This blog covers the
final part of a trip to Ecuador with Marc Brew, Jon Hornbuckle and Rod Martins. We had been expertly guided by Gabriel (Gabo)
Bucheli but had said a sad farewell to him at Coca as we prepared to visit Sani
Lodge. Unless stated photos were taken
(mostly by me) with Jon's Canon Powershot SX50.
2
February (continued). The final destination of our trip, Sani
Lodge, was over two hours by motorboat down the Rio Napo. We had said a sad goodbye to Gabo who had ‘handed
us over’ to Domingo and was heading back to Quito. He had been brilliant. Domingo, our bird guide at Sani, told us that
there would be a slight delay as a final passenger was on their way from Quito. Our gear was put into plastic bags and loaded
into a long, covered motorised canoe. We
boarded and just after midday the other passenger arrived, their flight having
been delayed by an hour. It was Phil
Rostron, Jon’s main World List rival! We
were given a packed lunch and set off speeding down the Rio Napo which, unlike
in 1986 when I had visited with Nick Preston, was busy with a variety of
craft. Then, in 1986, we had had a good
time despite having no guide or recordings and sitting for a day and a half on
the riverbank at Primavera waiting for a boat back to Coca. While at Primavera Nick had seen a Collared
Puffbird but I had been unable to refind it (the time waiting for a boat which I
could have spent looking for it only rubbed it in more). As the years rolled by it grew in
desirability to the point where it was one of my most wanted birds. Failing to see it in Colombia the previous
year only added to this even though my chance of seeing one had been overstated
(our guide there claiming to know two territories at Mitu boiled down to them
having seen it just twice in nine visits, ours making that two out of tenL).
Collared Puffbird was on the Sani
list and a superb photo of one gracing the wall of their office in Quito was
the first thing I saw when we went to pay the balance for our stay. It raised my hopes but at San Isidro we met
two very keen Finnish birders who had just come from Sani and had not seen one (the
first thing I asked). They had been with
Domingo concentration on restricted range species but had also seen Harpy Eagle
and Grey-winged Trumpeter. Judging by
their reaction to meeting ‘the Jon Hornbuckle’ he is something of a folk hero
amongst list-oriented Finns! With
thoughts of what we might see spinning through my head we motored down the Rio
Napo, passing Primavera (now apparently an oil exploration area), Limoncocha
and La Selva.
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| Rod and Jon in orange life-vests, Phil, just arrived, in blue |
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| other river traffic included essential beer supplies |
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| a very full tourist boat from another lodge, with the best parrot clay lick in Ecuador according to the waterline |
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| despite being thousands of miles from the sea the Rio Napo was already very wide |
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| the reciepient of the beer? |
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| other river craft were quite varied |
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| most were tug-boats that pushed barges |
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| the 'boat stop' for Sani Lodge |
We arrived at the docking point for
Sani and were led for ten minutes or so down a boardwalk to a small creek. The boardwalk had a central strip of green
matting which was essential to prevent slipping – the rest of it was really
treacherous as I found out when inadvertently stepping onto it. Maybe it is OK when dry but it didn’t appear
to have been dry for quite some time. Here
dug-out canoes were waiting to transfer us and our gear, which was following in
a hand pulled cart, down the Challuayacu creek and lake to the lodge. At times the creek was completely enclosed by
trees and Marc who was in front briefly saw a Green & Rufous Kingfisher
before it disappeared. A Ringed
Kingfisher was much more obliging. It soon
started raining and a flock of about 70 Greater Anis flew over as we were
approaching the lodge. That seemed the
queue for the rain to increase in intensity.
We were welcomed and after a complementary drink that I passed on were
told we were going to the camp-site for our first two nights. We had chosen to camp for part of our stay to
be in a different area of the forest (and as it was a bit cheaper). It seemed like a good idea to do it first
although the weather wasn’t ideal. After
being issued with ponchos (we didn’t need the offered wellingtons) Domingo and his
boatman Pepe loaded us and our bags into the dugout and paddled us to the
campsite. It took about 45 minutes
during which time the heavens completely opened. I was a bit slow putting Jon’s camera into a
plastic bag and some water got into it so it stopped working. We qot quite wet too as water found its way
in around the ponchos. It was clear that
there had been a lot of rain as the campsite jetty was almost completely
underwater. It was only a couple of
minutes’ walk to the campsite where tents were set up under covered
platforms. A nice setting although the
heavy rain had made everywhere muddy. We
had a warm drink in the dining hut, sorted out our stuff and watched the rain
until it got dark. I managed to get
Jon’s camera to work again although it seemed a bit temperamental and would
probably have benefitted from some direct sunlight. Jon had given Domingo a hit list of the 15 or
so species listed for Sani that he had not seen. Domingo was quite encouraging about most of
them mentioning areas where they might be seen, with the odd smile suggesting
we’d be lucky with some. A similar list
from me would have been over 50 so I asked about the two I most wanted to see -
Collared Puffbird and Grey-winged Trumpeter.
Domingo appeared quite confident about the puffbird but just smiled when
I mentioned the trumpeter - at least it hadn’t been a shake of the head that
Jon got when asking about Festive Coquette. We were given a good meal and had an early
night, the rain showing little sign of abating.
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| Phil, Domingo and Phil's dugout at the end of the boardwalk. The green matting was essential to prevent losing one's footing. |
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| Challuayacu creek |
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| Challuayacu Lake from Sani Lodge |
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| Masked Crimson Tanager in heavy rain |
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| Glittering-bellied Emerald in heavy rain |
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| White-winged Swallow during a brief intermission |
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| Rod pondering Challuayacu Lake |
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| heading up Challuayacu creek before Jon's camera got wet |
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| Jon busy note writing at the camp site (his camera was working again but only temporarily) |
3
February. It stopped raining at some point during the
night although was very overcast at dawn.
We were up and into the forest as it was getting light trying to track
down a Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl that was calling from near the toilet block
but we inadvertently flushed it. We headed
down the main trail and had not gone more than 10 minutes when Domingo heard a
Collared Puffbird calling. We were
instructed to stay on the path while he and Pepe went in to look for it. An anxious three minutes later (it seemed
like 30) Pepe came back to tell us Domingo had found it but just as we got
there it flew. It hadn’t gone far and
was quickly relocated sitting on a branch looking down on us. It gave good views, albeit in not brilliant
light. We had hardly been at Sani any
time at all and a long ambition had been realised although Jon’s camera
deciding not to work rather took the edge off it. Perhaps my putting it in a plastic bag hadn’t
helped with the humidity it was already suffering from? Walking back to the trail we disturbed a pair
of Crested Owls, another ambition bird, and not long after Domingo asked if we
had seen Rusty-belted Tapaculo before.
Only Jon had so it was quickly tape lured and slowly circled us giving
good views. Next up a calling Purplish
Jacamar was tracked down ... Things
clearly couldn’t continue this way and they didn’t, Black-spotted Bare-eyes
only gave fleeting glimpses and Domingo tried playing Lanceolated Monklet (I’m
not sure if he had heard one or was trying an area where he knew they were). No response it seemed although something
about the right size and shape flew into the top of the tree above us. At the same time Domingo heard Sapphire Quail
Dove, one of Jon’s target birds, further down the trail and everyone moved
off. I had seen Sapphire Quail-Dove at
Primavera and stayed a couple of minutes looking for the monklet but to no
avail. Even if it had been in view I
doubt my eyesight would have been keen enough to spot it. I caught the others up before they
disappeared down an almost invisible side trail and after tracking the calling
Quail -Dove for 15 minutes we had good views of it walking on the forest
floor. We went back to the camp very
satisfied with a brilliant first foray into the Amazon rain forest. We took the dugout back along to the
Challuayacu creek to look for Cocha Antshrike and once there quickly found a
responsive pair which gave good views (another smart bird). We returned to the camp for lunch and afterwards
saw a Lawrence’s Thrush singing from a tree top while two small groups of Blue
& Yellow Macaws flew over. We had
only a short period of rain but it remained dull all day and not (camera) drying
weather. We went out again on the forest
trails mid-afternoon and all but Marc couldn’t believe our good fortune when
Domingo saw a Salvin’s Curassow on a log crossing the trail ahead of us. Unfortunately Marc, who by the luck of
rotation was last at this point and unsighted, didn’t see it. I was just in front of Marc and saw it after
it had dropped onto the other side of the log – a thick black neck and head
with a bright red bill. It then quickly
walked away giving me diminishing back on views of the whole bird. Not something that had really been on my
radar or Jon had really rated his chances of seeing. An hour or so later Domingo froze in a
slightly more open area and muttered trumpeter and pointed. I panicked and saw a trumpeter shape go
across the trail ahead of us. I got my
bins up and briefly saw its back, grey wings and pale brown saddle before it
disappeared. We ‘chased’ it for 100m
before it flew up into a tree, although all I saw was a shape flying up. Thinking it would be like a Crowned Pigeon
and be located sitting high up looking down on us I was disappointed to find it
had kept going. Hardly great views and I
was very keen for better but I had seen most of my most wanted bird in South
America. Marc, who again had been
unsighted, only saw it fly up. Later I
asked Domingo if it was unusual to see just one trumpeter as they usually go
around in reasonable sized groups. I was
a bit shocked when he said there had been 10-15. I had just caught the back end of presumably
the last one. I hoped it showed how very
good Domingo was rather than how hopeless we were bur I suspect there was some
of the later there too. Collared
Puffbird and views of Grey-winged Trumpeter on my first day, the pressure for
me was really off and I hoped to thoroughly enjoy the rest of our stay. I almost floated back to camp where we
arrived at dusk. The day wasn’t over
though as the Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl started calling by the campsite within
a few minutes of us returning and this time we successfully spotlighted
it. What a brilliant day!
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| Crested Owl taken by Marc. Jon's camera was back in wet mode |
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| Sani camp site |
4
February. We were up at 03:45 and following Domingo
into the forest by torch light to look/listen for Nocturnal Currasow. We walked steadily for half an hour or so, or
as steadily as one could by torchlight on muddy trails and across a couple of
streams on fallen logs. It was a damp
morning with some light rain and nothing was calling at all, not even in
response to playback. We covered a
reasonable amount of ground before turning back and returning to the camp site
somewhat disappointed. We were back at
05:30 to find breakfast being prepared and presumably the same Tawny-bellied
Screech-Owl in full voice. We packed and
after breakfast left for the canopy tower in the dugout, the weather being no
brighter. A Common Potoo on the way a
good start. The tower was reached by a 10-15 minutes’ walk up a low ridge from
a narrow creek part-way back towards the lodge. It was in a very impressive tree with a very
substantial caged metal staircase going up to it. The staircase seemed endless although I was
pleasantly surprised that it was only 202 steps. At the top was a large platform with stunning
views over the canopy in every direction.
Sadly no Harpy Eagles were sitting out but we saw Blue-throated
Piping-Guan, Black-headed Parrot, Mealy and Orange-winged Amazons,
Yellow-billed Nunbird, Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher, Spangled and
Plum-throated Cotingas and best of all a roosting Great Potoo. Marc also saw a calling Long-billed
Woodcreeper but it had gone from view by the time I crossed the platform. We dragged ourselves away and spent a couple
of hours on a circular trail but were frustrated not to see a Golden-collared
Toucanet that was calling (and moving around) in the canopy above us for at
least ten minutes. We were more
successful with a female Blue-crowned Trogon.
We returned to the dugout and were paddled back along the creek and
across the lake to the lodge. As well as
the usual Hoatzins and Black-capped Donacobius we saw two Bare-necked
Fruitcrows distantly perched then in flight.
Sadly they were to be the only ones we saw. At the lodge we were greeted by a tame
trumpeter. I never discovered how it came
to be at Sani but was told it had been there for six months. It was so brilliant I was tempted to try and
bring it home! Domingo showed us a pair
of roosting Tropical Screech-Owls and we were then taken to our cabins, Rod and
I had #6 and Jon and Marc #5. They were
very pleasant. We had mosquito nets over
the beds but did not really needed them as we were not troubled by insects at
all. After lunch we were paddled down
the main channel and back along the boardwalk.
It was as slippery as when we had arrived. Towards the Rio Napo end of the boardwalk a
White-lored Antpitta was calling, one of our main targets. It seemed no more than 40m away in a particularly
thick patch. Domingo imitated it but it
didn’t move so we tried approaching from various angles, making quite a bit of
noise in the process. I would have
thought we would have put anything to flight but we got to within 10m before
disturbing it. We never saw it move but next
heard it calling from some way off. We
were rather downbeat but Domingo seemed unperturbed suggesting we tried another
territory. This one was only a few
hundred metres away off a track to the west.
Another bird was soon responding but it was in an even thicker
patch. No messing about this time and
with a call of ‘Pepe, machete’ we
moved in. I wasn’t at all convinced that
this strategy would work but was very pleased to be proved wrong. A combination of carefully hacking a narrow
trail in and Domingo’s superb eyesight enabled him to spot the bird before we
entered its comfort zone and we all got good views, although by the time I
thought to try for photographs it moved on.
We continued down the track which was through mainly secondary forest
seeing some Black-spotted Bare-eyes well in one of the better forest patches and
trying in several places for Black-banded Crake. We got responses from lose birds twice
without seeing them. On the walk back we
were more fortunate with the impressive Rufous-headed Woodpecker. It had dried out as the day progressed but
remained heavily overcast and the light was failing fast by the time we got
back to the dugout. We spotlighted
Common Potoo and Ringed Kingfisher on our return to the lodge. After a good meal we enquired about Jon, Rod
and I staying at Sani for an extra day or two as we had a small contingency we
thought we might need for Crescent-faced Antpitta (Marc was returning a day
before we were scheduled to and had a flight to Quito booked). When we had seen Yanyls in Quito to pay the
balance she had indicated that it would be OK to stay an extra day as Sani was
not fully booked at this time and we agreed on a daily rate if we wanted
to. Sani was so good we now did but needed
to make sure connections would work with our international flights. Sani’s skype connection seemed better than
email (Jon and I had tried unsuccessfully to email home) and we were told they
would have information about flights by the following evening.
5
February. We were up at 05:00 for breakfast and
left in the dugout in the dark at 05:30 with Phil and his guide Carlos. We arrived at the boardwalk 15 minutes later
and just about managed the walk it without a torch, although it was useful to
have it to hand. We took a motorboat
across the Rio Napo and upstream to Yasuni NP where we spent a long morning,
initially with Phil and Carlos, on and off very muddy trails and crossing small
rivers on fallen logs. Our main quarry
was Ochre-striped Antpitta but we got distracted by other species and Phil and
Carlos went on ahead. We heard an
antpitta below us in a valley. ‘Pepe, machete’ and we went down for it
but despite spending a couple of hours during which time we got very close we
were unsuccessful. We did get good views
of a Brown-rumped Foliage-Gleaner, a new bird for Domingo although he knew they
had been seen in the area. I was more
impressed with Brown Nunlet, Brownish Twistwing, Black-tailed Leaftosser and
brilliant views of a superb Collared Puffbird although frustratingly the camera
was reluctant to focus on it. We
returned to the boat for an excellent packed lunch. Phil had beaten us back, having seen the
antpitta well with Carlos. We all tried
a site for Ecuadorian Cacique without success and called in at one of the river
islands on the way back while Phil and Carlos headed back. The river island was disappointing with
Castelneau’s Antshrike our best sighting.
It was quite hot day with few showers which probably didn’t help. We got back to the lodge as it was getting
dark seeing Capped Heron and me missing a Least Bittern on the lagoon. We had another good meal and visited the
office. Flight times from Coca to Quito
were not ideal. I had to check-in for my
Iberia flight to Madrid at 18:00 on 10th, Jon and Rod at 18:30. The LAN Coca to Quito flight was due in at
18:10 which would be fine if it was on time as the terminal was the same and
baggage shouldn’t take long to collect.
However Phil Rostron’s LAN flight to Coca had been an hour late and a repeat
would be pushing things for me. I’m less
risk adverse than Jon and didn’t feel I could risk it – even if it was on time
(which was likely) I’d be worrying and not enjoy the extra day. Jon and Rod also had a get-out in that their
flight was only to Lima where they had most of the day before flying home so if
they missed it they could probably get another.
I decided to go for an earlier, mid-day, flight but was told that would
require a special boat from Sani which would cost me $300! After several skype conversations with Yanyls
in Quito and Miguel (their agent in Coca) I decided to have one extra day at
Sani and travel back to Quito on an overnight bus (not only heaper $10 v $100
but also saved me having to find a hotel. Jon and Rod went for two extra nights
at Sani and a slightly more risky connection.
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| disembarking at the Yasuni trailhead |
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| Brown Nunbird through a damp lens |
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| lens cleaned but it was now more obscured |
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| Collared Puffbird. It had been one of my most wanted birds for the trip and although we had good views on our first day at Sani I had been disappointed not to get any images. |
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| this bird was quite frustrating as for most shots the autofocus decided to go for the background whenever I took an image |
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| fortunately that didn't happen every time |
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| it was every bit as good as I had hoped |
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| Yellow-browed Antbird |
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| heading off-trail |
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| Scaly-breasted Woodpecker |
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| Greater Yellowlegs on a river island |
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| Pied Plover |
6
February. Repeating yesterday’s itinerary we had breakfast
at 05:00 and dugout at 05:30 to the boardwalk.
We arrived at the Rio Napo just as it was light but couldn’t start the
motorboat we had used previously.
Domingo had no more success than Pepe and after almost half an hour we
transferred to their bigger ($300!) boat.
We headed straight up and across river to the Yasuni National Park trails
we had been on yesterday. We took an
arduous short cut over a ridge (Domingo appearing to relish using the machete)
to get to the area where we had heard the Ochre-striped Antpitta. One was again vocalising in the distance and we
headed off-trail towards it with a bit of machete work on the way. We got quite close but it seemed to be
keeping its distance so Domingo and Pepe split up, after Pepe was instructed
what to look for (he was not a bird guide).
After an anxious 20 minutes or so it seemed to settle in an area where
Pepe could see it. He beckoned us over
and I had a brief view before it moved on again. This time Domingo saw where it went and we
all got excellent views of it calling back at him. Now we had seen the main bird I thought it an
appropriate time to mention a few other birds to Domingo that I hoped to
see. He was quite positive although I
did get a sort of ‘wish you’d told me before’ response. We returned to the trail and continued along it
to a flatter ridge where he played a recording of Banded Antbird. Immediately one flew in and landed in front
of us in full view, to no sooner fly off again.
A stunning bird that we eventually got prolonged views of. At the same place an Ash-throated Gnateater
started calling and eventually gave good views.
For a while I didn’t know where to look as both species were on my
wanted list. Thrush-like Antpitta and we
headed off-trail for a calling bird but it failed to perform, still a very good
morning. We then met Phil who by his
expression had not been successful on his quest with Carlos to see Nocturnal
Curassow despite a 03:00 start and 90 minute walk on muddy trails and across
slippery logs in the dark. They had
heard one calling before dawn but only a local village boy who had accompanied
them glimpsed it. It was a hot dry day
but the trails were still very muddy and the difficult terrain made it hard
work even when not off-trail. We had a
late lunch then returned to the Ecuadorian Cacique site further along the
river. We again drew a blank but Marc
and I saw a smart White-eared Jacamar.
It was Marc’s last full day and so we decided to finish at the canopy
tower, getting motorboat back down the Rio Napo, walking the boardwalk and
being paddled by dugout. We arrived
there at 16:00 seeing Purple-throated Fruitcrow on the way. The canopy tower was good but disappointing
compared to our first visit with light from the lowering sun making viewing to
the west difficult. The Great Potoo
looked as if it hadn’t moved while Domingo pointed out a very distant
Slate-coloured Hawk, the closest we would get to a Harpy Eagle. We were back at Sani Lodge in daylight, just
in time for my daily fix of the tame Grey-winged Trumpeter.
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| Ochre-striped Antpitta, much more colourful than depicted in the fieldbook |
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| brilliant feet |
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| and a bill that looked as if it had been rooting around in the ground |
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| back on the river and not all barges carried lorries |
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| Spotted Sandpiper |
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| White-eared Jacamar |
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| we weren't always the only tourists in Challuayacu creek |
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| Wattled Jacana |
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| Black-capped Donacobius |
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| on the canopy tower's tree trunk |
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| Domingo scoping a distant Slate-coloured Hawk from the canopy tower |
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| Paradise Tanager |
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| my favourite canopy tower view |
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| The Great Potoo was in the same place |
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| although it did move its head occasionally |
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| returning to the lodge |
7
February. We were up at 04:00, or should have been, to
go and listen for Zigzag Heron. Both Rod
and I slept through our alarms and were woken by Marc and Jon, joining them in
under 10 minutes. In my case this
included 4 minutes unsuccessfully looking for my hearing aid which I had left
on a bookcase type affair I kept my stuff in/on. Zombie like I followed Domingo and the others
along and off a trail behind the lodge for about 20 minutes. Domingo heard a distant Zigzag Heron although
I wasn’t sure that I could. It was in an
area that we could not get any closer too.
We returned and I had time for a more thorough search for my hearing aid
before breakfast. I found it on the
floor behind the bookcase with the earbud surround missing. Rod and I had been occasionally visited by a
small big-eared mouse and I could only think that it had decided to eat part of
my hearing aid, perhaps garnished with ear-wax!
The previous night I had ‘lost’ a rubber and now wondered if it had gone
the same way. The mouse also explained
an unpleasant smell in my corner of the room that I had wondered if it was my
damp clothes (despite my making use of the free laundry service offered by
Sani). After breakfast, at the usual
05:00, Jon, Rod and I said a sad farewell to Marc who was leaving that morning
and had chosen to join the other ‘departures’ in visiting a parrot clay-lick
and the village community centre. He had
been an excellent and very level-headed travelling companion who had kept us on
a level footing. Domingo took Jon, Rod
and me to a new cacique site but it still involved the usual dugout, boardwalk,
motorboat to get there. It was then a 15
minute walk some along a submerged boardwalk that had been below wellington
level a couple of days before. We met
Phil and Domingo there, Phil with a big smile on his face - they had gone back
for the Nocturnal Curassow and had had good views of it by torchlight. After a while we spread out a bit looking for
the cacique and a little way away from the others Domingo heard one calling
which Jon and I saw briefly. It dropped
out of sight and did not reappear in a couple of hours. Not the most inspiring bird, and at the range
we saw it probably only identifiable on call.
I was much more impressed with the Silvered Antbird we had seen on the
way there. We returned to the Rio Napo
and headed up stream to a different river island. This was much more successful although the
time of day might have helped. We saw
many of the river island specialities in fairly quick succession - Parker’s and
White-bellied Spinetails, Black & White Antbird and Olive-spotted
Hummingbird were all new although I only got poor views of River Tyrannulet and
only Domingo saw Lesser Hornero. By now
it was very hot and we had lunch on the island.
In the afternoon we returned to the start of the boardwalk and took the
track to where we had heard Black-banded Crakes. We flushed an Undulated Tinamou on the way
and after two failed attempts to see responsive crakes a third pair were more obliging
crossing an opening on the forest edge several times. We returned to the lodge, and the tame
trumpeter, as the light was fading. A
dry day although the trails remained very muddy.
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| Rio Napo river island |
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| back to the lodge for lunch |
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| my new best friend came to visit |
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| but was more interested in pecking my (relatively clean) socks than the offered biscuit |
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| could I sneak it into my bag when we left? |
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| Limpkin |
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| returning to the lodge again after successfully seeing Black-banded Crake |
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| terrapins |
8
February. My last full day at Sani. Breakfast at 05:00 (it felt strange without
Marc) and dugout at 05:30 to canopy tower.
Spotlighting on the lagoon before it got light revealed the eyes of a
Ladder-tailed Nightjar but it flew as we approached and we saw little else of
it. We were at canopy tower from
06:20-08:10 seeing the Great Potoo, Slender-billed Kite, Bat Falcon, Pied
Puffbird and Chestnut-fronted Macaw. The
Great Potoo had a surprise. Returning to
the dugout we were paddled across to a long trail opposite where we spent the
rest of the morning. It was very hot and
tiring as we covered a lot of ground but some excellent birds made it very
worthwhile. First we had good views of
Dot-winged Antwren then a Thrush-like Antpitta started calling some way
off-trail. This led to the inevitable ‘Pepe machete’ and we homed in on it. Despite a certain amount of crashing around on
our part it stayed faithful to a small area where I glimpsed it crossing a gap
but my view was more frustrating than useful.
Domingo told us to stay put while he very slowly edged forward and after
five minutes of intense peering he beckoned us over to where he could see it
through a small gap. Amazing skill on
his part. We all had good views but it
moved out of sight before any of us could go back for seconds. A short time later we came across a pair of
Chestnut-belted Gnateaters that responded to Domingo’s calls. They were brilliant too. We returned to the lodge for lunch and a 90
minutes break. It was still very hot and
sunny so I put my camera out hoping to dry it out with no appreciable
improvement. I saw the roosting Tropical
Screech-Owls in the same place Domingo had showed us on the first day but they
were just as obscured. I also wandered
into the nearby forest but saw very little, the one downside of Sani Lodge was
that the better accessible habitat was always a dugout away whereas at the
campsite it was on the doorstep. I
returned to our cabin and was visited by the tame trumpeter although it didn’t
seem overly impressed with a bit of dry biscuit I offered to share with
it. We departed for the boardwalk at
15:00 taking a trail from its start that headed NE towards the Rio Napo. We had reached its furthest point without
seeing anything when the weather broke and we returned at 16:30 in heavy rain. Any remaining thoughts we might have had about
trying for Phil’s Nocturnal Curassow in the morning were scuppered, not that
any of us were overly keen given the effort involved and chance of
success. Domingo had been very reluctant
when we floated the idea with him too. It
rained all evening and all night. As I
would be leaving Jon and Rod tomorrow I returned Jon’s camera with grateful
thanks.
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| early morning from the canopy tower |
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| what big eyes the Great Potoo had |
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| although it was soon looking sleepy |
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| distant Crimson-crested Woodpecker |
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| Gilded Barbet |
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| juvenile or female Spangled Cotingas |
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| Laughing Falcon |
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| The Great Potoo was looking very contented but it wasn't just being in the sunshine |
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| eyes closed but eye open ... |
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| ... it was now obvious why it had been faithful to the same spot |
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| absolutely brilliant |
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| Night Monkeys |
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| Hoatzin on Challuayacu Lake |
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| slightly less obscured Tropical Screech-Owls back at the lodge |
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| our welcoming committee, Sani Lodge |
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|
9
February. It rained all night and although we got up
for breakfast at usual at 05:00 we waited for an hour for the rain to ease
before setting off. Domingo and Pepe
paddled us to the boardwalk and we then motored to the better river island for
a 45 minutes blitz which was generally successful seeing River Tyrannulet and
Riverside Tyrant which we had missed previously. We then continued to the Yasuni trails
looking for antwrens. We were walking
along a ridge when Domingo heard a Grey-winged Trumpeter calling from quite
close. He imitated it and it boldly strutted
in expecting to see off a rival.
Amazing. We had superb views of
it calling back to Domingo, almost in full view, but how I regretted not having
kept Jon’s camera to the bitter end especially as he had not brought it
out. The trumpeter then quickly walked
off shaking its wings and grunting in irritation! We continued on without finding any flocks or
antswarms (one of the few disappointments with our time at Sani) before
returning the way we had come. The
trumpeter was in the same area as we heard it calling as we approached. It ran
in angrily at Domingo’s imitation before realising it was us again and strutting
off. An unbelievable performance that
rates with my all-time best. It was then
time for me to be dropped at the Community Centre where I said a fond good-bye
to Domingo and Pepe, Domingo being the best bird guide I’ve come across. Jon and Rod had another day and I hoped to
see them at Quito airport the next evening.
Others leaving Sani were given a traditional lunch at the Community
Centre but I opted to wander around the clearing instead. My trip changed from amazing to tedium in a
short period of time. We were loaded
into a fast boat and left at 12:50 arriving upstream at Coca at 15:00. My wellingtons went no further as on changing
them I realised that both soles had cracked – no wonder I had got wet feet that
morning. Everyone was taken to the
airport in a bus with all our luggage following in a pickup taxi. The others were flying back to Quito but I’d
opted to save money by getting the overnight bus and was dropped at the bus
station at 15:30. I heard their plane
depart on time at 17:30 and wondered if my caution in leaving a day early had really
been necessary. It was a comfortable bus
station, partly air conditioned and not particularly busy. My bus left at 20:30 by which time I’d
finished my book and a packet of biscuits.
The bus didn’t get out of the bus station before being pulled over and
we all had to get off and line-up and half the passengers were questioned
and/or searched. It was a long
uncomfortable journey with speed-bumps and hairpin bends making it hard to
sleep. Much nicer in daylight I’m sure.
10
February. The bus arrived at Quito’s northern bus
terminal at 03:30. It was pretty much
deserted but most of the other passengers soon disappeared. There was no obvious sign of where buses left
for the airport so I waited until it got light starting on Jon’s book. When it was light I couldn’t see a stand for
the airport bus and no one I asked knew where it was so I got a taxi for
$20. I arrived at the airport at 07:00,
only 11 hours before check in. There was
no left luggage, the information office told me that they were not allowed to
keep an eye on my bag and a couple of tours of the airport failed to locate
anywhere I felt that I could safely dump it.
As my priority now was to get home with my stuff I didn’t feel that
walking out of the airport to go birding in the scrubby hillsides nearby was
really an option, especially as it soon got quite hot. Jon’s book lasted me all day as did a fruit malt
loaf. I checked in at 18:00 and then
went down to arrivals to meet Jon and Rod.
Their flight was on time. I was
sure that it would be but would have worried all day about missing my flight
home if I’d chanced it. They had seen 3
or 4 new birds for me but none that really hurt. They checked in for their flight to Lima and
I noted that Iberia were still checking in for my flight. We said farewell. It had been a great trip. My flight was barely half full and I had the
centre block of 4 seats to myself so after having a meal I was able to lie down
and sleep solidly for 4-5 hours.
11
February. We arrived in Madrid on time where the 90
minutes connection time was ideal. We
arrived at Heathrow on time, there was no queue at immigration and somehow my
bag was on the carousel when I reached it.
A tube was in the station and I was at Victoria within 90 minutes of
touching down. I had a two hour wait to
use my cheap ticket on a train home and Megan was waiting at the station when I
arrived at 21:00. It had been a
brilliant trip but I was pleased to be home.
Many thanks to Jon Hornbuckle for putting the trip together and having me along, to arc Brew and Rod Martins for excellent companionship and Gabo Bucheli and Domingo for brilliant guiding. It had been my most enjoyable South American trip to date.
