November 3, 2023
The Pink-throated Brilliant.
There are, of course, many other weird and wonderful species that call Río Bigal home, but I was first drawn to the idea of visiting this reserve while reading about the enigmatic Pink-throated Brilliant. This rare hummingbird lives only in forest in the foothills of the eastern Andes, with scattered populations found from southern Colombia to northern Peru. Almost nothing is known about this species, from its seasonal movements to nesting habits, to its diet and foraging behaviour. Even coming up with a rough population estimate is challenging, since it is impossible to know what proportion of the remaining foothill forest is even inhabited by the Pink-throated Brilliant. What is obvious, however, is that deforestation is having a large impact - one model of Amazonian deforestation predicts that this species will lose 40% of its remaining habitat over the next 12 years.
I've always been interested in hummingbirds, and for many reasons. The obvious one is that they are so visually appealing, showing an inconceivable diversity of colours and iridescence. Quite a few hummingbirds attend feeders, which makes it so easy to obtain incredible views (and photos) of them, something that can't be said with a lot of other birds. The physiology of hummingbirds is interesting to think about, as they use a huge amount of calories in their day-to-day life, and require a consistent, sugar-rich diet to survive.
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| Buffy Helmetcrests survive in the páramo above 4000m in elevation (Caldas, Colombia) |
Some can even sustain this lifestyle above 4000m in elevation, contending with freezing temperatures each night. And quite a few species perform elaborate courtship rituals and displays which are fascinating to observe.
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| Courtship display of male White-booted Racket-tail (Valle del Cauca, Colombia) |
But I mainly find them intriguing from an evolutionary point of view. Many species can coexist in a forest, each specializing on a particular food source, with unique bill shapes that have evolved over millenia. At times, a dozen or more species will be visiting a feeder, each with different-shaped bills and unique foraging strategies.
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| White-browed Hermit and Golden-tailed Sapphire (Cusco, Peru) |
One of my birding goals is to see as many species of hummingbird as possible. While I won't see them all (it is pretty much impossible), the Pink-throated Brilliant would be a nice addition. This species prefers undisturbed forest, and due to the tendencies of humans, undisturbed forest is mostly found in places where humans aren't. There are very few accessible sites that are known to harbour populations of the Pink-throated Brilliant. Río Bigal is one of them. And so I made it my goal on my first morning to find my first Pink-throated Brilliant.
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| Hummingbird feeder setup at Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
Jeiber had installed three hummingbird feeders behind the station that first morning, and so after breakfast, I initiated the Pink-throated Brilliant search. Thierry had mentioned that brilliants will regularly attend the feeders, and if not the feeder, they may be found feeding on flowering vines around the edge of the clearing. Almost immediately, I had success. A curious-looking hummingbird buzzed around the flowering vines in the subcanopy and eventually, I could pick out the unique facial pattern and characteristic white undertail coverts of a Pink-throated Brilliant! This one was a female and I watched her feed for a minute or more. Photos were near-impossible due to the angle and branches in the way and I managed nothing more than very poor record shots.
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| Female Pink-throated Brilliant - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
"No problem" I thought; surely I would have many more photo opportunities with the star bird. And while I would continue to have at least one sighting each day of a Pink-throated Brilliant, I never improved on my photos. Most of my encounters were of birds feeding high in the subcanopy where the lighting was tough, and I never managed a shot of one perched. Still, over the course of the five days I was quite happy with the various sightings.
With the main target in the bag, I was ready for a morning of exploring the main Bigal Trail. This mud path is the continuation of the gravel road which had terminated several kilometres before the field station. The track continued on, past the boundaries of the reserve and towards another conservation project run by a Danish organization. Even though the Bigal Trail is the most frequently used path here, it still receives almost no foot traffic, and the birding and wildlife viewing opportunities along it are excellent.
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Bigal Trail - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador
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Though the path is surrounded by high-quality forest, the narrow gap created by its footprint provides habitat for a different subset of birds than what one would find deep in the forest. Flycatchers in particular seemed quite common here; maybe there were more insects because of the edge habitat?
I was glad that I had decided to purchase rubber boots for $10 in the town of Loreto as I needed them on this path. Some logs had been laid out over the muddiest sections, but it was a slog and would have been very uncomfortable without proper footwear.
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Bigal Trail - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador
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The Blackish Pewee was a big target species of mine. This is another species limited to pristine lower foothill forest in the eastern Andes, and like with the Pink-throated Brilliant, Río Bigal is one of the best places in the world to search for it. I easily found my first Blackish Pewee perched high along the Bigal Track. I would see (or hear) this species nearly every time I walked along here.
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| Blackish Pewee - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
Bird activity was strong and I quickly reached seventy species for the morning, even though the birdsong was much diminished compared to the early morning around my cabin. Almost two dozen species were new for my Ecuador list, including "good" ones like Cinnamon-rumped Foliage-gleaner, Short-billed Honeycreeper (only my second ever sighting!), and Short-tailed Antthrush. I enjoyed listening to familiar songsters like Wing-barred Piprites, Spot-backed Antbird and Thrush-like Antpitta, while also re-learning the songs of several species that I was once familiar with. A couple of the singing species were life birds, such as Sapphire Quail-Dove and Fulvous Antshrike. Unfortunately, I never managed a view of either.
As expected, bird photography was difficult at best. The joys of birding the Amazon! This is one of the few bird photos I snapped over the course of the morning, a Double-banded Pygmy-Tyrant.
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| Double-banded Pygmy-Tyrant - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
Río Bigal is situated at the right elevation to find Andean species and Amazonian species side-by-side (or nearly so). Gray-tailed Pihas, an Andean species, were vocal in one area, while Screaming Pihas, an Amazonian species, were just a little further down the trail. The above Double-banded Pygmy-Tyrant, a lowland species, was belting out its song beside an Ecuadorian Tyrannulet, typically found in the mountains. It was all very neat!
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| Drymona hoppii - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
As is typical when the bird photography is slow, I pointed my camera at some of the many insects which were taking advantage of the sunny trail edges. Butterfly diversity was very good and I found a nice selection of species.
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| Blue-topped Satyr (Amiga arnaca) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Erotylus dilaceratus - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Posttaygetis penelea - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Double-banded Banner (Pyrrhogyra otolais) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Ommatolampis perspicillata - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
The rarest bird of the day (and perhaps, of my entire stay at Río Bigal) occurred during the late morning when I heard the distinctive call notes of an Acadian Flycatcher. If I was west of the Andes this would not be a big deal, but Acadian Flycatcher is practically unheard of east of the Andes. However, it is a highly migratory species, and one of the few east-slope records occurred at Río Bigal a few years earlier. Knowing its rarity status, I made sure to obtain some good recordings of the bird to add to my eBird checklist. Luckily for me, the bird went through its whole repertoire of sounds, including the song, peet calls, and the twittering call series. I never did see it, though!
Recordings are on my eBird checklist at this link.
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| Blue-crowned Trogon - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
I made it back to the station just before 1 PM, the agreed upon time with Jeiber and Natalia. I was hungry after a long walk and quickly devoured the big plate of food that was presented in front of me. A brief siesta followed and I spent the mid-afternoon hours birding around the station clearing. These capuchins were very suspicious of me, but I managed a few good photos.
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| Marañón White-fronted Capuchin (Cebus yuracus) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
The hummingbird feeders were due another stakeout and so the slow mid-afternoon hours seemed a good a time as any.
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| Blue-fronted Lancebill - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
The Pink-throated Brilliant was seen again high up in the canopy but several other species attended the feeders, including Blue-fronted Lancebill, Great-billed Hermit, Gould's Jewelfront and more.
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| Gould's Jewelfront - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Gray-breasted Sabrewing - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
As afternoon transitioned into evening, I made my way back out to the main Bigal Trail for a dusk walk. Dawn and dusk are such dynamic times to be in the forest and I take every opportunity that I can to experience them. This particular hike was slow from a wildlife perspective as the only mammal to appear was an agouti, while my hoped for Sapphire Quail-Dove, Salvin's Curassow or Gray-winged Trumpeter were also no shows. Still, I enjoyed the peacefulness of the moment, the dusk chorus of antbirds and tinamous, and the purring calls of a Band-bellied Owl as I sloshed back to the station in the dark.
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| Bigal Trail - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
A surprise was waiting for me as I walked up to the field station for dinner. Natalia motioned at me to be very quiet, and she gestured to the back of the building. I slowly followed her, taking care to walk quietly, and she pointed. There, huddled low next to the spot where they placed the food scraps, was a Spotted Paca! Equipped with only my macro lens, it was a bit far for excellent photos but I managed a few distant ones. This was by far the best look that I have ever had of this somewhat secretive forest species. This nocturnal rodent is related to the cavies and agoutis, and it is an important seed distributor in the Amazon. It apparently likes leftover rice, too!
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| Spotted Paca (Cuniculus paca) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
After dinner, Jeiber and Natalia joined me for another night walk. This time, we investigated the "camp loop" trail.
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| Osteocephalus planiceps - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Ancylometes sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
We decided to cut our hike short due to the threat from distant thunder and our lack of rain gear. However, we found a nice selection of frogs and invertebrates, as well as several roosting bird species.
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| Chactas sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| White-flanked Antwren - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Epilampra sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
This was a new species of glass frog for me, the Santa Cecelia Glass Frog (
Teratohyla midas). Though it ranges throughout the Amazon, most records are from Ecuador. Its latin name refers to the gold flecks on its body.
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| Santa Cecilia Glass Frog (Teratohyla midas) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Metallic Robber Frog (Pristimantis lanthanites) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Common Big-headed Frog (Oreobates quixensis) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Linothele sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
We found another woodlizard as well. I am not sure if this is Enyalioides laticeps or praestabilis.
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| Enyalioides sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
I returned to the moth sheet and was blown away, once again, by the sheer diversity of insects that had found it.
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| Moth mayhem - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
My time was limited as the storm was not far off, and so I photographed and admired as many of the insects as possible before the rain really came down.
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| Parasa sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Gymnelia eusebia - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Halysidota sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Desmoloma sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Perigonia ilus - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Euchontha frigida - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Viviennea moma - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Auratonota dispersa - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Nesara sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified tiger moth (subtribe Euchromiina) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Diareusa sp., a type of lanternfly - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Neagathia corruptata - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified metalmark moth (family Choreutidae) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified moth - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Quentalia ephonia - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Pseudischnocampa humosa - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Adhemarius sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Emarginea gammophora - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Biterolfa rana - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Eomichla sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified lanternfly (tribe Diloburini) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified tortrid moth (family Torticidae) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Calyptis idonea - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Olceclostera magniplaga - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified moth - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Cerodirphia sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Eucereon sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified tiger moth (subtribe Euchromiina) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Casuaria armata - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Penthesilea sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Eulepidotis inclyta - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Ormetica melea - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified moth - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Macrogonia sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Syngamilyta apicolor - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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