Yanacocha Preserve
Two years ago, I had photographed birds in Costa Rica and had very much enjoyed the experience which is why I chose to go on this birding workshop in Ecuador. In a way it was a bit like going on a safari in that you never know what animals/birds are going to show up. I found Glen's trip on the internet and signed up for it at least a year ago and was very excited about going on this adventure to South America. The group consisted of the two leaders, Glen and his assistant Jess (both excellent photographers and instructors) from B.C and eight other photographers. On the trip, there was another Canadian who now lives in Hamilton, Ontario but was born and raised in Burma and India and another Canadian living in B.C. There was a couple from Australia (Brisbane), an American, born in South Africa, a Spaniard living and working in the United Emirates and an American /German now living in California. So we had a very interesting international group. I was pretty much the novice in the group when it came to bird photography, however everyone was extremely helpful. On the first day, we met for dinner and started to get to know each other before meeting early the next morning to start our journey.
This trip was definitely focussed on photographing birds, however Glen made it clear that anytime we wanted the bus to stop to shoot some landscape shots (providing it was safe), to let him know. I had to restrain myself from asking Glen to stop every few minutes as the scenery was spectacular. Fortunately there were a couple of other people in the group who also wanted to photograph the area. This shot was taken on the way to the Yanacocha Reserve which was to be our first birding stop. We drove up to the rain cloud forest situated at 10,500 feet on the Pichincha Volcano about forty five minutes northwest of Quito.
I didn't have my wide angle lens handy so it was a bit of a struggle to get the entire composition that I wanted. I should have moved slightly over which I did in the next photo.
The reserve encompasses 964 hectares of the Polylepis Forest that is home to many species of birds but is primarily noted for its hummingbirds. A primary purpose of the reserve is to protect the highly endangered Black-breasted Puffleg. The bird became almost extinct when the land was owned and degraded by the Quito Water Authority. I didn't see this bird since it was during breeding season and the bird spends this time in the inaccessible higher elevations. The group took a fairly long hike on the road pictured above. Some birds could be seen from the road but I have to admit that I spent most of the walk admiring and photographing the scenery instead of trying to capture the distant birds. It was a beautiful, pleasant morning in the area although not hot given the high altitude.
The Andes is the longest continental mountain range in the world. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. The range is about 7,000 km (4,300 mi) long, about 200 km (120 mi) to 700 (430 mi) wide and at an average height of about 4,000m (13,000 feet). Fortunately no one in the group seemed to have trouble hiking at this altitude but we were all warned to drink plenty of water.
The Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries: Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentia. I had always heard about the Andes but I never actually thought I would get there so it was very exciting for me. Living in Ontario, I really miss the mountains that I grew up with in British Columbia.
We finally made it to the end of the trail (probably a mile or so) where there were a couple of hummingbird bird feeders and small tracts of forest. So now it was time to actually try to photograph some of the birds. Well after a few minutes, I started to remember just how difficult bird photography is. First I had to see the bird (which the guides or other members of the group were happy to point out) and then locate that bird in the camera's viewfinder. This was not as easy as it might seem unless the birds were at the feeders. Then it was time to adjust my settings to match the light, location of the bird etc. Often I would discover (when I actually had time to look at the LCD screen) that I needed to make further camera adjustments. So I had to quickly make the corrections and oops- the bird had just flown away. This all happens in a matter of seconds or perhaps less. Sometimes you have plenty of time but mostly these birds do not settle down for long. Hummingbirds do not keep still even when perching. As for composition- I rarely had time to worry about that. Because I did not really have a long enough lens my photos are very heavily cropped otherwise the bird would be very small in the photo as it was in the camera's viewfinder. However, the good news is that Ecuador is gorgeous so I could always fall back on landscape shots, even using my iPhone at times. Plus it was nice just to enjoy seeing the beautiful birds. I have to admit that as time went on I did get more comfortable with bird photography-only because of Glen and Jesse's invaluable help.
This Masked flowerpiercer got their name due to their sharp hook on the tip of their upper mandible which they use to slice open the base of flowers to get at the nectar.
The Glossy flowerpiercer. This bird is a small tanager found in the South American Andes. The males and females are similar, being all glossy black with a blue-bray wing patch and a short, upswept bill with a hooked tip.
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These cute little guys are called Rufous Antpitta. These birds were on the ground in a very small, dark part of the forest floor. There was no room for tripods (not that I had brought mine on the hike) and barely enough room for the photographers. This was the only place in the trip that I saw these birds. |
A Buff-winged Starfrontlet is a type of hummingbird. Their name comes from the buff-coloured patch on their wings. These hummingbirds are quite territorial and often chase other hummingbirds away or guard flowers from other birds from a nearby perch. They primarily feed on nectar.
Finally we headed back to the car. You can see that the weather had now changed and it was actually pretty cold and foggy out-fortunately no rain. Our next stop was the Tandayapa Bird Lodge.