Ecuador day 9

'Blue Cotinga Way'. Entrance road to Tandaloma Lodge

21 February - Thursday. Foggy at 6am but we were soon on our way to the Yalare forest wetlands. The fog lifted and we were treated to the warmest sun yet as we made our way to the new road under construction called ‘Progresso’ Road for the rest of the morning. As might be expected it was a scene of bulldozed devastation through wonderful forest to ‘open up’ the area (presumably for timber extraction). However, today seemed to be a raptor day - 2 Gray-headed and 3 Swallow-tailed Kites, 15 Roadside Hawks and 9 Plumbeous Kites.

Yalare Forest wetland both sides of the highway!
Good spot for Green Ibis

Roadside plant

Heading off along the Progresso Road

Continuing destruction of lowland rainforest

This is what is going

Roadside Hawk (image by EJP)

After lunch at the lodge we set off to Las Minas Vieja to bird along the road and onwards to a Tilapia fish farm at Ponderosa which we had to abandon after heavy showers became more persistent. The target bird here was Scarlet-and-white Tanager but the rain defeated us. We stopped again along the Las Minas road on our return to the lodge for dinner.

What so often follows clearance of rainforest - Oil Palm plantation

Tilapia ponds at Ponderosa.
I wonder what the spent shotgun cases suggest?

Views around Ponderosa

Today we recorded a total of 113 species including the following birds only reported on this day: Grey-rumped Swift, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, Grey Hawk, Black Hawk-Eagle, Green Ibis, Black-crowned Tityra, Guira Tanager, Fulvous-vented Euphonia and Giant Cowbird. Only three species were heard today but not reported on any other occasion. They were Barred Puffbird, Spectacled Owl and Song Wren. Other than those species already mention for today the following species were specially numerous: Stripe-billed Aracari, Pacific Parrotlet, Blue-headed Parrot, Bronze-winged Parrot, White-collared Swift, Pale-vented Pigeon, Plumbeous Kite, Roadside Hawk, Black Vulture, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Swallow, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Lemon-rumped Tanager and Variable Seedeater.

Car park and entrance of Tandaloma lodge

In the garden at Tandaloma Lodge

Milton in the garden

Various flowers seen today (images by EJP)