Today we had an early rise and were on the road before sunrise. The weather was once again foggy with a bit of drizzle, but this soon dissipated as we headed east. Our first stop of the day was Cotundo, which essentially was a small stop on the side of the road. Our first bird of the day was Ringed Kingfisher, followed by two consecutive lifers: Golden-winged Tody-Flycatcher and Gray-capped Flycatcher. The remainder of the species we saw here were all species I had seen before, but some of the highlights included Yellow-rumped Cacique, Silver-beaked Tanager, Blue-necked Tanager, Yellow-browed Sparrow, and Blue-black Grassquit.
Our next stop was Lareto Road, where we added Cliff Flycatcher, Canada Warbler, Spotted Tanager, White-tailed Hillstar, and Yellow-throated Bush-Tanager to the day list. My only lifer at this site was Deep-blue Flowerpiercer. From Lareto Road we headed to the Jocotoco Foundation's Narupa Reserve, which for the average birding tourist would be very difficult to locate given its obscurity on the side of the highway with no signs and nowhere to park. Our bus hugged the soft should as best as possible, where it would wait for us to return. We scrambled out of the bus being careful not to fall down the roadside bank, then crossed the road to a well-hidden trail. The trail followed a nice creek uphill to a small shanty building. Along the way the birding was fairly quite, except for one spot where we located a good mixed flock that included Orange-eared Tanager (lifer), LaFresnaye's Piculet, Streaked Xenops, Orange-bellied Euphonia, Black-throated Brilliant (lifer), and Fork-tailed Wood-Nymph. Overhead, a Black Hawk-Eagle flew by.
Once at the shanty, the trail began to climb rather steeply. It was now quite warm, and the trail was narrow, muddy, and riddled with stairs. This is where birding starts to take its toll, but the rewards were many. Along the trail we added Maroon-tailed Parakeet, Russet Antshrike (lifer), Ash-browed Spinetail (lifer), Yellow-breasted Antwren (lifer), Spectacled Bristle-Tyrant (lifer) and Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. By now the blood was pumping fairly well, and the strain on the thighs was mounting...but we pressed on to see more birds. My next lifer was Golden-olive Woodpecker, followed by five more lifers in a row: White-breasted Tyrannulet, Andean Umbrellabird (a personal favourite and a bird I spotted), Gray-chinned Hermit, White-banded Wren (reluctant to show itself, but eventually did with extensive call playback), and Ash-throated Bush-Tanager. Now exhausted, we all headed down the trail...I was frustratingly too hot, and my temperament was best managed in isolation, so I went ahead of the group and waited in the bus. I did pick up a Montane Foliage-Gleaner and Russet-backed Oropendola on the walk back.
From the Narupa Reserve we had the long drive to Wild Sumaco. Along the way we saw only a few common roadside birds, including Smooth-billed Ani, Roadside Hawk, White-collared Swift, Crested Oropendola, and Black Vulture. We arrived at Wild Sumaco with plenty of time to go birding, and so we spent much of our time working the gravel road from the base of the mountain to the lodge. Along the way we saw Squirrel Cuckoo, Magpie Tanager, Red-headed Barbet, White-lined Tanager, Thrush-like Wren, Paradise Tanager, and Silver-beaked Tanager. My first lifer at this site was Little Woodpecker, followed shortly after by Yellow Tyrannulet, Black-and-White Tody-Tyrant (responded to call playback), and Large-billed Flatbill. The birding continued to be very good, and call playback was used to lure Wing-banded Wren (lifer), Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant (lifer), Plain Antvireo (lifer), Black-faced Antbird (lifer), and Stripe-chested Antwren (lifer) into good views. Wrapping up our late afternoon of birding we added Chestnut-fronted Macaw, Gould`s Jewelfront, Booted Racket-tail, Napo Sabrewing, Blue-fronted Lancebill (lifer), and Ecuadorian Piedtail (lifer).
Although tiring, today was an excellent day of birding, with a collective total of 100 species and a whopping 26 lifers!
Total species today: 100
Total cumulative species for the trip: 350
Total lifers today: 21
Total cumulative lifers for the trip: 105
