Mashpi Amagusa Reserve - Ecuador
On March 18, 2022 I left my hotel in Mindo, Ecuador at 5:00 a.m. for a near two hour drive to Mashpi Amagusa Reserve in the heart of the Ecuadorian cloud forest at about 3,700 feet of elevation. It was the most amazing morning of birding I've ever experienced. The Reserve is run by Sergio and Doris Basantes and they have three areas, close together, that attract birds: first is a tree to which they attach a bunch of whole, unpeeled bananas, to attract rose-faced parrots (which I saw) and other birds; second is an area with multiple feeders to attract hummingbirds; and third is a post with several branches to which halved bananas are attached which attract tanagers and other birds.
That morning I photographed 36 species of birds, including: (a) 2 parrots (the bronze-winged parrot and rose-faced parrot); 10 species of tanager (the flame-rumped tanager, black-chinned mountain tanager, moss-backed tanager, golden tanager, blue-gray tanager, flame-faced tanager, golden-collared honeycreeper, rufous-throated tanager, golden-naped tanager, and glistening-green tanager); 11 species of hummingbird (the velvet purple coronet, brown inca, purple throated woodstar, long-tailed sylph, violet-tailed sylph, green-crowned brilliant, empress brilliant, green thorntail, purple-bibbed whitetip, white-whiskered hermit and green-fronted lancebill); and 13 other assorted species (the crimson-rumped toucanet, toucan barbet, wedge-billed woodcreeper, house wren, smoke-colored peewee, orange-breasted fruiteater, broad-billed motmot, orange-billed sparrow, slate-throated redstart, ornate flycatcher, rusty-margined flycatcher, barred becard, and orange-bellied euphonia). There were other birds that my guide, Julia, attempted to show to me that I couldn't see or was not able to get photos of. My friend, Terry, who accompanied me, had an orchid dipped in sugar water placed in the palm of his open hand and had four and five hummingbirds at a time perched on his hand and fingers.
