The Pursuit of Warblers: spectacled redstart

Showing posts with label spectacled redstart. Show all posts

Friday, December 20, 2024

Bolivia trip in search of two more warbler species -December 9-11

Yungas Warbler, The Death Road, La Paz, Bolivia, Dec 10, 2024

After my time in Peru I took a midday flight from Cusco into La Paz, Bolivia to finish out my trip and hopefully add a couple more new warblers species. My targets in Bolivia were Yungas Warbler and Brown capped Redstart. My cold symptoms that developed at the end of my time in Peru almost had me cancel this portion of the trip but I decided to go through with it. After a long wait at the airport in Cusco I took the flight via Avianca to La Paz (this was the only Avianca flight that they didn’t completely change on me). This would be a whirlwind of a trip with just a couple days in the country before flying out of La Paz to Lima and then on to Boston via Miami by a red eye flight (or at least that was the plan).

Once I arrived in La Paz I had to go through the visa on arrival ordeal to get into the country. There was lots of conflicting information but I prepared the best I could for it. Eventually I got through it and then through customs and immigration before meeting up with the guide. We then made a long drive up into the mountains north of La Paz after fighting the horrible city traffic with our destination being our lodging at Casa Cayuni. This was a rustic spot for sure with no power beyond that provided by a small battery pack that once it ran out we were out of power completely. No Wi-Fi and no cell coverage so truly isolated. There was also an issue with the fact that all three of us looked to be sharing a room despite assurances from the tour company owner that I would have a private room, which was what I paid a lot for. The guide was gracious enough to move a couple of mattresses out of the room and into a nearby kitchen area so I did indeed end up with a private room.

Yungas Warbler, The Death Road, La Paz, Bolivia, Dec 10, 2024

Spectacled Redstart, The Death Road, La Paz, Bolivia, Dec 10, 2024

My full day in Bolivia started off before dawn with a breakfast at our little cabin and then we headed out to walk a part of the famed ‘road of death’. It is a seldom used road now after a new road was built perhaps 20 years ago to make travel safer and more efficient in this area of Bolivia. One of the first birds we came across was a few Yungas Warblers…a quick addition to my warbler list and the first target of the trip. The birds were very active with lots of singing and calling and I got some recordings as well as some fairly decent photos. We then continued further down the road and the only other warbler species seen were Spectacled Redstarts with a few showing well and offering some photo opportunities. The Yungas Warblers continued in the same spot as we made our return walk and I got even more photos. We then drove to a variety of different locations along the road and tried to find the second target warbler of the trip. We dodged on and off rain throughout the morning and into the afternoon and only got caught in a downpour once right near the end of the day. More excitement occurred as we were driving back to the cabin when the guides truck refused to start. Nothing that he tried seemed to work and after multiple stops to try and fix it we coasted down the hill to our cabin. All was not lost as one of our stops had a mixed species flock that included Citrine Warbler, which added a new warbler species for this portion of the trip. A back up ride for me was arranged for the following day if needed as well as a mechanic to try to fix whatever was wrong with the truck. It looked like our birding the next day would be limited to the area around the cabin.

Citrine Warbler (Bolivian), The Death Road, La Paz, Bolivia, Dec 11, 2024

After waking up early at 3:40am I could not get back to sleep so tossed and turned until it was light enough out. The battery power we had at the cabin ran out during the night so I was not able to fully charge all my devices nor have any working lights in the morning. We had another breakfast outside and had two species of warblers to start our morning with Yungas Warbler and Spectacled Redstart. As we finished up breakfast the guide was actually able to get his truck running again so we quickly packed up and started the final drive up the road of death. Once we were near the top we birded a side road and turned up a few pockets of birds with more new ones. The clouds blew in from time to time but the rain held off. Around 10AM our backup vehicle arrived with a mechanic. The back up truck and the secondary guide went with me to check a few other spots further up the road and then on to our lunch spot where the main guide would meet us and depending on what the mechanic said regarding the original truck would determine how I got to the airport. It was during one of these side trips that I got an ever so brief glimpse of a Brown capped Redstart that was traveling with a mixed flock. The view was literally a couple seconds and that was it so no chance for a photo at all. Far from satisfying documentation but finding the bird was great after so much effort and checked off the last of my target warblers for the trips. With the original truck not dependable enough to make the trip to the airport the backup truck would be used instead. After a lunch we started the drive back to La Paz for what should have been the beginning of my long trek home with the flight scheduled to go to Lima at 7PM. Along the way a few birds were seen in the higher elevations. I had a ticket with BOA airlines, which is a Bolivian based carrier and my flight got delayed multiple times so the entire trip back became a chore to say the least with days spent in various airports before finally arriving home exhausted.

The Bolivia portion of my trip produced a total of five species of warblers with two of those being new for me. That now brings me down to just eight warbler species I have not yet seen with the remaining species being in the extremely remote Darian area on the border of Panama and Colombia (two species) and the others in Venezuela.

Between Peru and Bolivia on this trip I found a total of a dozen species of warblers with five of those being life birds.

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Peru trip for three target species of warbler -December 2-December 9

Pale legged Warbler, Carretera a Manú--Túneles Pillahuata, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 3, 2024

Cuzco Warbler, Carretera a Manú--Thousand-meter Bridge a Chontachacra, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 4, 2024

Two banded Warbler, Cock of the Rock Lodge, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 5, 2024

My long planned trip down to Peru and then Bolivia in search of five target species of warblers finally happened. I will cover the Peru portion of the trip in this post and the Bolivia portion in a later post. Trying to get this trip together was filled with lots of stress as it involved lots of moving parts. The biggest stress came from the flights (Don’t ever use Avianca Airlines if you can possibly avoid it…I originally was using them for all of my flights but they changed everything a month before the trip without contacting me and refunded me well less than half of the total costs). I scrambled to put together a series of flights that would hopefully work. I flew out of Boston on the morning of December 2nd to Miami and then onto Lima where I spent the night at a hotel at the airport before a morning flight via LATAM to Cusco to meet my guide for the Peru portion of the trip. The main warbler targets in Peru were Pale legged Warbler, Two banded Warbler and Cuzco Warbler and I found all my targets as well as other warblers.

Pale legged Warbler, Carretera a Manú--Túneles Pillahuata, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 3, 2024

Spectacled Redstart, Carretera a Manú--Túneles Pillahuata, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 3, 2024

We started the long drive toward Cock of the Rock Lodge with a few stops along the way. Initially the drive was not too bad but the roads got progressively more twisty and I had some serious motion sickness on the way (probably a combo of lack of sleep, lack of food and the roads). Once we got up into the cloud forest I had my first warbler in Peru with a Spectacled Redstart. After a lunch break at Wayqecha Lodge we pressed on with some stops along the way and one of these stops produced my first target species with a Pale legged Warbler. Got some great looks at it as it worked its way through the tangles. Happy to get one of the targets early on. The final warbler for the day was a Blackburnian Warbler. We arrived at Cock of the Rock Lodge around sundown, had dinner and then off to bed.

Two banded Warbler, Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 4, 2024

Slate throated Redstart, Carretera a Manú--Tanager Corner a Thousand-meter Bridge, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 4, 2024

Cuzco Warbler, Carretera a Manú--Thousand-meter Bridge a Chontachacra, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 4, 2024

On our first full day around Cock of the Rock Lodge unfortunately started off with rain and thunder (a continuation from overnight). We stayed around the lodge longer than originally intended due to the heavy rain. Thankfully the time around the lodge rewarded me with a couple of Two banded Warblers I found before breakfast. They continued on and off through the rest of the morning with lots of singing when they were around. Second target down to start the day! This species looks a lot like my remaining target species (Cuzco Warbler) with some subtle physical differences (like eye arcs) but thankfully sings a totally different song. The only other warbler around was a Slate throated Redstart. We finally got a break in the rain a bit after ten and then we headed out to explore further down the road. After lots of looking before lunch we didn’t find the remaining target. We had a late lunch at the lodge and went back out again early in the afternoon and this time we had better luck and found a very vocal pair of Cuzco Warblers. Trying to get looks was tough and getting any photos was even harder. Nonetheless I got a few photos when the bird popped into the open ever so briefly. Very happy to have all three targets for the Peru part of the trip wrapped up early on. It was a low diversity day with just three species but when two are lifers that is not bad at all (other warbler for the day was Slate throated Redstart).

Two banded Warbler, Cock of the Rock Lodge, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 5, 2024

Blackburnian Warbler, Carretera a Manú, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 5, 2024

Three striped Warbler, Carretera a Manú, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 5, 2024

Russet crowned Warbler, Carretera a Manú, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 5, 2024

The last full day in the area of Cock of the Rock Lodge I explored around the lodge early on before breakfast in a successful attempt to get better photos of Two banded Warblers. During my time around the lodge I also turned up my first Tropical Parula of the trip as well as more Slate throated Redstarts. After breakfast we headed up the road and ran into rain right away which persisted in varying intensity the rest of the morning. At times we were stuck in the vehicle due to the rain and other times got soaked trying to find stuff. In one of the lighter periods of rain we ran across a nice mixed flock that contained Three striped Warblers and Russet Crowned Warblers. Other new warblers for the day seen in various flocks included Blackburnian Warbler and Spectacled Redstart. By the end of the morning I had found seven species of warblers. After lunch and a little break we headed out in the middle of the afternoon to a cock of the rock lek and then did more roadside birding. No new warbler species for the afternoon but we did see a few species. By the end of the day I had seen a total of seven species of warbler.

Slate throated Redstart, Cock of the Rock Lodge, Cuzco, Peru, Dec 6, 2024

After a final night at Cock of the Rock Lodge we had an early breakfast and started the twisty drive back up the mountain with our destination for the day being Wayqecha Lodge (the same spot we stopped for lunch on our way a few days prior). We had an early breakfast and then started the drive up the with frequent stops for roadside birding on the way. Warblers were scattered around in various locations with no new species seen. We had lunch on the road and made it to the lodge a little after two, got settled in and then headed out for another long walk before dinner (no warblers on that walk). I finished the day with six species of warblers.

We started Saturday with a look for another antpitta species before having breakfast. After breakfast we started the very, very long drive to Ipal which involved driving down the mountain we were on and then going back up another mountain range to the other side via a pass in the mountain at over 4100 meters. We did some birding along the way with a few stops but a lot of the day was driving to our destination at the Ipal Ecolodge in Ipal. The only species of warbler for the day was Slate throated Redstart. We arrived at our new lodging around five. The lodge was a bit too rustic for my tastes with no windows and just screens that didn’t keep the bugs out. Thankfully it was only one night.

Slate throated Redstart, Ipal Ecolodge, Cusco, Peru, Dec 8, 2024

Slate throated Redstart, Tunkiwasi Lodge, Cusco, Peru, Dec 8, 2024

Tropical Parula, Tunkiwasi Lodge, Cusco, Peru, Dec 8, 2024

Citrine Warbler, PE 28B, Cusco, Peru, Dec 8, 2024

After a rather restless night of attempted sleep we birded a bit around the small property which produced a Slate throated Redstart as the first warbler of the day. Unfortunately I started to get cold symptoms and appeared to have caught the cold the guide had since the first full day of the trip despite my best efforts to avoid catching it. The weather was again overcast with occasional rain which made being out a bit uncomfortable. After leaving our lodging we headed to a nearby area that featured a nice feeder set up allowing great looks and photo opportunities for a variety of species (mainly tanagers and hummingbirds). As we watched the activity for hours there would also be species moving past in the trees nearby and this included a Tropical Parula and I got some distant photos. We then started the long drive back up over the mountains through the Abra Malaga Pass. The weather continued rainy and cool and we only made a few roadside stops along the way. One stop did produce a new warbler species for the trip with a couple Citrine Warbler in the area of a mixed flock (a species that could be split in the future) . We arrived at our lodging for the night in a town that is the jump off point for those visiting Machu Picchu so a busy place. My cold symptoms continued and it was a bit tough to sleep. With a noontime flight from Cusco to La Paz scheduled for the next day the guide decided we did not have the time to get any birding in before making the two hour ride to the airport. Initially we were going to have breakfast at the hotel just after six and then leave around seven but for reasons not fully explained we left around this time with a bagged breakfast to have along the way so I ended up at the airport around 8:30AM and had a long wait for my flight. As I was not feeling well I toyed with the idea of canceling the Bolivia trip and heading for home but decided to press on.

Total warbler species for this portion of my trip came to ten species. Although this might not seem like a lot, it was quality and not the quantity for this trip with a total of three new warbler species for me including Pale legged Warbler, Two Banded Warbler and Cuzco Warbler. The other species seen during this portion of the trip included Tropical Parula, Blackburnian Warbler, Three striped Warbler, Citrine Warbler, Russet crowned Warbler, Slate throated Redstart and Spectacled Redstart.

Monday, November 22, 2021

Southern Ecuador warblers (Nov 7-14)

Gray and Gold Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Masked Yellowthroat (Black lored Yellowthroat), Uzhcurrumi, Azuay, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

Citrine Warbler, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Three banded Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Masked Yellowthroat (Maranon Yellowthroat subspecies), Road north of Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 11, 2021

Olive crowned Yellowthroat (southern), Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Just back from a trip down to southern Ecuador with the focus being on warblers. The target species for the trip included Gray and Gold Warbler, Citrine Warbler, Three banded Warbler, Masked Yellowthroat (two subspecies-Black lored Yellowthroat and Maranon Yellowthroat) plus the local subspecies of Olive crowned Yellowthroat (I had previously seen two other subspecies-Belding’s Yellowthroat and Chiriqui Yellowthroat in Costa Rica). These various yellowthroat subspecies likely represent unique species and some taxonomic classification organizations already recognize them as such. I also wanted to see the gray bellied version of the Russet crowned Warbler. In addition I hoped to get some photos of other warbler species I have seen in the tropics before before but did not get photographs of including Three striped Warbler, Black crested Warbler and Spectacled Redstart.

Gray and Gold Warbler, Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve, Guayas, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

Masked Yellowthroat (Black lored Yellowthroat), Uzhcurrumi, Azuay, Ecuador, Nov 8, 2021

I arrived into Guayaquil in the afternoon of Sunday November 7 and met up with my guide for the trip. We stayed the night in Guayaquil and then set out early the next morning to make the long drive to Saraguro. Our first day of birding produced two target species with Gray and Gold Warbler and the Black lored subspecies of the Masked Yellowthroat. We found the Gray and Gold Warbler in a dry forest in the Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve. The warbler was tough to keep track of as it stayed hidden from view most of the time in the dense brushy understory. The behavior reminded me a lot of a Fan tailed Warbler or any of a number of redstarts that fan their tails often as they feed. The call note of the warbler sounded a lot like a Common Yellowthroat (information used later to recognize when the species was nearby). As we continued our long drive we made a stop along the road which quickly produced the Black lored subspecies of the Masked Yellowthroat in a weedy field. It showed fairly well but was not too close and would not stay in view for any length of time (a common theme with most warblers).

Black crested Warbler, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Spectacled Redstart, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

Citrine Warbler, Reserva Huashapamba, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 9, 2021

After a night in Saraguro we headed up into some nearby mountains in the Reserva Huashapamba on the morning of Tuesday the 9th. We arrived into the area a bit after six and then birded along the road for a few hours. During our time there we turned up multiple singing Black crested Warblers, Citrine Warblers and Spectacled Redstarts. The Citrine Warblers were not only a new warbler species for me the sighting of them also became my 1600th life bird. Unfortunately the foggy conditions made getting photos a bit difficult and the Citrine Warblers were the least cooperative of any of the warblers present. Nonetheless I got some marginal photos of them as well as slightly better photos of the other warblers present. I also managed to get recordings of a number of the warblers. The most productive lists for the morning can be found at the following links:1 and 2. We ended the day in far southern Ecuador in the small town of Zumba where we spent the next two nights.

Blackburnian Warbler, Road west of Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 10, 2021

On Wednesday we traveled south from Zumba all the way down to the Peruvian border in the morning and then off to the west of Zumba in the afternoon. Although the day did not produce any new warbler species for me it did produce my first Tropical Parula, Blackburnian Warbler, Canada Warbler and Slate throated Redstart for the trip. We tried in vain to find the Maranon subspecies of Masked Warbler in the area.

Masked Yellowthroat (Maranon Yellowthroat subspecies), Road north of Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 11, 2021

On Thursday we headed west of Zumba before dawn to get to the paramo and then back into town a bit before lunch. After an early lunch we started our trip north of Zumba on our way to Buenaventura. The main focus as we moved north out of Zumba was to locate the Maranon subspecies of the Masked Yellowthroat and after quite a bit of effort in on again/off again light rain we finally found our target. The subspecies only occurs in the Maranon Valley of northwest Peru and nearby parts of Ecuador.

Russet crowned Warbler, Reserva Tapichalaca, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, Nov 12, 2021

Three banded Warbler, Chinchas-Portavelo Road, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 12, 2021

Tropical Parula, Chinchas-Portavelo Road, Loja, Ecuador, Nov 12, 2021

As we drove from Tapichlaca to Buenaventura we birded along a twisting dirt road known as the Chinchas-Portovelo Road. Almost every stop we made along this route had decent activity with the first stop producing yet another target species for the trip with a couple of very vocal Three banded Warblers. Other stops along the road produced more Three banded Warblers as well as Tropical Parula, Gray and Gold Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Russet crowned Warbler and Slate throated Redstart.

Olive crowned Yellowthroat, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Gray and Gold Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Our full day at Buenaventura began with loads of activity around the lodge (primarily centered on the feeders) but also drawing in birds to feed in the tangles and forest nearby including more Gray and Gold Warblers and a couple of Buff breasted Warblers singing loudly as they worked their way down the steps to the lodge. After breakfast we headed up the road in the reserve and through the fog found a fairly cooperative Olive crowned Yellowthroat singing in a small clearing. This was my final big target warbler for the trip. As mentioned before this particular yellowthroat complex has been split into multiple unique species by other authorities and I had seen two of those other splits in Costa Rica (Chiriqui Yellowthroat and Baird's Yellowthroat).

Gray and Gold Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 14, 2021

Buff rumped Warbler, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 14, 2021

On the last day we got some better looks of the Buff rumped Warblers present in the reserve. The individuals in Ecuador appeared more orange in appearance than those I see in Costa Rica (which show more of a yellowish coloration).

Total warblers for the trip totaled 13 species with Warblers included Masked Yellowthroat (both Black lored and Maranon subspecies), Olive crowned Warblers (southern subspecies), Tropical Parula (South America subspecies), Blackburnian Warbler, Three banded Warbler, Citrine Warbler, Black crested Warbler, Buff rumped Warbler, Gray and Gold Warbler, Russet crowned Warbler, Canada Warbler, Slate throated Redstart and Spectacled Redstart.

The Pursuit of Warblers