Sunday 9/12/21
(Teri) We were up and packed before 5 am. The hotel had left a boxed breakfast for us and we were ready to be picked up at 6 am. Our guide (Jose) and driver (Edison) were right on time and we were off to Yanacocha Reserve.
The reserve is 2667 acres. At over 11,000’ it was a little chilly and rainy.
There were a couple of
covered areas where we were able to get out of the misty rain.
Yanacocha Reserve was created with the aim of preserving the Black-breasted Puffleg hummingbird, which is critically threatened.
We didn’t see this Puffleg but we saw plenty other birds. There were also many beautiful flowers.
We had a very good box lunch of deli sandwiches. I also discovered the best snack in Ecuador – Plantain (banana) chips!
We headed to Tandayapa Lodge. This is the lodge we will be staying at throughout this trip.
We arrived about 4:30 and while our luggage was being brought to our room, we went out on the back deck.
Even with the rain, the hummingbirds were everywhere!
We got set up in our room and looked around a little before heading back out to the hummingbird deck.
There are 10 rooms inside the
lodge with an additional 2 outer rooms away from the main lodge.
We spent some time on the back deck before heading in to go over the bird list for the morning.
Dinner was at 6:30. We started with a wonderful carrot soup
covered with puff pastry. The rest of the meal was grilled chicken, broccoli,
and white rice. Chocolate cake was the
dessert. It wasn’t anything special and
certainly wasn't the “Mediterranean style” food we were accustomed to.
Our room was pretty basic. It did have a closet with shelves which came in handy. The bathroom was tiny with no hooks or anywhere to hang clothes. The only soap was a bottle of liquid hand soap. Everything was fine but we were expecting a little bit more upscale than this.
The rooms are not heated or cooled. It was a little chilly.
Sunday, 9/12/2021 (Mark) – We got up at 5:00 am, finished packing, and took our bags out to the lobby at 5:30. The hotel had prepared box breakfasts for us, consisting of fruit, muffins, juice, yogurt, and ham & cheese sandwiches. We ate some fruit and the muffin and packed the rest away for later.
At 6:00 our guide, José Illanes and driver, Edison picked us up and we headed toward Yanacocha Preserve. After almost two hours of driving, with the final miles being on steep, lumpy gravel roads, we arrived.
Our very first birds were Andean Guans which were sitting in trees adjacent to the parking area.
Our first stop was a hummingbird feeder station near the parking area. Yanacocha had not been open much during the pandemic, and there was no juice in the feeders. A staff member quickly took care of that, and we were soon watching Shining Sunbeams and Buff-winged Starfrontlets which were the main hummingbirds at the feeders. Fun fact: Most hummingbirds in Ecuador don't have "hummingbird" in their name!! Stay tuned for more...
Another pan of sugar water was attracting plenty of Masked and Glossy Flowerpiercers.
There we added Sapphire-vented and Golden-breasted Puffleg, Great Sapphirewing, and Tyrian Metaltail hummingbirds.
Our best birds were Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Red-crested Cotinga and Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager.
We ate a simple lunch of sandwich, juice, and chips at the feeding station next to the parking area, and then loaded up for our drive to Tandayapa Reserve, where we would be spending the rest of our nights. The drive took about 3 hours, and included several stops to bird alongside the road where José either knew there were good birds, or he’d seen them while we were driving.
We arrived at Tandayapa at 4:30 and went immediately to the back viewing deck where there were swarms of hummingbirds. This is Tandayapa's “claim to fame” and it didn’t disappoint. We got 13 species of hummingbirds within just 15 minutes, and later added several more.
We met José and Tracy at 6:00 to go over the bird list for the day, and found that we’d seen 22 different species of hummingbirds, and 54 species total. A good day overall! We had a nice dinner of soup, chicken, and a piece of chocolate cake, and then returned to our room for showers and reading. The lodge is not heated or cooled, so room temperature is the same as outside temperature, which is a cool 60 degrees! No more warm stuffy room!!
Next time: Tandayapa Lodge – birding the trails.
Great pictures. Zooming in really gives great detail. I am very impressed at your memory and birding expertise. You two are amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Randy - The light conditions were tough in the grey, misty weather. But I was able to get some shots that I'm pleased with.
DeleteThat sword bill was long! Seems like it would be a benefit and liability at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI too discovered plantain chips along the way somewhere. Unfortunately the ones I were able to find in the US (probably Trader Joes or similar) weren't as good as those I had somewhere, sometime!
That hummingbird evolved to feed on those trumpet flowers that Teri posted near the top of the blog. So they can reach nectar that others can't. But yes, it does seem like it could be a problem at times!
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