Ecuador 11: Papallacta Pass

A change of scenery was on the cards today as we set off from Quito early and headed towards our next destination, San Isidro. En route we would take in our highest birding of the trip, the paramo habitat of Papallacta Pass. Reaching an elevation of more than 14,000 feet, we would be at the mercy of the weather. So far it hadn’t treated us too kindly, so maybe we were due a change of luck…

Bingo! It stayed clear and bright; in fact the best weather of the entire trip. The paramo reminded us of Shetland, which made Rob feel at home, and we were even treated to occasional views of two of the spectacular snow-covered volcanoes between the clouds. It was simply sensational!

But what about the birds? There were plenty of new species to look for in this different habitat and we got straight into them – Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, Bar-winged and Stout-billed Cinclodes, Many-striped Canastero and Paramo Ground-Tyrant were all ticked off, and Tawny Antpitta made it eight antpittas for the trip.

The raptors started well – with Variable Hawk and Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle – and just got better, with the rare Carunculated Caracara passing overhead. Then one of the big target birds, speaking both figuratively and literally, hoved into view. It was distant – perhaps over mile away – but there’s no mistaking Andean Condor at any range. Shame it wasn’t closer though.

Our main target here was a species we frankly didn’t expect to see, as our most recent information stated they were no longer at this site. But we thought we’d give it a go anyway and headed right to the top of the mountain, around the radio and microwave towers, to look for Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe. Mr. Schofield asked the lonely security guard if he’d seen any plump, pheasant-like birds recently, and the reply wasn’t what we expected – yes, two minutes ago! The security man took us to the spot and using his baton pointed them out in the short vegetation. Wow!

Rob and I decided to try and get closer for some photos and began to walk purposefully up the hill. After maybe 50 yards I popped my head over a rock, grabbed some quick shots, and promptly collapsed to my knees gasping for air! Thankfully none of us had any problems with altitude sickness, but the lack of oxygen was startling. Rob appeared, having done the same on the other side of the rock, and we both quickly recovered to get some nice shots of these rare and enigmatic creatures.

We finally left the seedsnipes and started to head back to the car, but our attention was immediately drawn to another fine sight – a Culpeo. Also known as Andean Fox or, my favorite, Paramo Wolf, this attractive Red Fox-like canid was attempting to steal eggs and nestlings from ground-nesting birds on the hillside.

It was time to leave the wonderful paramo and press on towards San Isidro.

On our way back down the hill we still had time to connect with another new bird, a nice Andean Tit-Spinetail.

We stopped in the small town of Papallacta for lunch and arrived at San Isidro in time for a short siesta and some late afternoon birding.

Having dropped to around 6,800 feet there were yet more new birds to be seen, and we ticked off Black-billed Peppershrike, Emerald Toucanet and the nicest jay I’ve ever seen, Inca Jay, amongst others.

The lodge at San Isidro is very well appointed and our cabins were superb. But beyond that, and the generally fabulous birding on-site and nearby, there was another reason to stay here, which became apparent just after dinner. A birder from a different group came in and announced “it’s here”. We all rushed outside to see another newly-discovered species, this one so recent that it isn’t mentioned in the Ecuador bird book and, as yet, doesn’t even have an official English name – for now it’s the “San Isidro Owl”. I say species – the latest DNA data points to it being fairly closely related to Black-and-White Owl and may eventually get lumped with that as a sub-species. But whatever – it’s a beauty!

Another unforgettable day in magical Ecuador. With the various new habitats visited, we added an impressive 25 species to the trip list.