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.
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| The legend of allergen symbols |
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| View from our 4th floor room |
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| 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!
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| 4th floor of the hotel is architecturally interesting |
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| 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!
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| 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
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| Some artwork in the hotel |
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| 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.
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| On our way to Hacienda Jimenita |
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| The entrance to Hacienda Jimenita |
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| The grounds of Hacienda Jimenita are beautiful! |
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| The castle gates from the inside |
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| Our room had its own seating area and wood burning "heater" |
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| The shower was very grand |
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| The fanciest shower setup of the entire trip! |
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| The trails are very steep in places, but great for birding! |
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| View of the canyon from the trail |
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| Although not native, the Geraniums get so big here! |
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| White-winged Brushfinch |
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| Saffron Finch |
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| Rufous-collared Sparrow |
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| Golden Grosbeak (male) |
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| Golden-rumped Euphonia (a pair) |
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| The seating area by the feeders at Hacienda Jimenita with the Sapo game (green thing by the pole) |
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| The smart Great Egret stalking the pond |
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| Great Egret |
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| Great Thrush |
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| Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet |
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| Sparkling Violetear |
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| The common area with a TV - the only TV in the whole place |
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| A pool table with places to gather for games, meetings, or relaxing |
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| Salmon dinner (dairy and gluten free) |
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Eared Dove |
Zenaida auriculata |
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Sparkling Violetear |
Colibri coruscans |
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Black-tailed Trainbearer |
Lesbia victoriae |
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Great Egret |
Ardea alba |
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Black Vulture |
Coragyps atratus |
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Turkey Vulture |
Cathartes aura |
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Peregrine Falcon |
Falco peregrinus |
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Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet |
Camptostoma obsoletum |
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Vermilion Flycatcher |
Pyrocephalus rubinus |
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Blue-and-white Swallow |
Pygochelidon cyanoleuca |
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Tropical Mockingbird |
Mimus gilvus |
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Great Thrush |
Turdus fuscater |
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Golden-rumped Euphonia |
Chlorophonia cyanocephala |
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Hooded Siskin |
Spinus magellanicus |
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Rufous-collared Sparrow |
Zonotrichia capensis |
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White-winged Brushfinch |
Atlapetes leucopterus |
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Shiny Cowbird |
Molothrus bonariensis |
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Summer Tanager |
Piranga rubra |
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Golden Grosbeak |
Pheucticus chrysogaster |
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Rufous-chested Tanager |
Thlypopsis ornata |
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Blue-and-yellow Tanager |
Rauenia bonariensis |
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Blue-gray Tanager |
Thraupis episcopus |
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Cinereous Conebill |
Conirostrum cinereum |
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Saffron Finch |
Sicalis flaveola |
