Shazam! A Globally BIG DAY of Birds!

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Ecuador Global Big Day, global big day 2018, Le Segua, Manabi Province Global Big Day Birds, Poza Honda

Sunny Skies at Poza Honda

I consider myself to have been the bridge between the
shotgun and the binoculars in bird watching.
Before I came along, the primary way to observe birds
was to shoot them and stuff them.
– Roger Tory Peterson

May 5/2018 Global Big Day – Manabi Province/Ecuador

Wow – Shazam! A wonderful queue of delightful comments welcomed me back to cyberspace! Thank you all!  The camera is a Panasonic/Lumix DMC-FZ200, which works well most of the time, though is frustrating when it thinks it should focus on a branch in the foreground, when I’m trying to photograph the difficult-to-see bird in the background!  Ah, there is joy in having the ‘delete’ function, and not a worry about wasted film!  There are lots of missed shots, but for the price, I’m very pleased with this ‘mirrorless’ camera.

What Bird? There seems to be a bit of white on its neck, and some light splotches on its breast.  It stayed long enough for a fair image, which is better than none!

How many birds can one see in one day?  How many can one county/province or state or nation see in one day?

How many species?

The eBird stats,  top four countries – as of today:
Colombia 1,548
Peru 1,491
Ecuador 1,156
Brazil 1,038
The USA, reporting 716 species, submitted 43,010 checklists! Congratulations, and #2 w/checklists was Canada with 6,985. (Colombia submitted almost 5,000 checklists! Wow!   Peru submitted a little over 1,500, and Ecuador submitted 419 checklists.)

(The eBird summary page is HERE/ebird.)

La Segua/Chone

After a full day of birding in the Segua, we looked forward to a change in scenery.
We reached the Poza Honda reservoir around 4:30 pm, and almost immediately they started seeing new species for the day!

Look down – just past the shadows of our heads!

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Humedal_La_Sabana – La Segua Wetlands

Tags

global big day 2018, global big day ecuador, la segua chone ecuador, wetlands in ecuador

How many birds?!

“Segua Marsh is an important wetland system in Manabí Province, located just a few minutes southwest of the city of Chone. While the area is intensively farmed for rice and fished for shrimp, there is a remarkable variety of ducks, grebes, shorebirds, and herons to be found here, making it a worthwhile visit for any birder looking to boost his country list.” from Birding Ecuador Blogspot/2009

La Segua/Chone/Ecuador – When friends Luis and Peter invited me to join them for a second Global Big Day at La Segua near Chone, I was a bit torn; “If I spend the day with the two of you in the Segua, then the birds of Poza Honda will miss their chance for the country list.”   Reaching an easy compromise, we spent the morning at La Segua, then traveled two hours east to observe the Poza Honda birds!

At dawn as we loaded the truck, a Tropical Kingbird provided a cheerful ‘Buenos Dias’ greeting, a good omen that almost-clear skies would replace the pre-dawn rains!

Peruvian Meadowlark

We stopped half a dozen times to confirm various species before we reached the Segua headquarters.  Tricolored Heron, Peruvian Meadowlark, Snail Kites, White-cheeked Pintails, Purple Gallinule, Common Gallinule, wow – a Limpkin!

A bad image is better than no image of the Limpkin!

White-cheeked Pintail

Peter and Luis confirmed as I photographed and then scribbled the various species names in a notebook!

Common Gallinule?

Tri-colored Heron

La Segua Welcome Center

“Water which is too pure has no fish.” Ts’ai Ken T’an

“Lisa, you are going to cry,”  Luis warned me before parking at La Segua, a large alluvial flood plain or Rios Chone and Tosagua.

“Thanks for the warning,” I replied, “… but I’ve seen the excavators working in the past… more shrimp ponds?”

Last year water lilies dotted this pond and provided cover and habitat for many species.

6 a.m 2017 -La Segua Parking area

New shrimp ponds claim those water-lily areas, although the tree-lined route to the pier remains bird friendly.   The birds adapt,  and some of the wetland areas are healthy ecosystems.

2017

2018

2018

Last year I photographed waterlilies and a White-throated Crake in this spot.

Wattled Jacana seems happy here!

Snail Kite

Although more-sterile shrimp ponds replaced the water-lily setting, there were many lovely vistas, still-intact wetlands and a great diversity of birds.

Purple Gallinule

Masked Water Tyrant on nest

Snowy-throated Kingbird

What does she see?….

Global Big Day – 2018

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birding in manabi ecuador, brown wood rail, chone ecuador, global big day 2018, la segua ecuador, Orange-fronted Barbet, poza honda ecuador, Slaty Becard

 

Manabi Province/Ecuador –  What are your plans for May 5th?   Your local birds deserve a voice! Add their names to Global Big Day’s Bird Census! (Birds of Manabi Ecuador – Ink drawing by Lisa Brunetti)

Ink drawing by Lisa Brunetti

Voice? These Brown Wood Rails give a shrieking end-of-day chorus!

Five fast-growing juveniles now join their parents in the end-of-day foraging in the secluded yard!

(For Linda! Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks- la Segua)

On Saturday, friends and I will divide our time between Poza Honda and la Segua/near Chone.

I’d never seen a Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis)until last year’s trip to the Segua. I’d lived in Manabi for years and never stopped to enjoy this amazing ecosystem!

They definitely live up to their name!

How well do you know the birds of the Segua? Here are some images from last year’s Global Big Day outing – see if you can spot the illegal alien – ‘American Bullfrog.’

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La Segua/Chone/Manabi/Ecuador

For more information on Global Big Day, start here:

Ebird GLOBAL BIG DAY 2018 – MAY 5