On the Road to Zamora
Saturday, July 19, 2008: Today was the long drive to Zamora, made longer by extensive road construction between Loja and Zamora.
Our first birding stop was not far from Cuenca. Highlights there included Golden-bellied Grosbeak and Chiguanco Thrush.
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| Golden-bellied Grosbeak | Chiguanco Thrush | Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager |
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Another Variable Hawk was spotted as we continued south. This time it was the Red-backed Hawk form. Other brief stops added better looks at Black-Billed Shrike-Tyrant and a Black-tailed Trainbearer. At one point, we stopped for a stunned Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager. Our driver placed it in some vegetation. After collecting its wits, it flew off. We also added Red-crested Cotinga to our list.
Oña Valley
We made a long stop in the Oña valley, an agricultural area. New birds here included White-crested Elaenia, Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant, Pacific (Pale-legged) Hornero, and Peruvian Meadowlark. Besides the Hornero itself, we also found a hornero nest. Such nests are typical of the Furnariidae, and are the reason they are called “ovenbirds”. Vermilion Flycatcher was present here. Unlike the Rio Napo, they are expected here.
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| Pacific Hornero / Pale-legged Hornero |
Tawny-Crested Pygmy-Tyrant |
Vermilion Flycatcher |
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| Hornero Nest | Tillandsia | Southern Beardless-Tryrannulet |
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| Peruvian Meadowlark | American Kestrel | |
Acanama
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| Acanama View |
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After the birding break in Oña, we returned to our journey. The next big stop was an old road at Acanama. We quickly found some Golden-plumed Parakeets, but were unable to get great looks. We expected to refind them later, but never did. It was somewhat rainy, but we managed to get our picnic lunch in, and do some birding. New birds included Black-headed Hemispingus, Glowing Puffleg, Blue-capped Tanager, Lacrimose Mountain-Tanager, and Blue-and-black Tanager. The people in this area seem extremely poor. We had more lunch food than we needed, and invited some of them to take it.
On to Zamora
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| Andean View |
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Delays and general slowdowns due to construction made it a very long drive to Zamora. The scenery was great. Had I been on my own, I doubtless would have stopped many times to take photos. Somewhere in here we found Violet-fronted Brilliant. We finally got to Zamora with its giant floral clock. Our lodging at Copalinga was only a short distance farther. It was getting late when we arrived. The dinner at Copalinga was excellent, doubly so after the long day's journey.
Today's totals were 36 species including 15 lifers, making a grand total of 255 bird species with 175 lifers.
Finca Copalinga, Zamora