A Reflections of the Pure World Weblog Submit Collection by Jim Acquire
Ecuador Birding – The place Each Feather Tells a Story
From October 26, 2025 by means of November 8, 2025 I joined 5 different adventurers and an excellent photographer and birding information (Liron Gertsman) with Eagle-Eye Excursions to Ecuador. This weblog collection highlights the animals (principally birds), folks and areas we encountered over the 14 full days on this stunning land.
DAY 3 – Mid-Morning
Our subsequent vacation spot was Yasuní Parrot Lick #1, a towering cliff with a broad, uncovered face framed by immense rainforest timber rising simply above the riverbank. Our time there was restricted, however the exercise was fast and spectacular.
Dozens of BLUE-HEADED PARROTS swirled across the cliffside, their powder‑blue heads and emerald our bodies glowing towards the clay. Blended amongst them have been hefty MEALY AMAZONS, their giant dimension and refined inexperienced plumage accented by a powdery wash of pale blue across the face. A small flock of YELLOW-CROWNED AMAZONS crowded the branches above the clay lick, their deep inexperienced our bodies offset by flashes of gold at their crowns as they shifted and murmured among the many leaves. Daylight filtered by means of the cover, catching their watchful eyes whereas the ochre riverbank under glowed with the quiet promise of minerals and security in numbers.
From there, we continued to Yasuní Parrot Lick #2, which required an extended stroll into terra firme forest—barely greater, drier floor with a noticeably completely different plant neighborhood.
A lined shelter with benches supplied a snug vantage level, and we settled in with our gear, listening to the distant calls of parrots echoing by means of the cover. Clay licks are important mineral sources for fruit‑consuming birds, and we waited patiently for the morning’s procession to start. At first, the birds have been hesitant. Then, unexpectedly, the primary customer appeared—not a parrot in any respect, however a SPECKLED CHACHALACA, its mottled plumage and loud, clucking calls making it unimaginable to overlook because it strutted into view earlier than darting away once more.
Moments later, the celebs of the present arrived. A single SCARLET MACAW glided down, its blazing crimson, blue, and yellow plumage lighting up the dim forest like a flying flame. (Extra about this species within the subsequent weblog submit!) After they departed, the smaller members of the parrot household started to descend. COBALT-WINGED PARAKEETS fluttered in with fast, nervous vitality, their vivid blue wings flashing brightly every time they shifted place. On the clay lick’s ochre-stained financial institution, a pair of ORANGE-CHEEKED PARROTS leaned ahead to drink, their emerald our bodies mirrored within the damp earth because the tender orange on their cheeks glowed towards the mineral-rich clay. Between cautious sips they paused, alert and shut, earlier than lifting collectively in a flutter of inexperienced wings that carried the style of the Amazon again into the forest.
Then, as if responding to a silent cue, your entire flock erupted into flight—a whole lot of wings beating directly, a swirling explosion of greens, blues, reds, and golds vanishing again into the forest. It was a kind of Amazonian moments that leaves you breathless, a reminder of how alive and dynamic this panorama actually is. Because the final of the parrots vanished into the cover in a burst of colour and wingbeats, the forest appeared to exhale, settling again into its quieter rhythms. With the joy of the clay lick nonetheless buzzing by means of the group, we started to discover the encompassing terra firme forest, the place the path revealed a wholly completely different forged of Amazonian wonders. Not removed from the shelter, a BATESIA HYPOCHLORA butterfly drifted into view, its delicate wings glowing with a surreal wash of powdery blue and tender lavender—so luminous it regarded virtually painted. It settled briefly on a sunlit leaf, giving us simply sufficient time to admire and {photograph} its ethereal magnificence earlier than it fluttered deeper into the understory. A couple of steps farther alongside, Chris noticed motion close to the bottom of a rotting log. Coiled among the many leaf litter was a POLYDESMIDAN MILLIPEDE, its flattened, armor‑like segments organized in an ideal geometric sample. The creature’s shiny, darkish physique glinted with refined iridescence because it inched methodically throughout the forest ground, every tiny leg shifting in mesmerizing waves.
Close by, a BROAD-HEADED WOODLIZARD clung to the trunk of a moss‑lined tree, its vast triangular head and mottled inexperienced‑brown scales mixing seamlessly with the bark. It watched us with calm, unblinking eyes, completely nonetheless apart from the faint rise and fall of its breath—an Amazonian sentinel guarding its patch of forest.However maybe essentially the most intriguing discovery was botanical moderately than animal. Simply off the path stood a towering WALKING PALM, its trunk lifted excessive on a sprig of lengthy, stilt‑like roots bristling with what felt like one million needle‑sharp spines. The construction regarded virtually alien, as if the tree have been poised to stride away at any second. Our information defined how these uncommon roots enable the palm to “stroll” slowly towards daylight over time, a quiet, affected person migration written into its very structure. Standing beneath it, surrounded by the layered sounds of the rainforest, the tree felt like a residing reminder of how unusual and adaptive life turns into in a spot as historical and aggressive because the Amazon.
NEXT UP: EB#21 “The Amazon Ignites: A Scarlet Macaw Spectacle on the Clay Licks“
Extra Images and Video
Earlier Ecuador Birding weblog posts will probably be linked under.
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EB20 – Yasuni’s Colourful Chaos on the Parrot Licks
by Jim Acquire
In October 2025, Jim Acquire joined a birding tour in Ecuador, exploring its wealthy biodiversity and beautiful landscapes over 14 days. The weblog collection chronicles his experiences with birds and nature.
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EB19 – Day Three Opens with a Riverbound Journey to El Retiro
by Jim Acquire
In October 2025, Jim Acquire joined a birding tour in Ecuador, exploring its wealthy biodiversity and beautiful landscapes over 14 days. The weblog collection chronicles his experiences with birds and nature.
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EB18 – First Encounters within the Amazon: A Fowl‑Stuffed Afternoon
by Jim Acquire
In October 2025, Jim Acquire joined a birding tour in Ecuador, exploring its wealthy biodiversity and beautiful landscapes over 14 days. The weblog collection chronicles his experiences with birds and nature.
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EB17 – Feathers from the Previous: The Outstanding Hoatzin of Ecuador
by Jim Acquire
In October 2025, Jim Acquire joined a birding tour in Ecuador, exploring its wealthy biodiversity and beautiful landscapes over 14 days. This submit focuses on his encounter with the Hoatzin.
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EB16 – The Mama Lucy and Canoe Transit to Sani Birding Lodge
by Jim Acquire
In his weblog collection, Jim Acquire shares his Ecuador birding journey from October 26 to November 8, 2025, with information Liron Gertsman and fellow fans. Throughout their journey, Acquire’s species rely reached 76, together with 52 lifers. Captivated by the Amazon’s magnificence, they encountered placing birds like Pied Plovers and Crimson-capped Cardinals, capturing the essence and vibrant colours of this unbelievable ecosystem. Their expertise on the Sani Lodge linked them deeply with nature.
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EB15 – Puembo Backyard Surprises Earlier than Taking Off for Coca
by Jim Acquire
In October 2025, Jim Acquire joined a birding tour in Ecuador, exploring its wealthy biodiversity and beautiful landscapes over 14 days. The weblog collection chronicles his experiences with birds and nature. This submit focuses on one more new set of species at Puembo Birding Gardens, a visit to the Mariscal Sucre Worldwide Airport and a flight all the way down to Coca within the Ecuadorian Amazon lowlands.
*This Ecuador Birding weblog submit was formed and polished with the help of Microsoft Copilot, serving to carry readability and a constant circulation to my area notes and dictated recollections.
**Except in any other case indicated within the picture caption, all images (>99%) are mine.