Animals of the week! - 2016 #1

Only a couple of days in 2016 and I already shot some great pictures of various animals near the resort in Kabalebo. Great start for this year!

January 1 - 2, 2016:
As you can see in the dates, it has only been a couple of days. But it looks like the fauna world was waiting for the new year to come. Together we had a great weekend.

Reddish hermit: I took this picture right in front of the lodge. One of the smallest hummingbird I have seen and because of its tiny appearance it took me several shots before the camera could actually find him. 

We also treat the birds on their own buffet. Here you can see Silver-beaked, Blue-grey and Palm tanagers having some lunch. These are the common tanagers seen at Kabalebo, but still it is great to see them all together. 

The Silver-beaked Tanager is also one that I have trouble taking a great picture. It is not that he is an agile and shy bird, but it is most of the time very difficult to photograph its beautiful plumage, as shown above. In this case I had some help of the sun too. 

A couple of meters further I saw the Red fan Parrots landing in one of the trees close to the lodge. The Red fan parrot has a red and blue crest/crown which isn't often showed to the outside world. While this one was eating I managed to take this picture where you still can see some of its hidden crest/crown.

On my way to the river cabin, at the end of the airstrip, I saw some open passion flowers. Minutes later it was visited by this Rufous-breasted Hermit. 

When I arrived at the river cabin my attention was caught immediately by some familiar sounds. The Guianan streaked ant wren was actively jumping up and down between the dense vegetation. Usually with some patience you can see them out in the open. This one was the female Guianan Streaked Antwren. But she was not alone.

A male Guianan Streaked Antwren was also joining the party. It was a funny sight at the same time as they were also playing hide-and-seek with me. They never stood still for more than a second on one spot.

After some successful photo shooting with the Ant wrens, I heard a loud splash in the Kabalebo river. An Amazon Kingfisher was trying his luck as a pro angler. 

What a day it was at the River cabin! Just after seeing the Amazon Kingfisher I was greeted by this Black-eared Fairy (female). She was visiting the flowers for a quick sip and at the same time she was also curious. Several times she 'stood' right in front of me, like she was studying or observing me. 

On my way back to the lodge I came across this yellow-footed tortoise. It was blocking my road, but I was glad it did. 

The sun was shining really bright when I was back on the airstrip. From the corner of my eyes I spotted something bright red in between the foliage green. Yes!! A Red-howler Monkey was eating upside down. Just look at the bright red.

Close to the pier I heard a nonstop whistle. One that only a Lowland tapir produces. I wanted to check it for myself to see if I was right. And …. right in front of the golf car a female Lowland tapir appeared out of nowhere. She was very alert and went back into the dense vegetation. What a great start for 2016.

​You may also like the following posts:

Animals of the week! - 2015 #1

Animals of the week! - 2015 #2

Animals of the week! - 2015 #3