Encouraging, Educating, and Empowering Tomorrow's Conservation Leaders
Ecuador Update
Hey this is a late message of how things are going . Been here about 2 1/2 months. Seen about 550 or so species of birds, about 500 being new all west side of Andes. Lifelist is at about 1100, 1000 was a Dark-backed Woodquail.I will put pictures up probably in February..... Miss the club .....
Highlights:
(Birds) Rufescent Screech-Owl, Long-wattled Umbrellabird,Swallow and Lyre-tailed Nightjars, Red-capped Manakin Lek, Oilbird caves, 55/78 Tumbesian Endemics, 51/75 Choco Endemics, Sword-billed Hummer, 55 species of Hummingbird, El Oro Parakeet and Tapaculo, Plumbeous Forest-Falcon, White-tailed Jay, Collared Antshrike, Things with Ant in the name, Grass-green Tanager, TANAGER FINCH, all 7 West-slope Mountain Tanagers umm yeah pretty much everything.
Good 1 dollar meals, 5 dollar hotel rooms, and 40 cent soda.
Working with nice people.
Wasi Pichai!!
The view every morning and the Andes mountains in general...
Cheap Travel.
Orange Fanta everywhere.
Fritada (oh god I´m going to die of a massive heart attack)
Andean Agouti
Spectacled Bear
4 foot long Worms and 6 inch long grasshoppers.
8 consecutive days of vacation every month.
Being Taller than everyone...
Birding for 2 days with Robert Ridgely
Life in general.
Lowlights:
Walking 46 km each way to Yanacocha, getting lost, sleeping in my clothes above treeline, it was cold and wet and lame.
The ladder at the the oilbird caves (over 150 ft, handmade, bamboo, wet).
Guiding for 3 hours with a ridiculous Ecuadorian Flu.
Guiding for a 5 year old and 7 year old while their parents took a nap.
15 Hour busrides.
Eating Rice until you want to not eat anything ever again.
Telling people 6 times a day " That´s Spillmann´s Tapaculo calling"
22 consecutive days of work.
Travelling alone.
Missing Friends and Family.
Lack of Pizza, Wings and Dr. Enuf.
Watching good movies (except terribly dubbed in Spanish).
Sticking out like a big gringo sore thumb everywhere you go.
Anyway .... that´s all for now.
Adios
Highlights:
(Birds) Rufescent Screech-Owl, Long-wattled Umbrellabird,Swallow and Lyre-tailed Nightjars, Red-capped Manakin Lek, Oilbird caves, 55/78 Tumbesian Endemics, 51/75 Choco Endemics, Sword-billed Hummer, 55 species of Hummingbird, El Oro Parakeet and Tapaculo, Plumbeous Forest-Falcon, White-tailed Jay, Collared Antshrike, Things with Ant in the name, Grass-green Tanager, TANAGER FINCH, all 7 West-slope Mountain Tanagers umm yeah pretty much everything.
Good 1 dollar meals, 5 dollar hotel rooms, and 40 cent soda.
Working with nice people.
Wasi Pichai!!
The view every morning and the Andes mountains in general...
Cheap Travel.
Orange Fanta everywhere.
Fritada (oh god I´m going to die of a massive heart attack)
Andean Agouti
Spectacled Bear
4 foot long Worms and 6 inch long grasshoppers.
8 consecutive days of vacation every month.
Being Taller than everyone...
Birding for 2 days with Robert Ridgely
Life in general.
Lowlights:
Walking 46 km each way to Yanacocha, getting lost, sleeping in my clothes above treeline, it was cold and wet and lame.
The ladder at the the oilbird caves (over 150 ft, handmade, bamboo, wet).
Guiding for 3 hours with a ridiculous Ecuadorian Flu.
Guiding for a 5 year old and 7 year old while their parents took a nap.
15 Hour busrides.
Eating Rice until you want to not eat anything ever again.
Telling people 6 times a day " That´s Spillmann´s Tapaculo calling"
22 consecutive days of work.
Travelling alone.
Missing Friends and Family.
Lack of Pizza, Wings and Dr. Enuf.
Watching good movies (except terribly dubbed in Spanish).
Sticking out like a big gringo sore thumb everywhere you go.
Anyway .... that´s all for now.
Adios
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Winnicki on -
1100-oh my goodness! To think I was excited that I'm about to 200! You guys crush me:) Sorry about the Spanish movies.
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