Sunday, March 11

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.

Masked Trogon-male

Golden-headed Quetzal

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.

Golden 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.

Collared Inca

On our walk back to the car, we found three beautiful species: Turquoise Jay, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, and Plate-mandibled Mountain Toucan. Stopping again for the Cock-of-the-Rock, we flushed a raptor, but were unable to identify it.

Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan

During lunch, a number of birds came to the papaya feeder, allowing for great shots of Red-headed Barbet, Thick-billed Euphonia and the male Lemon-rumped Tanager. I then enjoyed a 4 hour nap, followed by dinner, conversation and Bananagrams with the group of hummingbird photographers.