November 30-December 11, 2022 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guide John Christian
When it comes to forest primeval, few places on earth match Guyana, which still boasts a lion's share of its original rainforest. Though the coast is pretty developed -- with all the bustle, commotion and habitat destruction that accompanies development -- much of the interior is nearly untouched. When you can bird in the middle of a country's main north-south highway without getting run over (indeed, without having to scurry to the edge more than 4 or 5 times an hour), you know you're in a pretty special place. From that bustling coast to the country's fabulous forested heartland, from swift-flowing rivers to soggy grasslands, we traveled via boat, bus, jeep and foot in search of Guyana's many special birds and animals, reveling in the country's still-substantial wilderness as we went. And despite some inclement weather (and its resulting impressive flooding) and COVID rearing its ugly head, we largely had a great time doing so.
We started our adventure with an afternoon visit to Georgetown's famous botanical gardens, located right in the heart of the city. Our chief target here was the Blood-colored Woodpecker, and we weren't disappointed, finding a confiding pair right along the park's main drag. But they weren't our only discovery. A perched-up Toco Toucan flaunted its huge orange bill and had us all thinking of Fruit Loops -- or was it glasses of Guinness? A trio of Greater Anis flicked through bushes overhanging a murky pond while Wattled Jacanas strode across vegetation floating on the pond's surface below. Two Black-capped Donacobius clung to a series of Lotus stems, not far from a pair of Yellow-chinned Spinetails doing the same. Common and Spotted tody-flycatchers and a Mouse-colored Tyrannulet vied for "cutest small flycatcher" honors. A sleepy Great Horned Owl blinked down at us from its well-concealed day roost. A Straight-billed Woodcreeper hitched it way up a tree trunk, not far from another tree liberally sprinkled with Great and Snowy egrets in all their breeding finery. Limpkins searched for prey while Snail Kites glided overhead. A Zone-tailed Hawk surveyed its domain from a tall tree. Dozens of parrots, macaws and parakeets -- including an all-too-brief Festive Amazon -- screeched and squawked and flapped past as they gathered before heading to their night roosts. All in all, it was an enjoyably birdy introduction to the country.
We were up and out before daybreak the next morning, heading east towards the Mahaica River. It was dark and gloomy, with rain spattering the windows as we drove, but fortunately, things had cleared somewhat by the time we reached the river. There, we were met by our boatman, Naresh, who took us upstream against a swiftly flowing current. One of the main targets here is Guyana's national bird, the primitive, leaf-eating Hoatzin, and we saw dozens of them (more than I've ever seen on a single trip before) drying out atop bushes along the river or growling and "threatening" us with spread wings and tails from among the dense vegetation. A morose-looking group of Colombian Red Howlers were also drying out in the treetops, and we had lovely looks at a tiny, point-blank White-bellied Piculet nearby. Green-tailed Jacamars glittered on riverside perches, Little Cuckoos flicked through eye-level branches, Wing-barred Seedeaters flashed their telltale wing bars and Long-winged Harriers coursed overhead. Silvered Antbirds were frustratingly elusive (though a few caught a quick glimpse or two), but Barred and Black-crested Antshrikes proved much more cooperative, singing challenges from open branches. After a pleasant hour or so on the river, we headed back to Naresh's comfortable porch, where we enjoyed a delicious "second breakfast" (like a band of hobbits!) of roti and curry prepared by his wife, Shandi. And while we lounged there, Brown-throated Parakeets, Yellow-chinned Spinetails and a female White-tailed Goldenthroat helped to keep us entertained.
Our journey back to the hotel was interrupted by several productive stops. A flooded rice field along deHoop road yielded a staggering EIGHT Azure Gallinules, which called and flew and chased each other around. A close Maguari Stork hunted prey in another flooded field. Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures quartered low over the road, giving us the chance to see their distinctively colorful heads, and to compare them to nearby Turkey Vultures. Some ace whistling by John brought a screaming Rufous Crab Hawk into view on a phone pole right over our heads. Our search for Mangrove Rail was less successful; we only heard it, despite scrambling over a crumbling concrete sea wall and maneuvering through an imposing pile of smashed concrete chunks to get closer. However, we did spot our first brilliantly hued Scarlet Ibises winging past over the mangroves.
Due to the late departure of our flight the following day, we had a bit of a "lie in" the morning, with some birding around the hotel and at the Georgetown sea wall as we made our way to the domestic airport. A soaring pair of Gray-lined Hawks capped our hotel list nicely, and some pointblank Scarlet Ibis were definitely the highlight of our visit to the coast, rendering the nearby shorebirds and Snowy Egrets all but invisible in comparison. A combination of bad weather and miscommunication between the airline and our ground agent meant a very late departure to Kaieteur Falls National Park, and we fretted about whether we'd get to land at all. But eventually, the clouds parted, the pilot appeared and we headed off in our small plane, travelling over verdant forest that stretched to the horizon in all directions, broken only occasionally by a gleaming river or the ugly scars of a mining operation. Once we reached the park, we had only an hour and a quarter for our visit, so we hustled straight out to the falls on the mile-long loop trail, stopping briefly along the way to check out a Cliff Flycatcher that was hunting from a dead snag. At the thundering falls themselves, hundreds of White-tipped Swifts rocketed back and forth over the gorge and dime-sized Golden Rocket Frogs rested in their private little pools, snug among the leaves of the Giant Tank Bromeliads that line the edges of the plateau from which the falls drop. And on our way back to the plane, we detoured to see a quartet of male Guianan Cocks-of-the-Rock on their lek, bright splashes of color in a cloud-darkened forest.
The next morning, we were up and out early again, heading up the Essequibo towards the low dome of aptly named Turtle Mountain in the half light. The river was racing, with water so high that Cocoi Herons were reduced to sitting in trees, with dozens of Black-collared Swallows (which normally nest among boulders in the river -- at that point yards underwater) doing the same. Thanks to the high water, we were able to take our boats much further along the path than is normal, getting great looks at a streamside Rufescent Tiger-Heron and a circling Large-billed Tern in the process. As usual, the camp clearing on the mountain proved especially productive, with fruiting Cecropia trees attracting a succession of Green and Black-necked aracaris, White-throated Toucans, Guianan Toucanets, Black-throated Barbet, Black-tailed Tityras and Dusky Parrots, while Swallow-tailed Puffbirds stood sentinel on treetops nearby. Along the quieter trail, we saw a singing Ferruginous-backed Antbird march through the understory, whistled in a couple of calling Great Jacamars and watched a Cinnamon-rumped Woodcreeper and a Golden-collared Woodpecker crawling up tree trunks. A mixed flock yielded good looks at Pygmy and Spot-tailed antwrens and Dusky-throated Antshrike, with a number of other less cooperative flockmates that were heard only.
After lunch and a break at the lodge, we headed briefly upriver (over a boiling section of rocks that is usually a six-foot waterfall!) and then made landfall, walking along the red clay road and looking for new birds.
Rain, rain and more rain greeted us the following morning, as we made our way south towards Atta Rainforest Lodge. The roadside ditches were filled to the brim, and the soggy conditions kept us in the vehicles for most of the journey. But there were some silver linings -- like the Jaguar that suddenly appeared out of the forest and trotted down the road for 100 meters or so before melting back into the trees.
OTHER CRITTERS OF INTEREST:
Mammals:
PROBOSCIS BAT (Rhynchonycteris naso): We found a little group of these long-nosed bats clinging to the underside of a branch over a swollen stream along the Linden-Lethem road. These colonial bats are almost always found near water.
GREATER BULLDOG BAT (Noctilio leporinus): As dusk fell along the Essequibo, a trickle of these bats became a swarm and then a torrent, flowing past us over the water. These big bats are fishers, scooping prey up with a "net" composed of their feet and tails; they locate it by echolocating the ripples on the water's surface!
GUIANAN RED HOWLER (Alouatta seniculus): A small group, looking soggy and fed up, dried out in some treetops along the Mahaica River.
RED-FACED BLACK SPIDER MONKEY (Ateles paniscus): A few peered down at us from trees along Atta's entrance drive, and a bigger group hooted at us along the Buro-Buro trail. This species is restricted to area's of undisturbed primary rainforest, and is thus considered Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Given its extensive forest cover, Guyana is clearly a stronghold.
GIANT ANTEATER (Myrmecophaga tridactyla): A couple seen on the drive south to Manari Ranch, with particularly good views of the one that loped across the road in front of us. Though widespread across much of northern South America, this big insectivore is threatened by roads, fire, dog attacks and habitat destruction, and its numbers are declining fairly precipitously.
COMMON RED-RUMPED AGOUTI (Dasyprocta leporina): One scurried across a trail in front of us at Atta. Hunted by carnivores ranging from Jaguars to humans, these tailless rodents are typically quite wary.
TAYRA (Eira barbara): Two gamboled along the edge of the Linden-Lethem road, winking in and out of view. These big mustelids are fearsome hunters, even tackling groups of monkeys!
JAGUAR (Panthera onca): WOW!! Given the rotten weather, we certainly weren't expecting anything special when one of these big predators suddenly appeared on the road in front of us. It crossed from one side to the other, then, a few seconds later, reappeared on the road and trotted along for a few dozen yards before disappearing back into the undergrowth.
SOUTH AMERICAN COATI (Nasua nasua): A group along the Buro-Buro trail were a surprise. Despite being widespread across much of South America, these were the first I've ever seen on one of my Guyana tours!
WEST INDIAN MANATEE (Trichechus manatus): All too brief views for some folks of one in the sea off the Georgetown seawall. Unfortunately, it quickly disappeared below the waves, never to be seen again.
Reptiles and Amphibians:
COMMON HOUSE GECKO (Hemidactylus frenatus): A few scattered individuals in various rooms (and the dining room) at Surama, with another "roommate" for Sue at Manari Ranch.
GIANT AMEIVA (Ameiva ameiva): Abundant around Atta Rainforest Lodge, scurrying about in the flowerbeds and across the grassy lawns. Males can be considerably larger than females.
SOUTH AMERICAN BUSHMASTER (Lachesis muta): One slithered across the Georgetown-Lethem highway, giving us some close (though brief) views before disappearing into the roadside vegetation.
SPECTACLED CAIMAN (Caiman crocodilus): A rather small youngster a long way from the water along the Georgetown-Lethem road one evening, with a more sizable individual in a roadside pond en route to the Manari Ranch.
BLACK CAIMAN (Melanosuchus niger): One very large individual lurked under the bank near the boat dock at the Iwokrama River Lodge, seen as we headed for Turtle Mountain.
CANE TOAD (Rhinella marina): A handful of these huge toads squatted on the soggy lawns around the Iwokrama River Lodge on several nights.
GOLDEN ROCKET FROG (Anomaloglossus beebei): We spotted a couple of these tiny endemic frogs in the Giant Tank Bromeliads at Kaieteur Falls -- the only place in the world they're found.
EMERALD-EYED TREE FROG (Hypsiboas crepitans): One along the Buro-Buro trail, and several unexpected "roommates" in various rooms at the Surama Eco-lodge. This is a widespread species in northern South America.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/358170
-- Megan