GUYANA - DAY 4 - JANUARY 18TH 2014

WOWETTA FOREST TRAIL - ROCKVIEW LODGE

WEATHER - SUNNY AND WARM ALL DAY - WINDY LATER

Today it was Cock-of-the- Rock time, a fantastic looking bird that is a most-wanted species by most travelling bird-watchers. The downside was that this first attempt was at a lekking-site some 6km along a forest trail and we had to be there early to see any activity!

 

So we got up very early and had breakfast at 5am and set off some 30 minutes later for the short drive to the forest trail. It was just getting light as we arrived at Wowetta village at the start of the trail, several nightjars/hawks were flying around and we identified two of them as Nacunda and Lesser Nighthawks.

The trail was flat, wide and easy to walk for most of the way and we deliberately moved quickly without stopping much because of the time. We did hear many species: the Screaming Piha was the loudest but the Capuchinbird was the most unusual.

At last we reached our destination, the Guyana Cock-of-the-Rock lekking grounds, we sat in wait and it wasn’t long before one, then two and a third turned up. They do not lek at this time of the year but each one has a site that it protects and there are often squabbles. The birds are every bit as beautiful as the field guide depicts and more, what a stunner, it was well worth the 2 ½ hour walk.

GUIANAN COCK-OF-THE-ROCK

So we set off back and this time we took our time to look for birds and although there was a lot more activity we never made a great list. Long-tailed Hermit showed well as did the Screaming Piha, also Long-tailed Woodcreeper and a female White-throated Manakin. We found a colony of Red-rumped Cacique and a pair of Black-chinned Antbirds showed well.

GREEN-TAILED JACAMAR

 

Once back to the vehicles we drove back towards our lodge making stops along the way to look at birds such as: Southern lapwing, Double-striped Thick-knee, Eastern Meadowlark, White-winged Swallow and several other species.

We ate a relaxing lunch and then had a couple of hours recuperation before we walked the grounds of the lodge with the resident bird-guide. It was a gentle stroll and we saw some good birds. The Oranged-backed Troupial was lovely, the Spotted Tody Flycatcher was hard to see and the Yellow-rumped Cacique vied with the Yellow Oriole for the most beautiful.

THE GROUP CONTEMPLATING - BEFORE TAKING THE PANORAMA TRAIL AT ROCKVIEW



Our walk took us across the runway of the airfield to a site where Burrowing Owls nest, we saw two of these comical birds, it was another personal target species. Whilst watching the owls we found an Aplomado Falcon sitting on a distant bush. On the way back to the lodge we had great views of the Buff-necked Ibis, these beautiful creatures roost in the palm trees above the bar. So we sat at the bar watched them come in, how nice was that!