Broad-billed Motmot

Silver-throated Tanager

Today was the most interesting mix of habitats so far.  The early morning was spent looking at Beautiful Jays on the Old Nono-Mindo road.  Before leaving a small flock consisting of Three-striped Warblers, a Rusty-winged Tyrranulet, Golden-headed Quetzal, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, and Tricolored Brush-finch crossed our path.  After loading the bus, a Wedge-billed Hummingbird was spotted, but I only heard it sing from one of its singing posts off in the distance.

With good timing on the targeted jays, we made it up to the arid scurb near Calacali to look for new species in this desert habitat.  Our target species, White-tailed Shrike-tyrant, was quickly located.
White-tailed Shrike-tyrant

While proceeding down the trail, Variable Hakws circled over our head and were briefly joined by a Black-chested Buzzard-eagle.  American Kestrel and Peregrine Falcons both made their presence known as they hunted doves for food.  A male Golden-rumped Euphonia was seen very well as he fed a female.  Spot-billed Ground-tyrant only popped up briefly after making a few chip notes.  The high altitued allowed up to add Giant Hummingbird and Purple-collared Woodstar to our growing list of hummingbirds.  On the way back to the lodge a stop for White-tailed Hillstar was successful as we got close looks at this new hummingbird.

Back at the lodge I grabbed some video of the showy Booted Racket-tails, aggressive Violet-ears, and the feisty woodstars one last time.  This time I realized how calm and relaxed the Fawn-breasted Brilliants were.  They rarely attacked other birds, and would sit on the feeder for long periods of time pondering the many thoughts of life. A quick walk around the trails alone produced Red-eyed and Brown-capped Vireos as well as Golden Tanagers and a heard Wattled Guan.  An attempt at Rufous-breasted Antthrush late in the evening only gave us call notes, but we were treated with excellent views of Strong-billed Woodcreeper and Lineated Foliage-gleaner as it flew to a roost hole. 

By dawn we were standing in a blind on the world famous Antpitta refuge watching the spectacular Andean Cock-of-the-Rock display.  The bright red males flapped their wings and bobbed their heads and made loud raspy ‘rrrr-aaee-rrrr’ calls as they fought for the attention of the female.  After the Cock-of-the-rock show was over we enjoyed close scope views of Toucan Barbet and Crimson-rumped Toucanet as they took fruit from a feeder.  Our attempts to see the main star, Maria the Giant Antpitta, failed, but Yellow-breasted Antpitta briefly came out in the open, and Dark-backed Wood-quail were more cooperative allowing me to shoot over a minute of video as they fed on worms that our guide tossed to them.  The endemic Orange-breasted Fruiteater was found in a mixed flock.  This bird blended in very well when its green back was facing us, but stuck out really well when its orange breast was facing forward.  The gorgeous Flame-faced Tanager and the endemic Black-chinned Mountain-tanager were new additions to the list.  The Flame-faced has a Blackburnian orange forhead surrounded by yellow and black facial marks along with a pale green chest and rump with blue-green stripes on a black wing, making it the best looking tanager I have seen so far on the trip.  The colorful Velvet-purple Coronet made an appearance at the hummingbird feeders along with several Empress Brilliants and Violet-tailed Sylphs and other regular species.

While searching for flocks in the afternoon we only turned up one really spectacular flock.  A Golden-headed Quetzal perched motionless in the top of a tree for a good amount of time, the same tree also had a toucanet.  Nine species of tanagers, including more Blue-winged Mountain, Flame-faced, and Western Hemispingus were in the mix as well as Streak-necked Flycatcher and Black and white Becard.  Collared Inca, ,Speckled Hummingbird, and Gorgeted Sunangle were hummingbirds we saw int he upper valley that were not present at the feeders.  After a while the flock died off and it seemed like only Dusky-bush Tanagers remained.

At the lodge I stayed near the feeders to watch the little hummers up close, getting Violet-ears, Buff-tailed Coronets, and Fawn-breasted Brilliants to land on my finger. 

Brown Inca

Crimson-rumped Toucanet

Empress Brilliant

Flame-faced Tanager

Orange-breasted Fruiteater

Violet-tailed Sylph

I was feeling a little out of it today, so most of the morning was a blur.  Dawn was spent watching Immaculate Antbirds catching moths from a blind.  The midsized dark birds with blue eye rings would creep up to a light with moths, take one, then retreat to eat it while strongly pumping their tails.  While on the trails around the lodge we got our first, but very distant Toucan Barbet.  Cooperative birds this morning included a very rare Black Solitaire, the hard to detect Olivacious  Piha, and the stunning Golden-winged Manakin.  Golden-capped might have been a better name for this bird whose golden cap is always visible, rather than an occasional look at his golden wings in flight. 

Lunch was spent with the hummingbirds back at the lodge, and the afternoon was in the upper valley again.  Flocks of tanagers were more common and Golden Tanager and Western Hemispingus were added to the list with the Blue-winged Mountain and Grass Green Tanagers which were also encountered today.  For the Choco Endemics we did really well with excellent looks at Toucan Barbets and Plate-billed Mountain-toucans.  Crimson-rumped Toucanet and Sickle-winged Guan were also highlights of the afternoon.  While working a tanager flock, a male Collared Inca came in and flashed his white chest and tail before darting away.  One last highlight was a Chestnut-crowned Antpitta, and odd looking, round, ground bird, which quickly ran across the road.

Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager

Fawn-breasted Brilliant

Booted Racket-tail

Sparkling Violet-ear

Purple-bibbed Whitetip

After leaving the lodge we rushed to the upper valley to look for the rare Tanager Finch.  Shortly after arriving the rufous and black bird sang its high pitched song endlessly as we got great looks at this rare Choco endemic.  Other stops throughout the morning gave us our first looks at cloudforest birding as we enjoyed many upper valley species.  Several of the experiences today were unforgettable.  My frist ever toucan, a Plate-billed Mountain Toucan, blue bodied with a yellow, red, and black bill with yellow and blue around the eye, was studied at great length.  At thesame time a female Masked Trogon, but hopefully we will see the male later.  This also marked my first large mixed flock. We sifted through common species like the spotted Beryl-spangled, stunning Blue-winged Mountain, and glowing Grass Green Tanagers to find the less common Golden-naped and Blue-and-black Tanagers.  Even though the tanagers were the most beautiful birds of the flocks, the flycatchers proved to be the toughest to identify.  The highlight of the flycatchers was the tiny and feisty Rufous-crowned Tody-flycatcher.  Pearl Treerunner and Powerful Woodpecker were also good finds in the morning flocks.

Of the bird groups in South America, none stands out as much as the hummingbirds.  The Tandayapa Bird Lodge is one of the best places in the world to watch these little critters.  The diversity is spectacular ranging from Violet-ears to Brilliants to the small Woodstars.  Violet-tailed Sylphs are one of the main stars, showing off their long glowing blue and purple tails.  Purple-bibbed Whitetip is another neat hummingbird that is very small and colorful.  Other than the number of hummingbirds present, the ability to approach the feeders is even more amazing.  While at the feeders I spent most of the time standing right next to the birds with an arm outstretched so some of the species would perch on my finger to feed.  This is why the Booted Racket-tail was my favorite hummingbird of the day.  They have great looks with their bright green throats, white puffy boots around their feet, and that long tail, thin until it reaches the blue rackets on the end.  They also have a surprisingly energetic personality chasing away larger Coronets and Violet-ears before gently landing on the feeder.  The feeling of a bird so small on my finger was undescribable. 

Buff-tailed Coronet

Fawn-breasted Brilliant

Booted Racket-tail

We left the hummingbirds late in the evening to try for a Lyre-tailed Nightjar down the road.  Upon arrival, the bird was heard singing hidden in a tree.  A little tape coaxed the bird out into the open allowing excellent views in flight.  Next we were stunned to see the bird perch on dead branch, totally exposed.  It was still light enough to see the bird plop its body down on the perch and have its long tail gracefully follow the body and gently float down to rest.  An amazing way to end an amazing day. 

After a lengthy plane flight yesterday, I woke up early this morning to the songs of Great Thrushes and Rufous-collared Sparrows as the group met each other and ate breakfast before heading off to Yanacocha.

My first experience birding the tropics came at our first high elevation stop before reaching Yanacocha.  Just seconds after exiting the bus a Black-tailed Trainbearer came into view.  A hummingbird with a loose dark tail longer than its body just flying around about two miles above sea level, found without any effort.  We would see many of these fork-tailed flycatcher-like hummingbirds in this habitat.   We also got our first taste of a few families  that dont reach the United States.  An Antpitta, a Spinetail, and a Brush-finch. 

The reserve itself is situated in the high Andes and partly serves to protect the endangered Black-breasted Puffleg.  Even though none were found, many new and unusual hummingbirds were seen.  The aggressive, orange Shining Sunbeam dominated most of the feeders.
Shining Sunbeam

The enormous and stunning Great Sapphirewing always made its presence known at the feeders.
Great Sapphirewing

Two other great looking hummingbirds were the Sword-billed Hummingbird which flies around with its large green body and an insanely lengthy bill made to reach into some of the long flowers of the tropics, and my personal favorite of the day, the Rainbow-bearded Thornbill who just looks like another normal dull hummingbird until it points its red, green, and pink throat in  your direction and you see how it gets the name Rainbow-bearded.  Some of the other hummingbirds included:
Mountain Velvetbreast

Sapphire-vented Puffleg

Buff-winged Starfrontlet

Glossy and Masked Flowerpiercers also caught our attention at the feeders, and a young Masked tried to poke its oddly shaped bill into one of the fake flowers on a hummingbird feeder.  The lack of diversity in the tanager flocks was made up by the beautiful and common black and red Scarlet-bellied Mountain-tanager.  This dull brown, but cooperative Smoky Bush-tyrant sat in the scope for several minutes allowing for our only looks at this species.
Smoky Bush-tyrant

The fascinating species found in the highlands are only a small part of the whole diversity we will get on the rest of the tour.  Some of the new birds were seen in our short time birding the old Nono-Mindo road in the afternoon.  Amongst the attrative Crimson-mantled Woodpeckers and Slaty-backed Chat-tyrants and the active White-capped Dippers and Torrent Ducks one bird stood out.  A bird well known in the tropics, perhaps one of the symbols of birding the American tropics, the Cock-of-the-Rock.  Even when viewed from a distance, the glowing red of the males as they bowed their heads, made strange calls, and occasionally attacked one another, the Cock-of-the-Rock lek will probably be one of the best experiences of the trip.  In the fading light at Tandayapa Bird Lodge I saw a few life hummingbirds that I will probably be seeing for the next few days. 

For the past three days the east coast of Florida has been getting very large numbers of Greater Shearwaters from shore.  On Thursday there were over 400 Greaters seen along with 30 Cory’s and 4 Audubon’s in a little over an hour from Sebastian Inlet.  A Band-rumped Storm-petrel and Brown Booby were also present.  The next day there were fewer birds around, only 6 Greaters and 2 Cory’s, but three Brown Boobies and a Wilson’s Storm-petrel.  A dead bird was found at Coconut Point. 

There were a few more birds around today up and down the beach.  At my first stop, Coconut Point, there was a Greater Shearwater sitting close to shore in the ocean.  I threw my binoculars and cell phone in the car and returned to dive into the water to try and catch the bird.  After finally making it past where the waves break, I made it out to the bird and realized that it would be too hard to pick up and swim back to shore with.  Instead tried pushing the exhausted bird to shore, but gave up after a while and returned to shore exhausted myself.  After a while the bird was pushed onto shore by a few large waves and the bird slipped through my hands a few times and was picked up by a fisherman who saw my failed attempts to catch the bird.  Once in my hands I could feel the birds heart racing as it nervously tried to free itself.  While this was going on I explained to the fisherman what was happening, how all of these birds are exhausted and washing up on shore and he seemed interested in the bird.  I took it to a local wildlife hospital where some turtle researchers were bringing some more shearwaters in.   On my way home I found five Greaters and two Cory’s as well as a healthy population of Least Terns with young and a group of 18 Black Skimmers.

Greater Shearwater found at Coconut Point

Greater Shearwater at Coconut Point

Greater Shearwater at Eau Gallie Causeway and A1A

Cory’s Shearwater near the same location

Here is a report written by Bob Wallace:

Yesterday Mike "One Eye" Brothers, Roberto "Toe" Torres, Trey "Trey" Mitchell and Andy "the Graduate" Bankert joined Bob Wallace on his  31′ Contender "The Banging Bitch", and ran 105 nm off of Ponce Inlet in search of tuna and pterodromas.  Andy was at 325 in his attempt to break David Simpson’s FL Big Year total of 365, and needed some pelagic species for his list.  Weather conditions were perfect, after 3 weeks of 15-30 knot winds, with a light W wind following us out, and then a light SE breeze creating following seas on the way home, which is about as good as it could get.  Not much air to get the shearwaters aloft, but much more comfortable than banging into a head sea both directions!

    We released a baby Hawksbill from the Ponce Marine  Institute at the western edge of the Gulf Stream, to help our turtle karma.  Not long afterwards we found the first pelagics, a Leach’s and then a Band-rumped Storm Petrel, and the first Black-capped Petrel of the day, at about 60 nm offshore.  Once we passed the eastern edge of the stream at 78nm off, we found the first flock of Sooty Terns on radar, with a Greater and Audubons Shearwater underneath.  We kept working east, finding several more Black-caps, in the 85-95nm range, and eventually found a large flock of Sooties, with 2 Brown Noddies, an Audubons and a BCPE, over tuna.  We landed 2 Skipjack, but no Yellowfins.  Perhaps the very strong winds from the West over the last week had pushed the yellowfins out much deeper, but we were unable to find them.  There were not many flocks at all compared to earlier in May, or my experience in June and July from previous years.

    On our run home, we saw a Band-rump at about 60nm, and put out a chum slick, and within 5 minutes had Band-rumps, Wilsons and Leach’s in the slick.  What is the density of these species in apparently a vacant ocean, that they appear so quickly with the scent of the oil?

    We encountered 1 more BRSP at only 20nm offshore, and a late juvenile Gannet.

    Andy added 4 year birds, but we never found a Tropicbird for him.

    Species totals:

    Black-capped Petrel – 6

    Audubon’s Shearwater – 5

    Greater Shearwater – 1

    Leach’s Storm-Petrel – 2

    Wilson’s Storm-Petrel – 6

    Band-rumped Storm-Petrel – 8

    Gannet – 1

    Sooty Tern – 150+

    Bridled Tern – 6

    Brown Noddy – 2