Bolivia Day 22; Trinidad & Loreto

  From our base in the dump that was Yacumo, we drove along the RN3 highway towards the town of Trinidad, which is where we would spend our final days birding in Bolivia. The highway was paved and we made good time, but more importantly, we saw a lot of birds. The road cuts through a large expanse of lowland wetland which has been loosely converted to grazing land but the habitats have largely been kept intact. Because we were driving early morning, we picked up a lot of birds as they came out of roost.

  There was even a new bird for us all, when we spotted two White-throated Piping Guans perched up in a tree on the roadside early morning. A species we had cut out of our itinerary earlier on in the trip, in order to save money, we were thrilled that things had worked out this way. Of course being a wetland area we had ample herons and storks, the highlight being Roseate Spoonbill, Plumbeous Ibis, Maguari Stork and Jabiru. A few Greater Rhea were waddling through the grasses, and in the treetops we passed a couple of Toco Toucans and Speckled Chacalacas. When we did stop at an open wetland we then picked up Yellowish Pipit, Black-collared Hawk and had Chestnut-fronted Macaw fly over. Away from birds, we had our first Capybaras of the trip and a lot of Caiman resting on the banks of the numerous pools.

  There is a short boat crossing to get into Trinidad, where we hoped to find Orinoco Goose. It was not looking good with the waterway being busy and the late morning heat reducing activity, but we were fortunate enough to pick one out roosting on a sandbank. In addition, we had four Large-billed Terns and a single Yellow-billed Tern, which all boosted our trip list nicely.

  In the afternoon we drove an hour south to the town of Loreto, which is home to arguably Bolivia's most famous endemic bird; the Blue-throated Macaw. Since we were not entering the specialist reserve, and had no guide, we were more going on luck than any real plan, but after an hours waiting we heard the sound of a Macaw from a nearby patch of woodland, and on investigation had brilliant views of a pair of Blue-throated Macaws for about an hour before they noisily took off and flew right over us. Absolutely magical encounter and far better than we had hoped for.

  While we were waiting for the Macaws, we had a few hours doing other birding in the area. There were two lifers for me with Orange-backed Troupial and Pale-crested Woodpecker both of which showed reasonably well. But among the other fifty species I recorded, Rusty-collared Seedeater was nice, as were multiple Speckled Chacalaca drinking on the side of the dried out pools. White-winged Swallow was a nice surprise, with a few circling round. As we drove away at dusk we had a Great Black Hawk sat at the side of the road, and a Crab-eating Fox ahead of the car. An absolutely brilliant day birding the tropical lowlands, with two more full days still to come here. 

Species List:
RN3: Undulated Tinamou, Southern Screamer, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, White-throated Piping Guan, White-tipped Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Limpkin, Southern Lapwing, Wattled Jacana, Jabiru, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Whistling Heron, Striated Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Cocoi Heron, Green Ibis, Bare-faced Ibis, Plumbeous Ibis, Buff-necked Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Black-collared Hawk, Savanna Hawk, Black-fronted Nunbird, Crested Caracara, Peach-fronted Parakeet, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Chestnut-fronted Macaw, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Scarlet Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Purplish Jay, Yellowish Pipit, Yellow-rumped Cacique,
Loreto: Undulated Tinamou, Southern Screamer, Pale-vented Pigeon, Picazuro Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, Picui Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, Guira Cuckoo, Smooth-billed Ani, Striped Cuckoo, Grey-cowled Wood Rail, Wattled Jacana, Jabiru, Wood Stork, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Cocoi Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Black-collared Hawk, Roadside Hawk, Blue-crowned Trogon, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Pale-crested Woodpecker, Crested Caracara, Yellow-headed Caracara, Cobalt-rumped Parrotlet, Peach-fronted Parakeet, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Blue-throated Macaw, Chestnut-fronted Macaw, Rufous Hornero, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Scarlet Flycatcher, Black-backed Water Tyrant, Cattle Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Plush-crested Jay, White-winged Swallow, Thrush-like Wren, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Creamy-bellied Thrush, Crested Oropendola, Orange-backed Troupial, Chopi Blackbird, Greyish Baywing, Red-crested Cardinal, Silver-beaked Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Saffron Finch, Rusty-collared Seedeater, Red Pileated Finch,