The Deskbound Birder: Alambi and Mashpi Lodge (Galapagos and Ecuador)

Thursday, 15 August 2019

Alambi and Mashpi Lodge (Galapagos and Ecuador) - 15th August (Day 2)

We were up at 06:30 and after breakfast we were collected by Gabriel's brother Esteban who was to transfer us from the Wyndham Quito Airport Hotel to Mashpi Lodge. We set off at 08:30 and wound our way along the busy motorways and dual carriageways skirting the west side of Quito and crossing the Equator at Ciudad Mitad del Mundo. We then climbed out of the dry inter-Andean valley in which the city is located and began to drop through humid forest down the western slope of the Andes enjoying the sight of the thickly forested valleys whose trees gained in height as we descended. Our first short stop was at the Alambi Hummingbird Garden. I don’t think I have visited a set of feeders with such a large number of hummingbirds, species we recorded were Purple-throated Woodstar, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Booted Racket-tail, White-whiskered Hermit, White-necked Jacobin, Brown Violetear, Sparkling Violetear, Green-crowned Brilliant, Crowned Woodnymph and Andean Emerald. Other species we recorded here were Golden-olive Woodpecker, Orange-bellied Euphonia and Lemon-rumped Tanager.

White-necked Jacobin - Alambi Hummingbird Garden, Nanegalito, Quito, Ecuador

Sparkling Violetear - Alambi Hummingbird Garden, Nanegalito, Quito, Ecuador

Green Thorntail - Alambi Hummingbird Garden, Nanegalito, Quito, Ecuador

Green-crowned Brilliant - Alambi Hummingbird Garden, Nanegalito, Quito, Ecuador

Golden-olive Woodpecker - Alambi Hummingbird Garden, Nanegalito, Quito, Ecuador

Tobias feeding Purple-throated Woodstar - Alambi Hummingbird Garden, Nanegalito, Quito, Ecuador

Our next stop was at Tulipe Museum, an archaeological site of ceremonial pools built by the Yumbo tribe from around 800AD. This is basically a series of stone lined pools set within the grounds of the museum. The only birds we saw here were White-whiskered Hermit, Blue-grey Tanager, Pacific Hornero and Black Phoebe. The pools were interesting if you like stone walls.

Tulipe Museum Archaeological Site

Driving onwards and into the Mashpi Conservation Area we stopped for around 30 minutes at the Amaguso Reserve and spent some time at the feeders here. Highlights were Orange-breasted Fruiteater, Glistening-green Tanager, Golden Tanager, Empress Brilliant, Green Thorntail and Velvet-purple Coronet. Heading further downslope we cleared the security at the gate to Mashpi Lodge and wound our way down the steep single track gravelled road through tall forest to Mashpi Lodge.

Golden Tanager - Amaguso Reserve, Mashpi, Ecuador

Glistening-green Tanager - Amaguso Reserve, Mashpi, Ecuador

Green Thorntail - Amaguso Reserve, Mashpi, Ecuador

Orange-breasted Fruiteater - Amaguso Reserve, Mashpi, Ecuador

We arrived at Mashpi Lodge at 14:15 and were immediately swept into a world of cloud forest dudes and impeccable hospitality. After a hot towel, introductory drink and welcome we were whisked to our lunch table where we enjoyed sumptuous foods from the buffet. Then to our room with 3x6m high glass window looking into the forest canopy. After dropping our bags we were summoned to the first of a series of programmed walks with our knowledgeable guide, Anderson. On this walk and other walks during the stay we were joined by a very pleasant French couple. Much to my dismay we walked a trail to a waterfall seeing very few birds – I am not a great fan of waterfalls particularly these tiny ones that are raved about locally but are mere trickles over a rock face, the only birds of note that I saw were a pair of Moss-backed Tanager and Dusky Antbird.

After the trail we went to the sky-bikes, basically these are giant tandems suspended on a wire which you peddle through the canopy. Despite the slightly cheesy sound this was a great way to see the forest canopy as we were suspended on our bikes at some 70m above the forest floor. Finally, we climbed the observation tower where we obtained great views across the forest canopy as the sun fell. Birds here were Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Swallow-tanager, Rufous-throated Tanager and Moss-backed Tanager.

After dinner and rather exhausted we crashed at around 21:00 to the sounds of the forest.