Our first bird of the day was Violet-headed Hummingbird, followed shortly after by a Black-billed Treehunter, Montane Foliage-Gleaner, Golden-crowned Flycatcher, and Common Tody-Flycatcher. Once in the forest we added White-crowned Manakin, Ornate Flycatcher, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, and White-shouldered Antshrike. Following that was an immediate rejection of our speculation above, as Andrew Spencer lured out a very difficult to watch Musician Wren. Further along the trail we added Buff-throated Tody-Tyrant to the day list, followed shortly thereafter by a Golden-crowned Toucanet. This was soon followed by my next lifer for the day, Gray-tailed Piha.
By now it was close to 9:15am and it was time to make our way back to the lodge. We maintained a rather quick pace, so by the time we got near the trail head we only added Russet-backed Oropendola and Olive-striped Flycatcher to the day list. Just before the trail head Andrew pointed out a flycatcher, but before anyone could their binoculars on it the bird flitted left about 10 meters...I was the first to get on the bird, but it wasn;t the same bird Andrew had just seen. I immediately started describing the bird and its location. It looked like a fruiteater...yellow chest, black cap, dark green back, slight barring on the flanks. Andrew then yelled a series of expletives! It's a %$^$#! Andean Laniisoma. That was soon followed by a machine-gun-like firing of his camera...The Andean Laniisoma, now known as Shrike-like Cotinga, is a close member of the fruiteater family. At Wild Sumaco, and for that matter in Ecuador generally, Shrike-like Cotinga is a very rare east slope bird. I don't know exactly how many records there are of this species in Ecuador, but this one created a lot of excitement amongst our small group. We had heard earlier, while at Guango Lodge, that a Swiss birding group had found the bird in the same location, but we didn't think it would stick around long enough for us to see it. And, given we had spent three days on this same trail and didn't see it, we certainly did not expect to find it on the last morning. This bird truly was the icing on the cake for me...it was my last lifer for the trip.
Once we all had a great look at the bird, and eventually it flew out of sight, we headed back to the lodge, packed our bags, had a quick wash, and were in the van and on our way by 10:20am. I jotted a few bird records down during the return trip, but saw nothing terribly special. Two Magpie Tanagers on Sumaco Road, seven Smooth-billed Ani's on the way to Narupa, and a Black-billed Thrush and Blue-and-White Swallow in Narupa. Off-and-on we all dozed as the van bumped along the winding road while the rain fell almost constantly through the mountains. We arrived in Quito about 4 hours later where the last bird for the trip that I saw was an Eared Dove. Howard and Malcolm continued off with Andrew, and Simon and I began the long sit. Simon's flight was first to leave, and mine was about an hour later. What a fantastic trip, and one I won't soon forget...afterall, this final trip report post was written nearly two years after the trip ended.
Total species today: 36
Total cumulative species for the trip: 446 (443)*
Total lifers today: 3
Total cumulative lifers for the trip: 155 (157)*
* Due to species' name changes and taxonomic splits and lumps, the totals in parentheses reflect current taxonomy (Clements World Bird Checklist, Version 6.9).
