Mashpi

Soon after the Bird Counts in Chical and Mindo we got invited to participate in another Bird Count, this time in Mashpi. It did not take long to agree that all of us were totally up for another count, so early in the morning of the 26th December we drove to Mashpi. On the road we met with three other participants and divided into two groups, one of which, including Wilo, took a route through the forest, while the other group was going to follow the street.

As bird vocalization is strongest just after sunrise, this second group, including Nicole, Jens, Mees, Roel, Pablo, Frances and Silja, was able to identify many birds by sound on the first part of their way. But being on an open road rather than in the forest, we could not only see the amazing morning landscape, but also many birds such as Moss-backed Tanagers, which are typical for the region, a White-tipped Sicklebill and a Streak-capped Treehunter just flying into its nest.