The previous evening we had been stung by our taxi driver, so decided to wing-it and hope that we could arrange something cheaper to get to the forest this morning. As luck would have it, right outside our hotel, was the town mototaxi station and so we were able to flag down a couple of riders, finding ourselves in the forest around 07:00 in the morning, ready to start birding.
First we passed through an area of disturbed habitat with a
few Double-collared and White-bellied Seedeaters, followed by other common
species of open areas. The open area allowed us to get good views of parrots
passing by, and so I got my first new species of the day with Dusky-headed
Parakeet, with a large flock that flew overhead. Following on, we were able to
lure out a pair of Russet-crowned Crakes, but they were not super showy, before
we entered the forest.
Along the forest border the lively start to the day
continued, with a pair of Chestnut-crowned Puffbirds being new for me, as well
as other species I was more familiar with. The birding was very pleasant, and
we were constantly picking up new species. That was until we took a turn off
the main track and into the forest trails, at which point activity all but
stopped. We managed to find a few antbirds, which were new for me; Black-throated
Antbird and Amazonian Antshrike as well as Peruvian Warbling Antbird, but this
was a lively moment after an otherwise quiet turn of events.
Of course our main target for the day continued to be the
Masked Antpitta, and it proved very difficult. The bird we heard the previous
day gave us nothing, before we were twice confused by the song of the Amazonian
Antshrike. But, at around 09:30, we finally had a break when we heard an
individual singing. However, with playback the bird shut up immediately,
leaving us confused and frustrated. Once it started singing again, we tried to
find it without a tape, and after some searching Gray picked it up in the thick
vegetation. After this the bird continued to show throughout, at times very
well singing in an open area, bobbing its body from side to side. After so much
effort, this really was worth it. A truly fantastic bird to look at, and we had
seen it very well.
Buoyed by this brilliant encounter, we followed it up immediately
with a Dull-capped Attila, another tick for me, before we continued our walk.
The trail we were on led out of the forest, back to a different road and
eventually back to town, so that was what we decided to do. The birding
understandably dried up in the heat, although a pair of Black-fronted Nunbirds
were appreciated, and once we hit the dirt road it was made all the more
difficult thanks to copious amounts of dust. Still, we had two very nice
raptors with Black-and-white and Black Hawk-Eagle, and in the treetops we
spotted a pair of displaying Horned Screamers. An absolutely brilliant morning birding.
In the afternoon we went a little later so we could stay out
and look for owls after dark. The afternoon birding was still quite productive,
with Black-crowned Bare-Eye being a new species for me, but frustratingly seen
when the light had almost gone. Otherwise the highlights were a nice breeding
colony of Dusky-headed Parakeets in an old rotting trunk, but perhaps best of
all was a troop of Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys, which were distantly moving
through the canopy behind the immediate foliage, allowing us occasional but
often obscured views.
After dark we tried for an hour to find some owls, and succeeded,
with a nice showy Tawny-bellied Screech Owl being new for me, the third one
that we heard during the evening. Additionally we also had brief views of
Tropical Screech Owl, with another heard and finally a heard only Ferruginous Pygmy
Owl. There were a couple of brief mammal encounters but both were too quick to
get anything notable on them.
Riberalta: Undulated Tinamou, Horned Screamer, Feral Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, Grey-fronted Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Striped Cuckoo, Squirrel Cuckoo, Dark-billed Cuckoo, Fork-tailed Palm Swift, Reddish Hermit, Russet-crowned Crake, Southern Lapwing, Wood Stork, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Black Vulture, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Black Hawk-Eagle, Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, Roadside Hawk, Tropical Screech Owl, Tawny-bellied Screech Owl, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Blue-crowned Trogon, Chestnut-capped Puffbird, Black-fronted Nunbird, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Lettered Aracari, Little Woodpecker, Lineated Woodpecker, Laughing Falcon, Crested Caracara, Aplomado Falcon, Tui Parakeet, Blue-headed Parrot, Dusky-headed Parakeet, Red-bellied Macaw, White-eyed Parakeet, Great Antshrike, Barred Antshrike, Amazonian Antshrike, Peruvian Warbling Antbird, Black-throated Antbird, Black-spotted Bare-eye, Masked Antpitta, Buff-throated Woodcreeper, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, White-winged Becard, Johannes's Tody-Tyrant, Yellow-olive Flatbill, Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Scarlet Flycatcher, White-eyed Attila, Rufous Casiornis, Great Kiskadee, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Chivi Vireo, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, House Wren, Thrush-like Wren, Moustached Wren, Fawn-breasted Wren, House Sparrow, Purple-throated Euphonia, White-browed Meadowlark, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Shiny Cowbird, White-shouldered Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, White-bellied Seedeater, Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch, Double-collared Seedeater,
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