Oct 31:  I saw Dee off on her flight north this morning, being very relieved all our connections actually worked.  I met the group, or should I say they found me, on the 7th floor of the Miami Airport Hotel, as I sat editing my Argentina trip log.  We had a 5 hour wait, so some good discussion was had as we all got to know each other.  The flight took off on time around 4 p.m., and all went well including our pickup in Georgetown by Louis.  Though we arrived at the Pegasus Hotel at 1 a.m., we were in good spirits.

Nov 1:  We began the city tour at 9:30 a.m., first stopping at the Cathedral, the tallest wooden building in the world.  The enthusiastic minister got a bit carried away, nearly breaking into a full-fledged sermon on who makes a Saint, but I managed to head him off by getting him back on a discussion of the structure of the church.  Very entertaining.  The Amerindian craft centre in their hostel complex was very worthwhile, with a number of spend-thrift Canadians dropping thousands of Guyanese dollars (CND $1.00 = GU $95.00). The real benefit of doing some purchasing here is that the money doesn’t go through any middleman, but goes directly into the craftmaker’s village.  In the old seaport market, we watched some bartering between the sellers and buyers of a newly-arrived boatload of coconuts.

There were the racing birds in cages, a tired- looking parrot, and people coming and going on the water taxies.  Built in the mid 1800’s, the market makes me feel like I’m in an old black-and-white movie.  I’m quite certain that the place hasn’t changed from the time it was built.  As with any port market, there were some pretty tough-looking people walking around and hanging out.  On our way out, one such individual gave Louis a rough time that we weren’t dropping any cash into the market, escorting us back to our vehicle complaining all the way.  We returned later in the day to photograph the Stabroek Market clock tower, and the activity level had grown significantly with various market stalls open with fruits, other foods and some dry goods, giving us a different perspective of the activity level here.

After lunch, we went to the Zoo, meeting first with the manatees and watching their bizarre methods of feeding.  The keepers had just thrown in some pond lilies, so they were really active munching on their floating salad.  As we watched, we talked about manatees, their population problems within their world-wide tropical distribution.  In the Zoo itself, we started our tour playing initially with a black-capped parrot that really enjoys some hands-on attention.  The highlight, though, was our grooming session with the white-faced saki monkey and some wonderful interaction with the capuchin monkeys.  The importance of this Zoo was commented on by several in the group, as it is obvious that many local families enjoy their Sunday visit.  The metal photo Zoo signs that I brought from Calgary were all up, and looked really nice, augmenting the Zoo’s own signage.  I was disappointed that the education manager, Donald, wasn’t there, as I would have enjoyed some feedback on the posters the docents organized.  The keeper that toured us, however, said they were already being put to good use.

Dr. David Cassells, the Director General of Iwokrama,  gave a most informative slide talk after supper.  He spoke about Iwokrama, the Guyana rainforest and rainforest ecology, and gave us some significant detail of the entire Iwokrama project and how it fits into a global forest perspective.  David is a very optimistic individual, and his data, neatly arranged in tables and graphs, supported his optimisim for the hopeful future of several tropical countries, including all the Guianas.  I need to write him to gain access to one chart in

particular: one that shows the percentage of forest cover still in existence in countries all over the world.  There were some very interesting statistics relevant to Canada.  It was quite an honour for us to hear him, and his high energy style was a pleasure to listen to.

Birds seen:

Great kiskadee                                                              Blue-grey tanager

Common ground-dove                                                  Black-crowned night heron

Cattle egret                                                                               Rock dove

Nov 2:  We got up at the ridiculous hour of 3:30 a.m. to be on the road by 4.  It’s an hours drive to the main airport, and we needed to be there an hour before takeoff, hence the lousy timing.  The good news is that we did take off on time at 6 a.m., after doing our mandatory malaria blood smear, the weighing in of our baggage and ourselves, and payment for overweight baggage (this time GU $2100.00 at 38 pounds overweight).  The nurse doing the bloodwork said that by the time we land in Annai about one and a half hours later, she’ll have the results of the sample.  If we read positive, we’ll hear from her, if not, we won’t hear anything.  The program is designed to limit the spread of the disease, and apparently it’s paying off. 

The flight was excellent, with good views of the dramatically extensive rainforest showing between some very thick cloud cover.  Most of the forest was virtually unbroken, but we did fly almost directly over the Canadian mine that overflowed and burst its settling pond, dumping an unbelievable amount of heavy metal laden water into the Essequibo River.  The extent of the forest, though, was amazing, stretching as far as we could see to the horizon.  It appeared limitless, with huge blackwater rivers, stained with tannins, meandering through the broccoli-like green canopy.

Colin Edwards of  Rock View Resort was at the airstrip to meet us, smiling as usual and in great form.  After a wonderful introduction to Annie the anteater, Sheena the peccary, his monkeys, labba, agouties, parrots and deer, we settled in his kitchen for a filling, home-cooked breakfast, compliments of Velda and her team.  Soon after we were rocking and rolling in the Bedford truck to Surama Village  for lunch and our overnight in the rainforest.  Rupununi birding highlights that forced the “Bedford Birder” (named by Travis) to frequently stop included  vermilion and fork-tailed flycatchers, southern lapwings and several birds of prey.

After an excellent lunch in the new Surama Guesthouse (Thanks Veronica!), Lionel James, our expert Amerindian guide, first took us for a tour of the cassava workshop.  We went into the field to first look at the plant, then into the workshop for a discussion on the method of processing it.  This economicly effective community-based production company is a women-run program, designed to bring in some much-needed revenue into the community. The small horsepower engine arrived as part of an aid package, and greatly increases the production of cassava that a small group of 7 or 8 women can do.  Aside from the money it makes, some independence is gained for the workers, helping everyone involved.

From there, we were driven to the rainforest edge, and we began our walk to our riverside hammock camp.  The forest was hot, even in the shade, but we did manage some good views of a nunbird, roadside hawk and our first macaws in low late afternoon light.  The Burro Burro River, though, was a refreshing endpoint, and several of us enjoyed a cool Banks beer as we floated in the river, up to our chins, at sunset.  Bliss.  Within the hour, frogs began to croak with intensity, lighting up the forest with their song. I caught one of the main songsters: a big tree frog with huge soft brown eyes, long legs, and huge very sticky finger pads.  He was sounding off in the boat, next to a 50 gallon drum that served to intensify his call in a profound way. 

Imagine what it sounded like to him!  I mean, he’s a rock star in the frog world: Mick Jagger eat your heart out!

Marianne soon appeared with another cutie, a tiny two-toned frog with small poison sacs on either side of his head.  Soon there came a report that Bufo marianus, the largest South American toad, was at the forest edge.  I held it for some time showing it off, and eventually it began to clasp my hand as if in the process of amphiplexus (ie: frog mating!).  I felt very honoured, but seeing that the relationship wasn’t going anywhere, I soon encouraged his departure.  His clasp was very powerful, holding the back of my hand with a real death grip!  It’s call is very different than the tree frogs, sounding like a continuously running diesel generator, doing short, loud bursts.

Then Daniel Allicock, our cook, found a beautiful small boa with some incredible patterning on his diamond-shaped head.  Because I wasn’t sure if in fact it was a boa, I decided not to handle it.  Its aggressive nature further convinced me of this, as it  attempted several lunges, mouth agape like a viper, at my hand when I came near it!  It soon slipped into the bush before we managed any photos.

Right now, I’m sitting under the tarp just out of the rain that the guides expertly set up over a long pole frame.  Most folks are in their hammocks sleeping (Michel and Travis are doing journals beside me), and the frogs and toads are booming still, in a competition with the sound of the rain.  The sky was clear during supper, and the near-full moon was brilliant, lighting up the forest.  A short time ago, misty clouds blew in, making for some dramatic moon and cloud-watching with the scope.  Presently, the frogs dominate the soundscape.  Heaven. 

Additional birds seen:

Red-billed toucan                                                                     Striated heron

Red and green macaw                                                  Great egret

White-rumped hawk                                                    Ringed kingfisher

Roadside hawk                                                             Crested caracara

White-tailed hawk                                                                    Savanna hawk

Vermilion flycatcher                                                     Black nunbird

Fork-tailed flycatcher                                                    Eastern meadowlark

Common ground dove                                                  Anhinga

Southern lapwing                                                                     Pearl kite

 Nov 3:  The night was amazing, beginning with part of a tree falling just as I was getting to sleep last night.  The crash was thunderous, finally putting to bed the classic question…..  “if a tree falls in the forest…..”.  Seriously, the frog serenade was the best I have ever heard

in all our tropical forest experiences.  The large species we caught last night pounded forth their classic deep frog “ribbits” most of the night, slowing their serenade sometime very early in the morning.  I’m sure the rain was partly responsible for such frog intensity.  Other unidentified calls permeated the night air, and for a time after I climbed into my hammock, we had a light rain tapping on the tarp.  Everyone more or less worked out how to sleep in the hammocks, and  personally, I found it to be a very comfortable way to enjoy a night.  Travis suggested it was like returning to mother’s womb, and he’s committed to finding one to bring back for his room in Calgary!   Once the rain quit and the clouds moved off, the moon shone bright, being only three nights away from full.

We were up within minutes soon after 5 a.m., after the first bird, (an antshrike), began its boisterous calling.  As our boat was prepared, we sipped a coffee on the sandbar in front of the camp, wheeling the scope into position up, then downriver looking at kingfishers, anhinga and others. With Lionel at the bow, and Melnor Captain at the stern, we set off for a beautiful quiet float down the river.

The Burro Burro River is an intimate, quiet channel, no bigger than the Elbow River through Calgary.  The high tree canopy nearly closes in over the top in many areas, and the thick tropical vegetation grows down and into the water channel.  During our float, we virtually went from one good sighting to the next, seeing at least two pairs of white-tailed trogons (perfect close sightings in great light!), a pygmy kingfisher (my first sighting), some long-nosed bats, and the two grand highlights: three giant river otters and a small group of white-faced saki!  The monkeys were easily seen, although high in the green. The male paused, looking towards us, giving us some excellent views of his moon-like white face against his black furry body.  The river otters kept their distance in front, but we saw them repeatedly at a distance.  After sighting them first, they dove and swam right under our boat, re-appearing up river! The camp staff saw them too, soon after we lost sight of them.

We arrived back later than we should have, eating breakfast around 10:30 a.m., meaning we had to hustle back through the forest.  The big sighting during our return forest walk, however, was a full scope look at a blue-crowned motmot!  His perfect racket-tail was in full display and his turquoise crown glistened in the dim light of the forest.  Brilliant. Finally during the hottest part of the day, we arrived somewhat wilted at the guest house for lunch, to find that they had organized a school celebration for us.  The children sang some songs about their life in their village, and one recited a poem.  I had the chance to present a gift of Bosch & Lomb binoculars to the Community Village Council Chief, Sydney Allicock, to encourage the skill development of their appointed naturalists.

The idea was Lionel’s:  he asked if it would be possible to bring such a gift during our last trip a month ago.  Quickly all the group members of that trip got on the bandwagon and pledged to kicke in a donation.  I notified Denell via e-mail from the Pegasus, and via Robinson’s Camera Centre (and carried here compliments of Gordon and Nan), came the binoculars in their original packing!  And to top it all off, the posters the Docents produced (and Xerox laminated) are now mounted in a safe place in a prominent location in the one-room school!  They created a lovely, colourful and inspirational display on Guyana’s wildlife using the relevant posters as the central display.  I took some pictures of Camacho Scipio, the Head Master of the primary school, in front of the display to show the Docents back in Calgary.  As a final and very touching “thanks” from the village, we each received a gift given to us by a procession of children.  The assortment of gifts consisted of miniature bow and arrows, a cassava strainer and tiny traditional backpacks, all made by Lionel.

We left elated with Surama, Surama’s “wilds”, and Surama’s people and their genuine kindness and desire to please.  The drive with Hamilton and Jamir to Iwokrama was punctuated with stops to see a bat falcon, crested currasows, and a nesting pair of macaws.  Two agouties were spotted running across the road by most of the group.

We arrived in camp just at dark, having been picked up and delivered by the Iwokrama speed boat from the ferry landing, avoiding the bumpy corrugated driveway.  Vibert Welch, the Field Support Manager of the camp met us, showed us to our rooms and made us feel welcome.  There were rum punches (via the bottle Dee and I stashed at Colin’s place) before supper, followed by a short intro to the camp, and then the long awaited bed.  It’s great to be back here.

Additional birds seen:

Screaming piha                                                                        Grey-chinned hermit hummingbird

Crested oropendola                                                                   Yellow-headed parrot

Yellow-rumped caciques                                                           Greater yellow-headed vulture

White-banded swallow                                                 Pygmy kingfisher

Black-necked aracari                                                    Silver-beaked tanager

White-necked heron                                                     Green aracari

Green kingfisher                                                                       Rufous-vented chachalaca

White-tailed trogon                                                                  Scarlet macaw

Blue-and-yellow macaw                                                            Crested curassow

Bat falcon                                                                                 Common black hawk

Nov 4:  We were up and drifting down the Essequibo River by 5:45 a.m.  The river was quiet, but a “pipeline” of parrots, mostly mealy parrots and a few parakeets, continously passed high overhead.  We got out to stretch our legs at a large, very picturesque sand bar, finding capybara and iguana tracks.

An ocelot track was barely visable, having mostly been erased by recent rains.  Swallow-wings, some black-and-white swallows and a group of skimmers and terns were identified, as well as three species of heron.

After breakfast we boated downriver to the Turtle Mountain trail, and began our hike “pole-pole” (slow-slow) through the forest.  A good look at an antbird soon followed by the raucous call and flight of a grey-winged trumpeter were the first sightings of significance.  The trumpeter is a strange basketball-shaped forest bird with a head too small for its round body.  Its head is covered in metallic-coloured feathers and the body is all dark.  According to the book, they are reputed to carry their young down out of their nest high up in the trees in their mouths.  Their nest consists of an old arboreal termite nest.  We stopped several times to look at aspects of the forest: the huge butress roots; the vines (specifically nibbi, the rattan equivalant of South America); medicinally utilized forest plants; balata trees and their rubber-tapping scars; and many other things.  The view from the summit was superb, and everyone settled into a tranquil level of inactivity, enjoying the view and the cool breeze.  Off in the distance there were several rainshowers moving about, leaving their tell-tail “scud” cloud (looking like smoke plumes) as they moved on.  Suprisingly we never got hit with the rain.  Three groups of howler monkeys took turns calling,  announcing their presence to each other.  One group was fairly close, and their calls were clear and long, giving all of us a chance to reflect on the absolutely unearthly tone of these remarkable animals.

We were on the top for about two hours, time that really flew by. The view was inspirational, with forest stretching as far as the horizon, patterned in a mozaic of multi-tone green, bisected by the big river.  To have this quiet time just looking over the canopy was very important for everyone, including me, as we had been going non-stop since our arrival.  And this was the place to reflect.  The multitude of small canopy birds that were here three weeks ago were gone, as the fruiting tree they were feeding on had finished. On the return walk, I must have turned over twenty logs or pieces of bark (always returning them in their original position), looking for a scorpion.  Gordon saw me doing this, and on his first piece, turned up a beautiful black scorpion!  Beginner’s luck!  We coaxed it into a film container for a later photo session.  A small snake was found too, one that I was quite sure wasn’t poisonous, so I handled it to give everyone a closer look.

We celebrated the Iwokrama Forest with sundowners on the river, doing a quiet, motor-off float.  As we observed the chromatophors migrating in the evening light, the grunt fish began their grunting, much to the amazement of the group.

During supper, Lorna, a reseacher working here, gave us an excellent presentation on the balata tree and nibbi vine, two “non-forest products” she hopes will become a part of the economic future without logging off the forest.  She is trying to add to the argument that an intact forest has many hidden values, far beyond the basic dollar for timber.  The trick here is to create a sustainable forest economic program so that the locals can continue their way of life, using the intact forest, but still have economic opportunities.  This will be the key to saving the forests, “bio-prospecting”, and  harvesting, but not destroying.

Zachariah Norman, the Amerindian guide we so enjoyed on the previous trip, came in to the kitchen near the end to inform me he had caught a fishing bat in the mist net, so the focus immediately changed from balata to bats. Seeing this highly specalized bat up close, examining his needle sharp claws on his huge feet and inter-femoral membrane designed to help hold his minnow-sized catch, was fascinating.  Then we ventured out into the night with Zachariah as the guide to do some river nightlighting.  A dead (headless!) anaconda was one of the first things we encountered (it looked like a floating, coloured styrofoam log!), soon followed by a very brief kinkajou sighting (I only saw the leaves shake), two capped herons, and three very close encounters with a caiman.  We had the boat perhaps a meter and a half from one caiman at one point, his eyes glowing like rubies lit from within, (an extreme example of eyeshine). When it quickly submerged, it startled Marianne and Pam, giving the guides a good laugh.

I finished off the evening with a spotting scope session with some of the camp staff, enjoying the full moon and its texture, and Jupiter and its moons.

Additional birds seen:

Blue-crowned motmot                                                   Osprey

Large-billed tern                                                                       Swallow-wing

Spotted sandpiper                                                                     Gray-winged trumpeter

Yellow-billed tern                                                                     Little blue heron

Green ibis                                                                                 Hook-billed kite

Capped heron                                                               Pied-water tyrant

Black skimmer

Nov 5:  The alarm went off too early (4:30 a.m.), but we all elected to try for the jaguar drive, even with the odds against us.  We did see three agouties and a close-up pair of currasows.  But the prize was the crimson topaz hummingbird.  Zachariah went with us, and having his eyes and skill was a pleasure.  He also took the time to make a traditional flute from a congo palm, demonstrating two notes that are played in traditional ceremonies.

After breakfast, we relaxed for a few hours: we went for a swim, did some writing and birding, had a shower, let the scorpion go, and gave the package of art supplies to Zeta, the cook’s assistant (a gift from Ray and Lois Garety via the Plaxtons).  On the way out, we paid a quick visit to Martin’s Island and then Fairview village.  Here we watched some women making cassava bread, a very interesting process, and visited the new school that 18 months ago was in its construction stage with the assistance of a Youth International group from Canada.  The head mistress gave us a nice tour, explaining that she covers all ages in the one room building, with just under 40 children in her one class!  She has been there for three weeks, and said she is really enjoying it.

We stopped a few times, once to look at a black hawk and the other to attempt to see a screaming piha.  The latter goal was unsuccessful with an actual sighting, but the four pihas screaming in four different roadside areas was a sound we’ll never forget.

Colin’s resort was a pleasure to come “home” to, and with sundowners in hand, we floated blissfully in his pool until the sun set.  Supper was the usual informal family affair in the kitchen. When I went to settle in at my “camp” beside the pool, I decided on a nocturnal cool down in the pool.  The little pond beside the pool was alive with frog croaking, and upon investigation, I found numerous individuals including two pairs mating (in amphiplexus!). Needless to say, I spent some time videoing this amphibious sex scene.

Additional birds seen:

Crimson topaz                                                              Moriche oriole

Blue-headed parrot                                                                   Great black hawk

Yellow-headed parrot                                                    Common tody-flycatcher

Mealy parrot                                                                             Tropical mockingbird

Spix guan                                                                                 Palm tanager

Bearded bellbird (heard only)

Nov 6:  Today was a day to relax with no planned events.  After a very restful night in my bed beside the pool, I watched the early morning light colour the Rupununi from the “rock view” lookout with Travis and Marianne. Flocks of brown-headed parakeets zoomed in and landed, presenting us with some perfect views of these colourful birds.  One pair sat and necked (!) for an extended period on one exposed branch.  The highlight, though, was when Annie the anteater came out of her nightime roost.  I followed her for about half an hour watching her forage for food.  At one point she became too inquisitive and reached for my arm, pinching it between her claw and palm.  The force was significant, like a huge set of vice grips grabbing my arm.  I was lucky that I reacted quickly enough to retreat back to a higher point out of reach.  She soon went back to her feeding, and I just kept my distance.  I managed some excellent video, though.

After breakfast I invited myself along to a meeting of the Rupununi Development Council (some 30 village leaders and interested members such as most of the guides we have been meeting), and the three chief staff members of Iwokrama: Dr. Graham Watkins (gwatkins@guyana.net.gy)(67 Bell Air, Georgetown), the Director General, Dr. David Cassells, and Dr. Gary Hunnisett, a Canadian who used to work for the Canadian Wildlife Service some 15 years ago.

The meeting was a discussion of the concept of tourism, its potential positive impact and its negatives.  The room full of Amerindian faces, many that I now recognize, left me with a feeling of warmth and sadness at the same time.  Here are a wonderful, gentle people, who like so many other remote cultures, will be soon fully exposed to the changes brought about by the road (built in 1992) and now, tourism.  The road will likely have a powerful impact, both good and not so good, when it becomes fully driveable. Apparently the government has committed funds to rebuild the more damaged portions, so it’s a matter of time.  Tourism will no doubt grow, but the realities of competition and the lack of services coupled with absolutely no experience should enable its progression in a reasonable manner.  The people themselves are keen, however, fully recognizing the economic possibilities. I was in a room full of the “converted”, though.  The discussions touched on the past, bringing up the indiscriminant killing of anteaters, turtles and otters that have, over the years, greatly reduced their numbers.  The fishing stories tell an all too familiar tale too, as just a decade ago, the local water holes produced foot-long fish, and now all they can catch are minnows of just a few inches.  A few days ago on the road to Iwokrama we encountered a few boys fishing in a pond, and their catch consisted of only a dozen or so tiny fish, catfish mostly, all caught with a fine net.  All this impact with a relatively scant human population.

David and Graham gave excellent overviews of a tourism report and talked of some possibilities of Iwokrama assistants.  Gary did an interesting presentation style: he asked questions of the group that stimulated some good discussion, especially when he asked what would a five day tourist plan be.  I gave a presentation on the expectations of tourists, using some examples from this trip, and what makes a quality experience.  I wanted to contribute in a way that would make them see the benefits of a good tourism plan, but to fully understand the difficulties and competition we, as sellers of this travel product, are faced with.  I especially wanted to drive home the fact that their best marketing will be through word of mouth, and to therefore look at each tourist as the means of “gaining” the next group.  I also wanted them to realize that each tourist is a “goose full of golden eggs” only because that tourist has saved hard to make this once-in-a-lifetime trip come true.  How each tourist enjoys his experience will be the key, because he is connected to a network of similar travellers back home, and what he says may or may not encourage his friends to travel here.  In other words, “don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs”; rather give a quality experience to the tourist, and the economic benefits to the community should be realized.

I left the meeting at 12:30 p.m. to join my group for lunch where we ended up talking tourism and travel philosophy.  The Rupununi Council/Iwokrama meeting continued throughout the afternoon, but I spent some good time with my group going over maps and the birds and mammals that we have seen.  Late in the afternoon, Colin took us for a wonderful tour of his farm, showing us a multitude of trees, shrubs, and his orchard.  We concluded the tour at his “community” bar (in the old ranch abattoir), talking amongst ourselves and with some of the locals over rum punch and beer.

Supper was under the mango trees where a cool breeze kept us comfortable. Our three Iwokrama guests joined us, and discussions on the World Bank and international policy as it affects forestry and development dominated our side of the table.  Dr. Cassells has worked for the Bank for many years, giving him some detailed insight.  The evening concluded with a session photographing frogs around the pool, followed by a quick swim.

Colin has a fascinating book entitled “Waterton’s Wanderings in South America”, Macmillian & Co, 1879, that may be available on the Amazon.com Internet book seller.  David did some reading from it by the pool about caiman catching and better, how the motmot got his cropped tail.  This is a “must read”, hence some research on how to get a hold of it will need to be done.

Additional birds seen:

Brown-throated parakeet                                               Smooth-billed ani

Greater ani                                                                   Fork-tailed palm swift

Nov 7:  In the middle of the night, a rainstorm kicked in with some intensity, but soon fizzled.  We took the Bedford (when in transport,now called the “Rupununi Rover”, by Travis) to the forest edge (a 50 minute trip) and had a beautiful sunrise walk.  Several flocks of parrots were seen, including a new species for us: the golden-winged parakeet!  Gordon spotted a channel-billed toucan in absolutely perfect light, making that the morning sighting.  Its yellow bib, vivid red breast belt and contrasting black belly all made brilliant by a crack of dawn sun was most memorable.  A new finch and a Muscovy duck with huge red caruncles on his face were also highlights.

After breakfast we had some time to relax, and I chose to do so by following Annie the anteater around, shooting stills and doing some video.  She would sniff here and there, snuffling out ants and using her can-opener like claws to pry back the grass or roots to get at her protein prize.  Many ants were easily seen on her fur, and then only for a short period of time: they couldn’t get a grip on her bristle-like facial hair and would fall off!

Travis figured there is some serious hair adaptation here to keep the biting and stinging ants off, and no doubt that’s true.  Hence, the strange fur of these beasts.

We left a little late from Colin’s place (I’m not sure why…. but I didn’t want to get to the landing before the boat arrived).  Whatever, we rolled into Diane’s place, Karanambu Ranch, somewhere around 8 p.m., after about four hours on the river!  No problem, though, as we identified 23 species of birds along the way, many with Kenneth’s help, including a sighting of two buff-necked ibis and numerous jabiru storks!  Several caiman were also sighted, with one sitting well for us on a sand beach.  We indulged ourselves with rum punches at sunset, and the story-telling intensified as we drove under the star-filled sky.  Kenneth’s boat engine was small and therefore surprisingly quiet, giving us some valuable discussion time and outstanding star-watching.  The trip in the night was magical.

Diane McTurk was waiting for us, and in her usual outstanding way, greeted us with distinction and proceeded to get us settled in.  Supper was served on the long table in the usual style, Diane served three courses, and more great stories were told.  What a charmer, and what a special place.

Additional birds seen:

Channel-billed toucan                                                  Yellow-headed caracara

Golden-winged parakeet                                                           Ruddy dove

Red-bellied macaw                                                                   Ruddy ground-dove

Muskovy duck                                                              Jabiru stork

Keel-billed toucan                                                                     Rufescent tiger-heron

Lesser seed-finch                                                                      Red-capped cardinal

American kestrel                                                                      Pied lapwing

Lesser yellow-headed vulture                                        Little green heron

Snowy egret                                                                              Great blue heron

Wood stork                                                                               Lesser kiskadee flycatcher

Buff-necked ibis

Nov 8:  Chachalacas woke me somewhere around 5 a.m. with their loud CHA-LAKA calls.  Wonderful!  By 6:30 a.m. we were putting along up river to the trail to Crane Pond, birding as we went.  Almost immediately we came across a tree with what looked like a big red fuzzy termite mound: our first howler monkey!  He eventually became shy of our presence, got up, and walked off the branch he was sitting on (and likely overnighted on), and disappeared into the thick bush.

Our big bird sighting was a rufous-bellied heron, perhaps one of the most beautiful of all herons, with its long beak that doesn’t end, red neck and delicately coloured body.  It allowed a close approach, slinking away as if it had committed some crime when at last we got too close.  A puffbird was seen on our walk to the pond, and a jacamar sat long enough for us to set the scope on it, giving superb views.  Kenneth forgot the key to unlock the boat to go out into the pond for close-up looks at the giant Amazonia lily pads, so we decided to do the other walk into Acuri Pond just downstream. Yet another very cooperative puffbird was seen on that trail, and upon arriving at the lily pad-covered Acouri Pond, five giant otters appeared! Kenneth was able to call in two of them, giving us an excellent look.  Here were the world’s largest otters popping up between the world’s largest lily pads!

After breakfast, we swam with Peter the Great, Diane’s pet giant river otter.  All of us sat in the river water, Peter visiting each of us in turn. We had a ball watching this high energy, playful animal bounce like a ball out of control, between us all.  Everyone got right into it, with at least two hours of non-stop Peter play passing in no time.  We fed him three piranha that the fisherman caught earlier this morning, tossing the fish in the river for him to “catch”.  Lying beside him watching him eat is an experience, as he pulverizes the fish before chewing off chunks, possibly a way to reduce the bones in the flesh to nothing.  The noise he makes when eating, a kind of gurgling hum, is certainly endearing, making any observer giggle with delight.

We went to Simoni Ponds in the late afternoon, enjoying a tropical rain and a double rainbow.  A quiet drift back down the narrow intimate channel was a pleasure, but the best was yet to come.  In the same location as three weeks ago, there were 5 howler monkeys, 3 of which quickly got up off their branch and walked in full view of us.  Their red coats appeared rich in colour, the low sun doing its magic.  Having seen the best of the show here, we pushed off to the opposite side of the boat landing, hoping the squirrel monkeys would come in.  Right away, we had a troup, Travis counting 8 within minutes, and Kenneth confirming there were over 30 in this group.  More and more monkeys appeared, filling the palm with their chattering, fuzzy brown bodies.  The palm itself is one of the species that has its entire stalk made out of thorns, making any predator attack via the ground impossible.  A perfect nighttime roost.  The final view before it was too dark to see, was of about a half dozen lined up on one frond, all in a rows.  Too dark to video, but a pleasure to watch.  I did manage some excellent silhouhettes of several on the uppermost fronds, jumping, scratching, and generally being squirrel monkeys.

Sundowner drinks were served in the main lodge amongst much excited human chatter, and supper consisted of fresh fish.  As we sat having our drinks, two tiny bats fell from the roof and landed between me and Pam!  They were embraced in combat (mating?….or should I say com-bat?), so I took the opportunity to try to pick them up.  They were so tiny I had to be really careful not to hurt them, and in my gentleness, one flew away instantly, and the other bit me over and over trying to get away.  His little mouth didn’t come anywhere near breaking the skin on my hand, as these were the smallest bats I have ever seen.  I have never seen bats tumble from the air in such a violent way, and all the way to the ground yet!

Additional birds seen:

Black vulture                                                                Purple gallinule

Chestnut-bellied heron                                                 Boat-billed heron

Tropical gnatcatcher                                                     Black-crested antshrike

Troupial oriole                                                              House wren

Green-tailed jacamar                                                    Yellow-throated spinetail

Spotted puffbird                                                                        White-vented euphonia

King vulture                                                                             Wattled jacana

Nov 9:  A very good morning birding expedition was experienced by a few of us, where we saw five toucans in one tree, a lineated woodpecker and two river otters that Kenneth once again called in. Breakfast was a rushed affair. It seemed that the kitchen supervisor, Georgina, was sick, and the remaining staff had a late start in getting our breakfast cooked.  As a consquence, the flying “shoebox” (our Caravan aircraft) surprisingly arrived on time, and because the thing can’t be switched off easily (it’s a turbine engine, apparently), well, things got a bit chaotic as we tried to salvage breakfast.  Diane began to stuff the hot breakfast into homemade scones, and with her kitchen help, loaded them into a plastic tupperware box. Meanwhile, we were rushed out to get on the plane, our luggage having already been loaded.  The Caravan aircraft are incredibly noisy, and with the belly loading, it was quite a memorable sight. The wind was blowing from the prop wash; dust was sailing; people were assembling at the rear door and filtering into the craft; baggage was loaded and piled high at the rear; and Diane was buzzing amongst all of us making sure we all had our fill of scrambled egg-hot scone sandwiches.  It was all just good fun, and we boarded excited with anticipation for the next leg of the journey.

Since this was a private charter, the pilot flew lower than a regular more powerful commercial craft, giving us excellent views of the dramatic forest-covered mountains.  We did two fly-overs at Kaiteur Falls, landing on the paved strip by 8:30 a.m., about 50 minutes after takeoff.  It had rained just the night before, giving the air a cool, damp feel.  The huge bromeliads, some several meters tall and over a meter wide sang with the golden frog calls (Colostethus beebei). Several flowering plants were seen, and one in particular,  Apocynaceae) was in full yellow bloom.  There were also blue ground orchids, and several other unidentified flowers were seen. The cock-of-the-rock lek was vacant, but a slate-coloured grosbeak (it had a crimson beak!) was identified as we patiently waited for the other bird to appear.  I stayed behind to watch the lek as the rest of the group went to the first lookout, hoping the cock would return.  No luck.

At the second viewpoint we identified one of the swifts flying over, a swift that dramatically flew in large numbers beside the waterfall wall and resulting mist.  Two macaws were sighted too, and yet another two attempts were made to find the cock-of-the-rock, to no avail.  On the second walk, however, we did see several raucous red-throated caracaras, striking big birds of prey (close to vultures, actually), with a red face, blue-black body and contrasting white belly.

The flight over the extensive rainforest to the dirt airstrip near Shanklands was beautiful, as the Caravan pilots weaved us between huge rainshower after shower, all coming from gigantic cumulous clouds.  At one point a series of clouds looked as if they were supported by columns of mist-like rainwater, the base of the “column” flaring out as if too much water was being dumped from the clouds and was spilling out beyond where it should.  The forest of non-stop broccoli was being washed!

Just after the pilot told me we would have to circle to bide time to wait for a rain shower to pass over our landing strip, they decided it was a go, landing in a torrential downpour.  However, they ended up shutting down the craft and waiting anyway, as the rain was pelting so hard we would have been soaked had we tried to run to the waiting boats.  In the rain, I saw a small bird just up beside the runway.  So through the pilot’s open door, I set up the scope on the tripod and lined everyone up to have a gander at this incredibly bright bird: a red-breasted blackbird.  In the grey of the rain, the day-glow colour of the bird’s breast provided some good entertainment. The boat ride, past Bartica, took about a half an hour.

Shanklands staff greeted us with tea time (cakes, etc), and some good birding on the lawn followed, including a classic new sighting of another cotinga: the pompadour cotinga!  It was a female, but a pompadour for sure. With the scope, in beautiful under-the rainshower-cloud sunlight, we watched four aracaris peal and eat ripening fruit in one of the big trees.  They are profoundly beautiful birds, serrated edges on their huge toucan bills that glistened like steel, ruby red rump and breast band and yellow breast.

Supper was wonderful, as Iola, our cook, did her usual selection of outstanding food.  Some good after supper discussions followed.  As I write this now, yet another rainforest mystery unsolved: somewhere out there in the moonless black, some creature is making a strange noise, like plywood being played back and forth as if someone was playing a “saw”.  Weird.  Some kind of nocturnal cicada is calling, frogs have really emerged with all this rain, and a long-horn beetle is bumping into the light above me.  The tropics.

New birds seen:

Lineated woodpecker                                                    Red-breasted blackbird

Slate-coloured grosbeak                                                            Shining-green hummingbird

White-tipped swift                                                                    Black-headed parrot

Western flycatcher                                                                    Turquoise tanager

Red-throated caracara                                                   Pompadour cotinga

Black-necked aracari

 Nov 10:  Winston, our Shanklands guide, met us at the forest edge at 6 a.m., and immediately pointed out a troup of brown capuchin monkeys!  We all spotted them, clearly seeing their prehensile tail with its tight curl. They rapidly moved off as a group, but hopefully will stick around for us to see again.  This is species number four, and what a great way to start the morning.  Several channel-billed toucans and a new woodpecker (the red-necked) was sighted, but the highlight was a group of mixed species of manakins, observed in the dark forest at the bottom of the first trail.  In a rapid series of high energy sightings, three species of manakins were seen (Michel, only, spotted the Crimson-hooded); a good but too fast look at a honeycreeper (species?); and an excellent long look at a new trogon species, the second trogon sighting of the trip!  This was by far the most thrilling deep-forest birding I’ve done in Guyana. Closed canopy dark forest birding certainly has its challenges, but this morning search paid off.

After lunch, Marianne and I went for a short kayak up the forest stream, following everyone else’s lead (they all did it before lunch), that is only possible when the tide is high.  It was beautiful, with the naturally sculptured butress roots of the big trees dominating the edges. 

Later, we met Winston and tried to recreate the birding bonanza of this morning.  We had a few parrots, a guan, and some possible manakins, but it was a wash.  Marianne had been in the forest since our kayaking.  When we met her, her afternoon highlight was a possible sighting of a golden-handed tamarin!  She didn’t get her binoculars on it, but her description was accurate.  A very good sighting, indeed.  Early morning birding, however, is by far the best, without question.  An outstanding sunset was had on the west end of the property, followed by an excellent supper.  Some star gazing, a nightcap, then to bed…….one last birding outing tomorrow morning, and that will be the trip.

Additional birds seen:

Red-necked woodpecker                                                           Crimson-hooded manakin (Michel)

Black-throated trogon                                                   Cayenne jay

White-crowned manakin                                                          White-bearded flycatcher

Golden-headed manakin                                                           Blue dacnis

Dusky parrot

Nov 10:  For the first 45 minutes this morning we didn’t move from the base of one of the big trees on the lawn: three species of tanager, two species of aracari, three species of parrot, a barbet, a tityra, and a new woodpecker.  It doesn’t get any better than that.  Upon entering the forest, a large group of wedge-capped capuchins were spotted, giving the best yet sightings of their faces.  Then we thought we would try our luck with the manakins, and for the next hour we played cat and mouse with their flight noise and calls.  Not a single confirmed sighting!  We did however have some very good piha sightings, and one did a wonderful song that sounded as if his “piha calling spring” had suddenly come unwound!  Then the highlight: a group of brown-bearded sakis engulfed us!  They came in from a distance, and the four of us (David, Marianne, Michel and I) stood our ground, not moving a muscle (except for our bino arms).  The monkeys didn’t notice us at all, and moved slowly through the canopy.  Most passed on either side of us, but one went right overhead!  As he walked, he suddenly looked down and noticed us, and gave out a fear squeal, urinating immediately, lightly sprinkling me as I stood directly under.  I managed some video, but except for the occasional glimpse, most of the action consisted of moving leaves.  The experience lasted at least 20 minutes, and numerous sightings were made where we could clearly see their bouffant hairstyle, beard, rusty brown back and long, thick blunt tail. Once they had seen us, the degree of vocalization increased, and several were seen tail-wagging in excitement. This was a wonderful farewell and an excellent conclusion to the trip.

After breakfast, several of us played croquet on the lawn, David cleaning up on the first game according to rumour, and Gordon on the second.  Our one hour boat ride to the landing where Louis picked us up was uneventful, if not a bit wet with some spitting clouds. Michel was dropped off at a guest house on our way to the airport in the evening (he’s staying on and will meet up with his fianceé to do some more travelling).  Soon we were off to Tobago (changed planes) and on to Canada, where in Toronto, we were met with near-freezing temperatures…..back into the cool weather, always good to return to.

Additional birds seen:

Grey-breasted martin                                        Green-rumped parrotlet

Black-spotted barbet                                         Yellow-tufted woodpecker

Black-tailed tityra                                                         Strong-billed woodcreeper (133 birds seen)

Mammal sightings:

*Howler monkey (Heard throughout the trip, saw at Karanambu)

*Brown-bearded saki (at Shanklands)

*White-faced saki (at the Burro Burro River)

*Brown capuchin (at Shanklands)

*Golden-handed tamarin (at Shanklands, viewed by Marianne)

*Giant river otter (at the Bura Bura River, Iwokrama and Karanambu)

*Agouti (at Iwokrama and Shanklands)

*Bats, numerous, including long-nosed bats (Burro Burro River, Iwokrama and Karanambu), fishing bats (Iwokrama, in the “hand!”), various insectivorous bats.

Bird sightings:

*133 species

 Other sightings:

*Iincluded numerous frogs, black caiman, a tree boa,  river turtle, geckos, toads (including the big Bufo marianus), green iguana, tegu lizard, heard the infamous and real-life “in the flesh” grunt fish, some very cool insects, including incredible numbers of morphos butterflies, postmen, and the clouds of yellow butterflies in Iwokrama, and the incredible huge spiders. The numerous red and yellow flowers, big trees, thick vegetation, green, green, green…..full of life.

This was a classic rainforest experience, and Guyana certainly produced for us.