Andes Introtour Extension´s Trip Report 18th – 30th January 2015

Pictures by Andres Vasquez, guide of this tour

Above: Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, we saw 3 around the antennas right at the Papallacta Pass

INTRODUCTION:

The Andes Introtour is one of our most popular tours, in fact it is the absolute bestseller for Tropical Birding. In only 6 days we visit many ecosystems of various altitudinal belts averaging about 350 species of birds recorded; all that by staying in only one lodge strategically located for this purpose, the great Tandayapa Bird Lodge. There is only one ecosystem in the region that we cannot really reach from Tandayapa and that is the páramos of the high Andes above the tree line. In order to visit this amazing habitat we offer this short High Andes extension.

I have guided the Andes Introtour and its High Andes extension many times and I have to say that at the end of the entire tour when we summarize the experiences and sightings by nominating the top 5 birds, most times 3 out of the 5 come from the extension; typically those would be the birds mentioned in the paragraph below. The beauty of this region is striking; despite the cold temperatures, it is usually voted the favorite in terms of scenery. With this foreword I want to say that if you are thinking on joining the Andes Introtour, please do not hesitate on joining the High Andes Extension as well; you would only add 2 days but those would be memorable, extremely worth it.

Within the very first hours of birding in this extension we have the best chances to get the majestic Andean Condor (distant photo on the right) which has been very reliable lately in Antisana Reserve; we saw it as well near Papallacta Pass. This extension is the only chance on the whole tour to find the rare and ornate Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe which belongs to a family of birds restricted to South America; in fact this is the species that reaches the farthest north in the family. Another important bird we get in this extension is the rare Black-faced (Andean) Ibis which is really striking, similar to any in North America. We also observe a near country endemic hummingbird, the beautiful Ecuadorian Hillstar with its bright blue head and pristine white underparts. The lodge that we stay in for one night (Guango Lodge) is in fact the best place to find one of the most sought after species of the Andes, the great Torrent Duck. As if more was needed, the pass is one of the best places to find the only South American bear, the adorable but sadly rare Spectacled Bear which we missed on this trip by just 3 minutes!!!

During these 2 extra days we recorded a total of 109 species of which 64 were NEW species for the whole trip (4 being heard only). This sums up to the main tour list reaching a total of 406 species recorded from 55 bird families of which 362 were seen and 44 only heard. Please also read the photographic summary I did for the main tour at: http://goo.gl/RtQLAv

DAY 1 – January 18th:

The day started off on the wrong foot since a light but annoyingly constant rain that started during the night did not seem to stop soon; happily it is easy to work around the rain and we ended up having one of the best two days in the area I had ever had. We drove from the hotel in Puembo (a small town close to the airport) towards the Antisana Reserve. The ride takes only about 50mins but it starts at 2380 m (7800 ft) and reaches the first birding stop at 3540 m (11600 ft). Given the rain the first birding we did was in fact indoors! Yes, we stopped at a local restaurant called Tambo Condor where the hummingbird feeders visible from the inside are typically active and produced the one species I really wanted, the hulking Giant Hummingbird. We also found in the surroundings Great Sapphirewing and Sword-billed Hummingbirds.

As soon as the heavy fog gave us a chance I brought up my scope to scan the rock cliffs visible from the same restaurant. The owner of the place had already spotted, before we arrived, a perched

Andean Condor juvenile so it was not hard to set the scope for a view, not the best view to start with, but we had better weather later on and got it nicely.

The road continues to ascend into the páramos where the Furnariidae family is very well represented and many individuals are subtly beautiful, typically in rufous tones and with loud songs. That is the case with the Many-striped Canastero shown here. We saw this striking little bird in an area where Páramo Pipits were surprisingly abundant, at least by voice; we saw many pipits today in many different spots.

Antisana is a great place for raptors. Here Carunculated Caracaras are particularly common, in fact plentiful; probably over a hundred are scattered

along the route we drive. The next most common raptor is the Variable (Puna) Hawk of which we saw at least 5 or 6 of different coloration morphs hence the name Variable.

I was particularly happy when David, one of the participants, spotted an Aplomado Falcon perched up on a fence pole far out. This raptor is not common at all, and with it we got 8 diurnal raptor species in the extension alone, not counting the condor or vultures.

Further up the road we reached an extensive highland grass fields where birds thrive given the large quantity of food. This area is where we found a couple groups of the rare and local Black-faced (Andean) Ibis foraging along the grasslands looking for shrubs and other invertebrates. We saw about 6 of this outstanding ibis that is so different from any other ibis species back where most of our group was from, so they enjoyed it very much. Alongside, plenty of Andean Gulls, Black-winged Ground-Doves and Andean Lapwings also foraged around giving every visitor a great spectacle, since everywhere you looked you had a bird to enjoy.

Other smaller birds are also easy to see in these open areas. We got up close and personal with this curious Chestnut-winged (Bar-winged) Cinclodes (photo above) which came to within a few feet from my boots.

The very similar Stout-billed Cinclodes is quite common as well here; they typically share feeding grounds with Plumbeous Sierra-Finches and even with Plain-capped (Páramo) Ground-Tyrants and pipits.

Near the headquarters and visitor center of the park, there is a territory of another Furnariid, this time one with a subtle but obvious voice, the charming Andean Tit-Spinetail (photo). The territory is very conveniently just behind the restrooms, so the chase for this bird gave both a lifer and a relief for most participants. We happily saw another good bird in the same spot, the dark Blue-mantled Thornbill, a hummer that typically flies close to ground feeding on short bushes.

Many times we have to leave our vehicle parked in this area since regulations allow cars past this control point only when senior citizens are visiting. This time we had no problem and we could take the car all the way to the border of the Mica Lake instead of having to walk.

I was particularly happy with us being permitted to reach the lakeshore since this pair of Silvery Grebes (photo) was very close to the border; I don’t think I have had better opportunities to photograph these beauties before.

Look at those awesome red eyes and ear tuffs!!! The lake was quite full of waterfowl. We saw plenty of Slate-colored (Andean) Coots, several (Andean) Ruddy Ducks, a couple Andean Teals, and a number of Yellow-billed Pintails.

After cleaning up on water birds (happily as that frees up time to focus on other birds later on the tour), it was time for lunch at a local restaurant. The side road that leads to it is one of the best places to find a near country endemic hummingbird that feeds on Chuquiragua plants which proliferate on the hillsides of this road. I am referring to the Ecuadorian Hillstar; males are so splendid that they are cover photos of various books and magazines.

Right after lunch we started the longish ride towards Guango Lodge. We got there at about mid-afternoon and due to the

rain in the area we concentrated for a while on the hummingbird feeders and areas around the lodge. Guango is famous for the richness on hummers where one of the most attractive is of course the Sword-billed Hummingbird (photo on previous page).

Quite late in the day, as soon as the rain gave us a break, we walked the trails behind the lodge where we saw a few eastern mountain forest specialties like Gray-hooded Bush-Tanager,

(Northern) Mountain Cacique, Pale-naped Brush-Finch, Black-capped and Black-eared Hemispingus, Slaty Brush-Finch, and a few other upper cloud forest birds.

DAY 2 – January 19th:

We started the day early and moved up the hill towards the hot springs the area of Papallacta is famous for; we were not intending on swimming, we just needed to get to the road behind the resort to go after a few special birds present there. Soon after we started birding, we found our first target, the humble Agile Tit-Tyrant (photo) that came close for a nice picture. Right after, we called in another modest species local to the area, a male Viridian Metaltail.

Further up the road we ran into a smallish flock but quite productive

since it included a group of Black-backed Bush-Tanagers which were followed by a nice rarity, the scarce Masked Mountain-Tanager. We started to descend along the same road and we soon found another flock. This time it contained Golden-crowned Tanager, Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager, Blue-backed Conebill, Superciliaried Hemispingus, Sedge (Paramo or Grass) Wren, White-throated and White-banded Tyrannulets, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant (photo next page), and a few more.

Suddenly I heard a response to the song I was playing and that got us rushing towards this voice; it was a Crescent-faced Antpitta that started to sing from deep inside a dense patch of forest. We needed to scramble off the road to have any chance to see this bird, getting our pants muddy and hands wet by grabbing the mossy branches in order to get inside the forest. The antpitta was happily active and came in after some playback but sadly it never got out on the open and only one participant got decent views before it got tired of us; the rest only saw it moving from branch to branch. It was kind of a bittersweet moment since you really want good views of this bird; it is probably the best antpitta out there!

After being quite satisfied with the birds we got, I decided to go back down the hill towards Guango Lodge again to try for the most wanted Torrent Duck which was elusive the previous day. We had talked to other people staying at the lodge and several of them had seen the desired duck; it was just a matter of luck. We needed to walk the very same trail that runs parallel to the river which we had done the previous day. This time we got lucky and, together with several White-capped Dippers, we finally got a female Torrent Duck bringing food to a young bird. It was quite rewarding and, for me, relieving.

We had a little extra time to check the hummingbird feeders while the staff helped us bring the luggage to the car. The species that are regular here are delightful and quite varied in terms of size and colors. We found from the miniature White-bellied Woodstar next to the large Collared Inca; we also had Chestnut-breasted and Buff-tailed Coronets, Long-tailed Sylph, Tourmaline Sunangel, and Speckled Hummingbird.

We started our return towards Quito, but not without birding on the way where some of the best birds of the trip still awaited. We drove directly to the very top of the Papallacta Pass in search of one of the biggest targets of this extension, the flamboyant Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe (photo). When

we got to the antennas, the highest place where we actually do any birding (4300 m/14,100 ft), the weather was not great but it was not too bad either. Normally we have to do a lot of walking in very cold conditions in order to find this bird. Happily for us, this time we saw the bird from the car since

we flushed it as we were parking. We then needed only a few feet of walking to get up close and personal with the bird, as you can see in this picture where David uses his Iphone at the time I needed to walk away to get them both in the frame.

This sighting was awesome not only due to the views but also due to all the extra time it gave us to go look for other species afterwards. From there on it was all downhill and not too far down we found a quite uncommon bird local to this high areas, this time perched up very conspicuously and for a long time, a Red-

rumped Bush-Tyrant (photo). Right after we spotted a perched Tawny Antpitta that was singing away from a low bush.

We had our packed lunch in the same area, hoping to hear one of the Furnariids we had not seen yet and fortunately it started singing just as we finished with our meal. The dull and skulking White-chinned Thistletail responded and came in, but it was hard to see so we put a little extra time and effort so that everyone got good views.

We finally saw it well but it ended up being a very costly sighting because just when we started driving on we met a truck driver that was coming from the opposite direction who told us that just 3 minutes earlier he had seen a family of Spectacled Bears crossing the road only two bends away. Obviously we rushed to look for them but despite our efforts we could not see them; they had already entered a dense and large forest patch besides the road. The time we dedicated to search for the bears was happily not all a waste given that an adult male Andean Condor started soaring right above our heads, very close; we got excellent views of course, and the sadness of not seeing the bear turned into happiness for the superb views we got at the magnificent national bird of Ecuador. Very contrasting emotions in just a matter of minutes!

We did some extra birding later on but mostly we drove downhill towards the hotel. I had planned one more birding spot that could bring us some extra birds for the trip and eventually a surprise. There was a little detour needed to get to a pond that is located right next to the international airport which lately had been popular with some migrants. It turned out great since we got the first record of Lesser Scaup (photo) for the entire province. There were a couple other birds around including a vagrant that comes to Ecuador just occasionally, a first year Herring Gull! We also saw Harris´s Hawk, a young Peregrine Falcon, and some Pied-billed Grebes.

Out of the 3 participants that joined the extension 2 were staying at a hotel close to the airport since their flights were early the next day. They saw on the hotel grounds a couple new bird for the trip, Ringed Kingfisher and Saffron Finch. With the other participant who was planning on staying a couple days exploring the beautiful city of Quito (the colonial town is spectacular), we drove back towards the city and on the way we saw a Zone-tailed Hawk that crossed flying close by.

It was a very memorable extension, full of great birds, incredible landscapes, many surprises, emotional ups and downs but more than anything, a superb compliment to the very successful Andes Introtour this extension was linked to.

I have tried to express with this report how great it is the addition that we get with this extension, it is almost a must if you have a little extra time and you are joining the Andes Introtour.

FINAL BIRD LIST OF THE EXTENSION:

Total of 106 species recorded, 64 new for the whole trip. H stands for Heard only record.

DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS ANATIDAE

1

Torrent Duck Merganetta armata 2

Yellow-billed Pintail Anas georgica

3

Andean Teal Anas flavirostris andium 4

Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis

5

(Andean) Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis andina

GUANS, CHACHALACAS, CURASSOWS CRACIDAE

6

Andean Guan Penelope montagnii

GREBES PODICIPEDIDAE

7

Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps 8

Silvery Grebe Podiceps occipitalis

IBIS AND SPOONBILLS THRESKIORNITHIDAE

9

Black-faced (Andean) Ibis Theristicus melanopis branickii

NEW WORLD VULTURES CATHARTIDAE

10

Black Vulture Coragyps atratus 11

Andean Condor Vultur gryphus

HAWKS, EAGLES, AND KITES ACCIPITRIDAE

12

Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus 13

Variable Hawk Geranoaetus polyosoma

14

Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle Geranoaetus melanoleucus 15

Zone-tailed Hawk Buteo albonotatus

RAILS, GALLINULES, AND COOTS RALLIDAE

16

Slate-colored (Andean) Coot Fulica ardesiaca

PLOVERS AND LAPWINGS CHARADRIIDAE

17

Andean Lapwing Vanellus resplendens

SEEDSNIPES THINOCORIDAE

18

Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe Attagis gayi

GULLS LARIDAE: LARINAE

19

Andean Gull Chroicocephalus serranus 20

Herring Gull Larus argentatus

PIGEONS AND DOVES COLUMBIDAE

21

Rock Pigeon Columba livia 22

Band-tailed Pigeon Patagioenas fasciata

23

Eared Dove Zenaida auriculata 24

Black-winged Ground-Dove Metriopelia melanoptera

SWIFTS APODIDAE

25

White-collared Swift Streptoprocne zonaris

HUMMINGBIRDS TROCHILIDAE

26

Sparkling Violetear Colibri coruscans 27

Speckled Hummingbird Adelomyia melanogenys

28

Chestnut-breasted Coronet Boissonneaua matthewsii 29

Shining Sunbeam Aglaeactis cupripennis

30

Ecuadorian Hillstar Oreotrochilus chimborazo 31

Collared Inca Coeligena torquata

32

Buff-winged Starfrontlet Coeligena lutetiae 33

Sword-billed Hummingbird Ensifera ensifera

34

Great Sapphirewing Pterophanes cyanopterus 35

Giant Hummingbird Patagona gigas

36

Tourmaline Sunangel Heliangelus exortis 37

Black-tailed Trainbearer Lesbia victoriae

38

Tyrian Metaltail Metallura tyrianthina

39

Viridian Metaltail Metallura williami 40

Blue-mantled Thornbill Chalcostigma stanleyi

41

White-bellied Woodstar Chaetocercus mulsant

KINGFISHERS ALCEDINIDAE

42

Ringed Kingfisher Megaceryle torquatus

FALCONS AND CARACARAS FALCONIDAE

43

Carunculated Caracara Phalcoboenus carunculatus 44

American Kestrel Falco sparverius

45

Aplomado Falcon Falco femoralis 46

Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus

ANTPITTAS GRALLARIIDAE

47

Chestnut-crowned Antpitta Grallaria ruficapilla 48 H Rufous Antpitta Grallaria rufula 49

Tawny Antpitta Grallaria quitensis

50 H Slate-crowned Antpitta Grallaricula nana 51

Crescent-faced Antpitta Grallaricula lineifrons

TAPACULOS RHINOCRYPTIDAE

52 H Paramo Tapaculo Scytalopus opacus

OVENBIRDS AND WOODCREEPERS FURNARIIDAE

53

Stout-billed Cinclodes Cinclodes excelsior 54

Chestnut-winged (Bar-winged) Cinclodes Cinclodes albidiventris

55

Andean Tit-Spinetail Leptasthenura andicola 56 H White-browed Spinetail Hellmayrea gularis 57

Many-striped Canastero Asthenes flammulata

TYRANT FLYCATCHERS TYRANNIDAE

58

White-banded Tyrannulet Mecocerculus stictopterus 59

White-throated Tyrannulet Mecocerculus leucophrys

60

Agile Tit-Tyrant Anairetes agilis 61 H White-crested Elaenia Elaenia albiceps 62

Torrent Tyrannulet Serpophaga cinerea

63

Cinnamon Flycatcher Pyrrhomyias cinnamomeus 64

Plain-capped (Páramo) Ground-Tyrant Muscisaxicola alpinus

65

Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant Cnemarchus erythropygius 66

Crowned Chat-Tyrant Ochthoeca frontalis

67

Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant Ochthoeca rufipectoralis 68

Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant Ochthoeca fumicolor

CROWS JAYS AND MAGPIES CORVIDAE

69

Green (Inca) Jay Cyanocorax yncas yncas 70

Turquoise Jay Cyanolyca turcosa

SWALLOWS HIRUNDINIDAE

71

Brown-bellied Swallow Orochelidon murina 72

Purple Martin Progne subis

73

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

WRENS TROGLODYTIDAE

74

Mountain Wren Troglodytes solstitialis

75

Sedge (Grass or Paramo) Wren Cistothorus platensis aequatorialis

DIPPERS CINCLIDAE

76

White-capped Dipper Cinclus leucocephalus

THRUSHES AND ALLIES TURDIDAE

77

Great Thrush Turdus fuscater

WAGTAILS AND PIPITS MOTACILLIDAE

78

Paramo Pipit Anthus bogotensis

NEW WORLD WARBLERS PARULIDAE

79

Blackburnian Warbler Setophaga fusca 80

Spectacled Redstart (Whitestart) Myioborus melanocephalus

81

Black-crested Warbler Myiothlypis nigrocristatus 82

Russet-crowned Warbler Myiothlypis coronatus

TANAGERS AND ALLIES THRAUPIDAE

83

Black-capped Hemispingus Hemispingus atropileus 84

Superciliaried Hemispingus Hemispingus superciliaris

85

Black-eared Hemispingus Hemispingus melanotis melanotis 86

Gray-hooded Bush Tanager Cnemoscopus rubrirostris

87

Masked Mountain-Tanager Buthraupis wetmorei 88

Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager Anisognathus igniventris

89 H Grass-green Tanager Chlorornis riefferii 90

Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager Dubusia taeniata

91

Golden-crowned Tanager Iridosornis rufivertex 92

Blue-and-black Tanager Tangara vassorii

93

Cinereous Conebill Conirostrum cinereum 94

Blue-backed Conebill Conirostrum sitticolor

95

Glossy Flowerpiercer Diglossa lafresnayii 96

Black Flowerpiercer Diglossa humeralis

97

Masked Flowerpiercer Diglossa cyaneus 98 H Plushcap Catamblyrhynchus diadema 99

Black-backed Bush Tanager Urothraupis stolzmanni

100

Plumbeous Sierra-Finch Phrygilus unicolor 101

Saffron Finch Sicalis flaveola

102

Plain-colored Seedeater Catamenia inornata

BUNTINGS AND NEW WORLD SPARROWS EMBERIZIDAE

103

Pale-naped Brush-Finch Atlapetes pallidinucha 104

Slaty Brush-Finch Atlapetes schistaceus

105

Rufous-collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis 106 H Common Chlorospingus (Bush-Tanager) Chlorospingus flavopectus

GROSBEAKS AND ALLIES CARDINALIDAE

107

Golden-bellied (Southern Yellow) Grosbeak Pheucticus chrysogaster

TROUPIALS AND ALLIES ICTERIDAE

108

(Northern) Mountain Cacique Cacicus chrysonotus leucoramphus

SISKINS AND ALLIES FRINGILLIDAE

109

Hooded Siskin Spinus magellanicus