Thursday, February 11, 2010

Birding by boat



The trip down the Napo River was quite comfortable in this large motor launch. We did stop a few times to look at birds along the way to the Napo Wildlife Center. One of the highlights was watching a group of Pied Plovers on a sand bar.




Pied Plover



Eventually we transferred to two canoes for the two hour paddle to the lodge. We paddled (OK, we lounged on padded seats and the guides paddled) this blackwater creek several times during our stay and each trip produced great sightings.





Northern Caiman Lizard basking over the creek.





This creek was perfect for kingfishers. We had great looks at Ringed, Amazon, Green-and-Rufous, Green and Pygmy Kingfishers from the canoes. I had my best view ever of the sparrow-sized American Pygmy Kingfisher shown above.



Ringed Kingfisher




This tiny adult Zigzag Heron cocked its tail back and forth much like a motmot. We also saw a recently fledged Zigzag Heron along the creek.


young Zigzag Heron


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