This adventure began in Quito, Ecuador, a trip planned to celebrate a milestone birthday for Sharon. We arrived in the city around 7 p.m., and the winding roads and hills immediately confirmed this was a place unlike any we had visited before. The sight of people at food carts made us eager to try the local cuisine. Our destination was the Hotel Rio Amazonas, where we would meet our group for our very first dedicated birding tour with Rockjumper. After introductions and dinner, we headed to our room to take in the amazing view of Quito at night, perched at an elevation of 9,350 feet above sea level—the second-highest capital in the world.
Reserva Yanacocha: A High-Altitude Haven
The next morning, Sharon was experiencing a healthy dose of altitude sickness, and we were heading to Reserva Yanacocha, with an even higher elevation of 10,500 feet. Our group piled into the Rockjumper van, and we soon had incredible views of Quito and the towering Volcán Pichincha. We were lucky to have Dusan Brinkhuizen as our guide and five great Australian birding friends in our group.
We were lucky to have Dusan Brinkhuizen as our guide and five great Australian birding friends in our group. Everyone was excited to start, and we were immediately treated to a dazzling array of colorful birds at the feeders. During our six hours at the reserve, we saw an astounding 47 species! Nine new hummingbird species stole the show, Here are pictures of two of our favorites
There were so many great birds at the reserve that we cannot possibly name them all. Some of the standouts stole our hearts, including Red-crested Cotingas, Black-chested and Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanagers, Masked and Glossy Flowerpiercers, and Blue-black and Cinereous Conebill. We took the Mindo-Nono road to our next destination, picking up a Cinnamon Flycatcher and Masked Trogon along the way.
Las Gralarias and a Tanager Explosion
Our home for the next night was the Las Gralarias Guest House, a premier birding lodge with excellent food and onsite birding opportunities. The hummingbird feeders were a constant flurry of activity, and the lodge seemed to have every tanager imaginable in one place: Flame-faced, Golden, Golden-naped, Blue-capped, Blue-winged Mountain, and Black-chinned Mountain Tanagers. We spent a lot of time coaxing a Spillman’s Tapaculo out on the Nunbird Ridge Trail.
A Jackpot of a Day
It was hard to leave Las Gralarias, but we had a lot more birds to see. We stopped at an open field where Spot-fronted Swifts were zipping around. Across the road, we hit the jackpot with a sighting of a Golden-headed Quetzal and a Plate-billed Mountain Toucan—two birds we had dreamed of seeing. This was an almost 11-hour birding day that produced 70 species. While there were too many birds to list, a favorite was the Squirrel Cuckoo.
It’s not always about the birds, though. We also saw a Tyra on a banana feeder, two tarantulas, and a truly giant earthworm that our guide Dusan posed with for a photo.
We finished the day with an incredible 114 species and 99 life birds in just two days! Mike had predicted I might get my 1,000th life bird on this trip, and even though 215 seemed like a tall order for six days, with a start like this, anything seems possible. Come back to read about the rest of our trip!
Trip Birds: 114
Life Birds: 99
Next up: Ecuador, Part Two
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