Hummingbirds and heliconias
Trip Start
Sep 11, 2008
1
13
70
Trip End
Jan 03, 2009
Bellavista Cloud Forest,
Ecuador
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
I have been in the cloud forest, a region just north-west of Quito. The cloud forest is kind of like what we would think of as rainforest, but although it's very humid, it's quite cold, and of course, very misty and cloudy! It reminded me of the forests around Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, because absolutely everything was covered in mosses and lichens.
The reserve where I stayed is at 2200m, so quite a bit lower than where I've been so far, but the trails were still challenging - steep climbs, and very muddy! Lots of mosquitos there, but thankfully not the malaria-carrying kind (that's coming up later!), and plenty of other bugs too. Fortunately, I didn't see any tarantulas! Got stung by sting nettles on one trail though (OW!) and something else stung me on my finger once, but it wasn't too bad
cloud forest 2
. The forest was beautiful but I am definitely not the jungle type! The real reson I went to Bellavista was to see the hummingbirds which the area is famous for, and it didn't disappoint! They were everywhere! The lodge has feeders around the gardens, so you can sit for hours just mesmerised by the constant activity. I really wish I'd had a video camera with me there, so you could see and hear what it's like to be so close to so many hummingbirds. The droning of their wings as they flit about, the chattering noises they make, the fights that they have over who gets the best feeders! It's incredible to watch.
I learnt a few interesting things about these little birds. I was especially fascinated to learn that their feathers are not actually all brightly coloured, but instead, have a different structure to other birds, and act like prisms, reflecting the light in different ways as the bird moves around. This accounts for the incredible luminous colours that appear when they turn their heads etc. Also, because they have such high metabolic rates, they apparently need to feed every 15mins, and go into a kind of hibernation at night, lowering their heart rate etc, to conserve energy.
I was really surprised at how aggresive and stroppy they are too! They look delicate, but they get quite serious about protecting their favourite feeding spots, constantly chasing others away. One species has even been seen grabbing onto the tail of other hummingbirds with its beak, then just hanging there, not flying, so the other bird gets angry and leaves! It was funny to see a few times, a hummingbird would pick up a bee (also attracted to the sugar water) and fling it over the side so it could get to the feeder!
My favourite hummingbird was a tiny one called a woodstar
hummingbirds
. It sounded like a huge bee when it approached, and was not much bigger than one! Unlike the other birds, it wouldn't sit still to feed from the feeders. It would just hover there, snatching quick drinks. It was so cute.But it wasn't just about the hummingbirds. There were lots of other birds there too. I even got to see a toucan! The other thing I really loved about the forest was the incredible variety of flowers there - especially lots of heliconias and orchids, which are native here. I think I took just as many flower photos as bird ones!
I enjoyed my stay at Bellavista, although it wasn't quite as nice as the Black Sheep Inn. The food certainly wasn't as good (still OK though), a bit disappointing since it cost me almost 3 times as much to stay there!
Now I am looking forward to what I think will be one of the highlights of my whole trip - am off to the Galapagos Islands tomorrow for 8 days. I won't have internet access there, so you will have to wait a while for my report I'm afraid! But it shoud be good!
