After spending the morning up on the Paramo watching the excellent-looking Buffy Helmetcrests, we descended a bit for lunch at the Hotel Termales del Ruiz, which was an impressive looking hotel built around some hot springs. We were booked to spend the night in the hotel. After a bit of hassle with keys, the bags were safely in the rooms and we could check out the Hummingbird feeders in the garden. It was a Sunday lunchtime & the hotel was clearly popular with Colombian day trippers visiting the mountains. There was a steady stream of people heading to the feeders to see & feed the Hummingbirds. It isn't hard to see why it was a popular hotel. It proved to be one of the most enjoyable sites we visited.
Rainbow-bearded Thornbill
Rainbow-bearded Thornbill: Although I had seen it before in Ecuador, this was one of the best Birds of the trip
Black-thighed Puffleg: This looks like a female or sub-adult male Black-thighed Puffleg after comparing it with other photos online
Golden-breasted Puffleg: Just gorgeous
Golden-breasted Puffleg
Shining Sunbeam
Shining Sunbeam: This is a large & distinctive species
Buff-winged Starfrontlet: The prominent buff wing panel makes this an easy Hummingbird to identify
Buff-winged Starfrontlet: The buff wing panel is just about visible in this photo
Buff-winged Starfrontlet: These feeders were being sold for a US dollar & were very popular with visitors and Hummingbirds
Buff-winged Starfrontlet
Mountain Velvetbreast: Another easy to identity species as it was the only Hummingbird at the hotel with a curved bill
Mountain Velvetbreast: Female
Great Sapphirewing: A large & long-winged species
Great Sapphirewing
Great Sapphirewing: My only natural habitat photo
The local Flower-piercers had also worked out that there was an easy source of sugar. The holes in the feeders were too small to get their bills in, however, they were able to open their bills & get their tongues in.
Glossy Flower-piercer
Glossy Flower-piercer
Masked Flower-piercer
It was a pity when we had to leave to explore further down the road below the hotel.
Brian Field: Making a new friend
Rainbow-bearded Thornbill: This is one of my favourite Hummingbirds
