November 4, 2023
Part of the reason why I gave myself five nights to spend at Río Bigal was to mitigate in case I had a couple of days washed out by heavy rain. The eastern Andes of Ecuador receive a high amount of precipitation. Moisture-laden air from the Amazon basin drifts westwards to the Andes, with rain falling as the cooler air gains altitude. However, if you turn on the taps, you turn on the biodiversity. Having to deal with the occasional rain-out is not a bad price to pay for the fantastic diversity in this part of the world.
Though the heaviest rains were still a few months away, Río Bigal had received some good bouts of much-needed precipitation in recent months. The earlier dry season had been much stingier than usual and Thierry was relieved to see the rains finally arrive. I fully expected to get rained out for one day at least. As it turned out, my third day at Río Bigal would be it.
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| Lemon-tipped Helicopter (Mecistogaster ornata) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
Originally, my plan had been to walk one of the long interior forest trails for the entire day, taking a packed lunch prepared by Natalia. The morning had started well - I awoke to a decent dawn chorus that included a South American Leaftosser lending its voice, a long overdue first encounter for me. But when I reached the field station for breakfast, the sky was looking very dark and gloomy. I postponed my departure and within 15 minutes the heavens opened.
The rain did not let up for the rest of the morning, but this was a blessing in disguise. I relaxed in the cabin and managed a couple hours of sleep, recharging me for the late nights and early mornings that would undoubtedly be in my future. There is something wonderful about drifting off to sleep in the jungle, with the sounds of falling rain providing a backdrop of white noise.
By noon the system had passed by and the restless birds were eager to get foraging. A check of the clearing by the field station produced a nice mixed flock with included a lifer - several Yellow-lored Tanagers.
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| Yellow-lored Tanager - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
This is one of our "newest" species; not because it was only recently discovered, but because until this year it was considered to be a subspecies of Carmiol's Tanager. I had looked for them before in southern Peru without success, but at the time I didn't think much of it since I had seen Carmiol's Tanagers many times before in Central America. However, since the recent round of splits and lumps, the Carmiol's Tanagers found on the east slope of the Andes had been split off and were now considered a brand-new species (called Yellow-lored Tanager) by the Clements Checklist, the taxonomy that is used by eBird.
The flock around the field station was quite diverse and I spent over half an hour picking through them. I enjoyed some good looks at Speckled Spinetail, Ocellated Woodcreeper, Fulvous Shrike-Tanager and much more.
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| Ocellated Woodcreeper - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
Once I was done with the mixed flock, I quickly readied my day pack and headed out, eager to make the most of afternoon. My plan was to hike down the Bigal Trail once again.
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| Unidentified damselfly (family Calopterygidae) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
Typically, the early afternoon is the quietest time of the day for finding birds, but early afternoon after a morning washout is an entirely different story. The overcast conditions had remained, keeping the temperatures reasonable, and all of the birds were active. I quickly found a Green Manakin and for the first time, I managed some photos of this uncommon species.
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| Green Manakin - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
The Green Manakin was also affected by this year's taxonomy update. I had previously heard this species once before, in the Darién of eastern Panama, but that population had been split out and renamed Chocó Manakin. Therefore, the Green Manakin of the foothills of the eastern Andes was a new species for me.
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| Green Manakin - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
The steady birding continued all along the trail, highlighted by Napo Sabrewing, Black-bellied Cuckoo, White-lored Tyrannulet, and a singing Yellow-shouldered Grosbeak. Combined with the insect activity, it was a good afternoon to be out.
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| Prometheus sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Gorgone superba - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Tilesia sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
During the previous day, I had had a rare encounter with a vocal Acadian Flycatcher. I improved on that situation today as I found a silent Empidonax which I am pretty sure is an Acadian Flycatcher. No doubt the same bird, as it was only around 100 m from yesterday's encounter.
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| Acadian Flycatcher - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
I turned right down the side-trail just before the property boundary and followed it southeastwards for a ways. The potential along here seemed high, and I made a mental note that I needed to properly bird this section one morning. The afternoon was starting to get a bit late now and bird activity had decreased, but I I managed my first photos of an Ecuadorian Piedtail.
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| Ecuadorian Piedtail - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
I had only seen this cute little hummingbird once before, at the Narupa Reserve in Napo Province, Ecuador in 2019, but the views were fleeting at best. It was wonderful to have a photoshoot with this very cooperative individual. This was my 255th species of hummingbird that I have photographed (280 species observed), out of 363 total species in the world.
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| Ecuadorian Piedtail - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
Out of the corner of my eye, something brown and linear moved on the path in front of me. Instinctively, my brain identified it as a non-venomous snake and I snagged it, half a second before it had shot off into the undergrowth. The racer was not too pleased with my efforts and donated a healthy dose of musk while also attempting some bites, which I thwarted. Eventually it settled down, allowing me to admire it.
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| Olive Forest Racer (Dendrophidion dendrophis) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
This is Dendrophidion dendrophis, sometimes called the Olive Forest Racer. It is a widespread species in the Amazon but this was, surprisingly, my first ever sighting. While not the flashiest snake, it was subtly beautiful with gold edging between the scales and some iridescence.
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Olive Forest Racer (Dendrophidion dendrophis) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador
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Olive Forest Racer (Dendrophidion dendrophis) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador
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The rest of the walk was fairly non-eventful. My hoped for quail-doves, curassows and trumpeters were no-shows on the trail at dusk, once again.
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| Erythrogonia ekila - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Eunogyra satyrus - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Psiloscirtus apterus - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
The food at Río Bigal was excellent, especially considering that all of it (other than some fruits grown on site) had to be brought in by truck and then by hand. This was what was on the menu for this evening - pasta with tuna, a spinach, tomato, mozzarella and olive salad, asparagus soup and fresh pineapple. It was excellent and hit the spot after a day of hiking.
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| Dinner at Río Bigal |
Instead of going or a night-walk, I just hung out at the moth sheet for the evening. At one point I went for a stroll around the lodge clearing, turning up a few interesting frogs.
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| Pristimantis sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Pristimantis omeviridis - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Pristimantis sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
Jeiber called me over as he had just discovered a massive gecko clinging to one of the buildings. A Southern Turniptail Gecko, my first!
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| Southern Turniptail Gecko (Thecadactylus solimoensis) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
This species is widespread in western Amazonia and usually found on buildings and in disturbed areas, being difficult to encounter in deep forest. This one looked like it was doing well, feasting on a diet of moths and other insects attracted to the lights at the field station.
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| Southern Turniptail Gecko (Thecadactylus solimoensis) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Southern Turniptail Gecko (Thecadactylus solimoensis) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
The moth sheet impressed with a huge diversity of species, once again. Most incredible was the very small amount of species overlap between each evening. Even now, my third night in a row, about 70-80% of the species had not appeared during the previous two nights. I can only imagine what one would find here if they set up a light every night for a year.
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| Tessella grandis - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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Oxytenis epsumacensis - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador
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| Dolichosomastis archadia - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Ceroctena amynta - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Ormetica zenzeroides - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Melese incertus - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Talima sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Synchlora atrapes - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Idaea sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Pycnarmon sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Zaevius calocore - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Tricentra gavisata - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Pachitea subflava - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Acraga sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Pantelodes iracoubo - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Melese hampsoni - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Euglyphis nardina - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Epia muscosa - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Inga inflammata - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Rhodoneura nebulosa - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Dysgonia expediens - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified moth - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Zatrephes trailii - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified moth - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Oxytenis modestia - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Camponotus sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Unidentified scarab beetle (family Scarabaeidae) - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Euglyphis ampira - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Euglyphis claudia - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Ornarantia sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Zatrephes haxairei - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Dysgonia purpurata - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Automeris sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Mesothen sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Undulambia sp. - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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| Dysschema palmeri - Reserva Biológica del Río Bigal, Orellana, Ecuador |
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