Michael‘s Seventh Year

[michael-ibk]

578/EC47) Collared Inca (Coeligena torquata) / Violettscheitel-Andenkolibri

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. A beautiful Hummer. I had great fun at the feeders, and wasted a lot of memory card space. But got a few keepers.

 

Male:

 

 

Female:

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

579/EC48) Sword-Billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera) / Schwertschnabelkolibri

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. A ridicolously cool-looking bird! I did not have much of a wishlist for this trip due to my unfamiliarity with neotropics but this one was definitely on it. The longest bill in relation to size of all birds!

 

 

 

And one from the next day. As mentioned before I try to avoid artificial objects like feeders but quite like this one nonetheless.

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

580/EC49) Chestnut-Breasted Coronet (Boissonneaua matthewsii) / Rotbauchkolibri

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. Another really nice species.

 

 

 

[PeterHG]

A true Birds and Bears destination! A lot of amazing birds already, Michael and I do appreciate your efforts in the challenging photography conditions. I remember them very well from our Colombian trip….

[michael-ibk]

581/EC50) White-Bellied Woodstar (Chaetocercus mulsant) / Weißbauchelfe

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. Woodstars are really tiny. Their flight is quite distinctive, Humblebee-like.

 

Female:

 

 

Male:

 

[michael-ibk]

4 minutes ago, PeterHG said:

A true Birds and Bears destination! A lot of amazing birds already, Michael and I do appreciate your efforts in the challenging photography conditions. I remember them very well from our Colombian trip….

 

Thanks Peter! I´ve kinda gotten used to these conditions now. All these forest birding super hotspots are not exactly light havens for photogs. But I confess I would have despaired sometimes without our "Disneyland" visits now and then as our group would christen the feeder places.

[TonyQ]

I think you did amazingly well in the low light. Some really beautiful birds and photos. The Sword-billed Hummingbird is incredible!

[pedro maia]

Another vote for the Sword-billedHummingbird, amazing.

 

I think you did great with those pictures, just wait and see some of my photos from Brazil .

[Galana]

Good to see you coping with the low light. Getting a usable result is really tough going.

Loved most but the Torrent Duck took the honours on this batch although the Swordbill nearly passed the post first..

[shazdwn]

Stunning hummer shots, Ecuador is somewhere I would love to revisit as the birds are just incredible. 

[Zim Girl]

Great start to your Ecuador birds.  Like others have said, that Sword bill hummingbird is amazing!

[michael-ibk]

Thanks! We all had do give our guide a "Top 10" at the end of the trip (seems to be a Tropical Birding thing), and the Sword-Billed featured in all of them. It is a super-awesome Hummer indeed.

 

On 9/7/2022 at 12:33 AM, pedro maia said:

just wait and see some of my photos from Brazil 

 

 I look forward to them Pedro, hope you had a good time over there?

 

 

[michael-ibk]

582/EC51) Bar-Bellied Woodpecker (Veniliornis nigriceps) / Bindenbauchspecht

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. It was almost time for lunch when we saw some movement a bit away from the feeders, closer to the river. Decided to check it out and were rewarded with a huge mixed flock. Birds in the neotropics really come in waves - sometimes you can wander around and around and nothing at all is there. But then, all of a sudden, it seems like the forest is full of birds everywhere. This was one of those instances, and a very fruitful 30 minutes ensued.

 

The first of a serious of quite difficult Woodpecker sightings. Most of these were seen high up.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

583/EC52) Montane Woodcreeper (Lepidocolaptes lacrymiger) / Bergwald-Baumsteiger

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. Throughout the trip we had five sightings of this one.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

584/EC53) Pearled Treerunner (Tropfenbrust-Stachelschwanz) / Tropfenbrust-Stachelschwanz

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. Not an uncommon bird but quite tricky (for me at least) to get a decent photo.

 

[michael-ibk]

585/EC54) Cinnamon Flycatcher (Pyrrhomyias cinnamomeus) / Zimttyrann

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. One of the more common passerines, and in true Flycatcher-mode (sit and wait) one of the more photo-friendly ones.

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

586/EC55) Torrent Tyrannulet (Serpophaga cinerea) / Sturzbach-Kleintyrann

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. Found exclusively along fast-moving rivers and streams. Our only sighting - on the other side of the river.

 

[michael-ibk]

587/EC56) Rufous-Breasted Chat-Tyrant (Orangebrust-Schmätzertyrann) / Orangebrust-Schmätzertyrann

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. The only sighting of this species.

 

[michael-ibk]

588/EC57) Turquoise Jay(Cyanolyca turcosa) / Türkishäher

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. Plentiful and noisy at this location but hardly ever seen again afterwards.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

589/EC58) Green Jay aka Inca Jay (Cyanocorax yncas) / Inkarabe

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. A really stunning Jay. Only seen once again afterwards.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

590/E59) Short-billed Chlorospingus aka Yellow-Whiskered Bush Tanager (Chlorospingus parvirostris) / Kurzschnabel-Grünammer

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. Apparently unusual at this location, flagged by ebird.

 

[michael-ibk]

591/EC60) Black-Eared Hemispingus(Hemispingus melanotis) / Schwarzohr-Finkentangare

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. One of two Hemispingi here, also glimpsed Black-Capped.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

592/EC61) Grass-Green Tanager (Chlorornis riefferii) / Papageitangare

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. A wonderful Tanager and my favorite bird from this flock.

 

[michael-ibk]

593/EC62) Blue-Backed Conebill (Conirostrum sitticolor) / Blaurücken-Spitzschnabel

 

Guanglo Lodge, 9/8/2022. Conebills are well named, note the billform -coney indeed.

 

[michael-ibk]

594/EC63) Capped Conebill (Conirostrum albifrons) / Kappenspitzschnabel.

 

Guango Lodge, 9/8/2022. These ones must be quite jealous about their (much better-looking) Blue-Backed cousins.