I was out by 5:45 before the sun came up. Ben had
mentioned that the driveway was a productive area and I slowly made my way
downhill. A Slate-throated Whitestart was flycatching from the ground near some
coffee plants. As the sun arose, a mixed flock of birds crossed the drive below
the lodge, but I could only identify a White-winged Brushfinch. Somewhat
frustrated by this poor start to the day, I made my way back to the lodge,
picking up a female Barred Becard along the way. A Dusky-capped Flycatcher and a Golden-crowned Flycatcher were also
perched near the lodge.
After breakfast, I planned to drive to the Upper
Tandayapa Valley with Ben and just needed to run back to the room for my rain
jacket. I walked up to the roof on a whim to see if I could spot a Cock-of-the-Rocks,
but was instead greeted by a Golden-crowned Quetzal. When he
flushed, I noticed a Tawny Breasted Hermit near some
Heliconia. Since I didn’t get a picture, I walked over hoping he would return.
Though he did not, a Masked Trogon
landed no more than 5’ away. While I had seen the female in Bolivia, this was
the first time I had seen the male.
After the trogon flushed, I noticed a Golden
Tanager in a banana tree. This had been a big miss the previous day, so
I was happy for the extended view. This was just the beginning of a large mixed
flock of tanagers, including Silver-throated Tanager, Metallic-green
Tanager, Golden-naped Tanager, and Beryl-spangled Tanager.
Finally getting started with Ben, we drove up the
Nono-Mindo Road. I saw a bird flush 3-4km up the road, so I pulled over. This
yielded Long-tailed Antbird, a first for both Ben and myself. We
stopped again below Bella Vista for a spot that is typically good for
Cock-of-the-Rock, but had no luck.
Reaching a side-road about 10km from the lodge, we
parked the car and walked the road. This provided a good view of the Collared
Inca. Things were slow and we dipped on a side trail. On the way out,
we hit the jackpot. A huge mixed-flock of just about everything came through.
Unfortunately, the sky was totally overcast, creating an impossibly bright,
white backdrop that made it impossible to identify birds either with the camera
or binoculars. This was incredibly frustrating, but we still were able to see Streaked
Tuftedcheek, Pearled Treerunner, and White-sided Flowerpiercer, Dusky-faced
Tanager. Unfortunately, I missed the Toucan Barbet that Ben located.
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Collared Inca |
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Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan |
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