Birdwatching in Kabalebo! - 23/10/2016

Even though we didn't see any new bird species we did had a wonderful birding day.

Oktober 23, 2016:
On this day I was accompanied by a lovely couple, Grebel. They stayed for only a weekend in Kabalebo and decided to enjoy every little bit of it. That meant also knowing the little creatures you usually are neglecting when passing by. 

Right before breakfast, we decided to greet some of our neighbors near the lodge. The Wing-barred Seedeater and the White-throated Toucan were quite active during the mornings. These were also the resident birds.

It appears that we had some food available for the birds as we also were greeted by a small group of Blue-throated Piping Guans and Black Aracari's. There were some ripe papaja's and berries available and since food was scarce outside the resort most of these birds took advantage of this free treat.

You don't see this very often; Cream-colored Woodpeckers on the leaves of an Inga tree. I usually see them on the bark of the trees, it was possible that a termite's nest broke and the little rascals were wandering everywhere on the tree, resulting in seeing Woodpeckers clinging on some leaves and branches. 
We also spotted a young Great Black Hawk alongside the Kabalebo river. When they are still young these raptors usually are not afraid, making them 'easy target' to approach them.

We also spotted some familiar faces on the Kabalebo river; Green Ibises and Cocoi Herons. The Cocoi Heron usually looks much more elegant when flying away.

Like I said before, food was scarce alongside the river. This made it a bit difficult to spot the birds in plain view. And when food is scarce the birds usually travel much further to find some food to survive for the day. As Large Macaws cover large distances in the rainforest just to find some food, we didn't see many Large Macaws in the neighborhood. Here and there we spotted a single one, like for instance this Red-and-Green Macaw and this Scarlet Macaw.

The Great Black Hawk was available during our tour. This one was an adult one, a smart one too as it was standing right infront of the sunlight, explaining why this picture looks so misty. Kingfishers were somehow representing their own kind. Some were quite alert and always flew away before you actually could see them clearly, but there were also others who were not afraid to pose in front of you. This Green Kingfisher decided to stay a bit for a while giving us the opportunity to enjoy his appearance.

The Striated Heron thought to be invisible when staying still near a rock, it was trying to catch some crabs or little fishes for lunchtime. We also spotted a couple of Capped Herons. This one had a yellowish plumage indicating that it was a breeding species. 

Hummingbirds were a bit shy, only the male Black-throated Mango was able to appear in plain sight. And a male Green-tailed Jacamar had just caught a nice snack, it looks like a grasshopper.

The smaller birds were too agile or energetic to be photographed. Before you could aim your camera onto them they just hopped into the dense vegetation. It was a good thing that this Amazon Kingfisher was too occupied by what was swimming in the river, so he didn't even notice our presence. 
​We were drifting downstream the Kabalebo river, this meant enjoying the nature without the sound of a motor. The serenity was magical on the river, until it was disturbed by a noise coming from the dense vegetation. As we all patiently waited what the outcome would be, a single Black curassow appeared out of nowhere. 
After a while we heard another familiar sound closer to the river; the Sunbittern also showed up. 

We were also greeted by other non birds, but ones that were very welcome. It looked like a Smooth-fronted Caiman was relaxing on top of a heap of dry leaves. At first glance you would surely have missed it, but it was also a funny sighting.
We also spotted some Golden-handed Tamarins near the river, the smallest monkeys of Kabalebo. 
Under some branches hanging over the river we also spotted a family of Giant Otters. They were devouring some fish and weren't pleased with our presence. 
And right before we called it a day we spotted the Tapir. It went to the river to quench its thirst. 

We didn't spot a lot of birds as usual, but it was a pleasant trip with some surprises in the end.

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