Day 5 (Tuesday, 22nd April)

    Today was a superb day for two reasons - a good variety of birds were seen, from a few quality targets at Paz, to lazy birding at Los Bancos restaurant, and then satisfying forest birding at Milpe, and the second being the first day with minimal rain in the afternoon for the first time. We decided on a return to Paz because we wanted to give the Giant Antpitta another shot.

    The day started well with a Band-winged Nightjar flying up from the road a few kilometres down from Bellavista, and another 1-2 (second looked like a different species) were also on the track just short of Paz. The Cock-of-the-Rock lek was a little quieter than yesterday, with seemingly fewer birds present, and they also left earlier (around 6.45). The Crimson-rumped Toucanets did return to the upper hide. Walking the short distance up to the site of yesterdays Wood-quail found the 2 Giant Antpittas in attendance. There then followed the very odd spectacle that we had already read about - Angel and brother were able to entice the birds closer by calling them and offering morsels, with one of these totally wild and impressive birds taking food from the hand. Angel also tried to find us Moustached Antpitta, which is much more elusive, but succeeded instead in unearthing another brace of Giant Antpittas, this time an adult with immature in attendance. Also along this trail was a female Masked Trogon which was stationary for some time. Another diversion at this time found a Golden-headed Quetzal - another satisfying result after having only seen one briefly overhead yesterday.

    Another restaurant and another set of hummingbird & fruit feeders, which proved to be an excellent choice. The frontage of the restaurant, which also has a few colourful rooms to rent, is fairly innocuous along the main street, but the view from the balcony at the rear is breathtaking, taking in the river valley below from a considerable elevation. The feeders at first looked as if they would only bring in a limited number of species, but this was proved to be totally wrong. The full length windows gave adequate screening from the birds, and also allowed photography from the interior. The hummingbird feeders were almost ignored, due to the high quality of the fruit feeders. In numbers these were dominated by tanagers, particularly the numerous Blue-grey Tanager, with lower numbers of Silver-throated & Palm. Nevertheless, it was noticeable that when the Collared Aracaris or Crimson-rumped Toucanets moved in, the smaller birds moved. Ones and twos of more wanted Tanagers included Rufous-throated, Flame-rumped, Blue-necked, & Flame-faced. Other goodies which used the feeders were Green Honeycreeper and Ecuadorian Thrush. Underneath the feeders, an Orange-billed Sparrow put in an occasional appearance, with Pallid Dove padding around the nearby steps. One of the main prizes was a Guyaquil Woodpecker which was picked out to the rear of the property just before we left.

    Milpe is a forest reserve in the foothills, and this offers a different set of birds to the highland forests we had already encountered. The first section from the car park is fairly open and easy to cover, but this descends into a steep sided dense forest. After spotting Plain-brown Woodcreeper along the first few metres of the Grande Trail, we hit upon a superb and varied bird party. It was kicked off by a Grey-breasted Wood-wren which failed to show well. There then ensued 20 minutes or so of mayhem, with all types of families represented in the party. Picks of the bunch included many Buff-throated Foliage-gleaners, Scale-crested Pygmy-tyrant, Spotted Woodcreeper, Ornate Flycatcher, Black-capped Tyrranulet, Choco Warbler, and Fawn-breasted Tanager.

    The start of the descent was greeted by a static White-eyed Trogon, and the birding in the denser forest from here was much harder work. Even so, we managed to pick out a Pacific Flatbill, a group of juvenile Tawny-breated Flycatchers, and Wedge-billed Woodcreeper. The level track back to the car park continued to impress, with Spotted Woodcreepers and White-bearded Manakin in the same area.

    The car park feeders hadn't been given any time on arrival, but were found to hold Empress Brilliant, White-whiskered Hermit, Green-crowned Woodnymph, and a perched Green Thorntail. Just outside of the entrance, a lone tree supported a Pale-billed Woodpecker, and a short drive along the track revealed a pair of Black-mandibled Toucans.

    The return to Bellavista Lodge didn't end the day's birds. A different track back was taken, which was a superb move since a Chestnut-capped Antpitta hopped in front of the car, pausing at the road edge for us to drink in its unique character. Yet more entertaintment was had from a calling Strong-billed Woodcreeper seen from the car park on return to Bellavista Lodge.