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.