After an amazing first day at the lodge, it was time for day two. I awoke early and began the day birding outside the lodge before our guide arrived. Right near the fruit feeder there was a street lamp next to this shrubbery. The light attracted moths and the moths attracted birds. This was a great place to see several species in action. Refugio Paz de Las Aves Mindo Cloud Forest adventure was off to a fast start on day two.
Refugio Paz de Las Aves Mindo Cloud Forest coffee and view. Our tour guide brought us some fresh coffee to the lodge, which was a nice touch to start the day.
Species found in the magic shrub at Refugio Paz de Las Aves Mindo Cloud Forest
In Chicago, we have a locally famous park for birding called Montrose Point along Lake Michigan. It is well known for migrating warblers in the spring and fall. There is one section called the “magic hedge” for its propensity to harbor many migrating warblers. At Refugio Paz de Las Aves, they have the “magic shrub” behind the lamp. We saw golden-bellied flycatchers, slate-throated redstarts, tropical parulas, and toucan barbets working this shrub as Andean solitaires called in the distance.
Related: Birding Cerro Azul and the Las Nubes feeders in Panama
Perhaps the golden-bellied flycatcher needs a rebrand to a moth catcher.
Toucan barbet showing off its moth catching skills.
Whenever there are insects around, there is always a wood creeper – Montane woodcreeper.
Day two officially begins with antpitta palooza
Our guide Andy showed up with a coffee dispenser and said we would be leaving shortly. Our first stop was to check a lek for the golden-winged manakin. We successfully saw and photographed this species. Then, we went to see our first antpitta. Refugio Paz de Las Aves is famous worldwide for seeing antpittas. Antpittas are shy and elusive ground birds, and the owners and staff at Refugio Paz de Las Aves have trained several of these species to come to certain hydes where they can be viewed on a regular basis. Due to this, many birders from around the world come here to see these birds.
Difficult to get a good shot of a fast moving dark bird in the early morning cloud forest understory. Golden-winged manakin.
When targeting certain birds there was always the chance of seeing others on the way like this beautiful masked trogon.
The first antpitta that we were to see was the yellow-breasted antpitta. This one was probably the most cooperative of the bunch. This bird showed up in a timely fashion and was very easy to photograph. Our guide left some tasty grubs, and this bird was keen to come down and have a free meal. I am pretty sure an Andean solitaire was calling somewhere near.
Meet Wilhelmina the yellow-breasted antpitta, who is not shy about helping herself to some grubs.
Yellow-breasted antpitta – Refugio Paz de Las Aves Mindo Cloud Forest.
Shakira makes an appearance after missing two weeks
The next hyde featured the possibility of seeing a rufous-breasted anthrush and an ochre-breasted antpitta. The ochre-breasted antpitta was named Shakira for the way it moves its hips. Shakira had not been seen for over two weeks, so there was some concern over her safety. Wonderfully, she showed up on this day to get some grub along with the rufous-breasted antthrush. Antthrushes are another elusive ground bird, so to get two-in-one at this hyde was a great success. Meanwhile, Andean solitaires could be heard in the distance.
Ochre-breasted antpitta named Shakira because of the way she moves her hips.
Unnamed rufous-breasted antthrush joining in on the grub party.
Hummingbird feeders at Refugio Paz de Las Aves Mindo Cloud Forest
I had visited the onsite hummingbird feeders the day before while I was waiting for the tour to begin, but we went as a group after breakfast because Ifty and Sadia had not seen them yet. This was an activity I did not mind doubling up on as the hummingbird feeder here is quite amazing. We registered 10 species of hummingbird here that were new to me, and a couple of others that I have previously seen in Panama. My favorite new species of hummingbird was the white-booted racket-tail. They have the most adorable white boots protecting their little feet. The violet-tailed sylph was another really impressive new species with a long gorgeous blue tail.
Three hummingbirds in a flower fountain, each one seeking sugar water. From left to right, brown Inca, lesser violator, and a buff-tailed coronet.
My new favorite hummingbird, the white-booted racket-tail.
A better view of the white boots from a white-booted racket-tail.
Hummingbird photo ops
Andy set up some photo ops to make things even more interesting. They hung a fake flower and soaked it with sugar juice, so we could get even closer up photos. They also had a little cup we could hold and the hummingbirds would land right on your hand. I especially loved it when the white-booted racket-tails would land on your hand with their little pajama party boots.
Another new favorite, is the violet-tailed sylph with an elegant tail.
This post is more about the fauna of Mindo, but so much can be said about the flora.
More visits by the golden-headed quetzal, a masked trogon, and a scaled fruit eater, oh my
It was not just hummingbirds to look at here as other interesting species made guest appearances. We saw the golden-headed quetzal again, but this time even a better view. We also saw a masked trogon and a beautiful scaled fruiteater. I did not even know about fruiteaters until seeing this bird. I would see two more species of fruiteaters later in Bolivia. Andean solitaires were also calling in the distance.
Golden-headed quetzal almost does not look real.
Another golden-headed quetzal showing off its front side.
Scaled fruiteater was another surprise guest.
Searching for a common potoo as they are not that common
Targeting a common potoo was the next goal of the trip. We took a short drive to somewhere else on the property and after a short hike, we encountered a common potoo. These birds are well camouflaged and also shy and reclusive, but they tend to find a perch that they like and stick to it for weeks sometimes months. If you know where they are, they tend to stay in the same spot, so they can be easily seen again and again. Of course the guides and Refugio Paz de Las Aves knew where a potoo could be found, and we marked another rare bird off our list.
A sleepy common potoo on a favorite tree branch.
Amazing views no matter where we were in the Mindo Cloud Forest.
Day three at Refugio Paz de Las Aves Mindo Cloud Forest
Day three started off the same way as day two for me. I awoke early and checked off a few new species at the magic shrub including a white-winged brushfinch, a montane woodcreeper, and a white-tailed tyrannulet. Then it was time to target a few more species of antpittas. The giant antpitta is probably the most prized of the local antpittas and this one was the most stubborn. It took several failed attempts to coax Maria out. This was the name given to the Giant antpitta.
White-winged brushfinch working the “magic shrub.”
I feel 90% of the time I opened Merlin, a slate-throated redstart was heard, but they are not always seen as they are quick moving small birds.
Birding while waiting for Maria
Fortunately, not all was wasted during these waiting periods. Our guide Andy would try to draw the antpitta out while we waited by the road. We saw several new species while waiting including an ornate flycatcher, and a mountain wren. Afer the first failure we went to lunch. Eventually, we succeeded when we came back later in the day. Thank you Andy and Refugio Paz de Las Aves for making this happen. Andy told me a story about a birder from Germany who spent five days looking for this bird, and it did not show up until the day after he left, so I felt extremely fortunate for this experience.
Besides looking for other birds, we could also enjoy the beautiful scenery while waiting for Maria the giant antpitta to show.
We busied ourselves photographing ornate flycatchers while waiting for the star, Maria the giant antpitta to show up.
While a giant antpitta is a much sexier bird, a mountain wren counts the same on ebird for total number of species.
Finally, success with a short viewing of Maria, the giant antpitta.
No mountain toucans, but crimson-rumped toucanets are a nice consolation
There was a feeder close to the lodge, that is the best place to see mountain toucans on the Refugio Paz de Las Aves grounds. We went there several times and saw some beautiful tanagers, but no mountain toucans. We tried one last time, but still we did not have success; however, we did hear Andean solitaires in the distance. Another consolation was this last time we visited, we saw two beautiful crimson-rumped toucanets, so that was a bonus.
This photos shows where the crimson-romped toucanet gets its name.
Crimson-rumped toucanet enjoying a Scooby snack.
Last hurrah to see an ocellated tapaculo and one more antpitta
After lunch, we drove up to a higher elevation to look for two more target species. This time they were more accommodating than Maria. They did not make us wait, and we were easily able to check off the ocellated tapaculo and a chestnut-crowned antpitta who were quick to take the grub bait. The Andean solitaire called in the distance, but remained elusive not only on this day, but the rest of my trip.
An ocellated tapaculo at another hyde higher up in elevation enjoying a grub.
Our fourth antpitta, the chestnut-crowned antpitta made a perfect end to the tour.
This officially ended our Refugio Paz de Las Aves Mindo Cloud Forest adventure; however, I met a chap from Chili named Enzo who joined us for some of the last day’s birding adventures. He proposed to me extending the birding for the rest of the day and also tomorrow. We were able to book Andy for more guided trips. I of course said yes because this would be an opportunity to perhaps finally see the Andean Solitaire. This concluded my trip with Ifty and Sadia. We said our goodbyes, and I continued with Enzo and Andy for another day and a half. This will be featured in a third post.
View of the Mindo Cloud Forest from Refugio Paz de Las Aves.
Cost of the trip and what is included
The rate for a two night three day tour is $465 and includes a two night stay at the lodge, all your meals starting from lunch on the first day and ending with lunch on the third day, and three days of guiding starting midday on day one and ending midday on day three. You have to pay breakfast on the first day and dinner on your third day. I cannot emphasize what a great deal this is. To put this in perspective, I paid the same price for a one day guiding trip in Panama with no lodging and only one lunch included. As mentioned in the previous post, do not book individual lodging at this lodge through another booking agent like Hotels.com or Booking.com. Book the tour through their website here.
Read Part I – Refugio Paz de Las Aves Lodge three day tour
Part III – Mindo Cloud Forest beyond the lodges
Adventure on!
