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An entry to our 2019 Writing Competition, Claire Godfrey & Andrew Littlewood travelled on our 'Ecuador - Andes & Amazon' tour.
A bird list from the last two days of our tour is at the end but memorable birds for us are mentioned as the adventure unfolds.
After an exciting, varied tour packed with trips and birding in the Amazon and Andes with excellent guides, we flew from Quito to Guayaquil for a Tailormade tour of the Tumbesian area.
The day before we returned to Britain, after three weeks of birding, was very memorable.
We set off from Mandola Lodge, situated at the end of the long beach in Puerto Lopez. This lodge was extraordinary. The owners had transported tons of soil, raising the area to plant an exotic garden of native plants and trees. Being well established it attracted iguanas and White Bats, (yes, white bats!) amongst other wildlife. In fact, a motmot had been heard on two evenings while lying in the hammocks on the veranda.
Since leaving England we had been so looking forward to this excursion to the Isla de la Plata. The boat left the pier in the morning, skimming fast over the water but it did give us a chance to see birds such as the Sooty Shearwater and Wedge-Rumped Storm Petrel. Eventually what we had been hoping for – male Humpback Whales breaching high out of the water, leaping and slapping their huge tails. There was a mother and calf and plenty of blows coming from the sea around us. The boat was slowed so we could see the spectacle of these magnificent mammals, so much bigger than our boat and very close to us. We journeyed on to the island and walked in the brilliant sunshine up a track with many wooden steps to the top of the island. There were beautiful views from the top and we encountered the Blue-footed Boobies involved in their courting behaviour – one whistling, the other grunting and raising their blue feet to show off! We filmed a sequence of this courtship only a few feet away from us. The Magnificent Frigatebirds were in their mating plumage with the males blowing out their huge scarlet balloon-like throats. One of the most beautiful birds flying above us was the Red-billed Tropicbird with long flowing white tail. On the way back from the island later in the afternoon, we had sightings of more whales but the boat did not slow this time and it was all over too quickly. When we arrived back at Puerto Lopez, the afternoon sun was shining and we walked along the lovely sandy beach amongst the fish market and local people with barrows of fruit. The colourful little fishing boats were moored in the bay and the whole scene was beautiful and memorable, especially when we identified a Sabine’s Gull on the beach, not yet seen. Later we had a brief trip into the forest nearby and actually spotted a Blue-crowned Motmot which we had been seeking for days! This made for a fantastic finale to the day.
Our amazing visit to Ecuador, sighting 567 species of bird, along with extraordinary flora and fauna, was nearly at an end but the next day, before the 3-hour trip to the airport, we visited another birding hotspot the Rio Chico – Parador Arcos. It was drizzling with rain in the cloudforest (as you would have expected) but most trips had been in fine weather, except for incredible rain storms in the rainforest! We were so pleased to fit in this last walk and caught a number of new species as well as the old familiars! Just to mention a few, we saw the Rufous-headed Chachalaca, Yellow-billed Seedeater and Crimson-breasted Finch.
It was a sad moment saying goodbye to our guide Sandra and our driver José. Possibly, our visit to Ecuador had been our most exciting holiday yet. The variety of scenery and habitats, the hundreds of birds and the friendly people will always be remembered.
LIST OF BIRDS SEEN ON OUR LAST 2 DAYS
Red-billed Tropicbird, Peruvian Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird, Blue-footed Booby, Nazca Booby, Red-footed Booby, Brown Pelican, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, American Kestrel, Spotted Sandpiper, Sooty Shearwater, Wedge-rumped Storm Petrel, Rufus-headed Chachalaca, Laughing Gull, Rock Pigeon, Eared Dove, Ecuadorian Ground Dove, Pallid Dove, Amazilia Hummingbird, Short-tailed Woodstar, Long-billed Hermit, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Sooty-headed Tyrannulet, Pacific Elaenia, Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Tropical (Tumbes) Peewee, Gray-breasted Flycatcher, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Baird’s Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Chivi Vireo, Plumbeous-backed Thrush, Ecuadorian Thrush, Long-tailed Mockingbird, Superciliated Wren, Speckle-breasted Wren, House Wren, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Gray-and-gold Warbler, Bananaquit, Thick-billed Euphonia, Blue-gray Tanager, Streaked Saltator, Crimson-breasted Finch, Blue-black Grassquit, Variable Seedeater, Parrot-billed Seedeater, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Dull-coloured Grassquit, Collared Warbling-Finch, Scrub Blackbird, Saffron Siskin, Rufous-headed Chachalaca, Thick-billed Seed-Finch.
Read more about our 'Ecuador - The Andes & Amazon' holiday.