Wild, Wild, Sumaco – Ecuador

Wild Sumaco is one of those places we wouldn’t normally visit. The $150 per person, per night price tag is outside of a budget birders’ usual price point. But it was New Year’s Eve and we wanted to celebrate. Not to mention, Wild Sumaco is a dream of a destination. It’s warm showers, cozy beds, gourmet meals, AND access to miles upon miles of maintained trails through undisturbed habitat. It’s dozens of hummingbird feeders, a moth feeder where early morning insect lovers love to come congregate, and admittance to Antpitta feeding stations. It’s all around good birding with a property list of over 500 species. Really, it’s a lovely place and I highly recommend a visit, especially if luxury and good birding are something that you favor on long days in the field.

We were on a very abbreviated trip to Ecuador, a grand total of 12 days for Ross and 7 days for Melissa, so we simply didn’t have the time to spend more than one night. Nevertheless, our wallets thanked us.

After two nights with VERY rustic accommodations, we were very happy to have quite the opposite at Wild Sumaco. Wild Sumaco was the perfect place to relax, but we simply didn’t have time to relax. We had targets to find so we dropped our bags in our room and hit the trails. But not before speaking with the owner, Jonas Nilsson, one of Ecuador’s top listers boasting a country list just over 1,600 species!  Jonas informed us that Dušan Brinkhuizen, one of South America’s best bird guides, and his wife Lory Córdova were staying as well. Ross and Dušan had been communicating quite a bit via WhatsApp during our stay, but meeting in person was complete coincidence! Dušan and Jonas were celebrating the release of their new field guide, Birds and Mammals of the Galapagos so Jonas had invited Dušan and Lory to stay a few nights outside of bustling Quito! A happy coincidence indeed!

After a show of hummingbirds including (but not limited to) Wire-crested Thorntail, Black-throated Brilliant, Napo Sabrewing, Fork-tailed Woodnymph and Golden-tailed Sapphire coming in to the feeders, Dušan and Lory accompanied us to the hideout where we awaited some of our most wanted skulkers, Plain-backed Antpitta and Ochre-breasted Antpitta. We had the perfect viewpoint, but more importantly the perfect shelter to seek refuge from the all-out down pour of rain. We thought the rain might deter the birds, but soon a Plain-Backed Antpitta came sauntering in for a meal and not long after, an Ochre-breasted Antpitta joined along. These birds are shy, skulky, and quite rare, but have discovered “feeding stations” where protein-rich meals are provided for very little work on the birds’ end. We enjoyed great views, but certainly a highlight must have been the territorial Ecuadorian Piedtail coming in to sing and dance. Dušan remarked that he had spent so many months sequestered in quarantine that he would have to get used to the sounds of the forest all over again. Isn’t that the truth for us all?!

Ross and I headed off down F.A.C.E Trail and searched for flocks of birds. The mossy cobblestones and thick undergrowth were straight out of scene from Lord of the Rings. We spent countless hours along this trail. It’s not long, maybe only a couple kilometers, so we must have walked the loop several dozen times during our stay. We had great views of a number of species and found many of our most-wanted targets including Plain-winged Antwren, White-streaked Antvireo, Buff-throated Tody-Tyrant, and Short-tailed Antthrush! An exhaustive list of the birds we managed can be found on our ebird checklist. We spent a lot of time walking the road and trails with Dušan and Lory, and even snuck out after dark to do some nocturnal spectating (resulting in lots of Swainson Thrushes, a Band-bellied Owl, and a Kinkajou!)

It was so great to meet Jonas, Dušan, and Lory, and eat dinner with them on New Year’s Eve. (It was a very delicious three-course meal I might add. Kudos to the chef!) We all told stories of lore and couldn’t help reminiscing over past birding trips. Get five birders in a room, Lord knows the conversation is going to be about birds! But surely Dušan takes the cake for his recount of his experience being a part of a team breaking the world big day record with a whopping total of 431 species in 24 hours!! (Like, WHAT?!?!) 431 species in a SINGLE day bears repeating! Can that total ever be topped?! (With forest degradation and the mysterious bug apocalypse rendering much of lowland Amazonia with fewer bugs aka less of a food source, it’s very unlikely unless it’s done soon.)

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It was a whirlwind trip, and after Wild Sumaco we had to head straight for home. Ecuador was an amazing place to visit! 10/10 would recommend!