth it.
This
was the only place we saw Toucan Barbets (fairly far up; continue
straight
where the first path goes R to Cascada) and Club-winged Manakin
(farther
on up).
Also near Mindo we visited hummingbird feeders at a restaurant
W
of the town center about 2 K and at Mindo Lindo, on the R (N) side of
them
main highway a short distance W of the Mindo turnoff; this latter was
the
only place we saw Velvet-purple Coronet. PS: We recommend against
staying
at the Flor del Valle hostal. We met a local guide named Julia (J
pronounced
like H) who seemed good, though she didn’t speak English.
Highway
WEST OF MINDO:
Pipeline construction
parallel
to the highway and just N of it has destroyed some bird places. The
place
where we saw the most is reached by going 10 K W of the western
entrance
to Pedro Vicente Maldonado, a bit past KM l25; turn R (N) on an unpaved
road.
The best area was at the bottom of the first slope, at the first
stream,
before the pipeline; this was the only place where we saw
Scarlet-breasted
Dacnis and Scarlet-browed Tanager. There are some wooded patches
several
km farther up this road; the river it crosses was fordable by our car.;
keep
L after fording. There was also a little woods left on a road N
from
the highway about 2 K E of San Miguel de los Bancos. We also
tried
Finca 106.5, which is a bit farther W than 106.5, on the S side
of
the highway, marked only by a small sign. There’s a tiny,
dangerous
pulloff. No house is visible, but there’s a trail to it. Felipe
Quiroz,
the owner, charged us $5 pp and accompanied us through his woods, which
was
good though we didn’t see much.
YANACOCHA—We
didn’t go here; the road didn’t look
passable
by 2WD, and it was raining. To get to this place go to the
traffic
circle mentioned above N of Quito airport where the Mitad del Mundo
highway
starts and go S on Ave Occidental (you have to be on the southbound
side
of the road for about 2 K till you find a road R with a small sign to
Nono
(you may have to ask to find it) and follow that steep cobblestone road
up
quite a distance till you come to the dirt road on the L signed
to
Yanacocha.
SAN
LORENZO RD—There is a new paved highway through
the
NW area Wheatley describes under El Placer, but as usual highways mean
deforestation;
we found the accessible areas disappointing. The highway
begins
near Salinas N of Ibarra; the junction is well-marked. It’s 92 K
to
Lita and l56 to San Lorenzo. We found some woods 11 and 16
K
W of Lita and starting at 35 K W of Lita. They say you can walk
the
railroad from Alto Tambo to El Placer, but it was very muddy walking
and
deforested as far as we tried. 15 K E of San Lorenzo a new paved
highway
goes S 150 K to Esmeraldas. Soon after this, about 10 K E of San
L,
1 K E of the road to Mataje, just E of an INEFAN station on the R (N) a
dirt
track goes N through some pretty good woods. Among the birds seen
only
here were Rufous-winged Tanager, Pied Puffbird, Western White-tailed
Trogon,
and a glimpse of a probable Black-tipped Cotinga.
Other
places N of Quito: We didn’t get to El ANGEL,
but
met someone who saw Condor there. Near IBARRA we found Laguna
Yaguarcocha
degraded and saw no grebes, but the driveway in to Hosteria Chorlavi
just
S of Ibarra was very birdy. S of here we drove W up to Laguna
Cuicocha
via Cotacachi and found the Silvery Grebe here.
PASOCHOA—Reached
from Sangolqui, which is SE of
Quito
on the road from Pifo S to the Panamericana S of Quito. S
from
Sangolqui on this road after you pass the turn W to Amaguana,
just
S of a sports field on the W, turn E up a cobbled road and pass
just
to the R of a blue-trimmed white church (visible from the main
road
you turned from). Stick with this rough cobbled road, generally
going
as straight ahead as you can; it ends at Pasochoa Reserve, $7 pp.
This
was the only place we saw Sword-billed Hummer. They said they had
nesting
condors up at the top of a 5-hr trail , but we didn’t have the 10 hrs
necessary
for the round trip.
COTOPAXI—To go S from Quito
airport follow the directions above to Ave
Occidental
but U-turn and take it S; it leads into the Panamericana
eventually.
The road into Cotopaxi from the Panamericana was adequately signed but
very
bumpy. Fee $10 pp. They said there’d been no condors in the
area
recently, and the upper slopes of the mountain (40 K or so from the
highway)
were badly overpastured and not worth the drive. The last few K
of
the road up were too bad for a low-bottomed car, and it was too windy
to
hold binoculars steady and damned cold and we were feeling the altitude
too
much to try hiking up for birds, so we saw almost nothing. The
view
of the mountaintop was beautiful, though.
LAGO DE
COLTA—Right beside the Panamericana just S
of
Santiago de Quito, S of Cajabamba; there’s a road along the S side that
gets
bearer to reeds, though we didn’t see Doradito. Some degradation,
but
birds still there; the only place we saw Yellow-billed pintail and
Andean
Lapwing.
PAPALLACTA—To
go E from Quito airport turn L (S) on
Ave
la Prensa coming out past the Budget office and then soon
fork
L onto Ave Amazonas. After ten blocks or less, turn L on Ave Rio
Coca
and follow it to its end at Ave Eloy Alfaro, where you turn R, go half
a
block and turn L onto Ave Bolivar, signed to Cumbaya, Tumbaco, and/or
Pifo.
Follow the signs through these 3 suburbs. (Just W of Pifo there’s
a
highway going N to the Panamericana N of Quito and a bit E of
Pifo
the highway going S past the Pasochoa turn and eventually to the
Panamericana.)
From Pifo it’s up all the way to Papallacta Pass. At the
pass
the new paved highway crossed the old unpaved one, which is drivable
and
worth birding in both directions. If you turn L (N) onto it you
come
immediately to another unpaved road to the R; this goes all the way up
to
some radio towers where others have seen seedsnipe (we tried and
failed);
we saw quite a few alpine birds along this road, which was
drivable.
A recent eruption nearby coated this area in ashes and it may no longer
be
so good.
About 1 K E of the pass on the new road, before the park
building,
there’s a trail on the L (N) marked by a small sign. Both times
we
tried this we saw Giant Conebill and Tawny Ant-pitta, etc.
Several
K on E the pavement ends and there’s a reservoir. The unpaved
road
along its N side and the main road just E of it were good for birds,
especially
hummers; this was the only place we saw Shining Sunbeam and
Buff-breasted
and Black-chested Mtn-Tanagers. Just before you come into the
village
of Papallacta (few facilities) a road goes N up to a valley where the
Termas
(hot springs ) are. The first hotel on the R as you enter the
valley
($20) had a pasture behind it where you could walk up and look at the
hillside
bushes, which had birds including Tufted Tit-tyrant. We didn't
try
the area above the springs but hear they have good birds. Most of
the
bird locations in Wheatley we couldn’t find.
SAN RAFAEL
FALLS—This area is close to the volcano
that
erupted and may not be much good now; it was good for tanager flocks
and
Cock of the Rock when we visited. Just before the bridge and a
billboard
there’s a drivable track down to a military post where you get
permission
(and may have to pay) and from where the trail starts. There are no
hotels
near but just N of the bridge past the Falls turnoff on the L (W)
there’s
a swimming place which rented us a room for the night.
S OF BAEZA—The
road is pretty bad till Huacamayo Ridge and there are no
hotels
between Baeza and Archidona, so we had to stay at San Isidro Lodge,
which
is good for birds but beyond our budget. Going S from Baeza we
saw
our only Torrent Ducks on the river. The San Isidro road
(unpaved)
goes R (W) off the main road (unpaved) 1 K N of Cosanga (few
facilities;
restaurants); there’s a sign at the turn for SierrAzul, which you can
only
get to by reserving horses. The road in to SI had tanager flocks,
etc,
and SI had hummer feeders and trails (muddy) in forest. S
of
Cosanga we were told there’s a trout farm, I think with a sign and a
gate,
where you can see birds on their trails. 7 K S of Cosanga you
come
to the top of Huacamayo Ridge. There are stairs up to a house by
the
radio tower on the W side of the road here and a trail into the woods
from
the house. Every time we saw this area it was either in clouds or
rain,
so we didn’t bird it. S from the ridgetop there’s good forest
along
the road, which is more or less paved from here on.
LORETO RD—We
checked out the first l8 K and found it
almost
wholly deforested. 3 K from the Baeza-Archidona road there’s a small
pulloff
just before the pulloff to a house at a curve—both of these on the R
(S)
and from the pulloff a very steep rocky path goes down into forested
stream
valley. We saw our only Fiery-throated Fruit-eater here, soon
after
reaching the trees. I wouldn’t recommend going very far on
the
Loreto road; when we took a bus along it we were stuck in the mud both
times
for many hours.
The ORIENTE—The
only place we went here was YUTURI
LODGE,
with stops en route at Yarina Lodge. Rain prevented us from doing
much
birding, but in the short time we had at Yuturi we did see some good
birds,
especially Black-necked Red-cotinga, thanks to the guide Jaime Grefa,
who
also enabled us to see Blue and yellow Macaw, etc. Yuturi has no
tower,
but it’s somewhat cheaper and the cotinga was one we especially wanted
to
see. Yarina is too close to Coca to have as many of the best
birds,
but it does have a tower and a good birder could no doubt see some good
birds
there. We didn’t see much during the long ride down the Rio Napo,
but
there were a few birds. It’d be desirable to sit in the front of
the
boat.
RIO
PALENQUE—Old-growth wood good, but we
didn’t
see much, perhaps because it was late in the day. Another place
you
could try for old –growth , one which doesn’t cost $5 pp per day, is LA
PERLA,
which is just S of La Concordia on the W side of the highway from Santo
Domingo
to Esmeraldas ( and thus not too far if you bird W from Mindo).
Follow
the main path through the banana plantation to a gate, cross the
grass
to a gate in the fence around the forest, and there’s a trail into good
forest
(where it’s hard not to get lost). The best bird we saw here was
Rufous-fronted
Wood quail; not too much more.
EL CAJAS—Not
Las Cajas. From downtown
Cuenca
go W on Ave Mariscal Lamar (parallel to Gran Colombia, which is one-way
E-
bound; it’s the one you return on) till it ends at the avenue which
circles
around the city. Turn L, go a couple of blocks and take the first
important
road to the R; this is the highway (paved) up to El Cajas; a sign says
it
goes to Jardin de Cajas. After about 10 K there’s a small dirt road
(with
a small sign ) going down on the L to Lago Llaviuco, 2 ½
bumpy
K to a gate where you must pay the park fee ($10 pp) or show your
receipt
if you paid at L. Toreadora. There was some good woods
here.
From the turnoff for this road it’s 19 K up to the ranger station on
the
R above Laguna Toreadora, where they also want you to pay a fee if you
walk
their trails. No sign here, but the buildings and lake are
visible.
From the ranger station you can take stairs down to a polylepis grove
on
the L; we saw quite a few birds in and around this early in the
morning,
including Giant Conebill and Violet-throated Metaltail. Titlike
Dacnis
we saw nearby in lone polylepis trees. Other people said they saw
condor
at Cajas; we didn’t.
GUALACEO RD—Not
connected to the new highway S of
Azogues;
after you’ve crossed the river S of Azogues take the first R (W), go a
short
distance and you reach the old Panamericana. Turn R and
follow
this till you go under the new highway, then turn R onto the road to
Gualaceo.
Go straight through Gualaceo and on the E edge of town fork R onto an
overpass
which goes L. In a short distance fork L and you’re on the road
over
the mountains. Pavement stops here and the road is slow. It
was
at least 23 K to the top and the good forest was on the E side.
There
were a few tiny stores and one place which claimed it sometimes served
trout,
but almost no facilities. We wanted to be there early, so we
spent
the night in our car; it was quite cold. Despite rain we saw some
birds
here that we didn’t see elsewhere, including Gold-crowned Tanager and
Sepia-brown
Wren.
S OF CUENCA—There
was some bushy scrub left
along
the highway, where we saw our only Giant Hummer and Green-tailed
Trainbearer.
LOJA-ZAMORA
RD—This road is paved and goes along
Podocarpus
NP as it crosses the mountain, though you can’t see much
(especially
since rain and cloud seemed likely) till you come to the San Francisco
ranger
station on the R,23 or 24 K from Loja. They have some trails and
said
White-capped Tanager was fairly regular there. The only bit of
old
road with forest we saw was 29 K from Loja on the R; the old road
on
the L didn’t look good. The San Francisco Biology Station is 31 K
from
Loja and the power station at 33 ½, both on the R.
Sabanilla
village is 34 K from Loja. There’s plenty of forest on down
the
valley; not much access to it, but we did see an Umbrellabird fly over.
PODOCARPUS
NP; BOMBUSCARO—Zamora is 59 K from
Loja.
When you enter it stay on the same road, which circles around L
of
the city, until just past the bus terminal you come to a traffic circle
where
you turn R then fork R again and you’re on the (unpaved) road to the
park.
3.3 K along this road you come to a finca belonging to a Belgian who
welcomes
birders. He has a trail (a gate on the R just past his driveway)
where
he’ll let birders hike up into woods, and the main road past his farm
is
lined with Inga trees which attract birds. We saw our only Wire-crested
Thorntails
here, among other birds. In the park itself we hiked straight
ahead
parallel to the river; we saw Umbrellabird early on this trail,
Cock
of the Rock later and White-breasted Parakeet farther up. More
rain.
Hotel Chonta Dorada in Zamora was OK.
PODOCARPUS:
CAJANUMA—To go S from Loja start at the
traffic
circle where the roads to Zamora and Cuenca begin and go S (or W
first?)
on Ave Occidental which bypasses the center on the W side. Take
it
till a traffic circle at the university, where you jog L (E) a block to
get
onto the highway, on which you turn R (S). At the top of the pass
turn
L through the gate into the park; you either pay here or if you paid at
Bombuscaro
within 5 days show your receipt. The first part of the (unpaved)
road
up is bad, but once you reach the park there’s good woods. Rain
and
weekend crowds prevented us from trying the trails, but along the road
early
we saw our only Turquoise Jays and Hooded Mtn-tanagers, etc.
QUEBRADA
HONDA—Continuing S from the above, S of
Vilcabamba
the pavement stops and the road gradually becomes worse. Woods
starts
about 38 K S of Vilcabamba, and Tapichalaca Rese5rve starts at a ford
48
K S. The reserve HQ where trails are is on the L (E) 53 K S of
Vilcabamba.
1 K N of this there’s an undrivable track also on the L which might be
worth
hiking. Foul weather prevented us from doing more than bird the
road,
and the best thing we saw was Blue-browed Tanager. The HQ has
hummer
feeders; it’s $5 pp for the trails or just for looking at the feeders,
which
had some good hummers but not too many. Room and board possible
at
HQ but expensive. Valladolid is 11 K S of HQ and has little to
recommend
it but does offer meals and lodging.
W OF LOJA—Coming
down the mountainside E of Catamayo
there
are valleys with acacia trees on your R. We walked into one of
these
that had a path. This was the only place we saw Elegant
Crescent-chest;
several were calling. W of Catamayo try along the river
just
before a recreation park and along a road on the R (N) just before the
highway
to Machala starts up the mountain.
BUENAVENTURA—Id
stick on the main paved road to
Machala,
not take the unpaved one to Pinas. The main road is very winding
and
was foggy in the evening, but it was probably still faster and had some
birds.
Eventually you come to a road (paved but no sign ) E to Pinas, a
sharp
R with buildings around. Buenaventura was good, though some
problems
with fog as the sun raised the clouds; after awhile it became clear
again.
Saw White-tipped Sicklebill only here.
MANGLARES
CHURUTE—Take the highway to Naranjal S
from
the highway E from Guayaquil to El Triunfo for 22 K and there’s a
dirt
road R (W) by a sign for an organic co-op. If you drive in here
and
turn R on another unpaved road (bad for low-bottomed
vehicles,
but drivable, at least in the dry season) you eventually come to
the
entrance on the R to a trailhead where you can hike up a hill
with
good forest and howler monkeys. If you continue past the turn for
the
trailhead the road ends at mangroves, but a canoe is necessary to see
much
here. Back on the highway, a bit farther S on the right is a
marsh
where Horned Screamers were visible from the highway, and 1 K S of the
dirt
road is the reserve HQ on the L. They charged $10 pp and wanted
you
to be accompanied by a guide for $5 more.
CELICA and
the Southwest—Just S of Catacocha
on
the road to Macara about halfway down the mountainside at a level
stretch
there’s a road (the first few feet paved) to the R (W); for northbound
traffic
there’s a sign saying to San Antonio. This road has a good
forested
valley along its first part. Lots of birds. Farther S on
the
road to Macara (which is paved), the road to Celica turns R (W) just
past
an army checkpoint. Although the wooded hillsides here were
mostly
bare in Nov., they had plenty of birds, especially after a few K
soon
before the road work camp (where the pavement ended). This was
the
only place we saw Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, White-headed Brush-finch
and
Tumbes Sparrow.
Just N of Macara a road (paved and signed) goes E to
Sozoranga,
Cariamanga and eventually Catamayo (the section W of Gonzanama isn’t
paved
yet). After a few K this road goes through forest; at 4.8 K
is
the entrance to Bosque Protector Jatunpamba Jorupe. Among the
birds
we saw from the highway were White-tailed Jay and
Crimson-breasted
Finch. 1 K W of SOZORANGA at the hilltop turn L (N) on a
rough
but drivable track which after 3 K or so comes to some woods.
Silver-backed
Tanager was in the bushier areas. After this the highway winds
down
into Sozoranga, where you turn R a block to the plaza (which has a
rudimentary
hotel, unsigned) and continue straight from the far R corner of
the
plaza (the street by the hotel, not the one going uphill); this is the
road
to UTUANA. In about 17 K you reach Utuana, where the paved road
curves
L 90%; at this curve turn R on an unpaved track which in less than 1 K
comes
to the trail into a reserve on the R. Walk this, keeping right;
after
awhile there’s a stile on the L where you can cross the
barbed
wire fence and hike up through woods, but we saw birds mostly on the
lower
path. We didn’t see the specialties here, only Silver-backed
Tanager,
but it was pretty birdy. From Utuana it’s just over 100 K to Catamayo.
I hope this information will be of use to some other
birders—including
some with the skill and luck to see the birds we missed.
Robert Higbie
higbierg@hotmail.com