Flowers the Color of Gold

One of the great side benefits of the trip to Ecuador was the relative abundance of flower species new to me. I don't know whether or not I was there during the best season for flowers, but it was plenty good for me. And as with birds, the urge to record each new species with my camera sometimes left me lagging behind the other birders. So here is some of what I captured digitally with my camera - using mostly the small point-and-shoot I mentioned previously. The names of many shall remain unknown but I may note the group/family they belong to if I'm aware of it.

Possibly a legume?
No idea on these!The following two seem to be members of the Heliconia group - with leaves like banana trees.As you might expect, the wet climate was conducive to the growth of many mushroom species.
A honeysuckle type?A Bromeliad!
Orchids a plenty!
Don't know this one!This Lupine species was fairly common at higher elevations - 10,000'+. It was more woody than herbaceous.Next are the Hummingbirds. Wish I could post them all - but I'll provide my Flickr site address so you can see more there.

Charismatic Avifauna of Ecuador

I'm not sure if the term "Charismatic Avifauna" is in general use or not, but from my perspective, it is an appropriate moniker for several groups of Ecuadorian birds - including trogons, toucans, parrots, and likely a few others. Birds in these groups are generally rather gaudy color wise and many have other special characteristics such as unique bills and/or tail feathers. They certainly rival or perhaps even surpass other groups such as Tanagers in their color combinations. And as a general rule, they are larger bodied than many of the Passerine species. There is one species in the trogon/quetzal group that was one of my favorites of the trip. All of the parrot group that we saw on this trip were either too distant for reasonable photo images or were flying - with little or no chance of photos.

The trogons were the easiest of these groups to photograph. Many were quite tame. Several toucan species were also approachable, especially the few that frequented feeders. There is little that additional dialogue can add to the beauty and uniqueness of these species - so enjoy the images with associated species names!

Choco Trogon male - followed by female.Toucan Barbet.
Western White-tailed Trogon.Crimson-rumped Toucanet. Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan.Pale-mandibled Aricari.Masked Trogon male followed by female.
The Golden-headed Quetzal was one of my favorite birds of the trip. And I think it was the settings in which we saw the bird as much as the bird itself that made it special. While I never did get a close-up image of it, these distant shots with the humid forest backdrop are just as good as far as I am concerned.
Next up - Flowers of the Cloud Forest, and then Hummingbirds.

The Colorful Tanagers of Ecuador

"WOW!! Look at the color of that bird!!" That was my reaction to my first sighting of a Glistening- green Tanager - at the Mashpi Reserve in the Westslope Cloud Forest of Ecuador. And pretty much those same words were repeated by me on a number of occasions on the first view of a new - for me - Tanager species. Field guides and even photographs cannot do justice to the colors of these birds when viewed in a natural setting. Ecuador lays claim to more than 130 species of Tanagers and their close allies. And a majority of these species display colors or color combinations that just knock your socks off.

In my preparation for the trip to Ecuador, review of the color plates in the field guide certainly gave me some idea about what to expect color-wise of the various major groups of birds to be encountered. I thought that the hummingbirds and the trogons and toucan groups would be among my favorites with tanagers right up there. Hummingbirds are very photogenic and the luminescence of their feathers adds a special character to many of them. The trogons and toucans are mostly very colorful and unique in some ways that give them special status. But the color plates of the field guide left me unprepared for how the Tanager group would strike me. Unfortunately, I do not have an adequate means to demonstrate their impact on my visual senses. For the most part, the tanagers were not especially easy to photograph. Oftentimes, they were high in the forest canopy and back-lit in a way that muted their colors. And many other times, they were not close enough for good images. The best photos I got of them were mostly at feeders where they were eating bananas and the setting was less than satisfactory.The following image of a color plate from a field guide will give you an idea of the wide range of colors and color combinations that this group of birds displays. But the only way to come close to what we saw would be to include a nice idyllic forest background for each species. Most of my photo images that follow I consider to be of marginal or poor quality. Sorry, but that is the best that I have of this group. A Beryl-spangled Tanager - fairly common.Scarlet-thighed DacnisGolden-crowned Tanager.Blue-winged Mountain-Tanagers were among the most common ones seen.Golden Tanagers were also rather common - on the West slope of the Andes.Paradise tanagers were among our favorites, but only seen several times. In this group, there were about eight birds - all taking turns at a bath in the water that was held in the leaves of this bromeliad epiphyte - a common type of plant in these very moist forests that grows on trees, but apparently does not harm them. We watched this group for perhaps 10 minutes or so just savoring their brilliance. Click on the picture so you can get an enlarged view of the "outrageous" combination of colors this species sports. Did the Tanager group become my favorite? It is difficult to make a choice if one has to, but the hummingbirds are difficult to beat, maybe because they are so photogenic! They will be featured here in several more days.

Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Other Ecuadorian Bugs!

The diversity and beauty found in nature, especially tropical areas, never cease to amaze me. Put a camera in my hand and I can't resist an attempt to get a nice, sharp image of almost anything live that presents itself, but I am especially fond of macro-images. And they are usually a challenge to get in sharp focus and proper lighting. So as you might expect, my time spent with camera in hand in the forests of the Ecuadorian Andes Mountains was not always with birds as the main target.

For those of you who have followed my blogs since their inception about April of last year, you are or should be aware of my building passion for dragonflies. So my initial insect interests in Ecuador leaned that way. But for whatever reason, be it seasonal, non-suitable habitat, lack of still water bodies, elevation, or whatever, I only observed 2 dragonflies on this trip, and was able to get a marginal photograph of only one of them. And butterflies, my next highest area of interest, were not very abundant either. But their very close relatives, the moths, were readily found under lights at night and clinging to walls, trees, and other hard surfaces during daylight hours. Unfortunately, I am not able to identify any of the moths or other species I obtained images of as I do not have reference sources for them.

So the following photos will go without names associated with them, although they may be accompanied by some other commentary. I should mention that all of these shots were taken with a relatively inexpensive point-and-shoot camera that I keep in my shirt pocket - where it is easily retrievable for scenery, people, macro shots, etc. The camera that I used was the one I gave Kathy as a Christmas present this year - a Panasonic Lumix ZS3. OK, I know what you are thinking, ....... but I had to see if it worked, didn't I???
This looks to be a grasshopper type insect. Bee/Wasp Family. Moth - that looks like wasp!Rhinoceros Beetle group? These last 3 were quite large with wingspans up to 3" or so.Next up - Back to Birds: The Tanagers and allies.

Antpittas and an Entraprenurial Ecuadorian Farmer

On our departure from Quito, the lodge at Reserva Las Gralarias was our destination for the day and accommodations for the next 5 nights. The namesake for this reserve and lodge is a group of birds called Antpittas - the Genus for many of which is Grallaria. Most species of the group are secretive and skulking birds of forest undergrowth and floor, so they are very difficult to observe. Because of this difficulty, species in the group are highly sought after by many of the birders who visit their haunts, and success rates have historically been on the low side. These are not flashy, colorful birds, so the difficulty of observation seems to be the key to their "popularity".

In 2004, a local landowner - Angel Paz - with a small farm decided to try to take advantage of the birding and ecotourism business that was a real growth industry in Ecuador. He was aware of a Cock-of-the Rock Lek - communal display ground - on the lower portion of his property. This is another sought after bird because of its strange looks and communal display. In the process of building a trail down to the Lek where he would build a viewing "hide" or blind, he noticed some other birds coming out on the freshly dug soil to eat earthworms and other readily available insects. He recognized these birds as several species of Antpittas, and was apparently aware of the difficulty of observing them. So after the trail was complete, he decided to try to feed these birds with worms so that they might become somewhat trained and more observable. Local gossip has it that his wife was upset with his efforts and nagged him about "wasting his time every morning going down to feed those darn chickens". But Angel was successful in his efforts with the birds, and while still cautious, he could usually coax them - with food and his call imitations - to near the trail where they were more easily observed. Word spread quickly about his success and birders began to show up in increasing numbers. Now the local gossip has it that his wife nags him every day to" get down there and feed those chickens".

On the morning of 14 January 2010, we arose early and left Las Gralarias about 4:45am for Angel Paz's farm and reserve. Angel and another small group met us there and we headed down the trail with flashlights by 5:30am. It took perhaps 30 or more minutes to reach the Cock-of-the-Rock "hide" on a trail that was good but on the steep side. Unfortunately, the Lek was not very active that morning and we only herd the Cock-of-the-Rock males from a distance. After looking at some other neat birds, we hiked down to the creek at the valley bottom and began the Antipitta search. On the way down, we were fortunate to see a nest of a Giant Antpitta, only the second one ever found. The Antpittas were very cooperative that morning and we managed to see and get photo images of 4 different species. Several Dark-backed Wood-Quail, another very secretive bird often heard but rarely seen, were also coaxed into a marginal viewpoint with some expert mouth calling by one of Angel's helpers.

A Yellow-breasted Antpitta was the first of the morning. The quality of the images I got of these birds was marginal because of the very low light conditions. For you photographers, I was using a 400mm lens and shooting at shutter speeds from a high of 1/25 of a second down to 4/10ths of a second. Pretty tough!! A Giant Antpitta was the largest species. This Ochre-breasted Antpitta did not want to come out of the undergrowth.Angel and his family continue with their farming operation, but their income is supplemented with the fees that they charge birders for a morning of birding and a light brunch after the climb back up the hill. This extra income has enabled them to buy a new pickup truck and their their thoughts of clearing more land for the farming operation are now not necessary to make a better life for their family. You can read more about this story at Angels' website. The cost of the visit including the meal was $20 per person. Other people and lodges have adopted Angel's approach to these skulkers so birds of the Genus Grallaria are no longer as difficult to observe as they were just several years ago.

Now back to Reserva Las Gralarias. This is a relatively new and great place to stay. The rooms are wonderfully clean and the meals excellent. The lodge and reserve are owned by Jane Lyon, a PhD Biogeographer who fell in love with Ecuador, bought a large parcel of what was formerly grazing land, and let it revert back to forest. She maintains several hummingbird feeder sites that are among the best we found on this trip for viewing and photographing these intriguing birds.

Birding in Ecuador - A Blog Series

While there is certainly no doubt that I am a passionate birder, I am really not a dedicated lister - one who intensively birds in specific regions or all over the world to add to their "list". Yes, I do keep track of all the birds I see, wherever I might be, but I have no goal for numbers to be seen before I pass over to that great aviary in the sky! When I visit a new area or new world country, I like to absorb the culture, the various habitats, the people and, of course, the birds and other wildlife.

Ecuador has long been among a number of "exotic " birding areas on my short list, so when the opportunity arose to join a custom designed trip to this country, one of the most ecologically diverse in the world, I jumped at it. The trip was organized by John Shipley of Kingfisher Bird Tours with time split between mostly mountainous regions west and east of the Andes and with some time at higher elevations, in the 12,000' + range. On this trip, we did not venture into the lower Amazon basin, an area I'll look at in the future.

On Sunday, 10 January 2010, Kathy dropped me off at the Helena Airport about 5:45am for an expected arrival at the Quito, Ecuador Airport about 11pm EST. All went well and on time!
Quito lies at an elevation of about 9,000' and pretty much straddles the equator. Helena lies at a latitude of about 47 degrees North. Google Earth calculates a direct line distance of nearly 4,000 miles. Ecuador is about 3/4ths the size of Montana or about the size of Colorado, but its boasts of more than 1600 species of birds, nearly 4 times as many as either Montana or Colorado. That fact certainly supports the contention that few places on earth can match it for avian diversity. The physiography and climate of the country likely are important reasons for this incredible diversity. There are three major regions in the country - the western coastal plain, the Andes Mountain Range, and the Amazon Basin. The following image details the elevational makeup of the country, with the mountainous region depicted by the reddish/brownish hues. A quick perusal by me located at least 8 or more volcanoes in the elevation range of 18-20,000 feet. While cloudy weather compromised clear views of these mammoth mountains, the the partial and brief looks we had revealed snow and glaciers down to maybe the 15-16,000 foot elevation. Our birding group - besides me - consisted of the following: tour leader John Shipley, bird guide extraordinaire Roger Ahlman, driver Nestor Alban, and a very enjoyable couple from Maui. I will not use their names here because I didn't ask their permission to do so! John Shipley is a tour operator and friend who plans custom tours to Ecuador and other exclusive birding destinations. Roger's native country is Sweden but Ecuador has been his adopted home for the past 7 years. He and his Ecuadorean wife live in Quito and have a young daughter. Roger can be reached at rahlman@yahoo.se and has a great PBase website with bird photos. Nestor was a GREAT driver and can be contacted at njalbanm@hotmail.com. Driving in Quito and the rural areas is definitely an adventure and not something I would undertake myself. But for the adventurous, it can be done.

So when am I going to get to the birds?? I gathered enough information and took enough photos on this trip for probably a half dozen or more individuals epistles, and they will be following over the next several weeks. Topics will include, of course, birds - maybe 4 or more episodes - , flowers, scenery and vegetation, insects....and maybe a few more! For those of you who are avid birders, here is a little tidbit for you to savor in the hope that you will take a look every several days to see what is new here. This is a Velvet-purple Coronet.

Nature's Abnormalities

About a week ago, I received an email about a "white hawk" that has been seen occasionally in the Helena Valley since last summer. While doing some random birding in the valley several days ago, I encountered this bird. Indeed, the bird was mostly white but had some pigmentation on the head and tail, and a small amount on the abdominal area and under-wing. This is a condition called leucism and results from a genetic abnormality wherein pigments are not produced on all or parts of the skin and feathers. It is different from albinism. Based on the fact that the bird was present last summer and the pigments that are present in photos, this appears to be a red-tailed hawk. The bird was quite spooky so I did not get very good pictures of it, but here are a few so you can get a general idea of what this unusual hawk looked like.For the next several weeks, you will not find anything new on this blog site - as I will be doing some birding in Ecuador. But don't forget to join me again later in January for lots of fresh dialogue, thoughts, and pictures about one of the most diverse birding areas in the world. I'm looking forward to using this medium rather than a diary as a way to document and share travel experiences. Dairies have a way of disappearing into drawers or other "black holes" only to be rediscovered many years later after their relevance has likely faded. Hopefully the black hole that cyberland sometimes emulates will not be quite as deep as my night stand!!

There is a function available to notify you when I have posted a new blog to my site. Scroll to the very bottom of this group of my blogs to where it says "Subscribe to:". Follow the instructions so that you will be notified when I post something new. Although I have no yet used this function for other blogs I follow, it seems like it might be quite useful.