Our 3rd day at Bella Vista proved to be a rainy one which just meant that Nancy and I didn't spend hours sitting in front of the hummingbird feeders. Coming back from breakfast we saw this amazing red squirrel. He reminded Jim and me of a similarly colored squirrel in Costa Rica.
We were actually wanting to hit the road fairly early as we had a long drive ahead of us - back to our hotel in Quito to pick up the lost luggage which had been delivered, and then on 4+ hours south to the town of Alausi where we would stay the night in preparation for our train trip to the Devil's Nose.
The check out process was fairly lengthy so I spent the time looking around. Near the office Richard had a great poster of hummingbirds which showed really well the comparison of my two favorite ones, the Violet Tailed Sylph (left) and the Booted Racket Tail.(right).
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| Booted Racket Tail |
I also spotted a hummingbird on this poster which I was fortunate enough to see but which was too fast for me to photograph. This Tawny Tailed Hermit had the most curved bill of any I saw at Bella Vista.
While we were waiting we saw this member of the sap sucker family taking strips of bark off the trees, looking for bugs.
The most spectacular coloration in a bird proved to be the most elusive for me to photograph - this Blue-Winged Mountain Tanager. First he was in the tree virtually hidden in the greenery
and then I got the colors ok, but alas my photo is woefully out of focus. Included here just to give the idea of the amazing colors.
Reluctantly we left Bella Vista to start our journey. This is a place I would return to for another magical stay in the Cloud Forest and I would again bring my wool socks and heavy sweater.
Audrey
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