Saturday, April 24, 2010

Birding in Ecuador

I wanted to write little about germany's animals, but I did not like the post, so I removed it and decided to write more about actual happenings.
Surely this is my exchange-year in Ecuador.
When I came here, I hoped to see hummingbirds, macaws and toucans. 3 days after I arrived here I saw my first hummingbird, for macaws and toucans I'd have to go to the jungle.
Soon I realized there were also some other birds, but I had problems identifying them and I didn't know nothing about them. Then a trip to Galapagos changed my mind and soon I informed myself more and more about ecuadorian animals.
Soon after that trip I got to the ecuadorian jungle, seeing many other animals and then I began to do researches, identifying all the animals I had seen and since then I looked everywhere for birds and other wildlife. Especially the birds are stunning here and so I began making lists.
After this I got to Tandayapa Bird Lodge, and soon had my first day, that was dedicated only to birds.
Now there will come more bird-trips, for example I hope to get to Yanacocha, Paz de las Aves and many other places, hoping to see more birds every day.
Even in Quito there are some interesting birds, like the Blue-and-yellow Tanager or the Black-tailed Trainbearer, some really cool birds, that I have almost daily.

My birdlist includes more than 200 species, but I have a field guide only since 3 weeks and many birds can I only identifie with this...

Some really special birds I have found in Ecuador until now are the following ones:
Crested and Golden-headed Quetzals, Andean Cock-of-the Rock, Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Chestnut-mandibled and White-throated Toucan, Chestnut-eared, Many-banded Pale-mandibled Aracari, Tawny Antpitta, Great Tinamou, Boobies, Galapagos-Penguin, Sickle-winged Guan, Blue-throated Piping-Guan, Wattled Jacana, Red-billed and Orange-winged Parrot, Barn and Tropical Screech-Owl, Band-winged Nightjar, Vermillion Flycatcher, and every single hummer and tanager.
Some highlights I still want to see are: Andean Condor, Harpy Eagle (rare), Swordbilled Hummingbird, Sunbittern, Macaws, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe and the very rare Long-wattled Umbrellabird

There are also other animals in Ecuador, and almost every single is interesting for me.
The majoritie of those have I seen, when I went to Galapagos and the jungle. Apart from this 2 trips only very few other wildlife than birds.
My absolute highlights were:
>The monkeys (common squirrel m., dusky titi m., monk saki, Graells's Tamarin and Golden-mantled Tamarin), South American Tapir, Capybara and Galapagos Sea Lion.
> A boa constrictor, some other, smaller snakes, Poison-Dart Frogs, Western Basilisk, Black Caiman, Black Tegu, Marine and Land Iguanas on Galapagos and the Sea Turtles on Galapagos, including, one that was lying on the beach and wasn't able to go back to the sea.
And not to be forgotten also the giant Tortoises of Galapagos.
>White-tipped Reef-Shark, Golden Cownose-Ray and piranhas...

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