Animals of the week! - 2016 #2

The past few days I met a lot of interesting neighbors in Kabalebo. And like all good neighbors I wanted to get to know them all quite well too.

January 3 - 8, 2016:
even though I wasn't on any birding trip I still had my hands full especially when I wanted to photograph them. Luckily for me they all cooperated very well too.

I had an excellent start of the week. At the River cabin I saw something landing in one of the trees. At first I thought it was the Great Black Hawk, a frequent visitor at the River Cabin. But a closer look revealed another bird of prey. It was the Black Hawk Eagle. Only the second time to spot him in Kabalebo and the first picture I was able to take. I am pretty sure that he is also catching prey in flight just by looking at his powerful feet and sharp and long nails. 

I found this beautiful Giant Silk Moth (Rothschildia aurota) hanging on one of the light post. A common moth but still an awesome sight to look at.

Since the Maripa nuts are getting ripe, they also start to attract hungry animals. A group of loud noisy Brown Capuchin Monkeys knew where to get the best ones too. I guess they were expressing their happiness.

On the other hand some were pretty quiet. Just like this Cocoa thrush, one that was actually foraging on the ground. 

You may not see it clear in this picture, but this one is a Green Ibis. It was preening early in the morning on the log. Nothing exciting, but it was a relaxed looking bird.

Our new neighbor; the Bicoloured Hawk. With all the tanagers, flycatchers and swallows seen near the lodge, this bird of prey felt like a kid in a candy store. It has been seen a couple of times near the lodge, terrorizing these small birds. As a group they try to chase him away from the neighborhood, but he is still sticking around. I guess he doesn't really care that no birds like him. How brave!

The Rufous-breasted Hermit is pretty much addicted to the sugar water in this feeder. I have to refill them every other day otherwise they get restless. 

This Cream-coloured Woodpecker (male) was seen at the River Cabin, flying from one tree to the other working his way up. And … he was not alone.

This female Cream-coloured Woodpecker was silently observing me. A lovely couple indeed!

This Buff-throated Woodcreeper didn't do much except checking the trees from the bottom all the way to the top.

This Black-tailed Tityra (female) was busy collecting nest material with her man. Together they were making a nest inside a Maripa palm tree. 

Right next to the Black-tailed Tityra I saw this group of bats hanging upside down looking at me. The 10th one was spoiling the neat organized line.

This female Green-tailed Jacamar came out of nowhere, only to be seen for a couple of seconds. 

This restless Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet finally took a rest for … 1 second. I managed to take only 1 picture before it disappeared. I didn't mind at all, because ….

… another bird was ready for his photo shoot; the Rufous-browed Peppershrike. It was calling all morning and finally decided to reveal himself. Interesting brows it has.

I first heard the Painted Parakeets before seeing them. They are always alert so I had to move slowly to come as close as possible. Well worth it. 

On the edge of the Kabalebo river I saw something red-and-white hopping on the ground and between the branches. What a surprise; it was the Red-capped cardinal. 

This Fer-de-Lance (Botrops Atrox) was seen resting. A venomous snake so we moved him a couple of meters further away from society.

Look who showed up again: the Reddish hermit. It wasn't bothered at all by my presence so I was able to take some shots, but it was more like …. try to spot the little dot. 

Again another Lowland tapir was spotted near the airstrip, a male. It was eating some leaves. In my previous posts I confessed about a lot of tapir sighting. My guess was of course that mating season might have started. And …..

it is confirmed. The male crossed the airstrip and was accompanied by a female. Tapirs are known as lonesome mammals. If you look closer at the females' belly you can actually see a little bump. A little one on the way… or are my eyes deceiving me? Only time will tell.

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