Cuenca to Guayaquil via Cajas NP

Consistent with the night before, we left the hotel as we had arrived - in the dark.

Portions of Cajas NP were not open to us without a park guide onboard. José had made arrangements ahead of time to stop near of one of the park’s entrances to pick up Diego, a qualified park naturalist. Miguel ultimately proved to be a fountain of information over the course of the morning answering questions about the park’s natural history and flora and fauna.

Our first stop was at an interpretive center. Roaming the grounds were Llama, our first close-up looks. They were represented as wild llama although several bore ear tags indicating they were part of a controlled herd. Free to roam "wild", at least within the park’s supervised boundaries. Measuring 111 square miles, Cajas has a lot of space to roam.

The park is situated in a section of older Andes, thus Cajas lacked active volcanoes. And being older, the peaks exhibited more erosion and were overall lower than peaks in northern Ecuador. One similarity with the northern Andes was the presence of Polylepis trees, "Arbol de Papel" or “paper tree” due to its papery bark. It is of the highest altitude growing tree species in the world.

We hiked back to a Lago Llavijuci where we picked up: Andean Teal, White-cheeked Pintail, Carunculated Carcara, Andean Coot, and Andean Gull. A flock of a species we had already seen earlier in the tour, Red-crested Cotingas, was present in an unusually large number.

Back on the bus we rode to a more public park entrance. Within park boundaries again, we stopped along the road and walked through an Elfin forest of Polylepis trees. The texture of the reddish papery bark reminded us of birch trees. The trees were weighted down with epiphytes, bromeliads and arboreal ferns. At any moment we expected to see Bilbo Baggins pop out (we settled on birds).

We walked/rode to another interpretive center on the shore of Laguna Toreadora where we hiked around a portion of the lake's craggy rocky outcroppings, carpeted with a microcosm of flowers and deep velvety mosses.

Since we were continuing toward Guayaquil without returning to Cuenca, we heartily thanked Diego, said our farewells and pushed on (he would catch a shuttle ride back with other park guides).

Before leaving the park we pulled over for one more short bird hike and to dig into our box lunches. Our combined birding at Cajas NP netted us several high elevation specialties: Andean Tit-Spinetail, Mouse-colored Thistletail, Undulated Antpitta (heard only), Tawny Antpitta, White-throated Tyrannulet, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, Brown-backed Chat Tyrant, Cinereous Conebill, Black Flowerpiercer, Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, Variable Hawk, Bar-winged Cinclodes, and Stout-billed Cinclodes. Our last stop in particular gave us close-up looks at a Tit-like Dacnis.  As for new hummingbirds on the day we added: Sparkling Violetear, Ecuadorian Hillstar, Great Sapphirewing, Sword-billed Hummingbird (a quick flyover), Sapphire-vented Puffleg, Violet-throated Metaltail, and Blue-mantled Thornbill.

We also noted a few more “bankable birds”: Grass Wren (a Sedge Wren subspecies), Andean Ruddy Duck (a Ruddy Duck subspecies), and Ecuadorian Rail – heard only (a Virginia Rail subspecies).

Our route back to Guayaquil took us across the continental divide of the Andes. The straight-line distance to the ocean at the pass summit was dramatic: about 35 kilometers, which represented a drop in elevation of some 4,000 meters. But we rarely went in a straight line anywhere. Were we a raindrop, we would have a journey of 200 miles to the Pacific, or, a 4,000-mile sojourn to the Atlantic, depending on which side of the pass we had fallen. As people on a bus? Our relative return to sea level would be far more rapid.

By now we had seen or heard nearly 500 species of birds and traveled through five provinces. Sadly, this was also the last day of our “official tour”. Most of the group had signed up for a three-day extension but this would be Naomi and Jim’s final day with the group. A few days earlier they had investigated staying on for the extension. We would have loved to have them continue on, but after looking into what it would cost to rearrange their flights, plus scheduling issues at home, they decided that it was simply going to be too much of a hassle.

While today’s bus time would be less than the day before, we still wouldn’t reach Guayaquil until late afternoon. Jim and Naomi needed time to repack, join in our official end-of-tour farewell dinner and still be able to depart the Hotel Continental no later than 9:30 PM to make their flight. Fortunately we arrived in time for all this to happen…and they still had about ten minutes leftover to rest! But then why should today be any different from the regular tour’s “birding boot camp” pace?

In addition to the daily checklist tally, everyone shared their top five favorite trip birds. It prompted much laughter and smiles remembering various birds and the circumstances surrounding the sightings (White-capped Dipper was a big hit). After many hugs and handshakes, we bid farewell to Jim and Naomi and retired to our rooms to prepare for the trip extension: a visit to the Ecuador coast.

Zamora to Cuenca

Although we suspected they were in the area, an early morning rain greatly reduced any chances of picking up a Band-bellied Owl. Umbrellas were still in order as we walked down the path to breakfast. We had already left our bags under the eaves of our cabin for staff to bring to the bus while we ate.

Today would include a very long bus day as we traveled from Zamora (via Loja) up to Cuenca. Mileage was listed as a little over 100 miles. In WI a 100-mile trip, say from Appleton to Milwaukee, could be done in two hours or less.  Narrow, winding roads, slow traffic on cloud-shrouded mountain passes, and road construction delays would guarantee adding several more hours of riding. Scenic – but slow.

We bid Catherine and the staff at Copalinga farewell and bordered our bus. On our way out of Zamora we stopped to revisit the Old Zamroa Road, one last try for a Cock-of-the-Rock. Overnight rain had caused a section of road we had walked on the day before  to give way. It made it unsafe for bus travel so walked. However, we had no luck connecting with a Cock-of-the-Rock. Rain continued on and off. Back onto the bus again, we returned to the main highway.

Indeed, road construction played a major role in delaying our forward progress. There were a few stops for fuel or bathroom breaks before we pulled off in the early afternoon at “Acanama Road.” We ate our Copalinga prepared box lunch then went for a walk. The walk was as much to stretch our legs as it was to bird. We found several birds we’d seen earlier on the tour and managed to add a few new trip birds: Bar-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Dacnis, Supercillaried Hemisphingus, and Black-billed Treehunter.

Back on the bus, everyone slipped back into their bus time routines: Sorting and sharing digital photos, journaling, snacking, grabbing photos through the bus windows, and napping. Lots of napping.

It wasn’t until well after dark that we pulled into Cuenca and the Hosteria Duran. The grounds had swimming pools, spas and hot springs. The architecture was captivating. Walkways to rooms between buildings were punctuated with courtyards and gardens. Even a gift shop with local art for sale and a nearby art gallery (both closed owing to the lateness of the day). The realization that we had to get up and leave early the next morning left many thinking how unfair it seemed to spend so little time at a lodge with so many attractive options. Specially when contrasted against our three nights spent in Macará. Alas, we were on a birding trip, which dictated more about where the birds were rather than the accommodations. Still…

The next morning we were scheduled to pick up a local guide who would accompany us to La Cajas National Park. “Cajas” is derived from the Quichua word “cassa” meaning “gateway to the snowy mountains.” We would be headed into the highest elevation habitat of the trip: páramo and mountain lakes.

Podocarpus and the Airfield

Speaking of owls, early in the morning two were calling. They sounded close to Richard’s cabin, up the hill from our cabaña numero cuatro. Richard and José ID’d them as Band-bellied Owls. A few of us gathered on the trail in the dark to listen and watch but nothing doing. It would certainly be worth keeping an ear out that evening and early the next morning.

Candlelight in the cabin in the morning wasn’t an inconvenience. But it meant no power for hair driers. In fact, the use of hair driers, even when the power was on, was strongly discouraged. The system would not be able to sustain multiple driers running simultaneously. It should be noted that once we got going on a day of birding, that “hat hair” was the norm anyway. What difference did it make?

Breakfast behind us, we headed back to the Podocarpus trail head where we quickly found ourselves engrossed in listening for Amazonian Umbrellabird calls. Not too far along the trail we found a small flock of Gray-breasted Parakeets working a colpa or clay lick. Ingesting small amounts of kaolin-type clay is thought to help detoxify the poisons found in seeds of rainforest trees, which members of Psittacidae consume as part of their daily diet. The lick was at a bend in the trail making it difficult to get a straight line of sight for photos but we certainly had good looks through binoculars. This would be a good place to stake out early some morning for photos and video opportunities.

Standing at an overlook and watching the river valley below, a movement attracted José’s eagle eye. A male umbrellabird had glided in from across the valley and landed somewhere below the overlook but out of sight. We craned our necks as far over the edge as we dare. Another umbrellabird flew past – a female. We quickly retraced our steps along the trail to track the bird’s flight path into the jungle. José found the perched female and put up the scope for quick looks by the group. We managed more looks with binoculars as she flew further away. For such a large bird (crow-sized) they certainly were tough to see!

We encountered a few small foraging flocks of birds at various times, which caused us to backtrack depending on which way the flocks moved. Foraging flocks can be so large and move so quickly making it difficult to observe every species present. Fortunately these flocks were relatively small so José and Richard had more opportunity to call out species as they were seen. The trick was finding the same bird that the guide was calling. New birds on the day included: Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, Dark-breasted Spinetail, Olive-backed Woodcreeper, Orange-crested Flycatcher, Pale-eyed Thrush, Golden-collared Honeycreeper, Bronze-green Euphonia and Subtropical Cacique (both were heard only).

Some of the group ventured onto a side trail from the headquarters area to investigate a waterfall. The trail wound up being rather steep and narrow in spots with slippery rock but everyone managed to stay on firm ground. While we gathered at the waterfall a couple of hummingbirds appeared, moving rapidly as hummingbirds tend to do. There were two possibilities – a Green-fronted or a Blue-fronted Lancebill. Eventually José was summoned for a look and ended all speculation, pronouncing them to be Green-fronted.

As we headed back to the bus José decided to take a few alternate trails which presented more challenging elevation changes (i.e., steep ups and downs). One trail produced a Blue-rumped Manakin. The male is black with a shiny white crown and nape and a pale azure blue rump. Definitely a pocket-bird. We also pulled out a Sickle-winged Guan. Definitely not a pocket bird. Another new hummingbird for the day: Green Hermit. And a heard only bird: Yellow-cheeked Becard.

Back at the same clay lick a flock of White-eyed Parakeets appeared. Not nearly as nice looks as the Gray-breasted but pretty decent just the same.

By now the trail was full of flocking Carnival revelers headed toward some of the same water features we had visited earlier. Time to leave.

Lunch at the lodge was followed by another relaxing break. José wanted to try some roadside birding on the other side of Zamora in the afternoon. Richard elected to stay back at the lodge for some solo exploration of trails around the lodge.

Outside of Zamora the road was still pretty busy with Carnival festivities as many vehicles made their way to the Río Bombuscaro. Parallel to the road was a flat, straight and narrow length of pavement, which looked liked an airstrip. In fact, it was an airstrip. Niko pulled off onto a road leading to it. Although it looked as though it could still be in use (probably by the military), it didn’t appear to have been used for sometime judging from a other vehicles parked on the tarmac near houses that butted up to the airfield. We opted to walk.

By now the sun beat down pretty hard but birding turned out to be pretty good. Black Caracara, Little Cuckoo, Smooth-billed Ani, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Social Flycatcher (which we also saw at the lodge), Black-crowned Tityra, White-banded Swallow, Black-capped Donacobius, Thrush-like Wren, and Black-and-white Seedeater.

At the end of the runway was a small wetland. A big surprise was when a Blackish Rail jumped up and flew the length of the marsh. Attempts to show itself resulted in two Blackish Rails carrying on a “discussion” with one another but never out in the open where we could see them again.

Back on the bus we made another run through the Carnival gauntlet in Zamora. At one point the police stopped our bus to allow young people to board and solicit funds (by way of selling a T-shirt or a hat) aimed at supporting efforts to curtail drunk drivers. How could we resist? A few people bought T-shirts. A worthy cause.

José had apparently equipped himself with an aerosol can of “silly string” which he used to squirt unsuspecting pedestrians as our bus passed them. Some of his targets didn’t seem to mind – one young woman in particular was talking on her cell phone when she was doused. She never blinked an eye as she kept walking and talking as if nothing had happened. No doubt she would receive a bucket of water somewhere down the road to help wash it off.

Back at the Copalinga some of us gathered for a small impromptu party at Claire and Melissa's cabin. We also spent time speaking with a handful of other tourists who were also at the lodge watching the “Tanager Tree”. After dinner and our daily checklist, we settled up our bar bill  since the next morning we would pack up and head north toward the city of Cuenca. Another long period of “bus time” lay ahead. A very long time.