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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · 2d

#Ecuador, #BirdsSeenIn2025, #Birds
Eastern Kingbirds showed up this week at Parque las Vegas/Portoviejo two months earlier than usual for this location.
Nearby were the Western Cattle Egret, Neotropic Cormorant and the lovely Purple Gallinules

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · 2d

#Ecuador, #BirdsSeenIn2025, #Birds
Scouting before #WorldMigratoryBirdDay #OctoberBigDay - some lovely species showed up for roll call at the boca of Rio Portoviejo.
American Kestrel, Black-bellied Plover, Semi Palmated Plover, Wilson's Plover

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · 4d

Guess how many seeds were in one of those small fruits?
People often ask how the birds survive during extended dry seasons. If the natural habitat is not disturbed, they have many options, like these tasty fruits and the tiny wild tomatoes that also thrive along the roadside.

(200 seeds!)

Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · 4d

Exploring the remaining fragments of Western #Ecuador 's Tumbesian Region, I was captivated by the beauty of this well-behaved vine. iNaturalist provided identification: Passiflora-colinvauxii - endemic to Ecuador. A year later the flowers showed another facet. And now: the ripe fruits! #Manabi

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · 4d

(Refugio de la Tomatera-Manabi)
Working on art in the bosque often provides memorable birding experiences. Flitting near where I worked were these species: Ecuadorian Piculet, Tropical Parula,Streaked Saltator and Necklaced Spinetail. #birds, #BirdsSeenIn2025, #Ecuador, #Portoviejo

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 25

You have Sahara dust, hot water temps AND a 'tropical wave' that will be passing south of you. I always keep a close eye on what's happening during the hurricane season. Lots of friends in many areas...

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 25

Exactly; Merlin is an excellent tool, but nothing beats the 'in your bones' lessons from nature!

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 25

I remember trying to identify a bird sound in western Ecuador. It was months before finally seeing the bird that made the sound. Years later w/a friend I heard one and said, 'Scale-crested Pygmy Tyrant,' and he asked, "Are you sure?"
I laughed, 'For sure!' and a minute later the bird appeared!

'Squeaky' sound of the petite Scale-crested Pygmy Tyrant - the audio link gives a louder version than what one normally hears -- it's often very subtle and in dense understory. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/639230140

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 25

It's refreshing that you were patient until you had absolute confirmation! Many people now rely on Merlin without actually seeing a bird, and quickly 'tick it off'... Many times Merlin is wrong, at least in areas where not many people have submitted audios to help build the audio files.

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 25

With that sky more purple than blue, it's a perfect example of how well complimentary colors work with each other. Soothing image.

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 24

Hi Kevin! Sorry I missed seeing this! I wish there were a way to receive notice when you post something! Please send a private note whenever there's something new to pass along!

Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 24

That illustration is stunning; this book is surely a delight to hold in one's hands and savor each page.

(🦉 @bsky.app is such a positive and comforting space!)

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 11

#BirdsSeenIn2025, #Ecuador, Species registered in earlier posts for 2025 but worthy of the spotlight: Groove-billed Anis, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Black-cheeked Woodpeckers and one glorious Collared Aracari
#Chone, #Ricaurte, #RFI, #RegenerationFieldInstitute, #Birds

Four Groove-billed Anis perched on bamboo; dawn

Golden-olive Woodpecker peering from hole in broken tree during the final hour of daylight.

Three Black-cheeked Woodpeckers ascending a dead tree with lots of holes.

One magnificent Aracari, pausing in a 'fern tree' before returning to a nearby papaya tree.

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 11

It's often sweet to return to one's homeland and cherish the comfort of specific sights, sounds and aromas and even foods. I miss wisteria's brief but glorious flowering period, but I do NOT miss the cold of winter!

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 11

#BirdsSeenIn2025, #Ecuador, #Manabi
Buff-throated Saltator, Gray-lined Hawk (Buteo nitidus) - at dawn, Bat Falcon (Falco rufigularis) and Southern House Wren (Troglodytes musculus)

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 11

Thanks, Emma - @petchary.bsky.social
The outing followed the 'tsunami' warning from the day before. Lovely time and lots of space for everyone to wander, practice identifying various species, etc. web.facebook.com/PortoviejoLa...

Birding participants view birds along Rio Portoviejo (high tide) for Mangrove Day.

Happy lovely participants walk the levees between shrimp ponds, bordered by mangrove and other native trees of the Tumbesian Region.

The manager of the piscinas inspects the identification charts and provides feedback about the bird species featured. In the 'far' pond in the background, species seen were Whimbrels, Black-necked Stilts, Green Kingfisher, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Striated Heron, Masked Water-tyrant, Comb Duck, Whistling Ducks, White-cheeked Pintails, White Ibis, etc etc etc!

The city of Portoviejo continues to honor the Environment for the America's 2025 theme, Creating Bird-friendly Cities and Communities. Selecting 'World Mangrove Day' for July made it an easy choice to arrange a birding trip to the mangroves. Each month the municipality plans a birding event around a nature-related theme. (In June it was 'flamingo day'!!!)

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 11

Here is one more spotlight on Ecuador's war against the cartels - CNN video from this week: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCoN...

CNN goes inside Ecuador’s ‘narco superhighway’

YouTube video by CNN

www.youtube.com

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 11

And how are you? I'm watching the tropical systems in the Atlantic and will be keeping an eye on your area this week - and for the next several months.

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 11

One of my sisters has dementia & had an accident (neck injury) this past week. She was airlifted to Memphis/TN. The neurologist/surgeons pulled of a miracle (my opinion) and she's doing really well. If only modern medicine could decipher what's causes a fragmented brain and find a cure.

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 11

You often see these headlines before I do. I've had my attention on a creative project this weekend.
A news summary states: "The main hypothesis is that it would be settling scores between criminal gangs, given the violence of the attack and the criminal records of some victims."

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 5

#birdsSeenIn2025, #birds, #Ecuador, #Chone, #Manabi
Collared Aracari - Pteroglossus torquatus, White-tipped Dove -Leptotila verreauxi, Masked Tityra -Tityra semifasciata, Guira Tanager - Hemithraupis guira
Lovely weekend 'slow birding' with friends Oswaldo y Stefany.
ebird.org/tripreport/4...

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Aug 1

#BirdsSeenIn2025, #Ecuador, #Manabi
A student birding outing to friends' shrimp picinas at the boca/Rio Portoviejo. Whimbrels, Willet, Black-bellied Plover, Comb Ducks, Fulvous Whistling Ducks, Black-bellied Wh. Ducks, Black-necked Stilts, Roseate Spoonbills, Tri-colored Heron, Spotted Sandpiper 👍

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Jul 27

#Birds, #BirdsSeenIn2025, #Ecuador, #Portoviejo
How's this for Sunday Eye Candy?

Three adorable Burrowing Owls at Parque las Vegas!

A Common Potoo as a bonus!

I could've stayed there all afternoon just staring and smiling!

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Jul 27

#mangroveDay, #birds, #BirdsSeenIn2025, #Ecuador
After a jr-high basketball tournament, I balanced the rest of World Mangrove Day in the serene setting of shrimp ponds near the mouth of Rio Portoviejo (Ecuador.)

Paz

White-cheeked Pintail, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, White-browed Gnatcatcher

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Blessed by Birds (Lisa B.) @blessedbybirds.bsky.social · Jul 27

#mangroveDay, #birds, #BirdsSeenIn2025, #Ecuador
Neotropic Cormorant, Yellow (Mangrove) Warbler, Green Kingfisher

Rio Portoviejo - Manabi - Ecuador

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