Ecuador Trip Notes
Galapagos Islands, Mindo, Tandayapa Valley
February 8 - 15, 2004

Tom Pavlik
Cheryl Pavlik

The trip was divided into two major part – Galapagos Islands and Septimo Paraiso Lodge on the west side of the Andes Mountains. In the Galapagos you must be with a guide at all times. These are not bird guides but are well educated in much of the flora, fauna and history of the islands. The attraction from a birding perspective is not to add a great deal to your life list but rather seeing the species that are found no where else in the world. Also, due to the animals not being afraid of humans, there are some great photo opportunities.

Sunday February 8
After arriving in Quito without incident the night before, our driver picked us up at the hotel and took us to the airport for a 9:00am flight to Guyaquill then onto Balsa which is a small island just north of San Cruz Island in the central part of the Galapagos Islands. Once we arrived in Balsa there was a short wait for our bus that would take us to the port. The land was very dry and hot and the evidence of volcanoes was everywhere.

While waiting for our bus we saw just a few birds around the airport. The first was one of the 13 finches (all endemic) which was the Small Ground Finch. Near the bus that picked us up was the endemic Galapagos Dove and about a five foot Land Iguana.

We had about a five minute bus trip to the port area where we boarded a ferry for a five minute crossing of the channel to Santa Cruz Island. As expected, there was considerable activity by the water. Magnificent Frigatebirds were abundant but also in the area were Brown Pelican (endemic subspecies), Audubon’s Shearwater, Blue-footed Booby and Lava Gull.

Blue-footed Booby

Once on the other side of the channel we boarded another bus and took the 40 minute ride to the south side of the island where our boat was waiting. Before boarding the boat we walked around the Darwin Research Station and listened to our guide enlighten us about the history of the islands and about the Giant Tortoises. Through the trails there were a few birds including Small Ground Finch, Medium Ground Finch, Large Cactus Finch and Large-billed Flycatcher.

We had to walk back through town to the harbor which was about a 40 minute walk. However, there were a few more birds near the water including Lava Heron and the endemic subspecies of the Great Blue Heron. Once we boarded the ship we had an excellent dinner and headed for the island of Espanola (a.k.a. Hood Island). The trip took most of the night and sleeping was a little difficult due to the swales we went through.

Monday February 9
Wake up call was at 7:00am with breakfast at 7:30am. We were anchored about 200 meters from shore so a few new pelagic birds could be seen during this time including Wedge-rumped Storm Petrel and Masked (Nazca) Booby. After breakfast we took the zodiac to Hood Island and had about a 2 hour walk. As with all hikes there was an occasional stop for lecture regarding the flora and fauna of the specific island. Around the landing were various crabs and Marine Iguanas and Land Iguanas. A group of three American Oystercatchers made a landing nearby.

Masked (Nazca) Booby

The endemic Hood Mockingbird was quite popular on this island and posed nicely for pictures. As the walk continued we got closer to the rocky ledges where the Swallow-tailed Gulls and Masked Boobies were in larger numbers. I never got over the fact that almost all animals did not mind our presence. The birds, lizards and Sea Lions were right next to the trail and the were only curious at best. This is a compliment to the control by the guides throughout the islands. Occasionally someone in the group would wander off the trail a foot or two and the guide was quickly on them to get back on the trail.

As the walk continued back to the landing there was some shrub and cactus area. Here we were able to add the finch endemic to this small island – Large Cactus Finch. The last bird to add here was the Warbler Finch which appears more like a warbler than finch.

In the afternoon the temperatures are too high for walking on the islands so the activities are restricted to the beach or deep snorkeling. We opted for the snorkeling. One of our guides took a group of us to a small island where we enjoyed about an hour of snorkeling. The highlight was a four foot Reef Shark which the guide told us beforehand there was no danger should we encounter these.

In the late afternoon we simply had beach time. There was little to do here from a birding perspective but I was able to get a few pictures of a Large-billed Flycatcher and a Warbler Finch.

The evening ended with a nice dinner and an orientation on what we would be doing the following day. During the night we traveled to Floreana Island.

Tuesday February 10
Once again we had a nice breakfast then took the zodiacs to the island. The resident Floreana (Charles) Mockingbird on this island was the rarest of the Mockingbirds. Unfortunately we did not see one. However, Floreana Islands contains a lake within the island and this provided a few related birds. We added Greater Flamingo, White-cheeked Pintail, Least Sandpiper and Black-necked Stilt. During the walk we came to another shore area of the island where sea turtles had come up during the night and laid eggs. We could see a couple of the turtles from shore.

We headed back to the beach where we originally landed and there was a Whimbrel and Willet working the beach area. It was already getting pretty hot and activity had slowed.

After lunch the boat headed for N. Seymour Island. Along the way we were treated to some fantastic displays by large sea-rays. They must have a wingspan of 8 or 9 feet and they would jump out of the water and do flips. We saw maybe 7 or 8 do this during this ride. There were also a number of Red-necked Phalaropes during the ride.

Magnificent Frigatebirds

Once we arrived at N. Seymour Island we had an afternoon walk. There were mostly the same birds as we had seen before. We got closer looks at Red-billed Tropicbirds and Audubon’s Shearwaters. As the short walk was concluding I noticed a dark mantled gull with a white head and front circling near our boat just offshore. This could only be a Kelp Gull. I quickly pointed it out to our guide who confirmed the sighting. This brought an exciting end to the walk.

Wednesday February 11
Today was basically a travel day. We had a morning walk before leaving the Galapagos. This was one of the nicer walks for bird life. We got extremely close to Blue-footed Boobies that were displaying and being pretty funny about it. We also saw many displaying male Magnificent Frigatebirds. This was also the only place we could find Great Frigatebirds. That would be my last life bird before leaving the Galapagos.

We were back on the boat and after breakfast back-tracked the same way we came arriving in Quito about 2:30pm. After collecting our luggage we saw our driver waiting for us and we began the two hour drive to Septimo-Paraiso lodge in the Mindo area northwest of Quito.

Septimo-Paraiso Lodge

We arrived with about an hour of light left so I was anxious to try to snag a couple of lifers before the day was over. This would be quite a contrast to the Galapagos where you maybe saw a dozen or so different species of birds in a day. Here, you might see a dozen new ones in an hour.

We were greeted by the owner (Pablo) and given a quick orientation. We would soon learn that we would be spoiled over the next couple of days in that no other guests were expected until Saturday. We had 300 acres of prime rain forest to ourselves.

Dinner would be at 7:00pm so that gave us about 30 minutes to quickly peruse the grounds. Lemon-rumped Tanager would be the first of many tanagers. A Pacific Horneo was unlike any bird I had seen before. It stayed close to or on the ground similar to a thrush. The hummingbird feeders provided activity until dark – the most interesting bird being the common Booted Racket-tail.

Thursday February 12
I was anxious to get the day going and was up about 30 minutes before dawn. My wife was a little less anxious so I walked the grounds right around the lodge and listened as the jungle slowly awoke. My first two birds were a House Wren and a Swainson’s Thrush. Not exactly what I was shooting for. The common Rufous-collared Sparrow provided something new but still not a life bird. A Squirrel Cuckoo worked the top of a nearby tree.

I went back in and Cheryl was getting ready for breakfast which was set for 6:30am. After a very nice breakfast we wandered one of the trails. There was good activity that morning. Of particular interest is always the tanagers. We managed 12 species this day – each having their own unique vibrant color. By name alone you can tell what many look like: Golden, White-shouldered, Gray-and-Gold, Blue-gray, Flame-faced and so on.

There was a platform at the outer loop of this trail so we stopped there for a while. A group of four Pale-mandibled Aracari wandered threw. Before too long a flock of parrots squawked as they came near. We identified them as White-capped Parrots.

After a while we wandered back to the lodge and checked out the hummingbird feeders before heading in for lunch. The feeders provided a few new hummers including Green-crowned Woodnymph, Andean Emerald, Purple-bibbed Whitetip and Green-crowned Brilliant.

As expected in the rainforest, the clouds were building by late morning and the afternoon was filled with showers. Birding was limited but the hummingbirds didn’t seem to be bothered. We spent the afternoon reading and watching out the window for activity. We got our first look at a Golden-headed Quetzal that was perched in a tree outside our room.

The rain quit by late afternoon and that gave us about an hour before dark. So, we just wandered around the immediate grounds. The Blue-and-white Swallows continued to circle but we picked out a single Southern Rough-winged Swallow on the wire. A group of tanagers worked their way through the area. Many were the same as before but there were also a couple of new ones including Palm Tanager and Metallic-Green Tanager. After being inside most of the afternoon I wasn’t ready to head back in yet but it was getting dark. The last few birds near the lodge were a Red-faced Spinetail and Golden-faced Tyrannulet.

Friday February 13
Today would be very similar to yesterday. The morning was sunny but the clouds were starting to gather by late morning. We took the Toucan trail and failed to fine any toucans. This trail was a bit rougher as it ascended steeply. The views were worth it as you could overlook most of the valley from different vantage points. The birding was a little slower though. However, one of the first birds seen was the very cool Blue-winged Mountain Tanager. In the thicker jungle area we added our third woodcreeper being a Spotted Woodpcreeper. However, most of this trail was pretty quiet. We made our way back to the lodge and kept an eye on the hummingbird feeders until lunch. A Brown Inca was added to our list.

Once again it rained on and off throughout the afternoon. However, it wasn’t enough to keep us off the trails. We ensured each of us had one most set of dry clothes and decided to take our chances. It wasn’t a matter of getting wet but how wet and a rain coat only prolonged the inevitable. Luck was with us for about the first hour or so but the birds were a little slow. As it started to mist then turn into an all out rain is when the birding started picking up. We picked up an assortment of species including Bay Wren, Ashy-headed Tyrannulet and Immaculate Antbird.

We were nearly to the lodge when it really started raining but the birds were active. We tracked a woodpecker for some time because we had yet to see one. After a lengthy effort we finally got good looks at a Smoky-Brown Woodpecker. There were a number of tanagers about but nothing new.

Saturday February 14
This would be our last full day at Septimo so we wanted to make the most of it. Once again the morning weather was great. The birds were pretty active and we managed to add several new ones. One of our target birds was the Crimson-rumped Toucanet. The attractive feature of this bird is the bright lime colored of the body – not the scarlet rump. About 100 yards into the trail we saw one just above eye level and less than 50 feet away. What a great site! Right in the same tree was a Toucan Barbet. Not too much further down the trail I saw a bird fly a short distance. The jungle is too thick that even 50 feet away can be difficult to see at times because of the layers of trees, branches and thick ferns that you need to look through. However, after some arranging on the path I could see the bird that flew. It was a Masked Trogan.

We continued the trail with some decent activity but it was getting difficult to add any new birds at this point. Regardless, birds like a Rufous Motmot is hard to pass up no matter how many you’ve seen before.

For once, the afternoon weather was pretty nice so it was one last trip through the valley trails. A dark, small bird in the in the jungle can be tough to identify. However, I knew we had something new so it was worth sticking with. The flighty bird finally came our way and we got good looks at the Slaty Antwren. After getting back to the dirt road that comes into the lodge there was another decent flock of tanagers working the area. Nothing new in the tanager department but we did manage to find a Golden-winged Manakin. This would be our last new bird for the lodge.

Sunday February 15
This was our last day in Ecuador. We had a late flight out of Quito so we thought this might be a good day for a guide who could also take us back to Quito. Jane Lyons at Mindo Bird Tours got us “The Man” – Diego Andrade (diego_andrio@hotmail.com). Diego was excellent. A bundle of energy, a very likable guy and a great bird guide. He would drive us from the Mindo area and through the Tandayapa Valley area.

Diego was at Septimo by 6:30am and we were on our way shortly after that. We headed up the road and made our first pull-off just a couple miles later. There didn’t seem to be anything special about this area but Diego knew what he was doing. A decent variety of birds were in the immediate area and we quickly added Pearled Treerunner, White-tailed Tyrannulet, Blue Seedeater and several others.

We slowly worked our way up and down dirt roads. The birds seemed to come in groups only. There would be virtually nothing for several miles down some dirt road then there would be a flock of mixed birds. In this next group was an excellent assortment. We had seen Slate-throated Whitestart several times at Septimo but now we got to see the similar Spectacled Whitestart. Another nice addition was the sweet singing Cinnamon Flycatcher. A variety of other birds were added then it was back in the car and up the road. We stopped at another spot that didn’t look much different than the last 10 miles we just passed. However, Diego explained that he had some luck in the past at this spot with the very rare and local Tanager Finch. Looking at the Ecuador Bird Guide you see one dot on the map of Ecuador - the only place for this bird. Luck was with us and not 10 minutes later we had a pair of these very close to the car.

We were working our way towards a very nice lodge called Bellavista. However, before that we stopped again and walked a dirt road. We were each tracking our own birds looking for anything new when I noticed something different on the telephone wire. Another nice thing about a guide is that you don’t have to spend 10 minutes looking through the plates in the book trying to identify something (and missing three other birds in the meantime). I pointed the bird out to Diego and it was quickly evident this was a nice sighting. Diego birds the area quite often and indicated he had not seen a White-faced Nunbird in nearly a year. This was another rare and local (and lucky) find.

We arrived at Bellavista about noon and Diego greeted all his friends at the lodge. Diego indicated we would probably see the Turquoise Jay and we did. We walked the trails for just a little while. We were about 100 yards down the trail when Diego turned on his heels and said “look there”. It was obvious he knew there would be a Common Potoo sleeping at the top of a dead tree at about eye level.

Diego wanted us to get Plate-billed Mountain Toucan – a very cool, sky blue colored toucan. Not too much further up the trail we heard the calling of these birds at canopy level. Through craned necks we got decent views of them as they worked their way through the area.

After Bellavista we went to a hummingbird place. It was the home of Tony and his wife. I don’t know if you find this on the map or any bird guides. I think only the locals and guides know about this place. There were about 50 hummingbird feeders and we watched from the back deck. We tallied 14 species but Tony indicated he has recorded over 20. After an hour or so I asked Diego if he would quiz me on the hummers. I did pretty good considering the females can be rather difficult. I was also able to rattle off a number of photos with my digital camera.

Violet-tailed Sylph

After Tony’s we started the slow journey back to Quito with a few more stops along the road. We would stop when ever there was some activity and managed a few more tanagers and other odds and ends. Some of the nicer birds were Red-headed Barbet, Smoke-colored Pewee, Yellow-bellied Siskin and Grass-green Tanager.

The day ended with us tallying the day’s list back in the hotel lobby and saying goodbye to Diego. We came up with 78 species for the day.

In all an excellent trip to Ecuador. We managed a life dream of getting to the Galapagos Islands. This being our second trip to Ecuador, I was surprised at the number of new birds we added from the previous trip. Simply being on either side of the Andes is like being in a whole different country.

Compliments go to Jane Lyons (jlyons@ecnet.ec) at Mindo Bird Tours for setting up our trip.

Specie List = 168