The highlight of the school trip was undoubtedly the visit to the cloud forest at Intag on the western slope of the Andes north of Otavalo. The camp is called La Florida, and it's main claim to birding fame is the
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock lek about 20 minutes walk from camp. The 30 minutes I spent there on the Friday morning, in company with 3 of the boys and our guide, were quite simply magical.
The camp itself was an excellent birding spot, with many fruiting trees and flowering shrubs attracting hordes of tanagers, hummingbirds and other goodies. Best of the birds included
Common Potoo, Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Toucan Barbet, Red-billed Parrot, 9 species of tanager, including
Blue-Grey, Golden, White-winged, Saffron-crowned, Black-capped, Golden-naped, Lemon-rumped, Blue-winged Mountain and
Metallic Green, 3 species of hummingbird,
Booted Racquet-tail, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird and
Western Emerald.
Others included
Strong-billed and
Montane Woodcreeper, Red-faced Spinetail, Lineated Foliage-gleaner, Streaked Xenops, Pale-legged Hornero, Squirrel Cuckoo, Black-winged Saltator, 3 woodpeckers including
Crimson-mantled, Golden-olive and
Smoky-brown, Masked Trogon, Orange-bellied and
Thick-billed Euphonia.....
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. A quite astonishing bird, and an iconic species. Possibly the first bird I became aware of as a child. This is quite definitely one of the birding highlights of my life!
Common Potoo. Roosting in a dead tree behind the dining area at Intag.
Saffron-crowned Tanager. Only seen on the first day.
Blue-grey Tanager. One of the few Ecuadorian birds that I'd seen before, in Brazil
Golden Tanager. the most numerous tanager in camp
Blue-winged Mountain Tanager. Wow!
Lemon-rumped Tanager. Small numbers daily.
Female
White-winged Tanager. Seen every day, the male only appeared once.
Male
Masked Trogon.
Red-faced Spinetail.
Strong-billed Woodcreeper.
Montane Woodcreeper.
Booted Racquet-tail.
White-winged Becard.
Band-tailed Pigeon.
Golden-crowned Flycatcher.
Streaked Xenops.
Crimson-rumped Toucanet.
Funny you should say that about the Cock of the Rock. It was the frontespiece of my first encyclopedia.
ReplyDeletedont tell me Nana still had the book when you were young!