Birdwatching in Kabalebo! - day 4

You don't need to travel very far to see birds, the only thing that you really need is lots of patience. As the birds will never tell you when and where they will be. No worries that is why they say: 'Patience is a virtue'. 

Tuesday: February 24, 2015:
This was a short birding day, since my companions Freerik and Lydia, arrived in the afternoon on the same day. But their enthusiasm made sure that this short day was also productive.

We decided to take a short boat trip downstream the Kabalebo river. The water level was very low so the boatsmen were using their paddles a lot more than the motor. This made the boat trip even more interesting since there wasn't any noise to distract us during our journey. One of the first birds we spotted was the Striated Heron. Usually sitting motionless for a long period of time and then suddenly makes its move to fly away.

The Sunbittern is always found close to the water, its plumage is almost as one with its surroundings. But Lydia was able to spot it. After being discovered it gracefully moved away from us.

You constantly have to be alert: listening and looking, looking left or right, up front or back and don't forget above. Good thing we did that too, a Swallow-tailed Kite was soaring above our boat. I remember the first time that I saw the swallow-tailed Kite, I first thought that it was a gigantic swallow. I didn't know a lot back then.

The Great Black Hawk, this one was changing from a juvenile into an immature. Gradually its plumage is changing. 

Well, this was a surprise …… Giant Otters. They kept us company for a couple of seconds and then continued their journey.

The Lineated Woodpecker was spotted while he had a late lunch break. You can clearly see that it is a male because of the red stripe on his cheeks.

Another unexpected welcoming surprise: a Pale-throated three-toed sloth. He was busy scratching his shoulders and back while dangling on one arm. He may be a sloth, but still has lots of strength.

From time to time the Greater Yellow-headed Vulture was seen soaring above the Kabalebo river.

When looking for hummingbirds while on the river, always look for blossoming flowers of the Inga tree or the Monkey brush vine (picture above). We spotted this female White-chinned Sapphire while she was enjoying the nectar. 

The Green Kingfisher was our favorite companion. This was a female Green Kingfisher who constantly either followed us or we were following her. 

And then …. the sun went down and we had to return back to base. Tomorrow awaits us another beautiful day.

Other birds that were seen, but didn't make the picture were:

• Blue throated piping guan
• Bat falcon
• Red-and-green macaw
• Blue-and-yellow macaw
• Black nun bird
• Red fan parrot
• Crested oropendola
• Yellow-rumped cacique
• Blue dacnis
• Reddish hermit
• Ringed Kingfisher
• Amazon kingfisher
• Cocoi heron
• Black vulture
• Black caracara
• Red-billed toucan
• Yellow-crowned tyrannulet
• Amazonian violaceous trogon
• Black tailed tityara
• Red-capped cardinal

Related articles:

Birdwatching in Kabalebo! - day 1

Birdwatching in Kabalebo! - day 2

Birdwatching in Kabalebo!- day 3