Chocó birding at Rio Silanche

It was my second last full day in Ecuador before flying home to Canada for a few weeks. My little solo trip had been a resounding success so far, with many holes in my life list filled in and a lot of quality time spent just with the birds.

I was a little late leaving the hotel this morning - the persistent rain did not help matters - but by 7:00 AM I turned up the gravel road that leads to the Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary. The drive was birdy, if a bit depressing - nearly every inch of former rainforest had been levelled. While the scrubby bits and farmland produced decent numbers of birds, they were all species typically found in disturbed areas. I forced myself to drive past them all so that I could bird from the canopy tower at Rio Silanche at a relatively early hour.

Fortunately the rain had let off by the time that I arrived at the gate and with urgency, I headed straight to the tower. Rio Silanche is a protected oasis amid all the deforestation, and here many Chocó species can still be found. I had visited once before - with Laura back in March - but we were rained out for pretty much the whole day. We did see quite a few interesting things, but we totalled only 63 bird species.

Today was a resounding success and I tallied my 63th bird species only an hour after arriving. The reason was of course the weather, and also perhaps my familiarity with more bird vocalizations as I have been traveling in Ecuador for the better part of three months. But the weather cleared and it was non-stop action from the canopy tower. By the time I left the tower at 10:30 I was at close to 90 species already.

Acadian Flycatcher - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

Tanagers were well-represented and quite a few different species passed by. One that did not, however, was the Blue-whiskered Tanager. This Chocó specialist is not as common here at Rio Silanche as it once was. This may be tied to the ever-encroaching deforestation which has further isolated the "good" forest here. However I was happy to see my first Gray-and-gold Tanagers for Ecuador as well as these Green Honeycreepers which made frequent rounds to the Cecropia fruits.

Green Honeycreeper - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

I stayed on high alert for the different dacnis species that frequent the area. Several pairs of Black-faced Dacnis appeared, and I soon had a single male Scarlet-thighed as well (a new Ecuador bird for me). But I was really hoping for Scarlet-breasted Dacnis, a species I had never encountered before. Luck was on my side as I had two separate sightings of this scarce Chocó species - first a single male, and later a pair.

Scarlet-breasted Dacnis - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

Woodstars were not really on my radar. The elevation seemed too low for Purple-throated, while Little Woodstar appeared pretty scarce at Rio Silanche based on the eBird bar charts. On the drive in I spotted a female Purple-throated, and another one appeared on the tower! Even better, a male Little Woodstar made the rounds at the tower on at least three occasions, a new species for me. 

Purple-throated Woodstar - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

Speaking of hummingbirds - it was great to finally come across my first Purple-chested Hummingbirds as well! This is another Chocó species. I enjoyed some nice comparisons with a male Blue-chested Hummingbird as well.

Purple-chested Hummingbird - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

The sun came out and so did the swifts!

Gray-rumped Swift - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

One great thing about a canopy tower is that it often elicits eye-level views of species that are otherwise difficult to view. A few Collared Araçaris dropped in, including this one which was not shy.

Collared Araçari - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

Collared Araçari - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

By 10:30 I left the tower, eager to stretch my legs and walk around. I was also dangerously close to 100 species for the day and wanted to pad my list with understorey birds. This proved to be a good idea as I came across a little understorey flock that contained Black-headed Antthrush, Checker-throated Stipplethroat (weird name!), and a few Tawny-faced Antwrens.

Tawny-faced Gnatwren - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

Checker-throated Stipplethroat - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

But the fun was just getting started. This turned out to be the beginning of one of the best mixed flocks I had ever come across. I had stopped to check out a few White-bearded Manakins lekking nearby when the insanity started. Chips and zits in the canopy grabbed my attention and I found a clearing with which to view them.

Scarlet-browed Tanager - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

Tanagers, flycatchers, woodcreepers and more began to appear in numbers. An Orange-fronted Barbet appeared. More tanagers, including Scarlet-browed and Tawny-crested. Russet Antshrikes. Three species of becards. About a dozen species of flycatchers, and various ant-things. I heard several Blue-tailed Trogons and a Striped Woodhaunter, both new species for me.

It took nearly an hour for the flock to pass by my location, and I was dumb-founded with just how many birds there were. My camera did not get much use as I was straining hard to identify as many birds as possible. When it was all said and done, I identified close to 60 species in the single mixed flock. Mind-blowing!!

Yellow-margined Flycatcher - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

Black-striped Woodcreeper - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

I was at 120 species and it was barely 11 AM - what a morning it had been so far!

Tawny-crested Tanager - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor

I returned to the car at this point, so I could settle up with the ranger on duty, as well as have breakfast/lunch (I was famished at this point). I returned to the tower for another vigil, but the hot sun was beating down, bird activity had quieted, and I only lasted for a further half hour.

On my way out I spotted this Snowy-throated Kingbird - only the second one I have ever come across - and my 128th species for the morning. It was certainly a day that I will never forget!

Snowy-throated Kingbird - Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha, Ecaudor