July 16
The sun had not yet risen when we met our guide for our morning bird watch tour. He wanted to show us an owl near the entrance, but it was gone. Instead we got a glimpse of an agouti.
We started our bird watching from the tower inside the resort. As the sun began to rise, the birds began to waken and the air began to fill with their different calls.
The first bird we spotted was a buff-necked ibis in a palm tree.
Soon other birds appeared.
Our guide, Vinnie, then showed us the bird feeders around the grounds. There were some tanagers coming down for breakfast. The blue ones are sayaca tanagers.
A toco toucan made an appearance as well.
We then went for a drive to other areas to find birds. Our first stop was to watch blue and yellow macaws. Many were in loving pairs. These macaws mate for a lifetime.
One pair was mating.
Because we had missed the owl by the lodge, Vinnie took us to see a pair of burrowing owls. One of the smallest owl species, they are unique in that they are diurnal - active during the day. They also next under the ground instead of in trees.
Nearby a white-rumped monjita, a kind of fly catcher, perched on a wire fence.
When we returned to the lodge and Vinnie departed, but I discovered more birds enjoying the bird feeders.
The white woodpecker hangs out in family groups. It eats a variety of foods and will even raid bee's nests.
When not enjoying fruit at the bird feeder, the greater kiskadee might seek out berries, small lizards or even swoop down to catch a small fish.
The sayaca tanagers were back.
They were joined by a green palm tanager.
A chopi blackbird wandered over.
Parakeets hung out in the trees above.
The hepatic tanagers were very colorful.
A chalk-browed mockingbird made an appearance.
A pale-breasted thrush enjoyed the fruit as well.
I spied a lizard darting across the walkway (possibly a lava lizard, but it seemed larger).
The other birds made way when a curl-crested jay came to feed.
A whiptail lizard sped by on my way back to the room.
That evening we were lucky enough to get a second drive with Oncafari. The trip started out well. As we waited for the other couple, some black tufted marmosets were cavorting in the trees.
We enjoyed a beautiful sunset on our drive in search of the maned wolf again.
We saw the burrowing owl again.
The maned wolf was elusive tonight but we did see a crab-eating fox.
Today we were tracking the female maned wolf. Savannah was elusive. We finally found her fairly close to the road, but still hidden from view. The other couple was very tired and didn’t want to wait so we dropped them off at the lodge and returned. When we returned, we could smell the scent of her musk from marking her territory and see fresh tracks so she had been in the road. She had since moved further into the bush. However, at the very end when we were almost back to the lodge, she made an appearance and walked ahead of us along the road for a ways.
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