This adventure started in Quito, Ecuador to celebrate a milestone birthday for Sharon.  We arrived in Quito around 7:00 p.m. and the winding roads and hills confirmed this was a place unlike any we have previously visited.  Seeing all the people at the food carts made us look forward to the local cuisine. We arrived at the Hotel Rio Amazonas to meet the rest of group on the Rockjumper tour for our first ever dedicated birding tour. After introductions and dinner it was time to head to our room and look out at the amazing view of Quito at night.

With an elevation of 9,350′ above sea level, Quito is the second highest Capital in the world (after La Paz, Boliva). Sharon had a healthy dose of altitude sickness the next morning and we were heading to Reserva Yanacocha with an elevation of 10,500′. Our group piled into the Rockjumper van and we soon had views of the colorful city of Quito and Volcán Pichincha, the volcano that towers Quito.

Our tour guide was Dusan Brinkhuizen and we were lucky to have five Australians in our group (Chris, Pru, Rich, Steve and Suzi). They are all friends from a university and we quickly realized they were great birders and excellent spotters. All of us were excited to start birding and we were treated to many colorful birds on the feeders at Reserva Yancocha. During our six hours at the reserve we saw an amazing 47 species!! Nine new hummingbird species stole the show. Here are two of our favorites.

There were so many great birds at the reserve that we cannot possibly name them all. Some of the standouts are: Red-crested Cotingas, Black-chested and Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanagers, Masked and Glossy Flowerpiercers, Yellow-breasted and Grey-browed Brushfinches, Blue-black and Cinereous Conebill. We took the Mindo-Nono road to our next destination and picked up a Cinnamon Flycatcher and Masked Trogon.

For the next night we stayed at the Las Gralarias Guest House. This is a premier birding lodge with excellent food and onsite birding. You can easily spend your entire Ecuador trip in this area. The hummingbird feeders presented a dazzling number of birds and species. This gave me the opportunity to try out the super slo-mo feature on my new Samsung Phone. We have never seen so many tanagers in one place: Flame-faced, Golden, Golden-naped and Blue-capped Tanagers, Blue-winged Mountain and Black-chinned Mountain Tanager. We spent quite a bit of time coaxing out a Spillman’s Tapaculo on the Nunbird Ridge Trail. It was hard to leave Las Gralarias but there were a lot more birds to see.

Next, we stopped at open field with Spot-fronted Swifts flying around. Across the road we hit the jackpot with a Golden-headed Quetzal and Plate-billed Mountain Toucan. This was an almost 11 hour birding day that produced 70 species. Way too many birds to list but must say my next favorite is the Squirrel Cuckoo.

 

It’s not always about the birds and there was a Tyra on a banana feeder where Sharon was standing. Best insects of the day were two Tarantulas and a Giant Earthworm. Dusan posed with the earthworm so you see how big it really is.

 

Wow, 114 species in just two days of birding. Mike said I might get my 1,000th life bird on this trip. Even though we added 99 life birds, 215 seems like a tall order for six days. Come back to read about the rest of the trip.

Trip Birds:  114  Life Birds: 99

Next up: Ecuador, Part Two