Ecuador: The Amazon Basin

 

Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

The Amazon Basin covers about 1/3 of the South American continent.  It is the location of of the world’s largest rain forest and most expansive river system.  Our group of birders from Mecklenburg Audubon Society started in the high Andes at Quito, Ecuador, descended the eastern slope and arrived at the town of Coca, Ecuador on the Rio Napo.  There we boarded motorized canoes and cruised down the river to Sacha Lodge.  This was our base to explore the forest and its lakes and creeks.    

Sacha Lodge.
Pilchicocha Lake, Ecuador.
Photo courtesy of Diane Coggin. 

Sacha Lodge is on the shores of Pilchicocha Lake.  This blackwater lake is fed by several creeks and primary rainforest stretches in all directions. We traveled by canoe across the lake and into the creeks each day looking for wildlife.  Ecuadorean Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri macrodon) used tree branches to cross the creeks as they scrambled through the canopy.  Red-bellied Piranhas (Pygocentrus nattereri), small but fierce fish that were terrors of so many movies of my childhood, were common in the lake and one evening our guide snatched one from the water and showed us its teeth by the glare of a flashlight. Black Caimans (Melanosuchus niger), large alligator-like reptiles, lingered around the lodge’s dining room at the lake shore. 

Ecuadorian Common Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri macrodon).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Red-bellied Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 
Photo courtesy of Judy Walker. 

Black Caiman (Melanosuchus niger).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

The edge of the lake also was home to two different species of anis, the Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani) and the Greater Ani (Crotophaga major). These members of the Cuckoo family, the Cuculidae, are found in the American tropics although the Smooth-billed Ani reaches south Florida.  A tiny hummingbird, a Glittering-throated Emerald (Amazilla fimbriata), nested next to the lodge's dining room.  Its cup-shaped nest, made of spider silk and lichens is only 1.5 inches wide.

Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Greater Ani (Crotophga major).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Glittering-throated Emerald (Amazilla fimbriata).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

The signature bird of the Amazonian waterways is the Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin), whose name is pronounced watson.  This pheasant-sized bird feeds in small flocks among trees and bushes along shoreline.  Hoatzins have long tails, blue skin around the eyes, feathery crests and big eyes that give the them a slightly startled look.  

Hoatzin.
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Hoatzin.
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

These odd-looking birds have some unusual features.  First, young Hoatzins have claws on their wings, reminiscent of the first dinosaurs that took flight.  Another is they smell like cow manure.  The Hoatzin’s diet consists of leaves that are digested in a multi-chambered stomach where bacteria release the nutrients, much like a cow does.  Thus, the smell.  We did not get close enough to smell the Hoatzins but our guide told us their Spanish name, pájaro apestoso, means stinky bird.  

Mealy Amazon (Amazona farinosa).
Yasuni National Park, Ecuador. 

Parrot clay lick. Mealy Amazon, Yellow-crowned
Amazon (Amazona ochrocephala)
and Dusky-headed Parakeet (Aratinga weddellii) .
Yasuni National Park, Ecuador. 

Parrot clay lick. Blue-headed Parrot (Pionus menstruus), 
Mealy Amazon, Dusky-headed Parakeet. 
Yasuni National Park, Ecuador.

Our group boarded another motorized canoe and cruised down the Rio Napo to Yasuni National Park.  Along the river at this park there was a cliff where flocks of parrots gather to eat clay.  This seems to be a strange behavior, but the clay inactivates toxins in fruits the parrots eat.  Four different parrot species were on the cliff the day we visited; Blue-headed Parrot (Pionus menstruus), Yellow-crowned Amazon (Amazona ochrocephala), Mealy Amazon (Amazona farinosa) and Dusky-headed Parakeet (Aratinga weddellii).

Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilensis).
Rio Napo, Ecuador.  

Capped Heron (Pilherodius pileatus).
Rio Napo, Ecuador. 

Ladder-tailed Nightjar (Hydropsalis climacocerca).
Rio Napo, Ecuador. 

Proboscis Bat (Rhynchonycteris naso).
Rio Napo, Ecuador. 

On the sandbars of the Rio Napo, Southern Lapwings (Vanellus chilensis) ere feeding and the beautiful Capped Heron (Pilherodius pileatus) stood along the shore.  A Ladder-tailed Nightjar (Hydropsalis climacocera), a relative of our Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor), was sleeping through the day on the limb overhanging the river and a colony of another nocturnal species, the Proboscis Bat (Rhynchonycteris naso) snoozed nearby.

Fringed Leaf Frog (Cruziohyla craspedopus) eggs. 
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Adult Fringed Leaf Frogs mating. 
The male is smaller and on the right. 
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

The rainforest around Sacha Lodge is dense and dim.  The air is still and mosquitos suggest you keep moving.  The plant life is stunning, and unique animals abound. At the bottom of a tower that climbs into the canopy, we found a mass of frog eggs.  The next day we saw the frogs that laid those eggs.  It was a pair of Fringed Leaf Frogs (Cruziohyla craspedopus).  These brilliant green and yellow frogs were locked in a mating embrace just above the eggs.  

Crested Owl (Lophostrix cristata).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador.  

Green-backed Trogon (Trogon viridis).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Cream-colored Woodpecker (Celeus flavus).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

A pair of Crested Owls (Lophostrix cristata)were resting on low branches of the trees near the frogs. These large owls have impressive ear tufts that jut from their heads at a jaunty angle and give them a bemused look. We saw Green-backed Trogons (Trogon viridis) and a beautiful Cream-colored Woodpecker (Celeus flavus) while hiking the rainforest trails.  

The tower that leads to the Canopy Walk.
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 
Photo courtesy of Diane Coggin. 

White-throated Toucan (Ramphastos tucanus).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Many-banded Aracari (Pteroglossus pluricinctus)
hanging upsidedown in a Cecropia sp. tree . 
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Lettered Aracari (Pteroglossus inscriptus).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Hiking and paddling gives one view of the rainforest, but Sacha Lodge has opportunities to explore the canopy of the forest from an entirely different perspective.  In the canopy the light is brighter and the breezes stir the air.  Our group climbed a tower to about 90 feet and walked on a suspension bridge to look out over the trees.  From this canopy walk we saw White-throated Toucans (Ramphastos tocanus), Many-banded Aracaris (Pteroglossus pluricinctus) and Lettered Aracaris (Pteroglossus inscriptus).  Aracaris are members of the toucan family and sport the large and colorful bill that is so characteristic of these birds. 

Greater Yellow-headed Vulture (Cathartes melambrotus).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Chestnut-fronted Macaw (Ara severus).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Greater Yellow-headed Vultures (Cathartes melambrotus) soared over the tops of the trees looking for their next meal and a Chestnut-fronted Macaw (Ara severus) flew by squawking and landed on a high perch. 

Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Black-banded Woodcreeper (Dendrocolaptes picumnus).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

The Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) is a small, striking bird of the rainforest.  Males are electric blue green with a black face and yellow beak.  A Black-banded Woodcreeper (Dendrocolaptes picumnus) climbed the trunk of a tree probing for insects. 

The Kapok Tower. 
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Epiphytic Bromeliads on a Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) limb. 
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador.

Another opportunity to see life in the canopy at Sacha Lodge is the Kapok Tower.  The tower climbs around a giant Kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) among the tallest trees of the Amazon basin and can reach over 190 feet. The branches are festooned with epiphytic plants including bromeliads.  

Immature Double Toothed Kite (Harpagus bidentatus).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

Golden-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia chrysopasta).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador.

Blue Dacnis (Dacnis cayana).
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador. 

An immature Double-toothed Kite (Harpagus bidentatus)  was walking on branches near the top of the Kapok and was unconcerned about our presence.  There were other birds near the top of the Kapok tree too.  Golden-bellied Euphonias (Euphonia chrysopasta) perched on the buds of the tree and a tiny Blue Dacnis (Dacnis cyana) darted around us on our high platform.  

Coca, Ecuador viewed from Rio Napo.

Our visit to the Amazon gave us a brief look at the biodiversity this giant rainforest harbors. It was clear we had seen just a small slice of life in the Amazon basin, and a return trip feels inevitable.  Thanks to our guide Freddy, our driver Kevin and our Sacha Lodge Guides Oscar, Jarol, Wilson and Barrillo. 

Guides; Jarol, Oscar, Wilson and Barrillo.
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador.