Jungle Birding at 5:30am.

I'm becoming much more rugged on this trip, all because of Ian's passion for birding. Somehow he talked me into getting up at 4 am, traveling on another bumpy dirt road for an hour and then trekking through the jungle in the dark at 5:30 am! While trying to secure sure footing in the mud, hanging onto a wet rope, when there was one, keeping my flashlight directed toward the steep ground, I was thinking: what the heck am I doing here!!!!

We saw some amazing birds and it will be one of many experiences that will stay with  me.

A time exposure shot in the dark just before sunrise. There were 3 of us tourists, 2 drivers and the man who makes it all happen: Angel. We're in a hut on the side of a mountain waiting for the famous Cock of the Rock to appear.

The famous Cock of the Rock bird. Yes, he does look a bit odd, his beak is hidden in his feathered top hat thing, so he looks beakless.  Ian took this photo from our hut, long exposure, too.

Waiting for the Antpitta, Maria.

This is Angel, a small time Ecuadorian farmer who 5 years ago decided to see if he could feed Antpittas by hand. Before him no one could see these beautiful birds as they stay hidden in the low brush. Now he's trained other people to feed these birds in various locations throughout Ecuador. He makes a living off of offering birders a close up of the birds, walking through his extensive trails and feeding them breakfast afterwards. He loves his birds, has given them names and they respond to his calls and let him touch him!

The Giant Antpitta, Maria.  Photo by Ian.

Our group for the morning.  Angel is the one with the stripped pants.

We hiked  all the way down to the river from the top of the mountain, and back up again! There was a different species of Antpitta here, but I don't remember the name.

Ian taking the photo of the Antpitta.


Another beautiful Antpitta, they have lots of personality. Name anyone? Photo by Ian.

Not a sharp photo, but so stunning in person. There are so many gorgeous hummingbirds here!

The view from the top, where we had breakfast after being in the jungle for 5 hours.

The main area where Angel has his business, t shirts, bathroom, kitchen and eating area.

The red truck is one we hired, with driver Byron, to bring us here from our hotel. Byron was a very enthusiastic birder in training and kept up with us the entire time.

The site of a wonderful breakfast cooked fresh just for us.

Note the open window on the left, that's the kitchen.

Bjorn, the other birder in our group. From Finland. Great hat.

Views of the area.

I liked this idea for steps, it worked well and used readily available resources.