Week 7: Bird Photographs and report from Quito, The Papallacta Pass, Guango Lodge, Antisana and Otavalo – February 22 –March 3, 2009
(sorry, many of the images for this report arrived corrupted)
I made it back to Quito on the afternoon of the 22nd and found my buddy Dubi hanging out at the Hostel that we both use. It was so great to see a familiar face! I was craving a good cup of coffee and an indulgent meal so after sucking back an Americano at a local café I demolished a massive hamburger and fries at one of the “gringo-ish” restaurants in town. After our meal Dubi and I began to scheme a plan for the next 4 days of highland birding.
The next morning we headed off for the Papallacta pass. More specifically we wanted to go to the area that is famous for the Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe. We managed to get there with minimal navigational errors (for once) and were greeted by perfect conditions for photography. It was freezing cold…but the light was great!
Wandering around the top of the mountain we found a number of good birds to photograph. Unfortunately we didn’t locate the Seedsnipe. The weather was beginning to turn on us so we headed down 1000m or so in elevation to Guango Lodge that has infamous hummingbird feeders. What initially seemed like an ideal opportunity for photography turned into a frustrating escapade (for a variety of reasons beyond our control). Nevertheless, we both came away with a handful of nice images – including an awesome Sword-billed Hummingbird! With the light dwindling we returned to our hostel in Papallacta for a meal and a much-needed soak in the thermal pools.
The Seedsnipe thorn was still sticking in both our sides and so we decided to return to the Pass the following morning to try for this bird again. The weather was spectacular. The sun was shining and we could see the snow-capped peaks of 3 volcanoes that stood not far in the distance. When we arrived at the top we asked the guard if he knew of the Seedsnipe and if he had seen it recently. Nonchalantly, he led us a few paces from our car, pointed down the slope at the bird we had been chasing, and said “eso”? (that one?). We were all smiles…
After photographing the Seedsnipe we headed back to Guango for another day of multi-flash hummingbird photography. Unfortunately the weather was TOO good. There was a bit more light than is ideal for this type of photography which made setting up a challenge. To add to this the sunny weather meant that the flowers in the wild were producing more nectar and therefore fewer birds were coming to the feeder station. Once again Guango wound up being a frustrating experience. The place has so much potential but we just weren’t able to fully take advantage of it. I guess I’ll just have to go back again ☺
On our third morning of highland birding Dubi and I made our way south to the Cotopaxi Volcano (one of the peaks we had seen the previous morning). Our main target that day would be the endemic hummingbird called the Ecuadorian Hillstar. The drive took longer than expected but shortly after entering the park we were fortunate to find a great opportunity to photograph an Andean Lapwing. Afterwards we made our way to a large lagoon where a lot of ducks were congregating. Wandering around the lake we found what we were looking for – a large patch of the Chuquiragua flower (the favourite food of the Ecuadorian Hillstar). I was almost certain that if we found the flowers we would find the bird so we set up our gear and started searching. Sure enough within a few minutes we spotted our target. The sun had popped out by this point which made for terribly contrasty light. We had no choice but to wait for some cloud cover if we wanted to get the shots that we both desired. Eventually the weather and bird cooperated in unison and we got photos that I know we are both thrilled with. Mission accomplished!
Black-winged Ground-dove
Our luck the previous three days had been almost too good. As we left Cotopaxi a crazy hail storm started and lightning struck the peak right beside us (check out video blog #3 to see this first hand). Was this Karma trying to balance the scales? Or should we try our luck and try for one more day of highland birding?
The final spot that we both really wanted to go was the Antisana Volcano. Unfortunately you cant just show up to Antisana. You have to arrange for a permit by direct depositing money into the owners bank. He will then fax you 3 sets of permits that you must show at the checkpoints passing through his land. Needless to say this was not something that could be arranged overnight. After contemplating how much it would take to bribe 3 checkpoints, and deciding that it would be more than we were prepared to part with, I decided to call the folks that I had been volunteering for earlier in January. As it turned out they had pre-purchased a number of passes and were more than happy to sell me 2 for $20. It seemed that our luck was indeed meant to continue.
Ecuadorian Hillstar
After a night in Quito we set off for Antisana. I had read some trip reports the night before and made a list of 10 or so species that I thought would be possible (e.g. Black-faced Ibis, Silvery Grebe, Black-winged Ground Dove, etc.). If you asked me before we left I would have told you that I would have been happy to get 2 or 3 of these. Antisana though offered us one of those unbelievably amazing days that seem to come around far too infrequently. It was ridiculous! We had perfect weather. We not only found, but photographed, all of the birds on my list. And we had a great time in the process. It couldn’t have been a better day.
We left Antisana around 1pm and, I guess as a bonus prize, managed to get amazing photos of a Black’tailed Trainbearer on the way back into town. What a day!
Dubi had to race of to the airport to get back to Israel and I definitely felt the tear of mixed emotions saying goodbye. Of course I was sad to see my friend go. But I was also so happy to have such a great new person and friend in my life. We had some great times shooting together and I’m sure that we will be doing more photography together in the near future…country TBA.
Black-faced Ibis
The past 4 days had been incredible. Good times, and even better photographs. But hiking at those elevations for 4 consecutive days left me slightly drained. I needed a day off! I basically just roamed around Quito during the day and then went out for drinks with the girls I had met a few weeks back.
Saturday morning I boarded an early bus for the city of Otovalo. This town is famous for its amazing Saturday market and I definitely didn’t want to leave Ecuador without checking it out. I was mildly concerned that I wouldn’t be able to find a hostal room on market day – but lady luck was still on my side and the first place I walked in to had a sweet room with a nice double bed, private bathroom and satellite TV for the whopping price of $8. Nice!
Accommodations sorted, I was craving a decent coffee. I found a little café and ordered my beverage. The place lacked adequate seating and so, being the gentleman that I am, when I noticed a girl standing around I asked if she would like to join me. Martina (from Poland) turned out to be super-cool and after we downed our coffees we decided to tour the market together. It was so much fun helping each other haggle down prices and pick out souvenirs. We worked up an appetite and so decided to grab lunch at a nearby restaurant. Replenished, we went for a hike to a waterfall that Martina had heard about the day before. The hike was nice and the waterfall was definitely worth the walk. Martina and I figured we deserved a few beers and so it was back to Otavalo for a meal and beverages. A great way to end another fine day in Ecuador…
The next day it was back to Quito for me to re-pack my bags, do my laundry, etc. I will add at this point that I now hate Quito. It is a dodgy, unsafe, ugly city. People get mugged every night and there is very little worth seeing. So needless to say I was anxious to get going again.
I knew that my next destination was the town of Cuenca in the south. As it turned out there were two other American girls with the same agenda so we decided to take the 11 hour bus ride together bright and early the next morning.
I write this now from a cute little café in Cuenca – my new favourite city anywhere I have travelled in the world. It is so nice here. I would seriously live here.
My plan for the next week is to visit the Cajas National Recreational Area (about an hour from town) at least 3 times to clean up on the highland birds I still need. I also want to spend some time visiting some museums and just enjoying living in a beautiful, warm and safe city.