12th November 2017 Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta and Guango Lodge

Today dawned clear and fine with good views of the surrounding mountainsides, ridges and peaks. We'd originally intended driving to the Papallacta antennas to search for Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe but the lure of the Crescent-faced Antpitta proved too tempting to resist. Unfortunately the gate to the track to the Cayambe Coca reserve at Termas de Papallacta was securely padlocked until 8.30am so we spent time birding the road between there and our Hosteria that produced the localised Superciliaried Hemispingus. Our walk to the Antpitta site produced views of a Paramo Tapaculo in response to playback but always too brief for me to photograph it. Whilst trying to tape lure the Crescent-faced Antpitta a superb Rufous Antpitta decided to check me out but sadly there was no response from the Crescent-faced Antpitta this morning. We drove up to the ranger station at the far end of the track but failed to find either of the hoped-for high-elevation species of Mountain-Tanager although a Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager seen in a mixed-species flock on our return back down the track initially caused some excitement. Walking beyond the ranger station we found a female Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, that whilst exciting, left us wishing we'd been bedazzled by a male! Our time at this site had expired all too quickly and it is easy to imagine that in spending a week here it would keep producing new species daily. We returned to our hosteria, collected our luggage and made the short drive downhill to Guango Lodge where we were greeted by Irene Bustante. We were soon enjoying views of the Chestnut-breasted Coronets but the show-stoppers were the Sword-billed Hummingbirds attending the lodge's busy Hummingbird feeders. A pair of Northern Mountain Caciques moved through the trees overhead. We then decided to walk to the river footbridge and return to the lodge via the aptly named Torrent Duck Trail bordering the river along which we found a pair of Torrent Ducks jumping in and out of the rapids and several more Caciques. Irene then arranged for Gabriel to take us to some flowers along the Waterfall trail that are sometimes frequented by Mountain Avocetbill. Gabriel considered that between 5pm and 6pm was a good time to see the species and left us to it but our two hour vigil from 4pm only produced several views of a Long-tailed Sylph and a Mountain Velvetbreast. In the evening we met three enthusiastic young Ecuadorian birders who were returning from Gareno Lodge who warned us that the juvenile Harpy Eagle was getting increasingly restless flying around its nest tree and they expected it to leave any day - not really the news that we wanted to hear!

Torrent Duck 2

Andean Teal 4

Variable Hawk 1

Speckled Hummingbird 1

Shining Sunbeam 3

Mountain Velvetbreast 3

Great Sapphirewing 1 female

Collared Inca 1

Buff-winged Starfrontlet 2

Sword-billed Hummingbird 4

Buff-tailed Coronet 4

CHESTNUT-BREASTED CORONET 4

Tourmaline Sunangel 4

Viridian Metaltail 1
RAINBOW-BEARDED THORNBILL 1 female

Long-tailed Sylph 2

White-bellied Woodstar 4

Powerful Woodpecker 1

Pearled Treerunner 2

Rufous Antpitta 1

PARAMO TAPACULO 1

Cinnamon Flycatcher 1

Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant 1

Turquoise Jay 4

Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush 1

Great Thrush 6

Brown-bellied Swallow c.15

Grass (Sedge) Wren 6

Blackburnian Warbler 1

Canada Warbler 1

Spectacled Whitestart 6

Black-crested Warbler 3

Citrine Warbler 4

Russet-crowned Warbler 1

Cinereous Conebill 2

Blue-backed Conebill 1

Masked Flowerpiercer 1

Black Flowerpiercer 6

Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager 1

Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager 1

Grey-hooded Bush-Tanager 1

Black-backed Bush-Tanager 4

Black-capped Hemispingus 2
Superciliaried Hemispingus 1

Pale-naped Brush-Finch 3

Rufous-collared Sparrow c.15

NORTHERN MOUNTAIN CACIQUE 5

Papallacta

Brown-bellied Swallow at Papallacta

Grass (Sedge) Wren at Papallacta

Brazilian Rabbit at Papallacta

Black-crested Warbler at Papallacta

Black Flowerpiercer at Papallacta

Superciliaried Hemispingus at Papallacta

Bromeliads along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Rufous Antpitta along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta
I've only previously seen this superb species with JFC in Podarcarpus NP in 1994 when they proved one of the highlights of our trip and it was again easy to appreciate why!

looking back along the valley towards Papallacta from the  Cayambe Coca ranger station - the Antpittla track just being visible along the base of the valley

Shining Sunbeam along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Female Great Sapphirewing along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Female Rainbow-bearded Thornbill above the Cayambe Coca ranger station

Buff-breasted Mountain-Tanager along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta
Another species I'd only seen with JFC 23 years ago

Female Sword-billed Hummingbird at Guango Lodge

Yet another species only previously seen in 1994 when it too proved a highlight of our trip

Buff-tailed Coronet at Guango Lodge

Chestnut-breasted Coronet at Guango Lodge

Northern Mountain Cacique at Guango Lodge

Cinnamon Flycatcher at Guango Lodge

Turquoise Jay at Guango Lodge

Pearled Treerunner at Guango Lodge

Grey-hooded Bush-Tanager at Guango Lodge

Black-capped Hemispingus at Guango Lodge

Canada Warbler at Guango Lodge

Rio Guango

Pair of Torrent Ducks at Guango Lodge

Female Torrent Duck at Guango Lodge

Drake Torrent Duck at Guango Lodge

11th November 2017 Quito to Papallacta, Ecuador

Being fortunate to make my third trip to Ecuador we planned a 'last-minute' trip to concentrate our efforts on visiting sites on the east slope of the of the Andes east of Quito being an area I'd previously not visited, although I well-remember standing alongside JFC at Papallacta in 1994 looking east at the then largely untouched forests stretching away into the distance. Having arrived on-time with KLM the evening before we had collected our car booked online through Holiday Autos but supplied by Avis - that proved to be literally brand new with only 165km on the clock - the only downside was that we would clearly be responsible for any scratch, dent or other mishap that might occur over the next four weeks! We spent the night in a hotel close to the airport with jetlag ensuring that we were awake pre-dawn and ready to head for Papallacta. We set off and our over-enthusiasm meant that we took a wrong turn at virtually the first roundabout we encountered with us not being certain of our mistake until arriving in El Quinche c.15km later - leaving us wondering if saving the cost of hiring a satnav had been sensible?! We retraced our steps and soon found the correct road to Papallacta soon leaving behind the Quito traffic and climbing in elevation. It was good to see plenty of remaining Polylepis forest as we crossed the Andes, various signs indicating plenty of areas are now owned by conservation bodies and none of the many firewood gatherers seen in the area back in 1994. The weather on leaving Quito had been overcast but dry and clear but as we approached the pass we ran into low cloud, thick fog and then steady rain as we descended to Papallacta town on the east slope. We were both soon feeling the effects of the high altitude with dull headaches and breathlessness but a cup of coffee and something to eat at a roadside stall helped greatly. We had booked a room at the excellent good-value Hosteria Pampallacta Termales not to be confused with the nearby more expensive resort of Termas de Papallacta. Despite arriving before they were open to serve their guests breakfast, they were happy to show us to our room so that we could leave our luggage there. The fog had cleared and the rain had eased a little so we drove through Termas de Papallacta and found the gate (that is open from 8.30am) to the 5km track that leads north to Cayambe Coca reserve. The track leads through a superb Andean valley with intact cloud/elfin forest habitat all around and it felt a privilege to be birding there. We were soon enjoying watching the antics of territorial Shining Sunbeams albeit in the rain. A stop along the track in a promising area of dense bamboo had us try playback of Crescent-faced Antpitta as the area is a known site for this enigmatic species. Much to our surprise one immediately responded by calling back although it was down a steep slope and clearly rather distant. We saw that another track approached the area so drove back down the road to the trailhead. Walking the track produced our first mixed-species flock of the morning that fortuitously included Black-backed Bush Tanager (or Stolzmann's Tanager) being one of our target species for the area as it is the sole representative of its genus, placed by the IOC alongside Tanager Finch, and being localised restricted to the east slope of the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador above c.3,200m. The same flock also included Agile Tit-Tyrant being a second new bird and a Chusquea bamboo specialist restricted to the temperate zone of the Andes from Venezuela to Ecuador. By then, we had approached the area that we felt was closest to where we had heard the Antpitta and I noticed a short c.10m trail leading into the forest to a moss-covered fallen trunk. I entered and used playback again. An immediate response with one calling back probably no more that 3m away, panic, but unfortunately try as I might, I simply couldn't see it - incredibly frustrating! The bird had presumably seen me as it soon fell silent and my chance of the 'dream start' to the trip had gone. We continued along the track seeing a couple more flocks including Black-backed Bush-Tanagers and several other species I've not seen for many years including a smart Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager. With the rain worsening we headed downslope in the pursuit of better weather but not before unsuccessfully looking for the Antpitta again. A male Tourmaline Sunangel, another species restricted to Colombia and the east slope of the Andes in Ecuador was seen near the resort car park being my third addition of the day. We walked the Jamanco track bordering the north shore of Papallacta Lake for a couple of km until dark but it proved rather quiet although as the cloud cleared we enjoyed the views of the snow-capped Antisana volcano.

Neotropic Cormorant 3

Snowy Egret 4

Black Vulture 1

Variable Hawk 1

Spotted Sandpiper 3

Andean Gull 1

White-collared Swift 1
Shining Sunbeam 6
Buff-winged Starfrontlet 1
TOURMALINE SUNANGEL 1
White-chinned Thistletail 2
Pearled Treerunner 1
Tawny Antpitta 1
CRESCENT-FACED ANTPITTA h
White-throated Tyrannulet 2
White-banded Tyrannulet 2
AGILE TIT-TYRANT 4
Great Thrush c.15
Brown-bellied Swallow c.12
Grass Wren 1
Spectacled Whitestart 4
Blue-backed Conebill 4
Masked Flowerpiercer 1
Glossy Flowerpiercer 4
Black Flowerpiercer 1
White-sided Flowerpiercer 1
Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager 3
BLACK-BACKED BUSH-TANAGER 8
Pale-naped Brush-Finch 6
Rufous-collared Sparrow c.25

the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Elfin forest along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Orchid along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Llama

Shining Sunbeam along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Previously seen in both Ecuador and Peru this species certainly lives up to its name even on a dull grey day

Scarlet-belled Mountain-Tanager along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Previously seen in both Ecuador and Peru but still a strong contender for 'bird of the day'!

Tawny Antpitta along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

This species of Antpitta typically proves easy to see but this individual had clearly been taking lessons in remaining concealed from the nearby Crescent-faced Antpitta!

Male Glossy Flowerpiercer along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

White-chinned Thistletail along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

I had only previously seen this species with JFC 23 years ago - at Papallacta!

Pale-naped Brush-Finch along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Another treeline species I'd only previously seen 23 years ago

White-throated Tyrannulets along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Female Great Thrushes along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Pearled Treerunner along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Blue-backed Conebill along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Spectacled Whitestarts along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Black-backed Bush-Tanagers along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

Agile Tit-Tyrants along the Cayambe Coca track, Papallacta

four today being the only ones we saw during our trip

Antisana Volcano from the Jamanco track, Papallacta

Hosteria Pampallacta Termales

2nd November 2017 Unst N2 Overcast

A strong northerly had rather petered out by dawn but tried another early morning seawatch from Lamba Ness with Al where we saw a Sooty Shearwater, 53 blue Fulmars, a Little Auk, a Bonxie and 4 Glaucous Gulls all flying north in just under 2 hours. Whilst there, 4 Snow Buntings arrived in off the sea.

Sooty Shearwater and Fulmar passing Lamba Ness

blue Fulmar passing Lamba Ness

blue Fulmar passing Lamba Ness

a more eye-catching individual by virtue of its diffuse dark breast-band

Juvenile Glaucous Gull and Fulmar passing Lamba Ness

Juvenile Glaucous Gull passing Lamba Ness