After our trip to Ayampe we joined the main tour, which had atrophied to only 2 more birders, plus the guide from Tropical Birding and a driver. Several hours of driving south brought us to Umbrellabird Lodge, where we are to look for two famous endemics - the Long-wattled Umbrellabird and the El Oro Parakeet. Found both, the first after a mud climb and the second after a mile climb until the trucks finally arrived. But worth it and bonus was great hummingbird photo ops.
Wow, what a place. This lodge is located in the Buenaventura Reserve of the Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco, an Ecuadorian non-governmental organization (NGO), to protect areas of critical importance for the conservation of threatened species in Ecuador. Hummingbirds everywhere. Mosquitoes also; it took me an hour while writing this to finally feed all of them that snuck into the Lodge.
Warning: bird porn, may not be suitable for all audiences.
Copulating El Oro Parakeets, a species found only in the El Oro District of Ecuador
Off tomorrow for the Peru border and hopefully some more unique hummers.
All photos © C.S. Wood
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