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Ecuador 2017 Trip

Welcome to this bird gallery from my trip to Ecuador from October 8th - 13th, 2017. While there, we visited many locations along eastern and western Ecuador.
With any photo (except maybe a couple where I forgot to enable GPS) you can click on it, then click the info button at the bottom right of the photo to see a GPS map. This map can be enlarged to see exactly where I was when the shot was taken. I encourage you to check out the altitudes! Some shots were quite high in the Andes, others were low in the Amazon basin. Please enjoy, and God bless (: Charles Grisham
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  • Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador on 10/10/17.

    Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador on 10/10/17.

    This eagle is rare, huge and extremely powerful. They eat such things as monkeys and sloths, and have the largest talons of any known Eagle still alive today! Getting to this remote location in the Amazon rain forest was an adventure for me and I struggled to keep up with the 69 year old native named Pedro! I'm sure he got a kick out of watching me in all my "macho" camouflage sweat bullets in order to keep up with him lol. Huge thanks to Sandra My for setting up the trip with Pedro and also to Fausto Mayorga for his race car driving skills to get us there early in the morning! Throughout the entire trip on our numerous adventures I kept saying "Fausto is the man!" BTW, this is the baby Harpy Eagle on its nest...its only 6 months old and is already larger than our adult Bald Eagle. It's still going to be another year until this beast flies from its nest! I hope to return in February and see it again. This nest is approximately 1300 feet above sea level.

  • Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

    Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

  • Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

    Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

  • Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

    Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

  • Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

    Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

  • Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

    Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

  • Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

    Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.

  • Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador.  Check out those talons!!!

    Harpy Eagle in Gareno, Ecuador. Check out those talons!!!

  • We are holding up 5 fingers because we successfully photographed 5 species of Antpitta!

    We are holding up 5 fingers because we successfully photographed 5 species of Antpitta!

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  • King Vulture in Gareno, Ecuador

    King Vulture in Gareno, Ecuador

  • Plumbeous Kite

    Plumbeous Kite

    10/9/17; Puerto Misahaulli

  • Hook-billed Kite in western Ecuador on 10/9/17.

    Hook-billed Kite in western Ecuador on 10/9/17.

    Everywhere we went in Ecuador, I had my camera in hand, ready to fire, because you never know when, where or what might cross paths with you. This killer gave us a quick flyby just south of the bridge that crosses the Rio Napo River along Via Misahualli Ahuano Rd. Its so thrilling when a lifer bird of prey flies unexpectedly across your field of view...always good to be ready! Hope you all enjoy, and really hope some of you make it to Ecuador one day!! God bless

  • Black Caracara

    Black Caracara

    10/8/17; San Vicente

  • Roadside Hawk southwest of Tena, Ecaudor.  10/8/17.

    Roadside Hawk southwest of Tena, Ecaudor. 10/8/17.

    Always a thrill to get a photo of a lifer bird of prey! These Roadside Hawks appear to be pretty common in Ecuador, but we only saw this one. This small killer was on the side of Via Misahaulli Rd, a stretch of road that runs parallel along the north side of the beautiful Rio Napo River. Taken on 10/9/17. God bless!

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  • Black Caracara

    Black Caracara

    10/9/17; Puerto Misahaulli.

  • Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies) (orange, rather than red)

    Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies) (orange, rather than red)

    While in Banos, Ecuador, during the first minutes of sunrise on 10/12/17, we reached one of our target birds, the Andean Cock-of-the-rock! This was the bird species which was on my mind the most before going to Ecuador due to its extremely odd (and obvious) physical characteristics and shear beauty. Note that this guy is orange (instead of red). The orange fellows are the eastern subspecies, found on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains that essentially bifurcate Ecuador. The red ones, which I will post later, are from the western side the Andes. Getting to this remote location on the eastern side was an awesome, albeit muddy and painful, adventure. The entire time I kept wondering to myself why in the world I do these crazy things lol. My bird guide (Sandra My) and driver (Fausto) planned it all out perfectly! Rather than taking an open trail to these Cock-of-the-rocks, we snuck down below them and literally crawled and snaked our way up what seemed like a muddy wall with extremely thick vegetation such as moss, thorns, vines and trees. The incline was so steep that I had to dig my elbows, fists and knees into the mud in order to leverage my weak self up the mountain. I followed behind Fausto, who used his mountain climbing experience to find the best way for me to sneak up to these birds under the cover of the thick understory. Fausto literally is an expert mountain climber who guides groups up mountains with ropes, ice picks and such in high elevations in order to peer into volcano tops, traverse glaciers etc...things I'm not manly enough to do. Anyway, we used the understory to conceal our presence so as not to not scare them away before getting close and high enough to be eye-level with this extraordinary species. Once atop, I clicked away, and here are some of my favorite shots. Again, this is the eastern subspecies, and so is orange...I will post some of the red (western species) later which we got later in the trip, northwest of Quito. God bless!

  • Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

    Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

  • Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

    Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

  • Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

    Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

  • Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

    Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

  • Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

    Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

  • Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

    Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

  • Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

    Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

  • Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

    Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

  • Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

    Andes Cock-of-the-rock (eastern subspecies)

  • WESTERN subspecies of the Andes Cock-of-the-rock.

    WESTERN subspecies of the Andes Cock-of-the-rock.

    5,450 feet elevation at the Refugio Paz De Las Aves. This location is northwest of Tandayapa, and of course on the western side of the Andes Mountains that traverse north to south through Ecuador. Note that these guys have RED on them rather than Orange like the eastern subspecies I posted photos of earlier. Getting within suitable photographic range of these guys was much easier than with their eastern cousins...only required about a 100 yard walk from where you park your car lol. Its fascinating to me that the separate subspecies have their own color! This is also the place where the owners put me on some Antpittas! Can't wait to share those shy birds with you all soon! God bless!

  • WESTERN subspecies of the Andes Cock-of-the-rock.

    WESTERN subspecies of the Andes Cock-of-the-rock.

    5,450 feet elevation at the Refugio Paz De Las Aves. This location is northwest of Tandayapa, and of course on the western side of the Andes Mountains that traverse north to south through Ecuador. Note that these guys have RED on them rather than Orange like the eastern subspecies I posted photos of earlier. Getting within suitable photographic range of these guys was much easier than with their eastern cousins...only required about a 100 yard walk from where you park your car lol. Its fascinating to me that the separate subspecies have their own color! This is also the place where the owners put me on some Antpittas! Can't wait to share those shy birds with you all soon! God bless!

  • WESTERN subspecies of the Andes Cock-of-the-rock.

    WESTERN subspecies of the Andes Cock-of-the-rock.

    5,450 feet elevation at the Refugio Paz De Las Aves. This location is northwest of Tandayapa, and of course on the western side of the Andes Mountains that traverse north to south through Ecuador. Note that these guys have RED on them rather than Orange like the eastern subspecies I posted photos of earlier. Getting within suitable photographic range of these guys was much easier than with their eastern cousins...only required about a 100 yard walk from where you park your car lol. Its fascinating to me that the separate subspecies have their own color! This is also the place where the owners put me on some Antpittas! Can't wait to share those shy birds with you all soon! God bless!

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  • Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan in the cloud forests above Banos.

    Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan in the cloud forests above Banos.

    This Toucan was at 9,645 feet above sea level! Definitely one of the prettiest birds (and places) I've ever visited. Felt surreal to look down upon the clouds and the mountain / volcano tops all around us at that elevation. We were along the foothills of the Tungurahua Volcano when this shot was taken. God bless!

  • Barred Fruiteater along the lower foothills of the Tungurahua Volcano above Banos, Ecuador.

    Barred Fruiteater along the lower foothills of the Tungurahua Volcano above Banos, Ecuador.

    This beautiful bird is about 9 inches tall and as you can tell, a very plump, rounded out bird. Reminded me of a well fed, relatively tame quail, but that hangs out in trees lol. I definitely would not have found this bird without the help of my excellent bird guide, Sandra My! I will post a photo of its "barred" front side later. Btw, this guy was at 10,597 feet (above the cloud forest) when this photo was taken. 10/11/17. God bless!

  • Barred Fruiteater

    Barred Fruiteater

  • Barred Fruiteater

    Barred Fruiteater

  • Andean Guan (Eastern sub-species) in the Cloud Forests above Banos, Ecuador.

    Andean Guan (Eastern sub-species) in the Cloud Forests above Banos, Ecuador.

    Didn't have my GPS on my camera when this photo was taken, so not sure of the exact elevation, but we were in the cloud forests far above the city of Banos along the lower slopes of the Tunguharua Volcanoe. Although small for a Guan, this is still a large bird, about 22 inches tall! 10/11/17 God bless!

  • Ochre-breasted Antpitta. This guy is tiny!!!

    Ochre-breasted Antpitta. This guy is tiny!!!

    There are 1623 bird species in Ecuador. After purchasing the book, "The Birds of Ecuador", I noticed that it was thicker than a Bible! The sheer number of birds blew me away. They had so much color, variety etc. you name it. BUT the family of species which caught my eye the most were the Antpittas! They aren't especially colorful or "flashy" in any way, but rather, are somewhat drab. What made them awesome to me was the fact that they are exceptionally difficult to see given their tremendously shy behavior. So finding and photographing any Antpitta seemed to me like the ultimate "hunt". While in Ecuador, me and my bird guide Sandra My and Fausto Mayorga Guide de Montagne, our "race car" driver (who also is great at finding birds!) heard a few Antpittas while walking trails all around various regions of Ecuador, but we never saw any...EXCEPT, while visiting Refugio Paz De Las Aves, I met these incredible birders (thanks to Sandra My) who literally call in wild Antpittas into very close range...some even ate from their hand! Those guys were Rodrigo Paz, Vinicio Paz and Angel Paz. When they would call the Antpittas in, it reminded me of someone calling in their pet cat at night lol. They even had names for each Antpitta that came in...2 of the names were something like Isabella and Maria lol. They ended up calling in 5 Antpittas into photographic range! Hence, the photo of all of us holding up 5 fingers. Definitely one of those experiences I will never forget. BTW, this photo was taken at ISO 6400 on a Nikon d500 at f5.6 (Nikon 200-500 lens wide open), 1/200s. (6,233 feet elevation). I used this set up handheld the entire trip. Even though they called the Antpittas in, all of the Antpitta species still seemed to shun sunlight. God bless!

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