Synopsis: After days of illness and frustration, a clear morning at San Isidro brought a surge of color, energy, and photographic inspiration, marking a joyful return to presence and purpose as the journey moved forward toward new wonders.
Ecuador Birding – Where Every Feather Tells a Story
From October 26, 2025 through November 8, 2025 I joined 5 other adventurers and an outstanding photographer and birding guide (Liron Gertsman) with Eagle-Eye Tours to Ecuador. This blog series highlights the animals (mostly birds), people and locations we encountered over the 14 full days in this beautiful land.
A Reflections of the Natural World Blog Post Series by Jim Gain
**Due to the high resolution and quality of the images in this blog series it is highly recommended
that readers view posts in Landscape Mode on a desktop PC from the actual blogsite at Ecuador Birding**
DAY 8 – Early Morning
- My Ecuador Species Count through the morning at Cabañas San Isidro jumps up to: 260 (172 lifers)
- Primary eBird Public Hotspots:
The next morning felt like stepping out from under a storm cloud. After days of dehydration and foggy thinking, I woke with a steadier stomach, a clearer head, and the sense that the forest around San Isidro was offering me a quiet reset. Cool air drifted through the trees, the understory glistened with dew, and for the first time in what felt like ages, I felt fully present—ready to lift the camera again without hesitation.
My new SD card clicked into place with a reassuring certainty, and as the first light filtered through the canopy, the day seemed poised to welcome me back into its rhythm.
The forest didn’t make me wait long.
A Blue-winged Mountain Tanager burst into view like a living palette, its golden-yellow belly glowing beneath wings of electric blue and deep black. It hopped confidently through the canopy, calling with a bright, ringing note that felt like a personal greeting.
And then a louder, bolder presence swept into the scene.
Moments later, a Scarlet-rumped Cacique appeared, its glossy black plumage offset by a rump so vividly red it looked almost unreal. The bird moved with the swagger of a species that knows it commands attention, weaving through branches with a mix of elegance and mischief.
Then came a familiar face from far to the north.
A softer beauty followed in the form of a Canada Warbler, a familiar migrant whose bright yellow breast and delicate black “necklace” stood out against the mossy understory. Seeing it here—so far from its breeding grounds—felt like meeting a friend from home in an unexpected place.
But the forest had saved one of its most elegant residents for the next act.
Then the forest offered one of its true gems: a Masked Trogon, perched like a jewel suspended in the shadows. The female’s warm cinnamon belly glowed softly beneath her rich olive‑green back, and her dusky mask framed eyes that seemed to hold the entire forest in quiet contemplation. She sat motionless for long stretches, as trogons often do, blending into the dim understory with an elegance that felt almost otherworldly. When she finally shifted, she glided to a new perch with a silent, effortless grace—an apparition moving through the filtered light of the cloudforest.
Stillness gave way to motion in an instant.
In contrast, the Slate-throated Redstart brought pure kinetic energy—flashing its lemony yellow belly and fanning its tail in crisp, snapping motions as it danced through the midstory. Its foraging style was a burst of motion and color, a tiny flame flickering through the greenery.
And then, a hummingbird arrived with all the confidence of a creature carved from light.
The morning crescendoed with the arrival of a Chestnut-breasted Coronet, a hummingbird sculpted from polished metal. Its rich chestnut breast and gleaming green upperparts caught the light with every wingbeat, and when it hovered, its tail flared in a dramatic fan that made it look twice its size. Bold and territorial, it charged the feeders with fearless determination, its wings producing a sharp, buzzing hum that cut through the quiet air.
By the time the sun crested the ridge, I realized I had taken more photographs in a single morning than I had managed in days. The forest had opened itself again—offering color, movement, and renewal in every direction—and with each click of the shutter, I felt myself settling back into the joy of the journey. The heaviness of the previous day loosened its grip, replaced by a quiet sense of gratitude for simply feeling well enough to keep pace with the birds. And with that renewed clarity came the promise of a small but unforgettable encounter—the Cinnamon Flycatcher, a bird whose moment deserved its own space to shine.
NEXT UP: EB#44 “Warm Light in a Cool World: The Cinnamon Flycatcher of San Isidro“
Additional Photographs and Video
Previous Ecuador Birding Blog Posts:
- EB52 – High Hopes in High Places: A Visit to the Andes Páramo
The climb from Guango Lodge into the fog‑shrouded páramo unfolded as a dramatic journey through wind, altitude, and high‑Andean specialists—culminating in rare encounters, fleeting moments of luck, and a gradual descent back into the familiar embrace of the cloudforest. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with a birding tour in Ecuador in October 2025 - EB51 – Back to the Feeders: New Colors in the Gardens of Guango Lodge
The lower gardens at Guango Lodge offered a gentle, intimate finale to the morning, where warblers, tanagers, thrushes, and a trio of hummingbirds created a quiet tapestry of color and motion. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with a birding tour in Ecuador. - EB50 – Called From the Mist: Gray‑breasted Mountain‑Toucan at Guango
A steep climb above Guango Lodge led to an unforgettable encounter with Gray‑breasted Mountain‑Toucans and Pale‑naped Brushfinches. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with a birding tour in Ecuador. - EB49 – Turquoise Jay: The Andean Jewel of Ecuador
At Guango Lodge, the Turquoise Jay’s explosive burst of color and the challenge of photographing its shifting blues transformed a rich morning of cloudforest birding into a defining moment that propelled us up the trail in search of the next Andean treasure. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with a birding tour in Ecuador. - EB48 – Moth Lights and Mountain Birds: A New Chapter Begins at Guango Lodge
Arriving at Guango Lodge felt like entering a cooler, quieter Andean world where dawn birds and the forest’s layered rhythms created a timeless, living welcome woven from mist, movement, and the murmur of the Río Papallacta. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with a birding tour in Ecuador. - EB47 – Ascending Into Mist and Mountain Air at Río Quijos EcoLodge
Climbing from El Quetzal toward Río Quijos, the day unfolded as a seamless blend of roadside surprises, river‑edge targets, and cloudforest color, each stop adding new species and renewed momentum as the journey pressed on toward Guango Lodge. This blog series chronicles Jim Gain’s experiences with a birding tour in Ecuador.
>>Ecuador Birding Blog Home Page Link https://reflectionsofthenaturalworld.com/ecuador-birding/
*This Ecuador Birding blog post was shaped and polished with the assistance of Microsoft Copilot, helping bring clarity and a consistent flow to my field notes and dictated memories.
**Unless otherwise indicated in the image caption, all photographs (>99%) are mine.
Reflections of the Natural World 
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