The entrance to the hostería Jardín del Valle where we spent last night

After breakfast, a Pacific Pygmy-Owl was spotted in a tree down the street from the hostería. With its back to us, we could see the 'false eyes' in the back of its head.

We all walked down the street to get a look at the Pacific Pygmy-Owl.

The owl turned its head toward us briefly, but did not turn around on its perch.

Some of us walked farther down the street to get a view of the front of the bird.

Allan and David walking back to the hostería

Kannan looks for one more bird while Lelis holds the door and Michael, David and Allan get ready to board the van.

Our birding destination for the day was Reserva Yunguilla.

We got together at the trailhead to start our hike.

Somebody spotted some swallows overhead.

Starting down the trail

The trail took us down into a valley; the day started out overcast and gray.

There was still some early morning fog in the valley.

Looking for a bird along the trail

White flowers

Red flowers

Yellow flowers

Looking for birds along the trail

Yellow flower

We were going down into the valley, but the trail went up and down along the way.

Along the trail

The view across the valley

Mary on the trail

A nightshade-looking flower

Banana tree

Interesting fruit along the trail

More interesting fruit along the trail

Unripe fruit

Eucalyptus

Red-orange flower

Hepatic Tanager (also known as Tooth-billed Tanager)

Golden Grosbeak

Sierran Elaenia

Sierran Elaenia

Band-tailed Pigeon

Line-cheeked Spinetail

We saw two Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles.

One landed on a rock up the hill.

The second Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle landed on a tree, also high up on the hill.

Spiny aloe-like plant

Male Golden Grosbeak

Back view of male Golden Grosbeak

Rufous-browed Peppershrike

Purple flowers

Rufous-browed Peppershrike

Golden Grosbeak

Great Thrush, not so great photo

Bran-colored Flycatcher

Red-leaf plant

Enrique was the park ranger who guided us down to the feeder he had erected to bring in the Pale-headed Brush-Finches.

Enrique putting out bread crumbs to attract the Pale-browed Brush-Finches

Enrique tasting the bread

I asked Enrique to take a photo of our group at the Pale-browed Brush-Finch observation station.
In front, Patty, Mary, Carolyn, Ann, Jerry and David. Back row, Patricia, Bruce, Steve, Michael, Allan, Lelis and Kannan.

Enrique (behind), Kannan (recording bird sounds) and David (waiting for the next shot)

The Pale-headed Brush-Finch is endemic to Ecuador.

Grey-browed Brush-Finch

Pale-headed Brush-Finch

Mystery bird without a head

Patti spotted another Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle flying overhead, this one being chased by a couple of smaller birds.

Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle

The sun came out on our way back to the trailhead and some of us were wishing we'd put on sunscreen.

White Datura along the trail

Mossy tree with bromeliads

Carolyn, Allan (behind), Ann, Lelis and Enrique on the trail

Mary was back there too.

Purple trumpet flowers

Yellow flower

Yellow flowers

Butterfly on the trail

Mary takes the lead!

Female Golden Grosbeak

Another yellow flower

Another yellow flower, with a bumblebee

Interesting dead branch with small leaves on the trail

Mary (looking a little red in the face coming up the last hill), Ann, Allan

Steve was a little red-faced too after the hike back up the trail.

More yellow flowers

Lelis had to record all our names in the Reserve's log of visitors.

Lelis read our names and Guillermo wrote them in the log.

Enrique, Lelis and Guillermo

We all took one last look over the reserve.

'Lipstick' hibiscus along the road as we returned to town

We stopped along the road and got out when Lelis spotted a big hummingbird.

The Rainbow Starfrontlet alit on a branch near us and we all got good looks at it.

Rainbow Starfrontlet showing a little more of its colors

As we walked back to the van, this Golden-olive Woodpecker flew up to a snag at the side of the road.

Golden-olive Woodpecker

A little farther down the road, this Pacific Hornero was seen poking around in a yard roadside; it poked its bill in the damp earth up to its eyeballs.

Pacific Hornero (formerly Pale-legged Hornero)

This is a Pacific Hornero dried-mud nest on top of a light pole in front of the hostería. Some of our group saw and got photos of the 'changing of the guard' between the parents at the nest--while Mary and I were paying off our beer tab inside.

Close-up of the Pacific Hornero nest

After three long hours of riding on the van on winding two-lane highway, we had to stop at this checkpoint and sign our names and passport numbers into a logbook. We all took advantage of the opportunity to stretch our legs--and to do a little birding!

Along with other birds, we saw a couple of Yellow-tailed Orioles in trees along the road near the checkpoint.

A while later, we stopped for gas and saw Fasciated Wrens in the trees behind the station.

It appeared that one of the wrens was grooming the other.

One of the wrens also seemed to be begging.

Fasciated Wrens

Male Shiny Cowbird

Female Shiny Cowbirds

Female and male Shiny Cowbirds on a wire at the gas station

Male Shiny Cowbird

Female Shiny Cowbird

Pacific Hornero on the wall along the side of the gas station

As we were driving through the town of Alamor, we saw a large flock of Red-masked Parakeets, so we pulled to the side of the road and hopped out for a few photos.

Red-masked Parakeets in a tree across the highway

We saw several other birds too, like this Tropical Kingbird.

Red-masked Parakeets

Part of the large flock of Red-masked Parakeets

Flame-rumped Tanager with a berry

Flame-rumped Tanager with weird color pattern

Boat-billed Flycatcher

From Alamor we drove on toward the town of Macará on Ecuador's border with Peru.

The sun went down and we kept going south toward Urraca Lodge at Reserva Jorupe, another Jocotoco Foundation reserve, near Macará, Ecuador; close enough to the border with Peru that Lelis pointed out lights across the valley he said were in Peru.