Birdwatching 4.1.2018

First birding for 2018.

January 4, 2018
On this day I was with the Dutch couple van de Kam. Two very enthusiastic persons who couldn't wait for what the day would bring us so we started right before the sun came up. We had a little early hike near the lodge of Kabalebo and a boat trip to the Sandcreek and on the Kabalebo river. 

Macaws were quite active today. Blue-and-Yellow Macaws were seen flying near the lodge and were constantly seen on death tree trunks.
Scarlet Macaws were seen eating Maripa nuts and were loud all day. I bet nesting season for the macaws will start soon too as I saw a lot of times Macaws in hollow trees, here you see a Red-and-Green Macaw sticking out of one such a nest hole.

At first I thought the Red-and-Green Macaws' partner was sitting lower in the same tree, but if you take a closer look, you can clearly see it was a Scarlet Macaw. Where was its partner?

Parrots were also active during this day, especially early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
Mealy Amazons were busy eating fruits on top of this tree and Orange-winged Amazons were seen flying over the river or seen resting on top of leafless trees too.

The small birds of prey were also present:
A pair of Gray-lined Hawks were seen resting in a tree. That is something you won't see often as they are solitary predators.
During the boattrip a White Hawk landed right behind a tall tree. It took us a while to spot it, almost well hidden behind all the leaves and branches.
A Plumbeous Kite was also seen resting high in a leafless tree and we also spotted an Osprey with its catch of the day; a fish.

First time I spotted on the same day a male, female and juvenile Anhinga. They weren't together but all three were seen in the Sandcreek.

Here are those that like to stay close to the water:
A young Rufescent Tiger Heron was seen on an exposed branch, not afraid at all for the people in the boat. On the other hand we spotted a shy Striated Heron, hiding behind the tangled vines. Green Ibises give you a split second to take a picture and after that they fly into the bushes. The Sunbittern relies on his camouflage  while walking gracious on shore.

Kingfishers always let you work for a good picture. The Green Kingfisher and the Amazon Kingfisher were pretty quiet alongside the river before they took off. But when you are ready you also get a nice 'fly-away' shot too.

This is what I call: Being one with nature. At first I did not see this Black-necked Aracari. But I have never seen a tree with a curved beak. When the boat went further we finally saw the 'extended' part visible. This Black-necked Aracari was sitting in its nest. And later on I counted 5 of them in the very same tree.

We also spotted some reptiles along the way:
The Red-footed Tortoise took a wrong turn and fell in the water. Since there was no place nearby where it could climb out by itself, we gave him a boat ride to the nearest land.
On a log we saw a Golden Tegu resting in the afternoon sun while the caimans were looking for some shade. This young Spectacled Caiman was seen on an island while the young Smooth-fronted Caiman was on top of some debris in the Kabalebo river. 

Our local resident, the Rusty-margined Flycatcher, was well represented; both on land or near water. Right before it got dark we saw this female Ladder-tailed Nightjar resting on a branch above the river.
Some of the species were seen quite a lot during the day while others were either seen during the day or late in the afternoon. 
Here is what we saw together on this day (right side on the list is in Dutch):

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