Last Night in Puerto Lopez, Or Is It ??

An early bus back to Ayampe Road paid dividens this morning as the weather was ideal birding conditions, overcast, coolish, gentle breeze and little glare from the obscured sun. Again Iwas hopeful of an 'endemic' or 2 and did come away with the much coveted Esmeraldas Woodstar, and 7 'lifers' besides. After a good morning there I have finally decided to make my next move tomorrow, and head down to Salinas in the far south west corner of Ecuador. There, as I said yesterday, I have potential of 2 contacts which,even if they only point me in the right direction, will be something.

This afternoon I say farewell to my new found mates Richard and Deirdre who have been so hospitable, and think it's true to say the feeling has been mutual. She has a regular slot on the local radio, on which she mentioned some of my observations with reference to the litter problem here. Within 30 minutes of transmission the Town Administrator had been in touch to discuss my finding, lets hope it helps to continue the active try the people are making o clean the place up. On the subject of friends, two very promising events have taken place while I have been out here. Firstly, I have been contacted, out of the blue, by my boyhood friend John Wood from Chilwell in Nottinghamshire, where I was born. I have for many years sent a Christmas card to his parents for no other reason than I held them in very high regard during those formative years, and very much so in my memory. Mr (Alan) Wood, John's father, who unfortunately past away some years ago, was one of my early mentors trying to improve my maths with extra teaching during many an evening. I remember him mostly for his patience, as I was not exactly a shining pupil but still he persevered. Mrs (Doris) as I remember a disciplinarian, and a number of times I remember she brought me up short for my (regular) misbehavior.

Anyway, as usual I sent Mrs Wood a card before I left on this trip, attaching the Blog Link knowing she would be interested in my movements as each year we have kept up to date, via our cards, on past events. John, in turn, hooked his mum up to the site and dropped me an e-mail suggesting we might get together in 2010 and giving me a precis of his life since my departure just 12 months short of 50 years ago. That meeting is priority for this year, and I am very much looking forward to the reunion!

Secondly, another e-mail from my dear pal Jim the Medic (from Buchan Alpha) tells me that he and his lady friend will be landing in Buenos Aires on the 20th February. Coincidentally, I fly home from there on the 24th, so looks like there will doubtless be a party. Jim and I have covered a lot of ground together, not least of which was re-lived in a second mail telling me of the death of his father a few days ago. Although I never met Jim's 'Ald Man I know he was a great fan of Rabbie Burns. Some years ago Jim and I were visiting the now rapidly decaying Gaiety Theater in Shimla in the Himalaya Foothills. We met a small group of Indian academics there, and one of their number (a Professor who's name now escapes me) got on this world famous stage and recited an excellent Shiek poem. By way of return I got up and did the Bard's immortal "No Indispensable Man", which rings as true for me today as it ever did when my old sea-going Jock pal Willy Macvie recited it on the night we saved the crew of HMS Bossington in Lock Fyne in the eye of a cruel force 11 gale. Jim is going to make this Dad's uligy, and my thoughts will be with them next week.

Someday when you're feeling important
Someday when your egos in bloom
Someday when you're getting to thinking
your the most important man in the room
Take a bucket and fill it with water
Plunge your hands in right up to the wrists
The hole that remains when you remove them
Is the amount of how much you'll be missed

Burns

and the List's Additions since who knows when!

HOUSE SPARROW FRANKLIN'S GULL
WHITE-EDGED ORIOLE* CROAKING GROUND DOVE
ELEGANT TERN COLLARED WHISTLING FINCH*
NAZCA BOOBY RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD
BLACK STORM PETREL* WILSON'S PHALAROPE
WAVED ALBATROSS* RED-FOOTED BOOBY*
PACIFIC PARROTLET* PERUVIAN PELICAN
BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY PERUVIAN MEADOWLARK
WANDERING TATTLER LONG-TAILED MOCKINGBIRD
VARIABLE SEEDEATER SPECKLED-BREASTED WREN*
OCHRE-BREASTED DOVE* MASKED WATER TYRANT
LESSON'S SEEDEATER CRIMSON-BREASTED FINCH
SCRUB BLACKBIRD* GREAT FRIGATEBIRD*

GREY-LINED HAWK* PLUMBEOUS-BACKED THRUSH*
GREY ELAENIA* GREY-BREASTED FLYCATCHER*
PALLID DOVE* RUFOUS-FRONTED WOOD QUAIL*
PACIFIC ELAENIA* ESMERALDAS WOODSTAR* (E)
BAND-BACKED WREN*

Trip Ticks = 746 Lifers = 519 Endemics = 44

Grey-lined Hawk

Band-backed Wren

Butterfly Sp

Grey Elaenia

Monarch Butterfly - good numbers there today.

'Oh I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside'

A few photos from yesterday to give a flavour of the activities on the Puerto Lopez Beach, usually each and every day.

Puerto Lopez

Hammerhead Shark & Manta Rays

Dorido - now 'in season', plentiful and being landed by the barrow load.

This lady entranced me, filleting these Doridos at a rate of about one per minute.

Garfish Sp

The Garfish filleter

Hammerhead Sharks

The Ministers of Fisheries (you'll have to relax after all that graft lads)

Pacific Red Snapper

Small Grouper

No Idea (answers on a postcard please)

Sand Shark?

Hammerheads & Bagsy Sharks

The Iceman Cometh

Messing About on the River

Elegant Tern

Places to Go, People to Meet

It would be right to say that I am finding it difficult to leave Peurto Lopez. Despite my descriptions of dirty streets, failing structure etc this place has a relaxed charm, feels safe and every local friendly as can be. The intention was 2 nights, but already I have stayed 3 then woke up this morning and decided not to leave. Maybe this has something to do with my adventure yesterday which goes back to an encounter, I failed to report, when I first arrived here. I alighted the bus right next to a 'fish stale', something I have never been able to resist. Whilst scanning the catch a couple from Glastonbury of all places stopped for a chat, put me right about this hostel and suggested I might be able to use their Internet in town. Saying they'd be in touch we parted company me thinking little more of it.

Arrived by 'Chicken Bus' Superior

The Main Drag, Peurto Lopez

The Communal Restaurant

A typical Hacienda

Hostel Colombia Entrance


Hostel Colombia Garden

Mama and son Gallo the Owners

Breakfast, fresh fruit, home made bread, eggs & coffee

Yesterday morning I once again visited the fish landing area on the beach, then after breakfast headed for Ayampe a small hamlet 45 minutes south of here. Unfortunately, none of the afore mentioned 'endemics' were seen, but Speckled-breasted Wren, Masked Water Tyrant and Ochre-bellied Dove reached the World List, while Variable & Lesson's Seedeater were both additions for the trip. The area is described as a river valley, but little of the Rio remain save patches of ankle deep water blocking the path. which occasionally took some crossing. It was a good morning and on my return Gallo the owner told me that the Somerset people had been looking for me with a view to paying them a visit.

Brown Pelican

Masked Water Tyrant - a delightful Wheatear like bird.

Variable Seedeater

Yellow-rumped Cacique

Pacific Parrotlet

A quick phone call soon had the meet arranged and via a motorbike taxi arrived at their house at 14-30. Richard Lunniss an Archeologist and his partner Deirdre Platt an Ecologist arrived here in 1982, since when they have hardly ever left the place and now appeared to me to be completely 'native'. It was most interesting to here how the land they now live on was an ancient township including huge houses, markets and Shaman places of worship, but thus far Richard had resisted the temptation to dig up the back garden. Deirdre on the other hand, had contented herself with forming their own wildlife sactuary planting trees and bushes to attract birds, insects etc. I didn't get round to counting her garden Bird List but noted there were 'many' species I would like to have added to my own. They were also able to further my progress by giving me the names of 2 birders in Salinas, my next destination, and where to find them. Texts were also sent to each to brief them of my arrival, so who knows, it's anothe 'wait and see' situation! After a cup of tea and making another 'world addition' of Scrub Blackbird we said our farewells and I headed back to town. There I was hopeful of getting another quarter chicken from the spit-raost man, but he was our of action. Second best was the lady with a BBQ so I bought 3 pieces from her. These were obviously select cuts, only selected by the butcher to 'throw away', seen-off again. With the Internet back at base playing up, all I was able to do was edit the photos and get an early shower and head down.

Motorbike Tuk-Tuk, first class transport to visit my new found friends.

Deirdre, Richard & Me enjoying tea in the shade.

Scrub Blackbird

This morning (Tuesday 5th January) I was down the beach again at first light, to find twice as many people and 100 x more fish, the New Year holiday was over. Now in addition to the small Tuna there were Hammerhead & Sand Sharks, Groupa, Red Mullet and even a Pacific version of Herring. What did come as a surprise, and a shock, was the landing of Manta Rays. I have never given a thought to this fish being a food source, and in my naivety considered these the 'untouchables' (along with Dolphin) of the Oceans.

The rest of today, I'm simply going to chill (if I can possibly get any more chilled than already), catch up on my notes, photographs and Blog, then go down the road for a cup of the local coffee which, in keeping with the rest of the trip, is superb. In fact Deirdre has just popped in, as this is by coincidence 'their office' and Internet that I'm using.

I've Never Seen So Many Boobies

The sea-side town of Puerto Lopez is strewn with discarded plastic, the beach with carcasses of dead fish while the buildings, to be polite, are dog-eared to say the least. Having said that it may be difficult to understand that there is a certain charm about the place, and already I am sold insomuch that instead of staying 2 nights I have already extended that to 4. This morning at 06-00 I was on the beach to meet the incoming fishing fleet, mainly to view the catch but also to see what sea-birds were attracted. The catch was mostly Tuna, of unknown species, small by some standards being between 4 and 8lb apiece. The attendant birds were there in large numbers and those noted included Franklin's Gull, Blue-footed Booby, Neotropic Cormorant, Brown & Peruvian Pelican, Elegant Tern and a single Spotted Sandpiper. On the way back to the Colombia Hostel, where I am staying there were also Shiny Cowbird, White-edged Oriole, Long-tailed Mockingbird, Croaking Ground Dove and Brown-breasted Martin. No 'lifers' so far but a wonderful breakfast, included in the $10 per night price, awaited, starting with a huge bowl of fresh fruit, then scrambled eggs with home made bread, preserves and endless coffee.

Yesterday afternoon I had booked my first pelagic of the trip, so at 09-30 I boarded the Barracuda for a day on the Islas de la Plata. Some 40 miles out into the Pacific Ocean the boat, powered by twin Yamaha engines, took just over a hour to reach the only sand landing on the main island. On the way bird-life was scant, but the first 'lifer' came by way of the only, but obliging, Black Storm Petrel. After that there was a single Laughing Gull, Peruvian Pelican and Blue-footed Booby plus 3 Wilson's Phalarope.

The main and only accessible island is just 12Km by 4Km but already the temperature had reach 90F so it was going to be a tough day in this arrid place, particularly a my only 2 'target species were at opposing ends. Our group was 8 strong, plus a guide, all young tourists with no birders, but all were interested to view what was around them. We started on the western path and after 2 hours walking my next new bird hove into view. More correctly, we approched it as it was a full grown juvenile Waved Albatross awaiting the return of the parent birds which unfortunately didn't show while we were there. A cicuit that usually takes 3 hours was conqured in a record time, I think mainly due to my insistance of wanting to see the 2 species. At this point all of the others left Richard the guide and myself to pursue the next target and already leg-weiry with the undulating terrain and the heat, it was explained that the next leg would not be easy. Some 45 minutes walk out and of course the same back, I was so determined that I said I would crawl if needs be, and it very nearly came to that! The first mile was all up hill and steep to boot, followed by much less downhill followed by another climb. I have to admit that some feeling of biting off more than I could chew set in but Richard said the colony was now only about 200 meters ahead, I continued with the return walk would be, in the main, downhill. There are only a small number of breeding pairs, probably no more than 15, of the now threatened Red-footed Booby on the island, but my determination was fuel by the fact that I have missed this bird a number of times before, plus it was the last of the Boobies and Gannets of the world I needed to see. I think it would be a little ungracious to say I was disappointed, but like the Oilbirds earlier in the trip, the half dozen that were in attendance were not exactly smart, nor were any of them showning 'red feet' being all incubating female. Anyroadup, I had finally cracked this long outstanding bird, but now came the long trek back - and long it was. It would be fair to admit that there came a point when I reached my physical limit. Only once in my life had I been at this limit before, and that was when I trained as a Royal Navy Diver. That was in 1967, and a few years have past since then, when the point was to take you beyond physical capability and resolve, sorting the men out from the boys was how the Navy put it. Anyway, after many stops, and Richard kindly carrying and providing the water, we made it back taking over an hour. To take those boots of and paddle in the sea was Navana, and back on the boat lots to drink and a couple of sarnies soon put the experience out of my mind. It was so good to see thosebirds given the conditions, which will go down as the toughest single species I have ever 'twitched'.

Back to Lopez, we had a wet debarcation followed by no driver to take us home, but that too was welcome as in addition to seeing a large group of Pacific Parrotlets come in to roost, on the walk back I was overcome by a great feeling of satisfaction and felt high as a kite. Tomorrow, I anticipate a walk along the river a few miles from here, where there are reported to be a number of 'endemics' to be found. I'll let you know manana how I get on.

The photographs are posted in reverse order to which they were taken, mainly for easy of uploading. Also it is hoped there were not too many mistakes made in the 'update', which after one crash was done in a hurry, and a list update should also be posted tomorrow!

Red-footed Booby (female) on nest.

Magnificent Frigatebird (male)

Magnificent Frigatebird (female)

A fine pair of Boobies, these are Nazca

Waved Albatross

Waved Albatross (head close-up)

Red-billed Tropicbird - the only one, a fly-by at distance.

Shades of Saudi - thank heavens for the head-gear.

Blue-footed Booby (adult with young

Another stretch of inhospitable coastline.

Collared Whistling-Finch

Men That Go Down to the Sea in Ships.

Blue-footed Booby (juvenile)

Croaking Ground Dove