Ecuador 2023 - Gathering the Group and First Explorations: Day 2 - Jan. 20th, 2023

Morning came way too soon, but we slept very well at the Wyndham Quito Airport hotel (despite the busy road right below our window). We were eager to have some breakfast at the hotel restaurant and do some birding on the grounds before the rest of our group met up with us to officially start the tour. 

Although we were going to have breakfast in the restaurant, I flipped through the extensive room service menu and was very surprised and pleased to see that the hotel had gone to the effort of listing many common food allergens very clearly on every item. 

The legend of allergen symbols

The view from our 4th floor room was spectacular, especially for being the first real look at the Quito landscape. We were even able to get our first birds of the trip from that window, including lifer Golden Grosbeak and Eared Dove that my husband found, and numerous Blue-and-White Swallows that apparently breed and take shelter in the eaves of the building. 

View from our 4th floor room

Lifer Golden Grosbeak - taken through the hotel window

We walked out of our room and marveled at the architecture of the 4th floor which led to me spotting a Black Witch moth on the ceiling! I had seen this species in Texas, but this one seemed so much bigger! 

4th floor of the hotel is architecturally interesting

Black Witch moth

Breakfast was served buffet style with lots of both hot and cold options with a mix of American and Ecuadorian foods. I loaded up on the fruit as it always tastes so much better in Central and South American countries. I also tried the orange juice and a mystery mixed fruit juice and noticed that it is much more bitter and tart than the juice in the States (they use a different kind of orange, and no sweeteners), but it was still very good. The views from the breakfast room were great, but we couldn't wait to get out on the grounds and walk around a bit - slowly, of course, because going from 300ft elevation to 9,229ft is no joke!

Breakfast with a view

On our way outside we had to stop and look at the artwork that was adorning the walls of the hotel and I noticed that there was a huge display of roses in the lobby. Not something you see at a typical chain hotel in the States

Some artwork in the hotel

Roses in the lobby

Walking around the outside of the hotel yielded a few more birds, some of them being lifers! Rufous-collared Sparrows were plentiful, and Saffron Finches (lifer!) made appearances here and there. A Great Thrush popped out of the shrubs (lifer!) and we also spotted some more familiar birds such as Vermillion Flycatcher, Black Vulture, and Tropical Mockingbird. 

Our 4 friends arrived by Uber around noon and our scheduled transportation picked us up to take us to our first lodge - Hacienda Jimenita. After a short, but harrowing introduction to Quito traffic and questionable driving skills of the general population, we turned down a mysterious, narrow road that seemed more like an alley to nowhere good. 

On our way to Hacienda Jimenita

At the end of the road there was a gate that was reminiscent of a fairytale castle. The driver rang a bell and someone on the other side opened the big heavy doors for our bus to squeeze through into what I can only describe as the "secret garden". 

The entrance to Hacienda Jimenita

The grounds of Hacienda Jimenita are beautiful!

The castle gates from the inside

We were immediately greeted by the manager and several staff to help with the luggage and provide us with traditional welcoming beverages. Our rooms were quickly assigned, and luggage was whisked away by the staff to the appropriate places. Just like the grounds, the rooms were amazing and had artwork hanging all over the place that was painted by the property owner. 

Our room had its own seating area and wood burning "heater"

The shower was very grand

The fanciest shower setup of the entire trip!

No time to unpack! We must go explore immediately! We gathered everyone together and went off to walk the property. Birds were everywhere and we quickly picked up several lifers. We also found an elevated bird blind where we relaxed for a bit before going off to explore the many trails, and a mysterious tunnel entrance (more on that at the end of the trip). Near the end of our walk we discovered a few raptors circling over us and one of them - a Peregrine Falcon - was calling! Their call sounds a little different in South America, so it took a moment to figure out what it was. 

The trails are very steep in places, but great for birding!

View of the canyon from the trail

Although not native, the Geraniums get so big here!

White-winged Brushfinch

Saffron Finch

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Golden Grosbeak (male)

Golden-rumped Euphonia (a pair)

By the time we were done exploring some of the trails, it was only a short time until dinner so we found a beautiful area by the dining area bird feeders to hang out. Here we found a few more birds including a Great Egret that had apparently figured out how to reach underneath the pond netting and grab some snacks. There was also a game there called "Sapo" where the goal is to toss metal tokens into holes in the top board to gain points. If your token lands in the toad's mouth, you win. We tried our hardest, but nobody was able to get the token in the toad's mouth. 

The seating area by the feeders at Hacienda Jimenita with the Sapo game (green thing by the pole)

The smart Great Egret stalking the pond

Great Egret

Great Thrush

Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet

Sparkling Violetear

It was finally time to go inside and order our dinner. The inside of the common areas of the lodge were just as amazing as our individual rooms and had plenty of things to do after dark. 

The common area with a TV - the only TV in the whole place

A pool table with places to gather for games, meetings, or relaxing

Ordering food for myself is always difficult due to needing a diet free of dairy and gluten. However, the staff and cook at this lodge seems to have at least some idea of how to cook without theses ingredients and they are more than willing to do substitutions (once you get past a small language barrier). I ordered the salmon for my first meal here and it was absolutely delicious!

Salmon dinner (dairy and gluten free)

After dinner we retreated into our rooms to get ready for the next day since our guide and driver for the tour was schedule to meet us at 7am sharp!

Bird List for Jan. 20th

Eared Dove	Zenaida auriculata
Sparkling Violetear	Colibri coruscans
Black-tailed Trainbearer	Lesbia victoriae
Great Egret	Ardea alba
Black Vulture	Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture	Cathartes aura
Peregrine Falcon	Falco peregrinus
Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet	Camptostoma obsoletum
Vermilion Flycatcher	Pyrocephalus rubinus
Blue-and-white Swallow	Pygochelidon cyanoleuca
Tropical Mockingbird	Mimus gilvus
Great Thrush	Turdus fuscater
Golden-rumped Euphonia	Chlorophonia cyanocephala
Hooded Siskin	Spinus magellanicus
Rufous-collared Sparrow	Zonotrichia capensis
White-winged Brushfinch	Atlapetes leucopterus
Shiny Cowbird	Molothrus bonariensis
Summer Tanager	Piranga rubra
Golden Grosbeak	Pheucticus chrysogaster
Rufous-chested Tanager	Thlypopsis ornata
Blue-and-yellow Tanager	Rauenia bonariensis
Blue-gray Tanager	Thraupis episcopus
Cinereous Conebill	Conirostrum cinereum
Saffron Finch	Sicalis flaveola