Cien aves!

So I finally got up to my goal of 100 bird species IDéd since I´ve been living in Ecuador! I counted off 100 with an ochre-breasted tanager foraging in the garden outside the house in Cuenca this morning. At the risk of being a total nerd I wrote down all the species I´ve gotten up to. For me birdwatching is a fun, simple pleasure and I love spotting new species. As I´ve say before, the art of creation....but with wings. Quick!

Of course I wrote them all down in my dogeared field notebook, but who knows where that will be a few years from now. Listing all these guys on blip is like a fun form of insurance, plus some of these creatures are truly spectacular, rare, and stranger than fiction. And the names, thornbills, pufflegs, pottoos, boobies, are just too much fun sometimes. I dare you to read along....

Highland Tinamou -- La Libertad 1
Red Billed Tropicbird -- Isla de la Plata 4
*Blue Footed Booby -- Isla de la Plata 4
Nazca Booby -- Isla de la Plata 4
Red Footed Booby -- Isla de la Plata 4
Brown Pelican -- Machallila 4
Magnificant Frigatebird -- Machallila 4
Turkey Vulture -- Cuenca/La Libertad 9
Black Vulture -- Cuenca/La Libertad 9
*Andean Condor -- El Altar 9
Swallow Tailed Kite -- Puyo-Macas 10
Variable Hawk -- Rumi Loma 12
Black-Chested Buzzard Eagle -- La Libertad 14
Black and Chestnut Eagle -- Guamote-Macas 14
Plain-Breasted Hawk -- Quiseras 15
*Carunculated Caracara -- Rumi Loma/Las Cajas 16
Peregrine Falcon -- Isla de la Plata 17
American Kestrel -- La Libertad/Rumi Loma 17
Andean Guan -- La Libertad 18
Rufuos-Bellied Seed Snipe -- Las Cajas 19
*Andean Snipe -- Rumi Loma 25
Band Tailed Pigeon -- Rumi Loma 25
Andean Gull -- Azogues-Aluasi 26
Common Ground Dove -- Vilcabamba 29
Eared Dove -- Macas 29
Croaking Ground Dove -- Cuenca 29
*Golden Plumed Parakeet -- La Libertad 32
Mealy Amazon Parrot -- Rio Negro 32
Red Masked Parrakeet -- Cuenca 32
Groove Billed Ani -- Vilcabamba 33
Smooth Billed Ani -- Rio Negro 33
Andean Pygmy Owl -- Tamimanga 35
*Great Horned Owl -- Kimsa Kocha 36
Short Eared Owl -- La Libertad 36
*Andean Potoo -- Gasualpampa 37
Band Winged Nightjar -- Rumi Loma 39
White Collared Swift -- Rumi Loma/La Libertad 40
Blue Fronted Lancebill -- Tamimanga 41
*Sparkling Violetear -- Cuenca 43
Ecuadorian Hillstar -- Las Cajas 45
Great Sapphirewing -- Rumi Loma 45
Green Tailed Trainbearer -- La Libertad 45
Shining Sunbeam -- El Altar 45
Black Tailed Trainbearer -- Cuenca 45
Glowing Puffleg -- La Libertad 46
*Rainbow Bearded Thornbill -- Kimsa Kocha 46
Blue Mantled Thornbill -- El Altar 46
Tyrian Metaltail -- Rumi Loma 46
Turquoise Jay -- Gasualpampa/La Libertad 49
Inca Jay -- Rio Negro 49
*Gray-Breasted Mountain Toucan -- La Libertad 52
Crimson Mantled Woodpecker -- Tamimanga 53
Montane Woodcreeper -- Tamimanga 55
Many Striped Canastero -- Rumi Loma 57
Streak Backed Canastero -- Rumi Loma 57
Pacific Hornero -- Vilcabamba 59
Stout-Billed Cinclodes -- El Altar 59
Streaked Tuftedcheek -- Tamimanga 59
Fasciated Antshrike -- Puerto Lopez 60
*Tawny Antpitta -- Rumi Loma/El Altar 65
Plumbeous Crowned Tyrannulet -- Rumi Loma 67
Bronze-Olive-Pygmy Tyrant -- La Libertad 69
Tufted Tit Tyrant -- Rumi Loma 69
Agile Tit Tyrant -- Rumi Loma 69
Black-Billed-Shrike Tyrant -- Rumi Loma 72
Vermillion Flycatcher -- Cuenca 72
Brown-Backed Chat Tyrant -- Rumi Loma 72
Brown Bellied Swallow -- La Libertad 79
Grass Wren -- Rumi Loma 80
Mountain Wren -- Rumi Loma 80
Tropical Gnatcatcher -- Puerto Lopez 81
Brown Capped Vireo -- Cuenca 81
Great Thrush -- Rumi Loma/La Libertad 82
Glossy Black Thrush -- Rumi Loma/La Libertad 82
Spectacled Whitestart -- Rumi Loma 83
Black Crested Warbler -- Tamimanga 83
Masked Flower Piercer -- Gasualpampa/Kimsa Kocha 84
Glossy Flower Piercer -- La Libertad 84
Black Flower Piercer -- Podocarpus 84
*Cinerous Conebill -- Podocarpus/Rumi Loma 84
Blue and Black Tanager -- Gasualpampa/La Libertad 87
Lacrimose Mountain Tanager -- La Libertad 88
Hooded Mountain Tanager -- La Libertad 88
Red Hooded Tanager -- La Libertad 88
Scarlet-Bellied Mountain Tanager -- Rumi Loma/Kimsa Kocha 88
Blue Gray Tanager -- Cuenca 89
Blue and Yellow Tanager -- Cuenca 89
Ochre-Breasted Tanager -- Cuenca 89
Black Capped Hemispingus -- Tamimang 90
Gray Hooded Bush Tanager -- Tamimanga 90
Southern Yellow Grosbeak -- Cuenca 91
Hooded Siskin -- Cuenca 91
Band Tailed Sierra Finch -- Rumi Loma 92
Plumbeous Sierra Finch -- El Altar 92
Pale Naped Brush Finch -- Rumi Loma 93
Rufuos Naped Brush Finch -- Rumi Loma 93
Rufuos Collared Sparrow -- Cuenca 93
Northern Mountain Cacique -- Gasualpampa/La Libertad 94
Russet Backed Oropendula -- Podocarpus 94
*Yellow Tailed Oriole -- Cuenca 95

Neither my photography equipment, nor stealth were skillful enough to capture a worthwhile bird blip for the day so instead I stitched this little hummer into my journal today. It is one side of the image that adorns my wallet, on the other side is an owl. Lucky twice on both sides.