After the first morning at the top of the ridge above the El Dorado Lodge in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Mara mountains, we headed back to the lodge for lunch. However, there was plenty to keep us distracted. There were a number of Hummingbird feeders & flowering plants to attract the Hummers in. But the initial was the vegetable rubbish tip. This particularly busy with two species of Guans, as well as, the main highlight: a party of Black-fronted Wood-quails.
Black-fronted Wood-quail: The forest Wood-quails are usually difficult to see, so this party were very welcome
Violet-crowned Woodnymph: Males
Violet-crowned Woodnymph: A group of females
Finally somebody saw the much scarcer White-tailed Starfrontlet.
White-tailed Starfrontlet: The white in the tail is one of the key features
White-tailed Starfrontlet: From behind, they are very obvious to identify
White-sided Flower-piercer
Colombian Hawk Moth sp.
Another Colombian Hawk Moth sp.
A third Colombian Hawk Moth sp.
Another Colombian Moth sp.
Finally, it was time for lunch.
Band-tailed Guan: Not surprisingly this was a Tick, as it is restricted to Northern Colombia & Venezuela
Sickle-winged Guan: This species has a wider range from Colombia & Venezuela to Ecuador, Peru & Bolivia
Some of the crowd enjoying the Guans and Wood-quails
Lined Quail-dove: Another normally shy forest Dove which is restricted to Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago
We were keeping an eye on the Hummingbird feeders for the speciality Hummingbird, White-tailed Starfrontlet. It took a while before we were successful. The feeders were popular, but mainly with Violet-crowned Woodnymphs.
Blue-naped Chlorophonia
There were also a few mammals around the lodge.
Red-tailed Squirrel
One of the bonuses of staying at a remote lodge close to decent forest, it the Moths that are attracted by the lodge's lights.
