Tag Archives: Copalinga

White-breasted aka White-necked Parakeet (Pyrrhura albipectus)

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The White-breasted Parakeet (Pyrrhura albipectus) or White-necked Parakeet, is an exquisite species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.  They live in montane tropical forests in southern Ecuador and extreme northern Peru and normally stay within a flock between four and 20 parakeets.

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They have a limited range in southern Ecuador and northern Peru.  The most reliable place to see them is the Podocarpus National Park near Zamora and Copalinga Lodge nearby where they sometimes visit the garden.

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I love seeing the local taxi drivers embracing their native bird in their logo!

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LEARN MORE ABOUT WHITE-NECKED (WHITE-BREASTED) PARAKEETS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Neotropical Birds

VIDEOS

I couldn’t find any videos of this beautiful little parrot that can be embedded but there are a few clips on IBC.

Visiting Podocarpus National Park

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Podocarpus National Park in southern Ecuador made it onto my itinerary because it is a reliable place to see White-breasted (white-necked) Parakeets and a host of other amazing birds.  A good guide to help plan your visit complete with maps is here.  The amazing Copalinga Lodge is only a few km from the Bommuscaro entrance and the owner, Catherine can arrange a birding guide and transportation.

My eBird List for Podocarpus

Gotta love the logo on this taxi!

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Entrance is now free!  Although it says it’s open at 8am, most birders arrive around 6:30 and there is no problem.IMG_1970 IMG_1971 DSCN0448

The well maintained trail winds slowly uphill.DSCN0452 DSCN0455

Beautiful Inca JayIMG_1978a IMG_1984a

Squirrel CuckooIMG_1988a

Our first glimpse of White-breasted Parakeets on the road and the rock face.IMG_1997

A curious little Parakeet inspecting usIMG_2000a

Could they get any cuter?IMG_2002a IMG_2005a

And then they took off.IMG_2006

Ornate FlycatcherIMG_2017a IMG_2021 IMG_2025a IMG_2026a

More White-breasted Parakeets!IMG_2034 IMG_2035a IMG_2038a DSCN0466 DSCN0467 DSCN0471

Eeeeek, a school group!  Luckily this was on our way out after seeing our target birds as a large school group is not conducive to peaceful birding!DSCN0456 DSCN0457 DSCN0459 IMG_2020 IMG_2019

Lodge Review: Copalinga Lodge, Zamora, Ecuador

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Copalinga is a real treat and I highly recommend it for bird-lovers and eco-tourists!  It is surrounded by lush tropical gardens with hummingbird feeders in the bar and around the garden.

In the daylight, it is easy to see the entrance but arriving after dark as we did because of the mudslides enroute was another story!  It wasn’t until the next day I could fully appreciate the beauty of the grounds.

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The entrance leads to the restaurant/reception/bar area.  Meals are available but must be booked in advance.DSCN0528

We had a beautiful little cabin with great views over the garden.  It really breaks my heart that we had to cut our stay short so we couldn’t enjoy it more.DSCN0555 DSCN0556 DSCN0558 DSCN0559

The room is a good size and quite comfortable with an ensuite bathroom.DSCN0443 DSCN0445 DSCN0444 DSCN0446

The restaurant and bar.DSCN0580

Local artisans provide some really cool handicrafts for sale.  I bought some earrings and keychains (which I convert to Christmas tree ornaments).DSCN0579

The bar serves both humans and hummingbirds!  I’ll do a separate post just to focus on the many stunning hummingbirds.DSCN0561

You can book Copalinga via their website.  Catherine, the extremely helpful owner can arrange anything you want in terms of transportation to/from airport, bus stations and Podocarpus.  She can also organize a birding guide for a very reasonable price.  In April 2016 it was $80 for a Spanish speaking local guide who knows the birds very well.  You can also book an English speaking guide from Loja for a bit more plus his room and board. Copalinga is very concerned with minimizing their ecological footprint.

Catherine goes out of her way to look after her guests.  I had booked for 2 nights with the intention of leaving early in the morning to Loja for the bus to Pinas.  Because of the landslides, there was no way we would have made it in time so Catherine let us off the 2nd night so we could stay in Loja.  I really hated to leave Copalinga as it is so nice there and I could have stayed hours just watching the hummingbirds but the alternative would have been about $170 for a combination of taxis to our next destination.

 

Getting From Loja Airport (Catamayo) To Zamora (Podocarpus)

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Arriving at Loja’s airport in Catamayo was quite an adventure.  I had toyed with the idea of renting a car but there are no car rental companies there.  You simply walk from the plane across the tarmac, through the tiny arrival hall where bags are delivered and straight out to the parking lot where LOTS of taxi drivers are competing for your attention.

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The battle of the yellow vs the white taxis!  I didn’t know which one to go for.  Prices are pretty much fixed as the owner of Copalinga Lodge had told us at around $35-38 USD.  Ecuador uses the USD as their own currency.  DSCN0432 DSCN0433 DSCN0435

Finally we were off!  It was a smooth trip from the airport at Catamayo to Loja city, just under an hour away.

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The road from Loja to Zamora is beautiful and scenic but it does have problems with mudslides.  We were delayed about 2 hours stuck in traffic while one mudslide was cleared and the two lanes of traffic (inbound and outbound) took turns passing through.  DSCN0440 DSCN0441

The distance in kilometers isn’t far, it’s the mudslides that get you!  It was well after dark by the time we arrived at Copalinga.  This is something to consider if you have bus connections onwards.  Theoretically a taxi should get you from Copalinga to the Loja bus station in 2-2.5 hours but the mudslides can push you way back so if you have an early flight or bus it’s best to spend the last night in Loja.