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

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About those Tropical Fruits!

Tags

Carambola, Cashew Fruit, Manzana de Agua, Orange-fronted Barbet, Star Fruit, Starfruit, Water Apple

Carambola – Averrhoa carambola

Poza Honda/Manabi Province/Ecuador – A row of Carambola (Starfruit) trees lines one side of the house where I live, and a bumper crop has just reached maturity.  Admiring the sunlight on the yellow-orange fruits, I pondered taking a photo but decided it would be boring – even though the tree almost glowed with color.

I reasoned, “It will just be a pretty image you’ll never use,” and returned to my task of applying new colors to a sun-faded straw bird.

Just starting to paint the weary old bird, I remembered to take a photo!

The Carambola trees start at the left of the image. The straw bird, however, would like to know if you like its new colors!

Timeout for consultations about its belly-paint colors! Suggestions are encouraged!

Several days later …. Wading through the photos taken from December 23rd – 26th, I decided that one of the creatures of the ever-changing cast must have read my mind and decided to spread the word:

Shhhhh! The Birds Also Live Here

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Casa Poza Honda, Manabi Province Birds, Orange-fronted Barbet, poza honda ecuador, santa ana ecuador

Pacific Pygmy Owl – Casa Posa Honda/ owner’s garden – Manabi Province

“I think the most important quality in a birdwatcher is a willingness to stand quietly and see what comes. Our everyday lives obscure a truth about existence – that at the heart of everything there lies a stillness and a light.”
― Lynn Thomson, Birding with Yeats: A Mother’s Memoir

My new home offers a serene immersion in nature; the birds – many of them new to me – stop by often, as if to pay proper respect to the newcomer. This post shares some of those birds – one species, if the ID is correct, appears to be quite special!

Calling all birders! Is this an Orange-fronted Barbet?

The RED LIST states:
Population: This is a poorly known species and no population estimates are available. It is considered generally uncommon.

Trend Justification: A moderately rapid and on-going population decline is suspected owing to habitat loss.”
And here is its range map: EBIRD-Orange Fronted Barbet

If you like birds, then scroll on down and meet more of the feathered members of the neighborhood!

“The Neighborhood’ is pictured below:

With the truck loaded with large frames, paintings and rolled canvases, I stopped on the dam to photograph the ‘Reservoir Poza Honda.” “Home” is straight across, tucked near the base of the slope.

Home sweet home; this is the yen to Casa Loca, yet it also represents a total immersion in nature.   It provides a perfect setting for the next chapter.

La Casa

Look up…

Look down!

Look out the window:

6:30 am

“There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before.” – Robert Lynd, The Blue Lion and Other Essays

There is an impressive buffer of natural and planted vegetation between the house and the lake.  Would you like to walk down to explore the grounds with me?  Perhaps we’ll see a few birds!