Wild flower
We had most of the morning at Mashpi Lodge before having to leave for Quito, so we took a short mountain trail hike near the lodge. On the way to the trail, we saw lots of wild flowers and a few avian species. One of them was a White-throated Quail-Dove, but I wasn't quick enough to get a photo.
Wild flower
Wild flowers
Wild flower
Slate-throated Redstart
Collared Trogon
Crimson-rumped Toucanet
Golden-olive Woodpecker
Moss-backed Tanager
Ornate Flycatcher
Slaty-capped Flycatcher
One of the best birds I saw here in Mashpi was a Rufous-brown Solitaire. This species is rare to locally uncommon and has not been found south of the Mashpi area in recent years.
Rufous-brown Solitaire
Rufous-brown Solitaire
Rufous-brown Solitaire
Glass-winged Butterfly
The mountain trail was steep, narrow, and muddy. We did see a few interesting creatures along there.
Dwarf Iguana
A huge centipede
At one point, we were on a steep downhill grade. I had to step over a large tree root crossing the trail, and down on to a very muddy and narrow trail path. I knew that there was no way to do this with slipping in the mud, and unfortunately, I was correct. At least I landed on my keister in the mud, and the only injury was mud on the back side of my pants. We continued back to the lodge, where we boarded the van back to Quito. Two days at Mashpi Lodge was not enough time for a serious birder. With at least two more days, I could have taken longer day trips to higher and lower elevations where other species may have been seen. I did photograph a few avian species in the Mashpi reserve where the species identification is uncertain.
Tennessee Warbler(?)
Unattributed species #3
Black-billed Peppershrike(?)
Sapayoa(?)
Ochre-bellied Flycatcher(?)
On the return trip, we stopped once again at Tulipe, and I saw a few more avian species.
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Golden Tanager
I saw more species as we travelled in the van, and got a few blurry photos. One of the birds was some sort of swallow, perhaps a Barn Swallow.
Barn Swallow(?)