4:30 AM:

Pichincha from Yanacocha trail. Photo by Lori Fujimoto

Our morning starts early with an egg breakfast, before leaving the hostel and piling ourselves and all of our luggage into a colorful hired bus. As we settle down into our seats (some going straight back to sleep), Bill introduces us to our various leaders: Mark Gurney, from Tropical Birding, and Paul Greenfield, illustrator of The Birds of Ecuador field guide. Mark, in turn, introduces us to our extraordinary driver for the week – Vladimir – although we have yet to experience his impressive ability to navigate a 20-passenger bus down hairpin turns along narrow, dirt cliff-roads.

Driving out of Quito and passing up over the Western Andes, we sometimes catch glimpses in the growing dawn of our first Ecuadorian "trash birds", namely Great Thrush, Rufous-collared Sparrow, and Eared Dove. Mark informs us that even if we wanted to, he refuses to stop the bus for such common creatures. About 40 minutes into the drive we hear our first shout of "Para! Para!" come from the front, as Vladimir stops the bus instantly jerking us awake. Mark has noticed some birds flitting in the bushes in a valley ahead of the bus and we all pile out onto the road. A number of birds are hopping or flying around and we try to pick out as much as we can: Black Flowerpiercer, Rufous-naped Brush-Finch, White-crested Elaenia, and our first hummingbird, a Tyrian Metaltail. Overhead, two Variable Hawks soar, and a Páramo Pipit makes a quick fly-by. Mark then points out the call of Tawny Antpitta in the background and tells us it would be sitting out in the open somewhere. After half a minute of scanning, Lauren finds the antpitta and everyone quickly gets on it.

Sword-billed Hummingbird. Photo by Mark Gurney

The rest of the way up to Yanacocha is highlighted by frequent stops ("Para! Para!") for birds along the road. We encounter our firsts of several exotic species: Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Red-crested Cotinga, and the ever-impressive Sword-billed Hummingbird. We find the sword-billed bathing in a trickling waterfall down the cliff side. When we first spot it, it's partly obscured by vegetation and at first we can only see that it's a hummingbird. Suddenly, it flies up into the light and there is its huge unmistakable and unforgettable bill.

7 AM:

We finally make it to the entrance to the Yanacocha preserve and prepare ourselves for 6 hours or more of hiking. Yanacocha is located at nearly 11,000 feet on the west slope of the Andes, and holds bird-life restricted to the high-altitude temperate rainforest found there. The reserve was purchased in the early 1990s by the Fundacion Jocotoco in order to protect the critically-endangered and range-restricted Black-breasted Puffleg – of which individuals can occasionally be seen at the reserve's hummingbird feeders. All along the main trail there are hummingbird feeding areas that attract a large assortment of species. In total we see 11 species of hummingbirds at the Yanacocha feeders, including: Sapphire-vented and Golden-breasted Pufflegs, Rainbow-bearded Thorntail, Shining Sunbeam, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, and Great Sapphirewing.

Great Sapphirewing. Photo by Morgan Tingley

When we aren't watching the feeders we are searching for multi-species feeding flocks. We find a few small flocks including several other members of the family Thraupidae, such as Hooded and Black-chested Mountain-Tanagers, Blue-backed Conebill, Masked and Glossy Flowerpiercers, and the verbally-exciting Supercilliaried Hemispingus (visually it reminds me of a Yellow-breasted Chat). We also have our first of many Furnariids (a new bird family for most on the trip) with the very cool Streaked Tuftedcheek. While we end up missing the Black-breasted Puffleg (Mark impresses on us just how rare it really is), it is clear to all of us just how unique and important a habitat the Yanacocha reserve protects.

3 PM:

Torrent Duck. Photo by Mark Gurney

After a late lunch we leave Yanacocha and bump our way down a "short-cut" from the temperate zone to the sub-tropical Tandayapa Valley. As we wind around steep curves and drive on paths usually reserved for domestic animals, we descend from altitude-stunted forests into lush, epiphyte-laden valleys more typical of what I expect in the "tropics." Vladimir stops the bus along a rushing mountain stream and we're treated to fleeting looks at several White-capped Dippers. A hundred yards downstream from the dippers we turn a corner and watch in astonishment as an equally-surprised male and female Torrent Duck dash away up a waterfall and further upstream. Found throughout the Andean region, Torrent Ducks are terrific and charismatic birds. The female disappears permanently as soon as we arrive, but the male quickly reappears at the top of the waterfall and to the delight of the group proceeds to sit out in the open for at least 10 minutes. As we watch him, he suddenly stands up and dives into the rushing rapids, water-sliding down a waterfall and through a stretch of whitewater. After disappearing under water for a moment, he reappears on a rock in the middle of the rapids, water rushing all around him. Awestruck, I feel like I have just witnessed a stunt-spectacular show. Obviously, we all know now from where they get their name.

5 PM:

Masked Flowerpiercer. Photo by Bill Maynard

The sun is getting low, but our first day is still far from over. As we drive through the lower Tandayapa Valley toward the lodge, we stop at a point along the road with clear views of the valley below us. Mark tells us an Andean Cock-of-the-Rock lek is nearby and we all line up and scan patiently through the silent valley. The wait is not without highlights, however, as three Toucan Barbets fly in to forage in a Cecropia tree directly above our heads. Near-threatened and range-restricted, the Toucan Barbet is one of the must-see birds of the trip, yet seeing it so casually almost spoils the anticipation. As we watch the barbets, the first Cock-of-the-Rock appears on the opposite side of the valley. For the next twenty minutes we watch as more bright scarlet cotingas fly around the valley and occasionally perch out in the open. Even when viewed from afar and partly-obscured by vegetation and low light, these fluorescent birds stand out so easily it is as if they were somehow glowing from within.

6 PM:

Back in the bus and pumped from our afternoon successes, we inform Mark that we will not be satisfied until he shows us a Lyre-tailed Nightjar. Resigned, Mark brings us to a nest-sight along the road and waits with us as the sky grows dark. Just as the light begins to fail, a dark form flits around over the road and lands on the dirt cliff wall. We shine the spotlight on it and are rewarded with superb looks at a female Lyre-tailed Nightjar sitting patiently while we all watch her. Finally satisfied, we bump along the final few miles to the Tandayapa Bird Lodge and our home for the five days.

Prologue – Day One – Day Two – Day Three – Day Four – Day Five – Day Six – Epilogue