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After leaving San Isidro, our plan was to head upslope, staying one night in Guango Lodge and then treating ourselves on our final night at the Papallacta Hot Springs Resort, just 10 minutes beyond Guango. But then again, plans are meant to be flexible, right? Somehow we drove past Guango Lodge (apparently the navigator was sleeping or looking elsewhere), but since it was such a gorgeous cloudless day, we decided to continue driving even further upslope to Papallacta Pass. The weather up here is legendary for being fickle and nasty, as it was when we drove eastward over the pass after arriving on our first day, so we unanimously decided to take advantage of the clear skies while we had the chance. We found the rough dirt side road by the virgin shrine (there always seems to be a virgin shrine) and started driving up it towards the radio antennas where some high-quality birds can be found. The problem was that our Chevy Sail was not equipped for the 14,000 ft altitude, based on its frequent stalling, and the poor traction caused by the loose gravel and rocks was getting worse as we ascended. We decided not to risk tumbling down the steep hillside, so we turned around and headed back to Guango. It was a nice try, and we did pick up a few Variable Hawks, Chestnut-winged Cinclodes, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, and a singing Tawny Antpitta (finally an antpitta that we found ourselves, not at a feeder station!!), but Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe would have to wait for another day and another year.

Guango Lodge (8,600 ft elevation) is a delightful small lodge consisting of a single building with perhaps only 10 rooms that has a distinct feel from the other lodges that we visited on this trip. It is a birding lodge that hobbits might be comfortable in, with an alpine feel despite being near the equator, two fireplaces in the dining room, and small but cute rooms with nicely detailed curved ceilings.

Before we even unpacked our car at Guango a group entered the lodge and showed us photos of a Mountain Tapir that they just spotted ~5 minutes from the lodge. So without even unpacking, we rushed out on to the trail, armed only with their confusing directions. Amazingly, we found the location fairly quickly, but to no avail, although their report did serve to remind us of the wildlife possibilities up here.

Having spent a few hours on the Papallacta and tapir detours, we could now get back to birds. Our late afternoon walk was only mildly productive; although we didn’t see many birds, we did find one of the big targets for this location, a Gray-breasted Mountain-toucan on the Torrent Duck Trail. Coming back on the Pipeline Trail we bumped into a nice male Masked Trogon, and a Blue-and-Black Tanager. We stopped at the feeders hoping to find the stunning Sword-billed Hummingbird mixed in among the Long-tailed Sylphs, Collared Incas, and the numerous Tourmaline Sunangels, and Jeanine finally spotted one just as it was getting dark.

While Pete was taking a break, Jeanine and I took another stroll along the river, still hoping for a Fasciated Tiger-heron, even though this is at the far upper end of their range, or perhaps finding that tapir. We were surprised when a bird flew by quickly from the Papallacta River and up a smaller feeder stream. “White-capped Dipper!”, I shouted out.  “White-capped Dipper?” was what I was wondering. We had to find out. Well, to be more accurate, I had to find out to silence the doubters. We walked uphill on the streambank as far as we could, but came up empty. I thought it must be further upstream, and being a notoriously stubborn individual, suggested crossing the stream and following a small side trail that was on the opposite bank to see if we could find this bird. We crossed the stream. Nothing past the first bend. Nothing over the small ridge. One more small ridge and then I’d give up. But there it was. A gorgeous White-capped Dipper feeding close by along the shoreline, and it didn’t seem to care that we were watching it creep onto and over and around the rocks. What a treat.

The next morning we had what was without a doubt the best few hours of birding of the entire trip. It started out with Turquoise Jays around the lodge. We took the short walk up to the Waterfall trail, which was then level and ran parallel above the highway. We were spotting birds all along this trail, often at eye level in the downslope treetops. Among these flocks we saw Northern Mountain-Caciques, Blue-backed Conebills, Black-chested and Lacrimose Mountain-tanagers, Pale-naped Brush-finches, Handsome Flycatchers, and multiple Pearled Treerunners. It was pure birding heaven; one of those times where new birds are almost coming too fast and furious. This is how birding always should be.

After such a great morning, it was tough to move on, but hot springs were calling us. Our final night was to be spent in a spacious two-story cabin in the Papallacta Hot Springs Resort, a high-end resort complete with three hot spring pools that we had to ourselves. Before taking advantage of the pools we drove into the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve that begins just beyond the resort grounds. Here we saw two new high-elevation lifer hummingbirds, Shining Sunbeam and Mountain Velvetbreast; it’s always a treat to find hummingbirds away from feeders. Another treat  was seeing the lovely Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager and Hooded Mountain-tanager, completing a super four Mountain-tanager day.

It was time to sample the hot spring pools. Wow! How great to treat ourselves to some relaxing time. It was funny that while we were soaking in the pools, the adjacent flowering trees were visited by Great Thrushes and several Shining Sunbeams (don’t you just love some of these hummingbird names?), along with Sword-billed Hummingbirds that we were having trouble finding at Guango. Isn’t that the way it is sometimes? When you stop looking for some bird, then they show up.

Tomorrow we head up to the paramo in Antisana National Park on our final day.

On my previous trips to Ecuador we focused mainly on the mid-range altitudes, so on this trip we scheduled three days in the Napo River lowlands, hoping to find a new group of species. The Napo is a large tributary that eventually feeds into the Amazon River, but I hesitate to call the area that we visited ‘Amazonia’, which to me implies traveling downriver by boat to remote and untouched terrain. Due to time and budget constraints our goal was simply to get to a lower altitude by car and see as many convenient lowland species as possible.

We anticipated needing a break from birding after our first six days in Ecuador, so we scheduled a single night in Hosteria de las Orquideas, a comfortable roadside resort in Archidona, located around 1 1/2 hour drive from Wildsumaco Lodge at 1,900 ft elevation. We were very fortunate to make it to the resort without incident, as our gas tank was nearly empty so we covered quite a few miles rolling downhill in neutral gear. Here in the US we are used to having gas stations spaced at convenient intervals, but during our entire two weeks in Ecuador we only saw maybe three gas stations, so it is a good idea to keep the tank as filled as possible to avoid running on fumes like we did. Whew.

Hosteria Orquideas was nice, with spacious cabins and a large swimming area that Jeanine and I put to good use. The resort is also advertised as Isla de Los Monos (Isle of Monkeys), and we found out why, with wild monkeys roaming freely on the grounds and occasionally even in the dining area.

We did try birding the grounds, but it started raining pretty hard, so we didn’t find too much new. Our best birding was along the river, where we spotted a Ringed Kingfisher (our first kingfisher of the trip), along with Lesser Swallow-tailed Swifts and calling Greater Kiskadees. We were anxious to get to lower and more remote territory, so instead of birding the resort grounds the next morning, we drove towards Puerto Misahualli and the Jatun Sacha Reserve (1,300 ft), stopping for a few minutes to scan at river crossings. In this way we found the lovely White-banded Swallows, Yellow-headed Caracara, Torrent Tyrannulets, Chestnut-bellied Seedeaters, Amazon Kingfisher, and large flock of White-collared Swifts.

We were scheduled to stay for two nights at the Jatun Sacha Tropical Rainforest Station, which is one of five properties run by the Jatun Sacha Foundation with the goals of preserving native forests, conducting research, and providing ecological education for the local people. I loved the atmosphere here, where we dined on simple food at long communal tables with the volunteers and students.

I was very much looking forward to our first complete day at Jatun Sacha, which included a full day of guiding and an early morning visit to a parrot lick.  I won’t go into details, but the day was very disappointing, with our guide Milton Orozco showing up nearly an hour late with no explanation or apology, leaving early, getting lost on the trail, and trying to overcharge us despite showing him e-mails with the quoted price. In addition, the trail that he took us on ended above the cliff where the parrots were supposed to mass, so we wouldn’t have been able to even see them on the clay. Since we arrived late, there were few parrots to see anyway, but this entire morning was a major disappointment.

We spent the remainder of the day with Joy, a volunteer from Germany, who had a day off from her volunteering duties. It was a treat to chat and visit with her, to learn about what volunteering was like, to hear about their projects, and to have her and the staff show us the grounds.

One of our more productive locations while at Jatun Sacha was a simple roadside hacienda that contained a few small watering holes just a short walk from the reserve. Stops here over the next two days yielded multiple new species for the trip, including Purple Gallinule, Wattled Jaçana, Bare-faced Ibis, Black Caracara, Cocoi Heron, Red-breasted Blackbird, Blue-black Grassquit, and Lesser Seed-finch.

In contrast to the disastrous day of guiding by Milton, the best part of our stay in the lowlands was a stop at Laguna Paikawe, a small lagoon with two islands just across the Napo River from Puerto Misahualli. The caretaker (owner?), Pedro Aguinda, paddles birders around the lagoon for perhaps an hour for only $5 per person. We had no appointment, but fortunately Pedro just finished a tour with two other birders when we arrived. The birding gods were smiling on us today! There were birds all over the lagoon…Pedro started by whistling in a Point-tailed Palmcreeper even before we entered the boat, and very soon afterward we were seeing Greater Ani, Striated Heron, Bare-necked Fruitcrows, Scarlet-crowned Barbets, Lemon-throated Barbets, Black-fronted Nunbird, Masked Crimson Tanager, a group of more than a dozen Hoatzins (including one on a nest!), and more. This boat tour gets my vote for the top highlight of our entire trip, and I encourage you to schedule a visit if you are in the area.

After leaving Pedro, we started the ~2 hour drive up to San Isidro Lodge, our home for the next three nights. Before leaving the lowlands, however, Jeanine spotted a nearby Chestnut-eared Araçari for our final ‘good’ lowland bird.

The next four days of our trip were spent in the area surrounding Wildsumaco Lodge. Although Wildsumaco is further along the Loreto road from Narupa Reserve, it is actually at a slightly higher elevation (3,590 ft at Narupa, 4,900 ft at Wildsumaco). There is considerable overlap therefore in the species seen at the two locations. Wildsumaco has a stronger reputation than Narupa, due to the advantages of having a comfortable lodge with enough rooms to handle group tours and an extensive well-maintained trail system that provides access to excellent forest, whereas there is only sparse lodging (besides the two-room Cabañas Cascada Rio Hollin) to stay overnight near Narupa Reserve.

Birding began soon after we exited the Loreto Road at the village of Wawasumaco, driving on the ~6 km unpaved (and at times rough for our non-4WD vehicle) access road to the lodge. For approximately half of that distance the road passes through disturbed habitat that allowed us to stop occasionally and search for birds in the open areas. Several Swallow-tailed Kites flew overhead, we found our first Masked Tityra, and Blue-rumped Manakin and Buff-throated Saltator made brief appearances. Upon arrival at the lodge we settled into our new surroundings and immediately were provided with a late lunch. Lodging at Wildsumaco includes three meals per day (complete with soup and dessert), so we ate far more here than we typically do at home.

Over the next few days we explored the Wildsumco trails and walked the road ~1 mile beyond the lodge toward the village of Pactosumaco. Mornings were typically spent near the lodge, starting in the parking area where birds were drawn in to feed upon insects that accumulated near the lights. Here we found our first Collared Trogon up close and personal, and Cerulean Warblers were feeding low, but we couldn’t find the nearby and very vocal Barred Forest Falcon. After breakfast we then explored the trails or walked the road. Our best forest birds included Fulvous Shrike-Tanager, Montane Foliage-gleaner by the Research Station, and we worked hard to identify a Golden-winged Manakin. On one rainy walk on the F.A.C.E. trail one of the employees interrupted his trail maintenance duties to show us a well-hidden Band-bellied Owl. It can be difficult to spot birds in the dense forest, so we enjoyed the change of pace when birding the open areas near Pacto, where we found both Chestnut-bellied and Black-and-white Seedeaters, Scaled Pigeon, and Bronze-green Euphonia.

On two days we took the ~15 minute walk down the Coopman’s Trail to the antipitta feeding station. Most lodges only attempt feedings in the morning, but at Wildsumaco they provide worms both in the morning and at 3PM. At both feedings Plain-backed and Ochre-breasted Antipittas made multiple appearances, and they were joined both days by a White-crowned Tapaculo. It was quite amazing to view such difficult species in close quarters. These ‘high-quality’ birds were joined by Gray-cheeked Thrush, a species that we see back home in New Jersey. It struck me how similar the antpittas were to the thrush in appearance and feeding style, looking like longer-legged thrushes without a tail. On our return back from the feeding area we spotted a Yellow-throated Toucan calling from a distant treetop (toucans always seem like a treat), and both Red-headed and Gilded Barbets were nice to see.

Birding was good and with a relaxing change of pace at the Wildsumaco veranda, where we could sit and watch Golden-collared Honeycreepers feed consistently in the cecropia trees, joined by occasional surprises. One afternoon Jeanine spotted a Golden-collared Toucanet skulking in a tree just a few feet behind the hummingbird feeders and the following morning she spotted a Sickle-winged Guan walking along the sturdier branches. A band of Napo Tamarin monkeys had daily excursions to feed on bananas hung in a tree near the veranda. Of course, the hummingbird feeders were delightful and constantly busy, although with much overlap with the species that we saw at Narupa Reserve the previous two days.

We were often too tired to do much owling, but one night we managed a post-dinner burst of energy to walk along the access road, hearing Tropical Screech-owls and spotting an unidentified nightjar with its bright eyeshine hunting in a field by the entrance to the F.A.C.E. Trail.

This might be a good time to mention the weather pattern. During our days at both Narupa Reserve and at Wildsumaco, we had considerable rain throughout the days, yet somehow the rain didn’t interfere with our birding. Most days typically started clear and dry, allowing a morning of good birding, but then around lunchtime we had some strong downpours. I call that great timing. The afternoons were more spotty weather-wise, but after the mid-day showers birding picked up, and by evening we were completely exhausted. So in a way we were thankful for the showers, since they forced us to rest for a while indoors or on the veranda, the rains often resulted in better birding afterwards, and we always had a full day of birdwatching. On our final morning the sun finally emerged for a full day and we enjoyed a clear view of the conical peak of Sumaco Volcano.

Despite the fact that Wildsumaco has a deservedly strong reputation, the lodge was relatively empty during our stay. On our first night we overlapped with a group of ~12 birders, on the second night we shared the facilities with a single birder and his guide, and on the third night we were the only patrons. It is quite nice to feel like an entire lodge and its property is entirely yours.

There are so many species that can be seen here, and despite having four full days, we felt like we barely scratched the surface. As an example, our drive back out along the access road toward our next destination yielded Speckled Chachalacas with three young, a Channel-billed Toucan, Long-tailed Tyrant, a pair of preening Chestnut-fronted Macaws, and Lineated Woodpecker. Imagine how many more great species are lurking here.

Next: Into the lowlands and Jatun Sacha Reserve