Milpe

 

It was an accident, but a happy one: my field trips at the ABA Conference started out at relatively “easy” sites with few species (by Ecuadorian standards, that is!) and ended with the riotous diversity of the Milpe area. I’d had to listen to returning groups every evening as they bragged over supper about how many birds they’d seen and how well they’d seen them, but now, September 6, the last day of the conference (already!!), it was my turn to be delighted and overwhelmed.

Hardly had we stepped into the parking lot at the Milpe Preserve when we were assaulted by new birds from all sides. My very first bird on stumbling off the bus with the rest of The Manakins was a male Green Thorntail, perched nonchalantly at the tip of a bush, soaking in the warmth of the morning air and our admiration.

This species, another one of those tiny hummingbirds with outlandish tails, turned out to be even weirder in life than in the field guides; the little females, with their oddly pied plumage, were very bee-like, while the males’ long pointed rectrices resemble the abdomen of a dragonfly in flight.

We did our best to get into the woods, but such feeder-wonders as Green Honeycreepers and Silver-throated Tanagers slowed us down; a Broad-billed Motmot brought us from a birding crawl to a complete stop as it posed above the trail for us.

“Most-wanteds” just kept popping up as we went along Two Choco Toucans flew across the road, landing in sight for outstanding scope views. A blur of color resolved itself into a Pale-mandibled Aracari; I was so taken aback by the beauty of this creature that I didn’t even participate in the ensuing debate on the use of the cedilla in English (imagine that).

It’s funny how toucans can still take your breath away, all those years of cereal commercials notwithstanding.

So many, many birds! Impossible to choose a favorite, but here’s a strong candidate: my ‘lifer’ Snowy-throated Kingbird, an austral migrant enjoying its stay on the wintering grounds in Ecuador.