Birdwatch: Climbing to 4,400 metres to spot a rare rufous-bellied seedsnipe

Our writer travels to the eastern Andes in search of one of Ecuador’s most elusive birds

I

’m out of breath – and not just because I’m desperate to see one of Ecuador’s most elusive birds, the rufous-bellied seedsnipe. To have any chance of success, I’ve come to Cayambe Coca national park in the eastern Andes. At 4,400 metres (14,400 feet), this is the highest altitude I have ever experienced.

Fortunately the skies are clear, the sun is shining, and my guide, Juan Carlos, is optimistic. I don’t tell him I have a track record of missing nailed-on certainties.

We park by a set of radar antennas, a strangely incongruous presence in this montane wilderness, overlooked by the snow-capped summit of Cotopaxi volcano.