On the first birding trip to Ecuador, I visited a spot known to be frequented by these birds. I stayed in the hide-out for 3 hours in the morning and we could only hear them. We spotted a few but they were a mile away and the forest was quite dense that I couldn't get any clear shots. I came back in the afternoon and the conditions were not better. Oh, well.
On the second birding trip, Luis setup a visit to another location. We had to hike some 30 minutes up and down the path into the dense jungle. We waited for about an hour inside a hide out. It was fairly hot and humid and to make things worse, there were plenty of mosquitos. My main camera with the 600mm, on tripod aimed at the main area where these birds were supposed to land. Luckily, the space was plenty for only 2 photographers, my shooting buddy and I, and 2 guides. So, I moved around and to the side and I had my second camera with a zoom lens with me.
Then a few males showed up and flew in to the area to the side. I didn't want to loose the opportunity and setting up the main camera on tripod would have been too cumbersome in that part of the hideout. So, I started shooting with my 2nd camera and the zoom lens and yes, it was handheld. The lighting conditions were bad, the zoom lens is on the slow side and I was pushing the limit here. I just tried to make the best out of the conditions while my main gear was just sitting on tripod . There was one occasion when one of the males stretched the wings and my position from high up created a different look. I noticed that another bird flew in at a slow pace from a branch further away. Although I caught the landing action but the forest was so dense that only the head was pretty much unobstructed.
A few days later, we visited another site where they were reported to be more in the open and visible at closer distance. It was raining a lot that day and no, those birds there pretty much behaved like those on my first birding trip. They were far away and very scarce. So, I struck out again on the second try. Well, one out of two from this birding trip wasn't bad , I would say and here are few images that could get of these unique birds.
Thank you very much for stopping by and please feel free to leave any feedback,
Joshua
Number 6 is about as good as it gets with these birds unless you are extremely fortunate or spend a couple weeks. I would love to return some day soon.
Don
DonGut wrote:
Number 6 is about as good as it gets with these birds unless you are extremely fortunate or spend a couple weeks. I would love to return some day soon.
Don
Don, long time no hear. I hope you are and the family are doing fine. Thank you very much for your kind words, Don! Somehow before I got struck out twice on the first trip, I thought these birds were very common but apparently not. And they are quite skittish, hence we had to use some kind of hideout.
G.E. Smith wrote:
Wow, what a beautiful bird Joshua. #6 is special, really like that pose.
Greg
Thank you very much, Greg!
kdacharya wrote:
considering the difficulties with the shooting conditions, these are remarkable. These seem close by. voted.
I appreciate your kind words and thank you for your vote, KD! The first place I was referring to where I struck out on the first Ecuador birding trip was the spot where you got your keepers, according to Luis.
Merlinator wrote:
Excellent series. Much, much better than I managed on my first trip to an Andean Cock of the Rock lek.
Thank you very much, Roy! Between the 2 trips to Ecuador I visited locations of these birds 4 times and I got lucky at this single one spot. So, my success rate is 1 out of 4, I would say.
. There was one occasion when one of the males stretched the wings and my position from high up created a different look. I noticed that another bird flew in at a slow pace from a branch further away. Although I caught the landing action but the forest was so dense that only the head was pretty much unobstructed.
, I would say and here are few images that could get of these unique birds. 
