If yesterday was the starter for our time in Trinidad, then today was absolutely the main course. It was a phenomenal day when everything seemed to fall into place, and we had an absolutely incredible day with not just birds but mammals as well. So let’s begin…
We started the day at the town of Puerto Ballivian, just a ten-minute drive to the north of where we were staying. Here there were a few birds we wanted to see, but we had also read there was a good chance of a few mammals here. We decided to have our morning cereal at the side of the river, and hoped for an appearance from some Amazon River Dolphins. And we were indeed pleased to find at least two but possibly more Boto Dolphins in the river, hunting fish and regularly surfacing, offering great views at times. This was a mammal I really wanted to see here in Bolivia, it was great to have connected with them. In addition, there was a pair of Orinoco Geese on the bank, and some Large-billed Terns fishing the river.
After our breakfast, satisfied with our dolphins, we walked the trail south of the village in the hopes of finding our targets. And we quickly made progress, with Velvet-fronted Grackle and Rusty-fronted Tody-Tyrant falling very quickly into our walk. It took a little longer before we found Band-tailed Antbird and on the way back I had Sulphur-bellied Tyrant-Manakin. Of course other lifers were simply from my lack of time birding the Amazon, such as Black-tailed Trogon and the unusual Hoatzin. But these birds were completely upstaged by an absolutely brilliant Pheasant Cuckoo that we taped out onto the path. Having already seen the other member of this genus on the trip, to now have the other of these rare cuckoos, we were absolutely over the moon! This was absolutely the highlight of the morning. The other standout bird was a day-roosting Great Potoo that I spotted in a dead tree, standing out an absolute mile despite its camouflage.
Besides the birds there were also mammals here. We could hear some Howler Monkeys early in the morning but did not get the chance to see them. However, we still managed to see two other species, both of which we encountered more than once and were feeding in the trees above us. The endemic White-eared Titi was the species we really wanted to find, and we were lucky to have a couple of different groups. The other species we had was Brown Capuchin, which while looking like every other capuchin species, is still an excellent species to see.
Thrilled with our morning, in the afternoon we headed south of Trinidad to the vegetation surrounding the lake Laguna Suarez. It was still quite warm when we got there, so started our evening by walking the bushes near some tennis courts, where we had information there were a few Brown-throated Three-toed Sloths. It took us a little bit of time, but we did manage to find an individual slouched over a Cecropia tree low down and especially inactive.
For birding it was a bit of a struggle, with lots of common species but target species more difficult to come by. We had a few Hudsons Black Tyrants, which were a tick for me, but our main target, the local race of Grey-eyed Greenlet continued to elude us. Our other main species, the Mato Grosso Antbird did show itself eventually, but the birding highlight of the evening was certainly the flock of around 100 Cobalt-rumped Parrotlets that we found going into roost on the edge of the lake.
Towards the end of the evening, I was using the call of a pygmy owl to try and draw in birds when I happened to glance right and saw the distinctive shape of a Giant Anteater shape disappearing into the vegetation about 30 metres up the road. We rushed up to where it had entered, to see the animal disappear into the bushes and out of sight. Frustrated, but still elated at this brief encounter, I tried to find a way to track it down again. A trail that ran parallel to the direction of the animal seemed to be the best option, and by following this I was thrilled to spot the animal walking alongside me on the other side of a ditch. I called the other guys over, to try and get them onto it again, but what happened next blew our minds.
When they were about 10 metres from me, just as I thought I had lost the animal, I heard a rustling behind me and turned around to see another Giant Anteater walking towards me. I gestured to the guys to come quickly, before crouching down. The Anteater then walked out of the grass and stopped, just less than two metres in front of us. It stood there sniffing the air and gauging the situation for about 10 minutes, giving unbelievable views. While it was here, what should appear behind us but the Greenlet we had been looking for, we all looked at it for a second, before turning our attention back to the Anteater. After the 10 minutes the animal turned and slowly walked back into the grass, leaving us overwhelmed by our encounter. The Greenlet did show again, but not well and by this point it was nearly dark.
We spent a short wait by our parked car while Black-crowned Night Herons came out of roost, and a Little Nightjar called behind us, taking in an absolutely incredible day while we were being eaten alive by mosquitos. What a phenomenal day!
Puerto Ballivan trail: Undulated Tinamou, Orinoco Goose, Speckled Chachalaca, Picazuro Pigeon, Ruddy Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Striped Cuckoo, Pheasant Cuckoo, Squirrel Cuckoo, Great Potoo, Hoatzin, Grey-cowled Wood Rail, Rufous-sided Crake, Southern Lapwing, Wattled Jacana, Large-billed Tern, Neotropic Cormorant, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Striated Heron, Great Egret, Cocoi Heron, Green Ibis, Bare-faced Ibis, Black Vulture, Great Black Hawk, Roadside Hawk, Black-tailed Trogon, Blue-crowned Trogon, Ringed Kingfisher, Black-fronted Nunbird, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, White-wedged Piculet, Lineated Woodpecker, White-throated Woodpecker, Crested Caracara, Yellow-headed Caracara, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Cobalt-rumped Parrotlet, Great Antshrike, Bolivian Slaty Antshrike, Band-tailed Antbird, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Buff-throated Woodcreeper, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Rufous Hornero, Greater Thornbird, Sulphur-bellied Tyrant-Manakin, Rusty-fronted Tody-Flycatcher, Yellow-olive Flatbill, Euler's Flycatcher, Fuscous Flycatcher, Southern Scrub Flycatcher, Scarlet Flycatcher, White-eyed Attila, Cattle Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Purplish Jay, White-winged Swallow, Thrush-like Wren, Fawn-breasted Wren, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Creamy-bellied Thrush, Purple-throated Euphonia, Crested Oropendola, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Velvet-fronted Grackle, Tropical Parula, Golden-crowned Warbler, Red-capped Cardinal, Hooded Tanager, Orange-headed Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Saffron Finch, Bluish-grey Saltator,
Laguna Suárez: Southern Screamer, Pale-vented Pigeon, Picazuro Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, Picui Ground Dove, Guira Cuckoo, Smooth-billed Ani, Striped Cuckoo, Pauraque, Little Nightjar, Scissor-tailed Nightjar, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Gilded Sapphire, Grey-cowled Wood Rail, Southern Lapwing, Wattled Jacana, Large-billed Tern, Jabiru, Wood Stork, Neotropic Cormorant, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Egret, Cocoi Heron, Green Ibis, Bare-faced Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Black-collared Hawk, Great Black Hawk, Roadside Hawk, Blue-crowned Trogon, Ringed Kingfisher, Campo Flicker, Crested Caracara, Yellow-headed Caracara, Cobalt-rumped Parrotlet, Peach-fronted Parakeet, Mato Grosso Antbird, Rufous Hornero, Greater Thornbird, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, White-crested Tyrannulet, Plain Inezia, Bran-colored Flycatcher, Scarlet Flycatcher, Hudson's Black Tyrant, Black-backed Water Tyrant, Cattle Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Grey-eyed Greenlet, White-winged Swallow, Grey-breasted Martin, House Wren, Creamy-bellied Thrush, Crested Oropendola, Variable Oriole, Orange-backed Troupial, Shiny Cowbird, Giant Cowbird, Greyish Baywing, Red-crested Cardinal, Red-capped Cardinal, Hooded Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Blue-black Grassquit,
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