Ecuador - June/July 2010 - 2 of 2 Home » Forums » Birding » Trip Reports

I left Milpe and headed back to Mindo because it seemed the rains would never stop. In this part of Ecuador you can have heavy rain in one location, and clear skies half a kilometer away. I decided to spend two nights at Yellow House, a farm whose owners protect a large piece of forest. They don't advertise and only rent to people through referrals, as they want to protect the forest. The area around the farm is great for birds like the Squirrel Cuckoo, Red-faced Spinetail, Masked Water Tyrant, and Pacific Hornero. A two or three kilometer hike uphill takes you to a cloud forest where I was suprised to see Crested Guans along with expected birds like Masked Trogons. I hope to revisit Yellow House next time I visit Mindo.

Tandayapa Valley and Tandayapa Birding Lodge are so famous I had to make a stop there. I took a bus from Mindo to Nanegalito and found a driver who took me to the lodge for six dollars. Tandayapa Lodge is a wonderful birding location, and with the help of two friendly volunteers I managed to see some great birds like the Golden-headed Quetzal, Golden-headed Manakin, Common Potoo, Giant Antpitta, and many more. As far as photography, I didn't have as much luck; the hummingbirds didn't perch anywhere near the feeders and photography on the trails in always hit or miss. The fruit feeders didn't attract too many birds. Although I had some small problems with my stay at Tandayapa, the helpful volunteers made the whole experience worthwhile, and I recommend Tandayapa as I do every location I stayed at in Ecuador.

After two days at Tandayapa, I needed to find cheaper accomodations, so decided to carry a bag full of food I had purchased in Nanegalito up to the Bellavista Lodge, where the dormitory was not that expensive. Meals at Bellavista were in the twenty dollar range, so I was planning to eat cabbage and oatmeal for two days. The volunteers gladly accompanied me on my hike, but suprisingly didn't volunteer to carry my bag. My entire body ached when I finally reached the top, about 500 meters higher than where I started. One of the main reasons for visiting the lodge was the Plate-billed Mountain Toucan, who I saw a few times and was able to photograph. Mission accomplised, but other high profile birds like the Occelated Tapaculo eluded me.

Angel Paz is a famous farmer who has taught Antpittas and other birds to come out of the brush for worms. He owns 50 hectares of land in a ravine, and charges 20 dollars for a three or four hour 'show'. First is a Andean Cock-of-the-rock lek, where maybe five males hopped around waiting for a female. We didn't see a female on this day, but the males really go crazy when that happens. The lek has apparently been active for many many years. All four Antpittas showed up, including Maria the Giant Antpitta, Willy the Yellow-breasted Antpitta, and two Moustached Antpittas. A Rufous-breasted Antthrush was Another skulker who came for worms. The fruit feeder drew Black-chinned Mountain Tanagers, Toucan Barbets, Scarlet-rumped Toucanets, and a White-fronted Quail-Dove. Amazing.

The bus took me back to the Ofelia station, where I took a cab to a hostal next to the airport, and another to the airport at four the next morning. Except for a bad fall where I busted a Speedlite and teleconverter and my head, I couldn't have been happier with my trip to Ecuador, and hope to revisit soon.