Birding Ecuador {from Páramo to Jungle}

Day 4

Our day began in the páramo of Papallacta Pass and would end in a vastly different environment in the Amazon jungle. Wanting to take advantage of the varied habitat in between, we hired José, a driver who is training to be a birding guide. This is normally a 6 hour drive, but with three planned birding stops, it took 17 hours!

Our first stop was the páramo of Papallacta Pass inside Cayambe Coca National Park. Páramo is the alpine tundra ecosystem found in very high elevations above timberline and below the permanent snow line. As we climbed to 13,450ft, we were completely enveloped by cloud. Upon exiting the vehicle, we were assaulted by 35F temps, strong winds and a misty rain that bordered on hail.

Despite my three layers of pants and five tops, I was freezing! A few minutes into this and I was wondering what exactly we were expecting to see thru these low visibility conditions. Nicole and I were ready to give up when José spotted the Andean Snipe! Even with his directions, it was hard to see it thru the cloud. Success!

We warmed up at a restaurant with a fireplace in the little town of Papallacta then birded the nearby area and even spotted some llamas in the road! This area is known for its hot springs.

Guango Lodge lies midway between Papallacta and Misahuallí. We spent the next few hours birding their trails. We walked along the river in search of Torrent Ducks, but only managed a quick view of one jumping into the rapids before it disappeared. But we did have great looks at the Masked Trogon and Andean Potoo (below), yes, that's really a bird!

They have many hummingbird feeders with constant activity from 14 different species. This photo shows (from left) a female White-bellied Woodstar, Long-tailed Sylph, Buff-tailed Coronet, male White-bellied Woodstar and a Chestnut-breasted Coronet.

Collared Inca (above)  Chestnut-breasted Coronet (below)

Buff-winged Starfrontlet (above)   Long-tailed Sylph (below)

Buff-tailed Coronet (below)

After leaving Guango, we followed the winding mountainous roads until we came upon stopped traffic. People standing around outside their vehicles was a bad sign. José went to inquire about the situation and returned with grim news. A vehicle had gone over the cliff and a rescue attempt was underway.

Did you notice the THREE waterfalls in the view above?

José, the brilliant guide he is, suggested we find somewhere to bird until the road opens up. Can you believe the random spot he took us to had a pair of Torrent Ducks just waiting for us?!
I snapped photos before they both disappeared into the rapids. It's amazing they can survive the tumultuous water.

Above is where we saw the ducks. What a beautiful place!

The town we birded while waiting for traffic to clear.

Once the road was open, we had just enough time to make it to San Isidro by dusk. Fortunately our target bird was an owl, known only as the San Isidro Mystery Owl. We were told it comes to a particular streetlight after dark, however two hours later, it still hadn't made an appearance. Nicole and I were ready to give up but José was determined. He wanted to check every tree on the road one last (sixth) time before we abandoned our search. And that's when we heard it! We tracked it to a tree where we spent five wonderful minutes watching before it flew.

A late night dinner had been arranged for us along our route. We then arrived in the jungle town of Misahuallí later than expected. I'd been to Laguna Paikawe before, so we approached the home only to be told our room was further down the road. We looked and saw nothing. It wasn't until we followed our host to a wooden board crossing the ditch that we saw thru the jungle a dimly lit structure beyond what appeared to be a moat. We walked a raised, dry path that cut thru the water to reach our room. Inside was a very basic room with 2 small beds and a bathroom. Two entire walls from my hip to the ceiling were simply screen. The next day during the light of day, we realized the structure is divided into four separate rooms. We were completely exhausted, but the jungle is very loud at night. We were awakened many times by the calls and cries of many different creatures, and also our imagination. Being two youngish females, separated from who knows what by a simple screen, left me feeling unsettled. Although I did love hearing the noises, especially the birds, we both opted for ear plugs after the first night, just so we could get some rest.