Sunday 9/19/21 (Teri)
Today we were going to
Refugio Paz. Everything about this place
has changed since we were here in 2008.
Our first stop was the
Cock-of-the-Rock blind.
We got some pretty good looks
a several males before Mr. Paz showed up to take us to the Antpittas.
We ended up seeing 5
Antpittas and hearing one additional antpitta.
Around 9:30 we stopped at the
dining area for a snack.
Dining area.
I had never heard of bolon’s
before but they were amazing!
Hot and right out of the
fryer! Bolon de Verde (green plantain
dumplings) is the national dish of Ecuador.
This classic Ecuadorian breakfast dish
consists of green plantains which are fried over medium heat until very tender,
then mashed into dough, stuffed with cheese or pork, formed into round balls,
and then fried again until crispy. Bolon is a slang term that means large ball,
so you could translate the name of this dish as green plantain balls, but green
plantain dumpling is probably a better food translation.
After the bolon’s, cheese
empanadas were brought to the table.
They were hot and melted in your mouth!
We walked around the garden
in front of the dining room for a while before getting back to birding.
The birding platform was an enlarged deck that was our dining area in 2008.
2021:
2021 - Birding deck that was the dining
area in 2008.
2008:
Our 2008 trip
We left Refugio Paz around
noon and birded our way back to Tandayapa.
Lunch was at 1:30 and
consisted of popcorn and banana chips, ceviche (salmon), and pineapple pie for
dessert. There were several times we had
popcorn with our meal. Usually to put in
soup.
The rest of the afternoon was
on our own to bird around the lodge and relax.
*** CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE ***
Sunday, 9/19/2021 (Mark)
A quick note about Angel Paz - Angel Paz was a farmer in Ecuador when he discovered an interesting bird on his property, the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. He was told that bird watchers would pay to come and see these birds, so he set up a simple blind. Later he discovered that he had the rare Giant Antpitta on his property and began offering them worms to eat, eventually teaching them to reliably come into an opening to be fed. He attracted more birders by showing them both the Cock-of-the-Rock and now the Giant Antpitta. Later still, he discovered Yellow-breasted Antpitta and started to feed them as well. When we visited in 2008 his was a simple operation, and featured these three species of birds.
Up at 4:45 and in the van at 5:15 for the 40 minute trip
to Angel Paz’s Reserve. We walked immediately to the Cock-of-the-Rock blind,
and could hear the males calling at the lek as we approached. Males gather each morning at a "lek", which is a location where male birds call and display, and female birds come to select a mate. The blind was in a different
place than we’d visited in 2008, and was much nicer. The light was dim but we
could see several males in the trees, but none clearly. Within a few minutes
one male came in close enough for some decent pictures, but then retreated back
into the trees.
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock male
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock male (back view)
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock male
To our dismay the group of French photographers that we’d
dealt with at Tandayapa showed up and joined us in the blind, and would be with
us the rest of the morning.
There were about six male birds vocalizing and displaying, but no females stopped by to watch so they disbanded pretty quickly. At 6:45 we left
the blind with Mr. Paz to go look for antpittas. The next stop was to try and
find Dark-backed Wood-Quail, but there were none to be found. There was a
Scaled Antpitta calling, and the guides spent quite a lot of time trying to
locate it. While they were doing that we enjoyed Red-headed Barbets and other
birds in the area.
Red-headed Barbet male
Ultimately we had to give up in the Scaled Antpitta as it
was just too well hidden. The next stop was for the Giant Antpitta (10.5" tall), and was
right along the road, again, a different spot than 2008. The entire refuge has
been upgraded and had changed quite a bit, including making the specific
antpitta areas more easily accessible and more attractive with nice log
perches. It turned out that the Giant Antpitta was very
slow to come in to the worms. Mr. Paz and his brother called and called but
nothing happened. After about 45 minutes we figured that we weren’t going to
see the bird, but José spotted her standing quietly just at the edge of the
opening. Finally she came in to eat some worms.
Giant Antpitta
We all got to see her and
get photos, and then both groups headed for the new restaurant for Bolones, the
national dish of Ecuador and cheese empanadas. Again, this was a huge upgrade
from what we’d experienced in 2008 and was very good.
There was a beautiful
garden surrounding the restaurant and a nearby blind with fruit feeders that
was attracting Flame-faced Tanagers and other beautiful birds.
Golden Tanager
Flame-faced Tanager
We also spotted a large lizard sunning itself on a tree. When we returned to our lodge we found a reptile book and identified it as a Mist Whorltail Iguana. We then headed
out to see the Yellow-breasted Antpitta (7" tall), which came in very quickly and was
easy to see.
Yellow-breasted Antpitta
From there we headed down a steep, muddy trail (the original trail
that we’d used in 2008 it turns out), stopping at various spots for different
antpittas. First along this trail was the Moustached Antpitta (7" tall). This one was
frustrating as the French group had gotten out ahead of us and was completely
blocking the views of the feeding site. The bird came in but we had a difficult
time getting a look at it. Moustached Antpitta - First location
While this was going on José went a little further
down the trail with Mr. Paz, and quietly motioned for us to come down and join
him. We left the other group behind and went down to find an Ochre-breasted
Antpitta (4.5" tall) sitting up on a perch, allowing great photos.
Ochre-breasted Antpitta
As soon as the antpitta
left a Rufous-breasted Antthrush came into the feeding area.
Rufous-breasted Antthrush
About this time
the other group arrived, so we left them to try to re-find the Ochre-breasted
Antpitta. José took us back up the hill with Mr. Paz and he called in another
Moustached Antpitta which we saw very well.
Moustached Antpitta - Second location
All-in-all they handled the
two-group situation pretty well. We then all headed to yet another location for
the final antpitta of the day, the Chestnut-crowned Antpitta (8" tall). They were worried
that it was getting too late in the morning for the bird to respond, but it
came in pretty quickly, giving us a chance to see and photograph our fifth
antpitta of the day.
Chestnut-crowned Antpitta
As a group Antpittas and Antthrushes are very shy, skulky birds that are
difficult (impossible) to find and see. Mr. Paz was perhaps the first person to realize that
they could be “trained” to come into prepared areas by feeding them worms. He
charges $35 per birder to spend the morning seeing “his” birds and has created
a very nice reserve. It is kind of a strange way to bird, but often the only
way to see these particular birds.
Our final bird at the reserve was a Common
Potoo. We hiked a short distance down a trail to see this bird far up in a
tree. These birds are camouflaged to look just like a branch or stub, and we’ve
never located one on our own. But once located they tend to stay in an
area, and this one was known to stay in this tree.
Common Potoo
We left the reserve around 12:30 and on our way out stopped on a bridge to check the stream below. We spotted a Torrent Tyrannulet, which is a gray and white flycatcher that lives along fast-moving mountain streams.
Torrent Tyrannulet
We were back to Tandayapa a 1:30 for a light lunch, and relaxed at the lodge for the
rest of the afternoon.Next time: Rancho Suamox
