Now that we’ve been here 6 months, I was finally able to get away birding for a couple days. I’d been eyeing the area south of us, just over an hour drive away, and the road goes over the continental divide. It is considered part of the Amazon Basin as all the rivers drain east to the Amazon River and eventually the Atlantic Ocean. As far as the birds go it is an interesting mix of species from the east and west, and is the northern range limit for some from Peru. And while being somewhat jungle, it is not steamy hot like it is to farther east.
In researching the area via eBird, I saw a place called, “Reserva Manakin,” (Manakin Reserve). But there was only one checklist recorded, and it happened to be by Christian Romero, the guide who was with us last time we were in the county in January 2023. He tallied 104 species at the reserve in one day. I suspect that with only one checklist, the area must have been recently set aside. I thought I’d like to check the place out, so texted him. I asked him if there was lodging there. He said no, and that you needed to walk for an hour and a half to get there. He said he’d like to take me there, so it was at least on the back burner, initially.
I finally set the date for the weekend of Sept 27-29, and gave Christian directions to my place. He eventually made it, an hour late. I suppose giving directions with my way of thinking probably does not cut it down here, but it was great to see him again, and we took off right away so as not to have to drive much in the dark. He said something about including a friend, so I assumed his friend was a birder.
En route we reached the reserve named Tapichalaca, in an hour, the one set aside for the Jocotoco Antpitta, a splendid and odd bird new to science only about 25 years ago. Christian talked to the guide on duty there (who he knew) and learned there was a rare Rufuous-capped Thornbill (Hummingbird) being seen just up the road, so we dashed back out to look for it. We waited around at the exact spot for 10 minutes, but he was to be a no show. We moved over, maybe 75 feet up the road to another clear view down the hillside. In short order a hummer showed up, which turned out to be an immature Geoffrey’s Daggerbill, an even rarer hummingbird not often seen in the area. Because it had a black mask and was quite small, I thought it was a Speckled Hummingbird, and did not even ready my camera. Christian kept looking at it and finally realized it was something different, and so my camera finally served its purpose, but too late to get any good photos. This first lifer was a great way to start off the weekend.
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| GEOFFREY’S DAGGERBILL |
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| AMETHYST THROATED SUNANGEL |
As it was getting light we reached the end of the road where we parked. There was a river here about 200 feet wide, and the water was brown from mining operations, which were unsightly, to say the least. We walked across the foot bridge and headed downriver through the mining “camp,” where the workers were literally camping out in makeshift tin roofed lean-tos. The machines were already blaring, but in a few minutes they were behind us, the quietude a nice greeting.
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| THE BROWN RIVER WITH MINING OPERATIONS |
During the drive I learned that Diego was a nature guide at Tapichalaca, so he knew the birds of the area, and I was soon to learn he was quite the expert. But now we had to walk to the reserve, an uphill trek on a trail through what was basically farmland. The river kept getting farther downhill, but above us was undisturbed forest. The birds began showing up: Peruvian Pigeon (Rare for the area), Dusky Pigeon, Plumbeous Pigeon, Rufous fronted Thornbird, Linneated Woodpeckers, Yellow-tufted Woodpeckers, Silver-beaked Tanagers, Olive-chested Flycatcher, Speckled Chachalaca, White-eyed Parakeets, Maranon Thrush, just to name a few.
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| THE ENTRANCE. CHRISTIAN IN THE MIDDLE, DIEGO ON RIGHT |
We finally reached the area set aside, preserved from logging/agriculture. I suspect it was only 20 acres tops, but it was mostly undisturbed jungle. The “entrance,” which was a few small, dead logs acting as a barrier, was accompanied by a sign, and through the foliage I could see a small building, which turned out to be a one room “cabin” of sorts. Between bird sightings we ate some breakfast. A Green Hermit (Hummingbird) had made an appearance when we reached the area, but others were making themselves known like Golden-faced Tyrannulet, Buff-throated Saltators, Green Jays and White-lined Tanager and Blue-gray Tanagers.
The trail seemed to be calling us so we began the hike. With two guides, Diego in the front and Christian in the rear, we’d not miss anything. Their ears were fine tuned to hearing every little sound, and Diego could pick out any slight movement with his eyes. Right off the bat was a family of Rufous-breasted Wood Quail, often heard but not often seen. They were right in the middle of the trail ahead of us allowing visuals, but each time I raised the camera they did not so cooperate.
The trail was maybe 200 meters to the end, but it took us at least an hour and a half to make it there due to seeking out and following up on bird vocalizations and sightings. One really intriguing find were a couple of Gray-throated Leaftossers, and these being the first for me seeing any of this family of species. They allowed decent views, but by the time I got the lens on one, they vanished. Other cool and/or new birds were Euller’s Flycatcher, Coppery-chested Jacamar, Chestnut-headed Gnateater, Tawny-breasted Flycatcher, Great Antshrike, Lined Antshrike, and White-throated Spadebill.
About half-way along a Western Fire-eye piped up, so Diego use playback to draw him in. It took about 5 minutes for the bird to finally show up, an all black robin size bird with a gleaming bright red eye. It would have been nice to get his picture, but he never perched still for more than about 3 seconds.
Diego wanted to go higher, and so we trapsed uphill, reaching another trail in about 50 meters. Finally a few tanagers showed up, the Paradise Tanager being the most gaudy of them. But Bay-headed Tanager is a close second. Otherwise the Blue-necked and Blue Gray Tanagers were welcomed.
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| PARADISE TANAGER |
When we neared the cabin again, birds became more numerous and a Wire-crested Thornbill (Hummingbird) feeding on the pollen of the white flowers of a nearby tree was a nice lifer. Right afterward another hoped for tanager made a short appearance - the Black-faced Tanager, another lifer. Others that came around were the Golden-faced Tyrannult, Ruddy Pigeon, Sickle-winged Guan, Long-billed Starthroat (Hummingbird), Lafrenaye’s Piculet (The Smallest of Woodpeckers), Plain Antvireo and others.
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| GOLDEN-FACED TYRANNULET |
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| RUDDY PIGEON |
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| YELLOW-TUFTED WOODPECKER |
But it was now time to head back. It was a relief that the trek back was all downhill. The mining camp was now alive with workers, who seemed a little disheveled and rough, so I was glad Diego and Christian were along. They stopped and talked to some, shaking hands upon meeting and parting, including me. The trees on riverbank along the last 50 meters before the footbridge were alive with birds, and tanagers now made themselves known. Another target of mine, the Buff-bellied Tanager, was now seen well. Other tanagers in attendance were Orange-eared, Palm, Golden, White-lined, Blue-necked and Bay-headed. An assortiment of others included Slaty-capped Flycathers, Varigated Bristle-tyrant, Common Tody-flycatcher, Green-backed Becard, Blue Dacnis and Black-faced Dacnis, and Short-billed Chlorospingus.
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| ORANGE-BELLIED EUPHONIA |
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| RUFOUS-FRONTED THORNBILL NEST |
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| VARIGATED BRISTLE-TYRANT |
Driving up and out of that river valley was interesting as I could now see the scenery. Lots of high hills, the lower portions were all farmed, the higher parts still forested. We made our way back to Progresso where we had lunch. Only $3.00 each for a meal which consisted of soup, chicken, rice and a salad. We were then off, continuing farther south, going “down” the next series of switch-backs to another river, this one clear and pristine. After meeting a bus on this one-way gravel road, I now put it together that, since this was the main road south, it was well used by buses, trucks and any other vehicles for transportation. Phew, these were very reminiscent of the logging roads I’ve driven on in Oregon, usually not convenient with narrow or no shoulders. Can’t imagine what happens when two buses meet on a narrow stretch……
When we reached the river there was a kettle of 9 Swallow-tailed Kites circling overhead. I did not know they flocked like this. We turned left, down stream before we got to the bridge and drove a good mile where we parked a little before the chain blocking further progress. We had been paralleling a series of large, concrete channels made for diverting water. These were not in use due to a landslide which had demolished it in one place. We walked past the chain birding. It was now mid day and the temperature had risen to about 85 degrees, so birding was a little slow. Diego found a Bronze-green Euphonia (Think Tanager Family), a new one for me. Long-tailed Tyrants were common on the overhead wires, and Grassquits and Seedeaters were in abundance along the road - Blue-black Grassquit, Chestnut-bellied, Yellow-bellied and Plain-colored Seedeaters. Before leaving we tallied 31 species.
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| LONG-TAILED TYRANT |
Just as we were about to head back up the hill, I stopped to check out some birding activity. I can’t remember was it was I saw, but this turned out to be a bad decision, as a truck went by, up the hill, which I’d now have to follow, eating his dust all the way back to Progresso, some 5 miles up the hill. In town he pulled over, much to my relief. But then I got stuck behind a bus, which finally allowed me to pass in 3-4 miles. I did not realize it, but we were returning to Palanda a different way which provided more of the same great scenery of forested hilltops as far as the eye could see. The birds seemed to always be in evidence now as we traversed through these partially forested areas. We spied a raptor overhead, which turned out to be a Semi-collared Hawk, a lifer for me. Now and then we’d pull over when birds were notable. At one place our first Swallow Tanagers were seen, real beauties of that family. While admiring them, we saw a large bird soaring south, which turn out to be a Wood Stork, probably going from one location far away to another. There were certainly no marshes anywhere near here. I got some rather poor but identifiable pics, but somehow these got deleted before I could get to them. I was really hoping to add them to the eBird checklist, which flagged such as rare and needing documentation.
By now Christian was dragging and said he needed some coffee. He sounded like this was not going to be a problem, but since we were still miles from Palanda I figured he’d have to wait. But in less than a mile we pulled into a coffee plantation, and Diego knew the family who owned the place. A young teenager made Christian a large cup while Diego had a shot of vodka which one family member was imbibing on. It was a serene place with lots of birds, and I would have liked to hang around there for a while, but we had to break away and continue back to civilization.
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| DIEGO AT THE LARGE WOODEN PAIL-LIKE CONTAINER WITH THE LARGE POUNDER FOR SEPARATING COFFEE BEANS FROM THE HUSKS |
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| CHRISTIAN BOUGHT ME THIS POUND OF COFFEE FROM THE FARM |
At the next river crossing I finally saw a long awaited White-capped Dipper on the rocks. I’d been looking for such near where we live every time we were in the vicinity of appropriate habitat. So it was great to finally have that happen.
I found it exhilarating when driving through forested terrain that birds were plentiful. Literally, every place we stopped we detected a few species. One place, just before the coffee farm where there was a creek crossing was a Mottle-backed Elaenia and a Great Kiskadee, two species new for the trip.
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| MOTTLE-BACKED ELAENIA |
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| GREAT KISKADEE |
Since this was a different route back to Palanda, I was wondering when we’d finally get there when all of a sudden, around one corner, the houses appeared. We were going to do some owling after dark, but as it had started raining, Diego knew it would not pan out. At least I could sleep in until 5:30 the next morning, so that was nice.
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