Our day began at 5.45am as we waited in the grounds of the lodge for daylight and in particular for Fiery Topaz to show at it’s lek site. Well thankfully the birds performed on cue and at least one astonishingly brightly-plumaged male showed incredibly well right in front of us.
 |
| Fiery Topaz |
There was also a female and an immature male present as well. Wow! As we walked to the dining area the gardens became alive with birds and in pretty quick fashion we saw Point-tailed Palmcreeper, Red-bellied Amazon, Sulphury Flycatcher, Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, and a Wedge-billed Woodcreeper.
 |
| Point-tailed Palmcreeper |
After an excellent breakfast we were ready to hit the trails but not before a few Chestnut-eared Aracaris flew in and landed nearby, and as we watched them a Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet was spotted and some Short-tailed Swifts bombed overhead. The trails were quiet again and the humidity was high but we still managed to dig out a few good birds beginning with a Brownish Twistwing that incredibly everyone saw quite well. A Reddish Hermit feeding on a bright crimson bromeliad disturbed our concentration from a calling Brown Schiffornis, but it was the Lined Forest-Falcon that well and truly diverted our attention from the not-so-delightful schiffornis. The falcon flew over our heads twice before landing in full view high up in the canopy. Oh yes! Further along the trail a Ringed Woodpecker pecked at something on a bare branch right over the trail, a female White-crowned Manakin was a little uninspiring, a Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher was seen along with a Plain-brown Woodcreeper to round off our morning’s birding.
We had an hour to shower away the sweat and pack before lunch and then drove back towards Manaus and our next hotel for 2 nights. Along the way we stopped at a wetland, which proved to be surprisingly good and we added numerous species to our ever growing lists. We nailed Tui and White-winged Parakeets, with a few Short-tailed Parrots feeding in a cecropia tree nearby.
 |
| Short-tailed Parrot |
 |
| Tui Parakeets |
A Yellow-headed Caracara flushed over 30 Sand-coloured Nighthawks from their rooftop roost and were absolutely stunning in flight. A White-throated Kingbird was pointed out by Pablo, a Savannah Hawk flew over, and there was also Orange-backed Troupial, Yellow-browed Sparrow, Lesser Hornero, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, some Orange-fronted Yellow-Finches, River Tyrannulet, Mouse-coloured Tyrannulet, many, many Smooth-billed Ani and a flyover Southern Lapwing.
 |
| River Tyrannulet |
 |
| River Tyrannulet |
All that remained was to drive half an hour to our downtown Manaus hotel where we reached it at 5pm allowing us a leisurely evening, good food and just a few very cold beers!
No comments:
Post a Comment