Tidbits
Multi flash photographers visiting Wildsumaco in mid-July counted a new record number of 26 hummingbird species at our feeders and in nearby forest - "by far the best lodge total for our trip!"
Three new birds have just been added to our Wildsumaco list. Camera traps have revealed Nocturnal Curassow walking on our new F.A.C.E. Loop!!! - this was a total surprise as it's not been heard or seen before here, and indeed, at Wildsumaco the bird is at a much higher elevation than would be expected.
The second new bird is Chestnut-breasted Coronet, another elevational surprise, as this species is normally seen at a higher elevation than Wildsumaco. Two birds are now using our hummingbird feeders, the first one appearing at the lodge feeders, and the next day another one was recorded at the worker's house feeders.
Perhaps our greatest surprise came when we were reviewing some of last year's camera trap photo files - Sapphire Quail-Dove had quite simply been overlooked, but now it's officially Wildsumaco's 456th species!
During May we positively identified 2 new monkey species, night monkey and red howler monkey, and have had a brief sighting of a spider monkey as well.
A bat researcher caught and identified 22 species of bat at Wildsumaco, within about a week in May.
Additionally, Western Woolly Opossum has been seen and ID'd, and the rare Southern Naked-tailed Armadillo was seen and photographed on the Puffbird Trail system.
Andean Laniisoma is still to be found at Wildsumaco, though very rarely. It has been seen three times this year, twice loosely associated with flocks, as it was last year.
Now you can travel with Wildsumaco! After many requests, Wildsumaco now offers great, cost-conscious tours of the Andes' eastern slope. Journey from Quito to the heights of Papallacta, and on to Wildsumaco Lodge in the foothills, visiting at all the important birding locations and elevations on the way.
For Adventurers who are physically very fit: we challenge you to trek to the top of Gran Sumaco Volcano with us. No one else offers this exciting trek!
Either of these tours may be arranged with or without a professional bird guide. Contact us for costs and details.
ARE YOU AN ARTIST WILLING TO HELP FOREST CONSERVATION?
Everyone loves T-shirts, and we'd like to offer them for sale at Wildsumaco Lodge to benefit Rio Pucuno Foundation's forest conservation efforts. We're looking for an artist willing to donate some time and talent to help produce designs that we can use on T-shirts; as with all of our gift shop items, all profits will go directly into the RPF land purchase fund. Please contact us if you can help. Your name will travel around the world with our T-shirts!
One of our camera traps collected a beautiful color photo of a margay kitten on the morning of 9 December 2009. The photo is posted on Rio Pucuno Foundation's website. Margay and puma have both been seen once or twice during the daylight hours on our trails.
Greater Grison is the most recent new mammal to be photographed by our camera traps. An adult with what appear to be 1-2 juveniles was photographed emerging from a cave opening in early February.
Mammals that have been seen or camera trapped on the reserves of Wildsumaco and Rio Pucuno Foundation include GRISON, PUMA, NAPO TAMARIN and WHITE-FRONTED CAPUCHIN, WHITE-BELLIED SPIDER monkeys, SPECTACLED BEAR, KINKAJOU, MARGAY, COLLARED PECCARY and TWO-TOED SLOTH.
A complete list of mammal species caught on camera traps or seen on our reserve is found at the end of the Wildsumaco Bird List, elsewhere on this website. Although photos of many mammal species are scattered throughout the website, most of our mammal photos are on the Rio Pucuno Foundation pages (click link at top of page).
We're happy to announce that Rio Pucuno Foundation is now affiliated with World Land Trust-US. US citizens may make tax-deductible donations to Rio Pucuno Foundation in 1 of 2 ways:
You can mail a check to WLT-US, 2806 P. Street NW, Washington, D.C. Please designate "Rio Pucuno Foundation" both on the check and in a cover letter.
To use a credit card, you can go to WLT's website and click on "You Can Help/Donate Now". If you use a credit card, be sure to enter "Rio Pucuno Foundation" in the designation box below "additional information".
Generously, World Land Trust-US has agreed to forward your entire donation to Rio Pucuno Foundation, without commission.
Any donation, large or small, will help us preserve forest.
Now open for just over 2 years, Wildsumaco Lodge has received guests from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States.
A number of our visitors have generously shared their bird photos with us. Place your cursor over a photo, and the name of the species and the photographer will come up. If no credit appears, one of the staff took the shot. We appreciate and thank our many friends who have let us use their photographs of the birds they've seen in Wildsumaco.
Twenty-three species of hummingbird are known to have visited our feeders to date, and people have recently reported seeing up to 18 species on the feeders. Recently we've seen a male White-necked Jacobin and a female Long-billed Starthroat at the lodge feeders. Additionally, both male and female Wire-crested Thorntail have been regulars on the porterweed at the lodge for the last several months.
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