Golden-naped Tanager- Paz de las Aves, Ecuador
In July of 2024 I was lucky enough to spend two week birding in Ecuador. My account of a long first day, spent along the western slope of the Andes, is here. On the second day I visited several nice properties and once again saw a ton of new birds. The first of these locations, Paz de las Aves, probably deserves an entry of its own Also, I was getting really long-winded here, and these photo heavy diaries are probably dragging your internet speed way down! So Day 2 starts.
After a quick breakfast- oatmeal, a Nutrigrain bar and a scoop of scrambled eggs, we were off to one of the most anticipated sites of my Ecuador birding trip.
About twenty years ago, Angel Paz and his brothers inherited land from their father. Their plan was to clear the forests for agriculture, but before Angel could start cutting, a couple of people from a nearby ecolodge stopped by for a visit. As they walked the property, they discovered a lek- a display ground- of Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, a spectacular orange bird with a huge orange pompadour crest, black and gray wings and black tail.
Normally I use my own photos for my diaries, but this species was very difficult to photograph. This photo is on the San Diego Zoo website: sdzsafaripark.org/...
They explained to Angel that birders would love to come and observe the birds, and that they would pay to do so, but the forest must be left intact. Angel was convinced, and birders began showing up. At some point, several species of antpittas were also found on the property. As explained in part one, antpittas are incredibly shy and difficult to see, and few birders had ever seen more than a handful of species. Angel was patient, however, and over the next several years he gained an unprecedented level of trust with the birds.
My guide for the Andes Mountains, Patricio, in the foreground, with Angel Paz at the Cock of the Rock blind.
Now visitors flock to Paz de las Aves to watch Angel call out the various antpittas by name, tossing worms into open feeding areas as birders swoon and cameras click. Others have copied his technique, some successfully, in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and even at some Asian locations.
We left the lodge in the dark, and by the time we arrived at Paz de las Aves, dawn was just breaking. Several nighthawks darted through the headlight beams, probably Rufous-bellied, but left as unidentified for now.
Birders have to be at the Cock-of-the-Rock blind before daylight in order to catch the lekking displays of the male birds.
The first of the “celebrity” birds to see at Paz are the Cock- of-the-Rocks. They become active at dawn, which is when a group of up to a dozen or so males congregate and wait for a female to show up. At that point, the males begin calling and strutting, their spectacular (we try not to say “ridiculous”) orange pompadours and gray and black wings going through all sorts of contortions, in the hope of luring a mate.
Here’s a Youtube video to give you some idea.
We walked down the slippery, muddy trail and arrived at the viewing blind at first light. Although we had good looks at the big orange performers, it was very difficult to any sort of decent photos, with the dim light and heavy cover. To give you some idea- these two really bad photos are about the best I could manage!
At one point a Golden-headed Quetzal dropped in, and by lining myself up with an opening in the leaves I was able to snap a couple of photos.
Golden-headed Quetzal- a bonus bird at the lek blind.
After about an hour at the blind, Angel led us along a nearby trail through the jungle, checking various spots. There was another group of birders and guides who we met at the blind and we had some quiet conversation with these new friends as we moved along.
Over the next 20 minutes we birded along the trails, building out our bird list,
The small parking area near the trail head had some banana feeders set up, and tanagers were flocking in to take advantage. Golden and Golden-naped Tanagers were soon joined by Flame-faced Tanagers.
Golden Tanager on the left and Golden-naped Tanager on the right.
Flame-faced Tanagers were one of the dominant species at Paz de las Aves and many other cloud forest locations.
Flame-faced Tanager
At this point, we jumped back in the cars to head off to a new trail head and new birds. I was thrilled when Angel asked to ride with us, and I happily gave him my front window seat! After a five minute conversation in the car, it felt as if we were lifelong friends. His public relation skills are great and it was clear that he knows how to win people over quickly!
We got to the next stop and immediately started down the trail, stopping for such beauties as this Golden-bellied Flycatcher
As we slowly picked our way along the muddy trail, it was time for Angel to show us the stars of Paz de las Aves- the fruits of his 20 years of labor. Angel began whistling the calls of Yellow- breasted Antpitta and calling “Venga Willy! Venga”! Within a few minutes, there was some movement alongside the steam and Willhamena made her way out onto the rocks.
Yellow-breasted Antpitta at Paz de las Aves.
Once again, lighting for photos was difficult, but the views of this normally shy and difficult to find species were spectacular. After five minutes or so, the Wilhamena show was over and we moved on to our next location, a clearing along a forest trail.
Angel went into his routine again, this time calling out “Maria! Maria! Venga Maria!” Lucky for us, Giant Antpittas speak Spanish, for in a few minutes one popped up onto a log and gave stunning views.
Maria, the Giant Antpitta- Paz de las Aves, Ecuador.
As we were focused on Maria, one of the guides noticed a movement behind us in the trees. We all turned to watch an Olivaceous Piha- quite a difficult bird to find and another welcome addition to our list of sightings.
Olivaceous Piha at the Giant Antpitta site.
With one more stop before lunch, we found, what for us, was the toughest of the antpittas- Susanita, the Moutached Antpitta.
Susanita was much shier than the others, and I was lucky to get a quick look and a couple of poor photos before she seemingly vanished into a hole in the vegetation. Some in the group missed her entirely.
We headed back to the main buildings, and were greeted by more tanagers and hummingbirds at the feeders, and another Giant Antpitta patrolling through an opening in the vegetation. Angel approached this bird and even knelt next to it for photos!
Angel Paz with the second Giant Antpitta of the day.
Meanwhile, the hummingbird show continued. Here, Andean Emerald flying on the left, two larger Fawn-breasted Brilliants perched on the feeder, and the tiny female White-booted Racketail.
And a ton of other hummers
Speckled Hummingbird joining into the fray.
Brown Inca
And the spectacular Violet-tailed Sylph
Another view of Violet-tailed Sylph
Velvet Purple Coronet
Purple-bibbed Whitetip- another tiny but spectacular hummingbird
Lunch was served and birders and guides finally had a chance to mingle, as tanagers mobbed the fruit feeders nearby.
Flame-rumped Tanager male
Flame-rumped Tanager female
One of the many varieties of katydid found in the tropical jungles.
I often find that the people that I meet on these trips are at least as interesting as the birds, and the lunch meetup gave me the opportunity to speak with a few of the local, and not so local, Ecuadorians.
One fellow in particular, a guide for one of the birding groups that we had met in the morning at the Cock-of-the-Rock lekking area, was from deep within the Amazon Basin. He told me he was a Yasuni from one of the tribes that I would be visiting next week. As best I could tell- given the fact that Spanish was not the first language for either of us- his name is Boya Tega, and he is starting his own hiking / camping tourism company in the Amazon Basin to the south of the Napo River. He wrote out his Whats App contact and the name of his website, which was not up and running at the time. Last I checked, it was still not available, but, honestly, I think a camping trip in the deep jungle might be more of an adventure than I’m willing to sign on for.
Over lunch, Boya Tega regaled me with stories of growing up among the uncontacted people- tribes who knew of the outside world but did not want to engage with it. One story involved a raid, or war, that they had conducted on a neighboring group, about 20 years ago. He told me, very matter-of-factly- how they had captured a girl from that village. “She lives with us now- yes, she’s still with us.”
After lunch we headed back out for one more antpitta. This time Angel’s brother Rodrigo joined us and as we waited, and Angel called for “Andreita!” alongside a wooded stream, I eavesdropped as the brothers discussed a negotiation with a telecommunication company over the width of a powerline clearcut. I wasn’t sure if this was a neighboring property or part of their own land, but it dawned on me how this family, once local farmers, now international celebrities in the world of natural history, had acquired the clout which allowed them to sit at the table where decisions like this were being made. One more win for ecotourism.
This would be the final act in the antpitta show for today. Angel walked up the stream and strategically placed several big juicy earthworms on the rocks and mossy logs. Within a few minutes, we could see Andreita edging out of the shadows, eventually presenting herself to us on a mossy log. Andreita’s bright chestnut head and contrasting white throat marked her as probably the most colorful of the antpittas we would see that day.
She spent about five minutes, in and out of the shadows, before moving further back into the undergrowth.
Andreita- the Chestnut-crowned Antpitta at Refugio Paz de las Aves
The four antpitta species that Angel showed us made for a very respectable tally for this difficult group. One additional member of the entourage, Shaquira, an Ochre-breasted Antpitta, did not show for us today- a reminder of how lucky we were to see the birds that cooperated!
As we left Paz de las Aves, I asked my guide, Patricio, if he had any thoughts about the nightjars that had flown over the car before dawn. He thought they were probably Rufous-bellied Nighthawks, but more importantly, it reminded him to stop and check for a bird that he sometimes found on a roost along the road. The bird he sought was there, and it turned out to be one of the most spectacular birds of the trip, actually one of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen- a male Lyre-tailed Nightjar!
Lyre-tailed Nightjar is similar to one of our nighthawks, cryptically patterned in brown and black, except that this 10 inch long bird has a tail that can be up to 30 additional inches! Our bird was a male in fine form, nestled tightly among the vines where its tail was allowed to flow freely below it. This caused an unexpected difficulty in photographing it. If I wanted to include the entire tail, the bird itself would be quite small in the photo, and hard to distinguish. Oh well- I tried my best to get the whole thing in!
Lyre-tailed Nightjar- how do you photograph a ten inch bird with a 30 inch tail?
At this point we drove down out of the higher slopes to a really great park in Mindo, but I think this is probably enough for one diary- thank you if you’ve managed to make it this far. At some point, I’d like to add the rest of day two and the rest of my time around the western Andes- there really are so many spectacular locations there!
Thanks for reading and please add your comments on this or on your own nature observations!
