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Posted by JNRosenthal on 22:46:43 06/13/07
Message from the webmaster: Trip Reports from outside Florida are off-topic. In view of the photos, I'm allowing this one, but in the future, expect them to be deleted.
In response to the overwhelming and unprecedented response to my Ecuador bird photos, and because I cannot disappoint my public, I am posting a few more of my favorite shots of birds my wife, Emily and I saw in Ecuador. Having pored over the more than a thousand shots of birds, people and scenery that now sit in my hard drive, I have selected a number of family- friendly images which I hope you all will enjoy.
This installment contains, with the exception of the scenery shot and the last bird, exclusively photos taken of some of the birds seen on our first morning at the Yanacocha Reserve, situated in a pass at 10,500 feet approximately an hour west of Quito, on the route to the(birding famous) town of Mindo. Hummingbird feeders are located at various spots along the flat dirt trail, and the surrounding shrubbery was home(while we were there) to flocks of tanagers(I never got a decent shot of the marvelous flocks of scarlet bellied mountain tanagers, or the solitary hooded mountain tanager), a conebill or two, a pair of Andean guans, a tawny antpitta, 2 species of flowerpiercers, and at least 10 species of hummingbirds(the earlier swordbill and rainbowbearded thornbill photos were taken here).
The morning started off inauspiciously as I lost the rubber eyecup to my camera, thereby causing me to have to contend with glare in the eyepiece, condensation from my breath on my glasses in the damp chill, and poor light in the dense bushes to begin with. Many times I had no idea what I was photographing.
This photo shows the early stretch of the trail at Yanacocha. In the distance is an umbrella, under which was, by incredible coincidence, a Canadian couple we d met on Loop Road in November. They were virtually the only other birders we saw for a week.
Even if there were no birds to be seen, the scenery itself was worth the $5 admission fee.
Masked and glossy flowerpiercers were commonly seen here.
Photographing hummingbirds is a thankless affair. I don't like feeders in the picture, but many times you have no choice--some like the booted rackettail just neverseem to perch on tree limbs or bushes long enough for a good photo. this was my first day shooting hummers in Ecuador, so I wound up taking shots at the feeders more than I'd have liked.
This is a spectacled whitestart-he appears aptly named, and probably saw me better than I saw him..
This is a streaked tuftedcheek-puffy from the rain and with his Elizabethan collar all fluffed out.Emily claims she heard him reciting Shakespeare--in Spanish.
This is a goldenbreasted puffleg. He has the same "boots" the booted rackettails have,(though without the long racketed tail) but I failed so miserably photographing racketails later in the trip, that I figured I'd best include this shot of the puffleg which decently shows what the boots are all about...
A shining sunbeam--the first bird we saw at the entrance to Yanacocha, and common at the feeders. He seems not to depend on iridescence for his color, like most of the other hummingbirds.
a head on view of some of the iridescence of a male buff winged starfrontlet--you can see some of the "buff" under each wing
Another view of the male rainbowbearded thornbill-the front view appeared in my first set of Ecuador images---this one is proof that he's pretty impressive going as well as coming...
This was one of the birds I'd hoped to see in Ecuador--and was not disappointed.
This bird played with us, near Mindo for 25 mintues. Further images and the story behind our sighting this plate billed mountain toucan will await my next posting and general acquiescence to my commandeering so much space here.
Thanks to everyone who commented publicly and privately.
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