Thursday, October 28, 2021

Angel Paz Reserve – Ecuador – Part 9

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. 

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

 

2 comments:

  1. This looks like a most successful day - lots of beautiful birds and great looking food. Interesting about the popcorn! Also, a nice story of the farmer helping himself and providing good opportunities to see some hard to find birds!

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  2. The Antpittas and Antthrush are very difficult birds to find, and especially to see. We enjoy the idea of helping out local people with our ecotourism dollars!

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