Awoke to a bass cacophony of howler monkeys in the jungle this morning. Deep-throated, close, primeval, slightly unnerving, sounds. Strange bird calls, roosters and barking dogs in turn added their voices to the choir (not available on iTunes).
Headed at out 8 a.m. to the wetlands. Was not disappointed (understatement alert!).
“Jimmy” the boatsman, a birding expert in his own right, a father of two niñas, has “los ojos de gato” (the eyes of a cat). Where I would see leaves and twigs, he would point out literally half a dozen birds.
(Note: To save weight and space, I did not bring down a bird identification guide, so many of these photographs remain less than totally identified for the moment. Perhaps you can help, dear reader.)
(Note 2: On video footage quality. A hand-held telephoto on a moving boat — you get the picture, which is more than can be said for me. Mercifully, it’s less than a minute.)
Enjoy!
Kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfisher
Great Egret: long legs help provide control in flight
Kingfisher
Cattle egret
Egret: Note the lacy breeding plumage
Fording the river
Be afraid . . .
… be very afraid.
Fellow birders
Anhinga
I include this not becaase it’s a great shot,
but for me to get anything but a blur when these little guys are in flight is a miracle.
Unidentified
Unidentified
Scared yet?
Black winged stilt? Could use some help here
Ditto
Egret 1: Fish 0
Stork (exact species?) in flight
Unknown