New Bird watching paradise in Ecuador´s North central coast, Part Two

December 23, 2011

We leave, reluctantly, the magnificent sights of the La Segua Wetlands and head back towards Bahia de Caraquez, crossing again its impressive bridge. We just bypass the city to engage on a new adventure, this time it is a twenty-minute ride along the beach, expertly conducted by Patricio, who knows the route like the palm of his hand… The long and wide sandy beaches stretch out for miles and you can only ride over them at low tide.
While the Pacific Ocean gently pounds onto the beach, leaving a long line of white foam, many shore birds, mainly sandpipers and sanderlings, plovers and phalaropes, ply along the beach, looking mainly for small crustaceans.  Against the blue sky, orderly formations of brown pelicans come and go, while frigate birds show-off their master abilities on aerial maneuvering. Now we reach Chirije, an ancient archaeological site, belonging to the Manteño Culture.  Around the site, of great historic and archaeological value, The Chirije Eco Lodge Compound provides the perfect venue for relaxation in close contact with nature and the spectacular sights of the Pacific Ocean, just a few feet away.  Orlando, the young native administrator of the Lodge welcomes us and shows us around.  We are fascinated by his stories about the place having a reputation as a preferred venue for UFO visits…… Patricio, owner of the property, shows us the small yet fascinating site museum, arranged at the actual excavation, a place which has been visited by world renowned investigators and archaeologists.  Next is a short hike, uphill, over a nature trail, to observe several types of land birds, such as tanagers, parakeets and vermillion flycatchers.  Hovering high above we spot at least two peregrine falcons and some roadside hawks, abundant in the area.
After a hearty “Viche” soup, a fish broth with green plantain, yucca and corn chunks, shrimps and a touch of peanut, onions and tomatoes; a typical specialty of the area (and delicious indeed), we are now headed to another bird watching paradise.  Half an hour south east of Bahia, in the center of the Chone River Estuary, is Isla Corazon (Heart Island, due to the actual shape of the island as seen from above).  Now we take a fascinating canoe ride. Carlos, our native guide and boatman gently paddles along the mangrove lined canals and narrow waterways, while he tells us all about the superb ecosystem and the fascinating bird life and other animal species which live in the area. The large aerial roots of the red-mangroves form an intricate maze and we frequently must “duck” to avoid branches and logs.
It doesn’t take too long to start viewing numerous species of herons, particularly the striated and great blue heron, as well as some night herons.  White egrets also abound, as we reach the heart of a massive colony of magnificent frigate birds, one of the densest concentration of these birds along the coasts of South America and the Eastern Pacific.  At this time of the year, hundreds, if not thousands of young frigates fill the mangrove trees and fill the air with their noisy squeaks, while the adults busily patrol the area or go on food-hunting outings, which includes their well known thieve abilities, stealing food from other birds in acrobatic midair maneuvers… The scene, along with its sounds, is one perfect for the legendary film of the sixties “The Birds”, simply amazing, stunning and awesome….
As we are just about exiting from inside a small canal, to the western shore of the island, we nearly touch a mid-sized and fairly thick boa constrictor, wrapped around a mangrove branch and totally asleep, according to Carlos, most likely after having had a large meal…..  Now we are fully outside again and circumnavigating the western shores of the island on our small dugout canoe, yet to marvel at new surprises: large flocks of white ibis birds busily flying back and forth, while at the northern edge of the island we encounter a large colony of cormorants, mostly perched along the mangroves’ branches, looking like a giant Christmas tree…. With a flaming sunset and the skyline of Bahia City in the distance, we conclude a full day of exciting discovery, exploring and learning, first hand, the secrets of this superb birding paradise, on the north central coast of Ecuador, a memorable experience and a place not to be missed……