Birdwatching in Kabalebo! - day 5 - Nature

Birdwatching in Kabalebo! - day 5

3/2/2015

Another sunny day promising us to spot remarkable animals along the way. It was certainly a day of discovering some nesting birds.

Wednesday: February 25, 2015
Yesterday was a warm up for today. Short but still productive for all of us. Today started promising: bright sunny morning and no traces of a dark and cloudy sky. I could see that both Freerik and Lydia were ready for what this day shall bring us.

Along the way we spotted 2 familiar faces: the Cocoi Heron and the Striated Heron.

While we were looking at a group of Common Squirrel Monkeys, who were also very agile and energetic, a Spectacled Caiman was laying next to a log. A perfect camouflage!!

And then one of the boatsmen spotted this Green Aracari, a female. A bouncy and agile bird who was constantly hopping from branch to branch and then vanished into the dense bushes.

We left early that day before the sun started to warm up the area. Looking through binoculars was no problem to spot the animals, but trying to take pictures was a different task. In both pictures above you can't see the birds clearly.
Here I spotted the Orange-winged Amazon and a leafless tree 'decorated' with Channel-billed Toucans.

This was a bonus: a Neotropic Cormorant and a Sunbittern.

This was perfect timing: just when the sun started to show its face, we noticed this pair Scarlet Macaws. One was constantly cleaning the nest while the other was on the look out. Wonderful color display is shown of their plumage and since they weren't bothered by our presence, it was easy to observe and photograph them for a couple of minutes.

This was my lucky day: a couple Silvered Antbirds was seen close to the river. I have always heard this bird calling and seen jumping close to dense bushes. But never was I able to shoot them. A common antbird, but since I haven't spotted this antbird before, it never made my birds' list. But now it does.

Nesting day: we spotted a couple of Grey-fronted doves. At first I thought that they were just hiding, but a closer look revealed that they were building a nest. One was sitting on top so it is possible that they are busy incubating. The second one was strengthening the nest by adding more nest materials . The nest was made next to a steep wall covered with dense bushes. We didn't want to bother them so we left the scenery.

While we continued our journey, we were constantly being followed by the Ringed Kingfisher. It is also the largest amongst the 5 kingfishers I have seen in Kabalebo.
Another master in disguise: a Smooth-fronted Caiman was sitting motionless next to the river. It was very alert but still decided not to move a muscle.

These fellows gave us a hard time, at first we all thought that they were the Red-billed Pied tanager due to the 'red' beaks. But a closer look reveals that they are actually Turquoise tanagers with both a red seed in their beak.

These birds were seen on their territory: the Great Black Hawk and the Bat falcon. Still fascinating to observe them both.

Closeby we spotted a group of Brown Capuchin Monkeys busy eating Maripa nuts along the way. They were very noisy and mobile, but one of them took the time to pose for us.

Both male and female Amazonian Violaceous Trogons were spotted in the same tree. They often turn their back towards our side so it is sometimes difficult to spot them immediately.

Here we spotted the Green Ibis fully exposed under the sunlight. Usually being called by non birders the 'Black Ibis' because it is often difficult to spot the 'green' in its plumage without the sun.

A pair of Red-and-Green Macaws were seen sitting in front of their nest. I guess it is breeding season for most of the birds. Welcoming the next generation!!

In the afternoon we were surprised by a heavy rainfall, making it impossible for us to use our binoculars or camera's. So we had to return back to base and were mentally preparing for our next trip.

Other birds we also saw were: