Birdwatching in Kabalebo! - day 10

When trying to spot as many birds as possible I usually take a boat trip in combination with a hiking trip. Trips that are usually a bit further from the resort. But when the water disappears from the river and boat trips become scarce, we go back to basic. For my last birding trip in 2015 we are going to explore the area near the resort.

Of course I kind of missed the boat trips in the morning and afternoon, but if there is almost no water in the river, what can one do? Luckily the resort Kabalebo is in the middle of an undisturbed jungle. There are no villages nearby and we are surrounded by primarily forest. 

On December 10, 2015 I was accompanied by Mirjam and Martijn, who for sure were very enthusiastic. They pretty much enjoyed every bit of their stay. The previous night they did a night walk and were still full of energy. 

Red-throated Caracara's and Little Chachalaca's were pretty much in abundance near the resort. They weren't really impressed by our presence so it was pretty easy to take some pictures of them. 

Mirjam had asked if we could also spot some Toucans during the tour. And …. we did. The Red-billed Toucans granted her wish several times: out in the open near the airstrip and during our hike. 
Even though it was not a bird, we enjoyed seeing this Common Blue Morpho basking in the afternoon sun. 

Martijn got the hang of our pace and spotting. He was the one who discovered this Black-faced Hawk. A still hunter from the inside forest. 

The Large Macaws were pretty good in being one with their surrounding. The Blue-and-Yellow Macaws were barely visible on top of a tree. The Red-and-Green Macaw was playing 'peekaboo' between the dense vegetation. It took a while to find the right spot to take this picture, but in the end well worth it.

The smaller birds were pretty much a challenge to photograph inside the jungle. Very agile! Luckily some were nice enough to pose for our camera's; this Long-winged Antwren was so busy devouring its lunch that it wasn't alarmed by our presence. The Long-tailed Hermit decided, just at the right time and the right spot, to take its short break.

The Crimson-crested Woodpeckers didn't disappoint us that day. We even got a bonus: male and female seen together. 

In the end I was kind of surprised to have seen a lot on a day without a boat trip (see list below). We even spotted a new bird for my bird list: Golden-crowned Spadebill. 

Previous birdwatching trips in 2015:

Birdwatching #1

Birdwatching #2

Birdwatching #3

Birdwatching #4

Birdwatching #5

Birdwatching #6

Birdwatching #7

Birdwatching #8

Birdwatching #9