Day 5: Amazonia Lodge
On the third and final day in Amazonia, I told Virgilio about the species I still hoped to see. On the top of my list was to get a photo of one of the great Macaws (Scarlet, Red-green or Blue-yellow). We often saw them flying off at a distance but never could get a shot. The great Macaws tend to stay near the top of the canopy and only come lower if there is a fruiting tree. There are many fruiting trees in Amazonia and they cover great distances. On our last day, we went to an area where there are some fruiting trees. We timed our visit with decent light and managed to get a great look at the amazing Scarlet Macaw. It was great to see these guys in nature rather than in a pet store. We saw them in Costa Rica where we got good looks but never got a good in focus shot like this one.
I also had seen the Bluish-fronted Jacamar the previous day but couldn't get a decent shot. Here I finally did. Jacamars are another favorite of serious birders since they are hard to see and iridescent. I had never seen one until this trip.
Monkeys were difficult to photograph even though we would often see troops quickly moving through the forest. On the final day we followed some of the troops and got some better shots. Here is a Brown Capuchin Monkey.
Squirrel Monkeys were also common but they really moved through quickly.
There are probably as many colorful butterflies as birds but I had a really hard time getting any to sit still. This fellow did cooperate.
Virgilio was determined to get me a good look at another type of antbird. Here is a closeup shot of the White-browed Antbird.
After returning to the lodge Chestnut-eared Toucanets visited the garden and I got a shot of this fellow in flight!
The first night at Amazonia a Great Pootoo came by the lodge grounds. By the time I got my shoes on, he had left. Since then we would go out at night looking for one of the three types of pootoos in the area but with no luck. Pootoos are comical creatures. During the day they roost on dead trees and disguise themselves to be an extension to the dead tree. At night, with their eyes wide open, it is a lot easier to spot them. I had really hoped to see one since I knew this is one of the few places where they are fairly easy to locate. Luck went our way on the last night and the Common Pootoo responded to Virgilio's calls and perched right near where we were standing. A perfect end to my stay at the amazing Amazonia Lodge.
