Zamora
Monday, July 21, 2008: We started the day by heading back to the Bombascuro section of Podocarpus National Park. On the way, we found a sitting Amazonian Umbrellabird.
On the Trail
We retraced our steps up the forest trail to the visitor's center. This time we also spotted a Coppery-chested Jacamar on the way. Golden-olive Woodpecker also put in an appearance.
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| Coppery-chested Jacamar | Tree Fern | Stream |
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Bombuscaro Visitor's Center
The tanagers were again active at the tanager tree (the melastome with yellow flowers shown below). New birds included Montane Foliage-gleaner, Foothill Elaenia, Ash-browed Spinetail, Yellow-bellied Tanager, and Olive-striped Flycatcher. The Foothill Elaenia is not illustrated in the field guide. It was discovered about a decade ago, and David Wolf was one of the co-discoverers!
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| Palm | Purple-flowered Melastome |
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| Yellow-flowered Melastome | Valley View |
Finca Copalinga
We returned to Copalinga for lunch, then birded the feeders and forest around the lodge. They have many bushes that attract hummers, including Spangled Coquette. In the forest near the feeders, we spotted Black-and-white Becard, Lafresnaye's Piculet, Bay-headed Tanager, Highland (Hepatic) Tanager, and Streaked Xenops. Some of these birds seemed to particularly like an Inga tree.
Sometimes today we also saw a Plain-breasted (Sharp-shinned) Hawk. I forgot to note it down, so I'm not sure when I saw it. It may have been on the return to Copalinga.
Old Loja-Zamora Road
We made a late-day trip to the old Loja-Zamora road. On the way, we had to stop for road construction and noticed some Black Vultures sitting in some trees. As I scanned the vultures, I realized that one bird was not black. It turned out to be a Solitary Eagle.
The Rio Zamora was raging under the bridge on the old road. Seeing the river like that, and the way it cuts through a chasm, made me realize something of the difficulties that were faced by the early explorers. Just think of trying to get your boats down (or up) the river here. From the accounts I've read, this is typical of the obstacles they encountered. This sort of thing was still a problem as late as Teddy Roosevelt expedition along the River of Doubt (now the Rio Roosevelt).
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| Rio Zamora | Rainbow |
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Rain had bothered us all day, and it was nice to see a rainbow. Cliff Flycatchers were present near the bridge. White-capped Dipper was active on the boulders in the river. We also found Olive-chested Flycatcher up the road a bit. As it was getting near dark, we returned to the bridge, finding some Sickle-winged Guans. However, we were unable to spot our main target bird, the Cock-of-the-rock.
Today's totals were 75 species including 17 lifers, making a grand total of 320 bird species with 217 lifers.
Finca Copalinga, Zamora