Ecuador 2017 - Mindo... HUMMINGBIRDS EVERYWHERE!!!

On Saturday, I went to a bird watchers' paradise: Mindo.

White-necked Jacobin, Mindo

Criss, Paul, Melany and I drove to Quito, where we met Victor, another Ecuadorian friend we were studying with in Adelaide, and his sister Laura. All of us went to Mindo, where we stayed in bamboo cabins.

Criss and Paul, Mindo.

It was raining when we got there, and was still raining the next morning when I set out at 6am for a birding walk with a guide. We were driven to the top of a hill, where thankfully there was a large shelter. My guide set up a field scope, and we waited for it to get light and stop raining! Shortly after we arrived, another birding guide with a girl from the U.S. came along and joined us. We saw our first birds of the morning there while it was still raining. There was a pair of Masked Trogons - a male and female, but only the female seemed to be interested in posing for us. We saw a Yellow-throated Toucan, some Ornate Flycatchers, and a Three-lined Warbler.

Masked Trogon, female, Mindo

Yellow-throated (chestnut-mandibled) Toucan, Mindo

Ornate Flycatcher, Mindo

 After a while we started walking down the hill in the rain. We saw a pair of Choco Toucans, some more Ornate Flycatchers, and a Tropical Kingbird. Eventually we came to a garden with a viewing deck and hummingbird feeders, where entry is free but donations are welcome. And it was AMAZING!!! According to another guide there, they get as many as eleven different species of hummingbird at those feeders. We saw White-necked Jacobin, Brown Violetear, Green-crowned Woodnymph, Tawny-bellied Hermit, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Andean Emerald, and Purple-throated Woodstar. We also saw Thick-billed Euphonia and Lemon-rumped Tanagers. Later in the walk we saw a Pale-mandibled Aracari and a bananaquit.

Green-crowned Woodnymph, Mindo

Brown Violetear, Mindo

Thick-billed Euphonia, male, Mindo

Thick-billed Euphonia, female, Mindo

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, female, Mindo

Green-crowned Woodnymph, male, Mindo

White-necked Jacobin, male, Mindo

Tawny-bellied Hermit, Mindo

Lemon-rumped Tanager, female, Mindo

Lemon-rumped Tanager, male, Mindo

Bananaquit, Mindo

Squirrel Cuckoo, Mindo

Black Phoebe, Mindo

Smoke-coloured Pewee, Mindo

 Back at the hotel, I ate breakfast with Criss, Paul and Melany, and we watched a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird flitting around the garden.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, male, Mindo

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, male, Mindo

Gracias to contributors to the Red Aves Ecuador Facebook Page for helping with the ID of some of these birds and others I've seen on the trip!