Sachatamia Lodge was our home for three days during our Ecuador Birding Tour. Set in the middle of the Mindo Valley it was perfectly positioned to be our base of operations – each day we would head out from there to different birding areas and then return there to observe birds coming to their feeders.
According to Wikipedia, “Mindo (also known as the Mindo Valley) is a mountainous watershed in the western slopes of the Andes, where two of the most biologically diverse ecoregions in the world meet: the Chocoan lowlands and the Tropical Andes. In this transitional area — which covers an area of 103 sq mi and ranges from 3,150–11,290 ft above sea level — three rivers (Mindo, Saloya and Cinto) and hundreds of streams irrigate the landscape, which is a patchwork of cloud forests, secondary forests, agricultural land, and human settlements.” The combination of varied altitude and abundant water supply make the Mindo Valley one of the most visited regions in Ecuador and home to hundreds of bird species.
The main building at Sachatamia Lodge had a spacious dining room, sitting area, gift shop, and a ready supply of umbrellas.
It misted/drizzled/rained every day we were there (we were in the middle of a cloud forest) so umbrellas were a constant companion. The lodging itself was spread out over a large area either side of the main building – our large, comfortable room was in a building that contained two rooms. When we first arrived at our building we spotted our first Lifer of the stay right outside the front door – a Wedge-billed Woodcreeper.
Just outside the entrance of the main building were two feeder areas. One had bananas placed on dead limbs set near the viewing area and the other had 7 hummingbird feeders. Both areas were covered so we were able to sit comfortably and watch the birds come in.
The bananas brought in a wide variety of birds at all times. Staff would place the bananas out at dawn and then replenish them in the evening. My favorite was seeing the larger birds come in and feed including the Collared Aracari (check out its huge tongue) and the Choco Toucan.
Blue-winged Mountain Tanagers were regular visitors at the banana feeders.
Silver-throated Tanagers also flitted in and out for a hunk of banana.
At first I thought the bird below was a Clay-colored Thrush, a common bird in Central and South America, but it turned out to be an Ecuadorian Thrush – check out its orange ring around the eye!
Saltators are larger birds common in tropical regions. This Black-winged Saltator just came in to check out the action around the feeder area but didn’t actually go to the bananas.
So where did the bananas come from? The Banana Bin! Large bunches of bananas were kept in this enclosure (to keep out animals) and used to resupply the feeder area.
Twenty yards away from the banana feeders were the hummingbird feeders. Even though we were only about thirteen miles away (as the toucan flies) from Yanacocha Reserve there were a whole different set of hummingbirds in this region.
This female Andean Emerald had a gorgeous green sheen on its head, contrasting with the bright while on its underside.
There were occasional altercations at the hummingbird feeders as they can be very territorial. Here we see a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird warn off an approaching Brown Violetear.
At Yanacocha we were introduced to the puffleg family of hummers. Here at Sachatamia Lodge we met our first Racket-tailed Pufflegs. A female is at the feeder as a male approaches from below. The males grow a racket-shaped tail, which I was fascinated with and had to capture it on camera.
The female Racket-tail Puffleg doesn’t have the long tail but is nevertheless interesting looking.
One of the plainest hummingbirds I’ve ever seen is the Brown Violetear. Here’s one sitting at the feeder and the only remarkable feature of this bird is the violet-colored ear patch.
This immature Purple-bibbed Whitetip sits briefly at the feeder. The tip of the tail is indeed white but it is much more prominent when flying (which I wasn’t able to capture).
The most interesting hummer at Sachatamia was the Violet-tailed Sylph. The term “sylph” refers to an imaginary spirit of the air and this hummer certainly piques your imagination. An impossibly long tail dipped in violet makes this bird one of the most spectacular hummers I saw in Ecuador.
In the next post I’ll share some of the areas we visited in Mindo Valley and you’ll see some even more extraordinary birds.
Links to previous posts of our Ecuador Birding Trip:
How to prepare for and get the most from your bird tour
Our Ecuador Birding Trip – Preliminary Data
Our Bird Tour In Ecuador – Overview
Birding a City Park in Downtown Quito, Ecuador
Out of Quito to Reserva Yanacocha
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