Driving the Nono-Mindo Road to Tandayapa

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Nono-Mindo Road to Tandayapa

TTh

Mucho muy early start today. We woke at 4:30 am, had breakfast at 5 and hit the road around 6 a.m. A milder bout with vertigo gave us a slight delay on our start; but, once again, the dizziness cleared up as the day progressed.

We joined Jorge Cruz, owner of the three San Jorge properties (Quito, Tandayapa and Milpe) for a day-long birding trek, and what a trek it was, with fortuitous and fruitful stops, turning a 32 km. trip along the Nono-Mindo road into a full day on the road.

Quite honestly, we saw so many species of birds today I can't even remember back to the early stops to list them. The day was filled with continuous pull-offs yielding, at times, dozens of species. In fact, there was one stop where we kept calling out bird names/descriptions nonstop, each of us seeing different birds at the same time.

We stopped at a spot where Jorge knew there was a pair of Burrowing Owls. Sure enough, he was able to find them in the scope, where Avi digiscoped a few shots. Then he and Avi went hiking down to where the burrow was and got some excellent photos of one of the owls perched on a low branch. (As an owl fan, finding one is always a highlight of my day.)

As we drove we descended in altitude. As we descended in altitude, the habitat became more and more verdant, reminding us of the rainforests of Panama.

We stopped for a box lunch at a stream that ran in tandem to the road. Rather than watching birds, we were amused by a cow that had wandered by and decided to graze on grass growing on small “islands” in the middle of the stream.

Possibly the most bizarre sighting today was a Sword-billed Hummingbird, with its incredibly oversized bill which it uses to access the nectar in Trumpet Flowers. A great example of adaptation.

Our final destination today: Tandayapa Lodge, one of Hosteria San Jorge's sister lodges located in the world famous Tandayapa Valley, well-known by birders for its variety of hummingbirds. The lodge is located 100 meters up from the road, perched on the side of a mountain. This facility is not a “drive-up” – it's a “hike up” with a sometimes steep switchback trail. The hike is about 20 minutes and finishes at the communal area with dining table and about a dozen hummingbird feeders – all in constant use by the 22 species of hummers in that region.

Upon our arrival lemonade and popcorn (something we see with each dinner) were offered and gratefully accepted. We sat and watched the myriad of hummingbirds at the numerous feeders around the outdoor dining area. Sadly, it was late and getting dark. But I look forward to breakfasting with these little jewels tomorrow morning.

The list:

Band-tailed Pigeon

Plumbeous Pigeon

Eared Dove

White-capped Parrot

Burrowing Owl

Green Violetear

Sparkling Violetear

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Andean Emerald

Speckled Hummingbird

Empress Brilliant

Green-crowned Brilliant

Fawn-breasted Brilliant

Brown Inca

Collared Inca

Sword-billed Hummingbird

Buff-tailed Coronet

Booted Racket-tail

Long-tailed Sylph

Purple-throated Woodstar

Red-headed Barbet

Azara's Spintail

Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner

Uniform Treehunter

White-crested Elaenia

Sierran Elaenia

White-banded Tyrannulet

White-tailed Tyrannulet

Smoke-colored Pewee

Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant

Golden-crowned Flycatcher

Tropical Kingbird

Barred Becard

Turquoise Jay

Great Thrush

Brown-bellied Swallow

Blue-and-white Swallow

Plain-tailed Wren

Blackburnian Warbler

Slate-throated Whitestart

Spectacled Whitestart

Black-crested Warbler

Masked Flowerpiercer

Black Flowerpiercer

White-sided Flowerpiercer

Orange-bellied Euphonia

Golden Tanager

Silver-throated Tanager

Flame-faced Tanager

Golden-naped Tanager

Beryl-spangled Tanager

Black-capped Tanager

Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager

Northern Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager

Blue-gray Tanager

Blue-capped Tanager

Blue-and-Yellow Tanager

Flame-crested Tanager

Black-winged Saltator

Southern-Yellow Grosbeak

Rufous-naped Brush-Finch

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Hooded Siskin