We wanted wildlife and adventure… and weren’t disappointed by farmer turned conservationist Angel Paz’ bird refuge deep in the Ecuadorian cloud forest.
19 March
345AM wakeup, and meet outside the office by 4am for travel to Angel Paz’ Farm, and the chance to possibly observe Andean cock of the rock. I was grateful that it was dark outside, because it made the bus trip back down the curvy, steep, and now washed-out hill less scary- because I couldn’t see the cliffs! We drove through a small town, and then back up another mountain, forded a mini-river and drove over a plank bridge. I was thinking- this better be worth a 3AM wakeup call and risking death. It was worth it (mostly because of the lack of death, but also the awesome tour and cool birds).
We arrived at 515AM and picked our way down into the jungle on a path that was occasionally rocky and steep, but we had a rope to hold on to on our left side for the particularly tricky spots. It was still dark, so we made our way by headlamp, until about a quarter of the way down the trail where we began to look for a rufescent screech owl. We saw it briefly, and resumed our trek in darkness arriving at the blind right on time: daybreak- lekking time for the Andean cock of the rock. We were fortunate to observe 45 minutes of lekking behavior by FOUR males!! While the lighting was unfortunately not camera-friendly, it was an incredible display to observe.
On the way back to the farm, we made occasional pauses to observe other things, like a pair of roosting nighthawks, and including a giant antpitta that Angel affectionately calls Maria. He would call for her “Maria! Venga, venga!” while offering worms and grubs for her. One of Maria’s offspring graced us with their presence instead, getting pretty close to Angel as he offered worms extended out on a leaf. Throughout our journey, the large, overhead broad-leafed plants made me feel as if I was on the set of “Honey I Shrunk the Kids”. We stopped at the top of the mountain to observe hummingbirds drinking on feeders that Angel had placed, and then ate brunch of balon (plantain dumplings), empanada de caprino (goat) , tree tomatoes and tea. While eating we also observed a swallow-tailed kite, broad-winged hawk and American kestrel.
We traveled back with Jorge and talked a little about life in Ecuador- we learned that it pays more to drive a cab for tourists than to be a medical doctor (and that’s even a political process to get a position), and Jorge is actually a history teacher. On the way back, we passed by the lake that the trout we ate on arrival was fished from. We had one more lunch at Bella Vista- lentil soup, quiche with beef, zucchini, coffee cake and tea. We then brought down our bags, washed our boots, paid our bar tabs and loaded up the bus to return to Quito. We stopped at a really inexpensive gas station on the way for drinks and snacks, and I had to try chicken and lime-flavored potato chips!
At around 530PM we returned to Hotel Eugenia and recliamed our luggage, stashed it in our rooms and went into Quito. I wanted to rent a wetsuit, and we had to check our email and scout a restaurant for dinner. We reviewed the species list back at the hotel, and then went out to dinner at a restaurant called “Alice”. I had an empanada, meat dish and Cervesa Pilsner – “The National Beer of Ecuador”, and tiramisu- all for less than $10!
ANGEL PAZ: 61°F 87% overcast, little wind -rufescent screech owl -swallow-tailed kite -broad-winged hawk -Andean cock of the rock -crimson rumped toucanette -giant antpitta -rufus-bellied nighthawk -olivaceous piha -yellow-faced grassquit -black vulture -siclke-winged guan -blue-winged mountan tanager -plate-billed mountain toucan -American kestrel -rufus-collared sparrow -black and white swallow -green violet ear hummingbird -brown Inca hummingbird -Andean emerald hummingbird -fawn-breasted brilliant hummingbird -buff-tailed coronet hummingbird -booted racket-tail hummingbird -violet-tailed sylph hummingbird -velvet-purple coronet hummingbird -empress brilliant hummingbird