Author Archives: Richard

Sunday Birding

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I awoke to the song of a Carolina Wren, sort of unusual here — and going out to look for it, saw this trio in the back yard.

I suspect that the second fawn is hiding. Note the Joe Pye Weed in the background.

I did some reading on the back deck, watching the birds coming toward the feeder. We are getting a lot of youngsters and quite a mix. Here are a few:

Goldfinches have been numerous all spring/summer and some, like this guy, are simply stunning after molt.

Common Grackles show up in bunches — this appears to be a young one — no yellow eye and a little drab.

What’s not to like about a Northern Cardinal?

Finch – House or Purple? Their singing can be ethereal in the early morning.

This young Blue Jay is one of many who have boundless appetites and are constantly begging, doing their “wing” shake to get their parents to feed them.

We have a new “squirrel-proof” feeder which the greys have sort of given up on but the reds are still trying.

The other challenge is the Rock Doves aka pigeon who show up each day in droves. They generally go for the dropped seed but also try to get on the feeder, in a flail of flapping wings and clumsiness. I must say, they are pretty handsome birds — one or two at a time.

I looked up from my book to see this guy moving down through the reeds. We had a Great Blue here the last few years and he returned this Spring. After a surprise late snowfall, he vanished. This bird showed up months later and whether it’s our regular, or a newcomer, it it warms our heart to have that wonderful fisherman/woman in our back yard.

Slow birding is a nice way to spend a summer Sunday afternoon.

Some Local Birds

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With a marriage, house sale, move, van repair, and family reunion, it has been a busy late Spring/Summer. The birding has been quite good locally and we continue to see all sorts of avian visitors to our back yard. Here are a few shots I’ve taken of some local birds.

This Chipping Sparrow was singing away like he was in love.

Common Yellowthroats abound and have raised a strong new crop this summer.

Young Indigo Bunting

Tree Swallows with what looks like a Cliff Swallow.

Living on the North Branch of the Winooski River makes us neighbors with both common and hooded mergansers.

We are going to being doing some birding in Virginia in early August and then in southern Spain in September. We are also planning a Southwest trip for early 2019.  Adios, amigos.

Local Rambles

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I’ve set up a round-trip bird walk, about 3.2 miles long, that goes up the trail along the North Branch of the Winooski, hooking up with the paths around the North Branch Nature Center. It’s a good way to get a little exercise and see a variety of birds and critters.Two days ago, I saw my first Belted Kingfisher of the year.

Two days ago, I saw my first Belted Kingfisher of the year.

Then, at NBNC, American Tree Swallows with checking out this bluebird nesting box.

Yesterday, I took a little detour up into the woods and saw these guys:

This Hermit Thrush was singing away – such a wonderful spring sound.

Several Brown Creepers were singing and feeding.

Returning home, I met an acquaintance who asked about my birding and told me that a Yellowlegs had been foraging all morning out behind the house. Sure enough – a new yard bird.

I’m calling this a Greater Yellowlegs but could be convinced otherwise. It left just at dusk.

 

Looking For Love

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Vermont, while well into Spring calendar-wise, is still gloves and boots season for birding. On a recent four-mile walk in light drizzle, not only were there some new arrivals (Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-bellied, Sapsucker, Broad-winged Hawk) but many seemed to be pairing up.

This female Cardinal was listening to the nearby male sing.

I saw six pairs of Northern Cardinals.

Mallards and Eastern Phoebes were pair up as were these two Canada Geese.

Further up into the woods of Hubbard Park, I heard, and then saw, this Winter Wren. His unmistakeable song rang through the conifers and hopefully, brought a little love into his life.

We have a few more cold drizzly days but the forecast looks good. I’m ready and it looks like the birds are ready. Bring it on.

Returning Home

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The trip downriver to Sani Lodge was boring. Most of us slept part of the way.

The trip back was much different: the river was raging with waves and floating logs coming at us continually. At one point, we heard a loud report as the boat hit a log hard, and the pilot stopped. Crew were scrambling back and forth between the bow and stern, talking mainly in Kichwa. No one but us seemed concerned as we floated back downriver and the crew pumped hydraulic fluid into the steering system and fiddled with the engines. We got moving again but it was several hours of stopping to fix things, maneuvering to miss logs (which I think were debris dumped by the oil companies clearing land), and worrying about the flight to Quito we needed to catch. A three hour trip turned into four hours plus, with no rest stops, but we got to Coca, were shuttled to the airport, and soon were on a jet heading to Quito. Once there, we were reunited with our driver, Roger, who had driven our bus the first 8 days, and were dropped at a wonderful hotel not far from the airport. Hotel San José Aeropuerto has wonderful grounds and so, being birders with a last chance to bird, we wandered the grounds with great results.

Several llamas were grazing in the large courtyard

This Golden Grosbeak was a new bird for the trip.

As was this Vermillion Flycatcher

We were close to the airport for tomorrow’s flights home.

This Crimson-mantled Woodpecker was a life bird for all of us. Photo courtesy of Peg Ackerman

The last evening, we gathered for a wonderful dinner and and said our goodbyes since most had very early departures the next day. 

The trip, in retrospect was great. Most of us got 300 to 400 life birds, saw some amazing sights, made new friends, and had fun along the way. North Branch Nature Center and particularly Chip did a marvelous job designing, organizing, and carrying out the trip. Gracias Amigos

A Visit to the Sani Isla Community

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Sani Isla is a community of about 600 Kichwa  indigenous people nestled along the Napo river deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The Sani Lodge is their main source of income but in looking to diversify, the women in the community expressed their desire to revitalize traditional handicrafts. The handicrafts could provide a new income stream from sustainably sourced forest materials and help promote the traditional artisan practices of the Kichwa, strengthening their self identity and celebrating their way of life while protecting their forest home. We visited them for lunch, and to experience some of their culinary and celebration practices. It was great to do a little to support their efforts.

Offloading at the community landing.

We were welcomed by some of the women of the community and fed some traditional food.

One of our welcomers

These palm grubs are an Amazonian delicacy, raw or cooked. Our guide asked for volunteers.

Chip, our leader was one of the brave who after biting the grub’s head off, proclaimed the treat tasty. Most of us were unconvinced.

Fish from the Napo River was cooked wrapped in palm leaves.

Eaten with your hands sitting in a circle

This guy opted for something else

After lunch, our guide gave a brief talk about hunting with a blowgun and asked for a volunteer to fire one. I stepped up and after instructions, completely “blew it” with the dart only going about 50 feet. Provided some post-lunch humor at least.

“Houston, we have a problem here.”

Then we had some face painting such as was done for celebrations and festivals.

Sally chose River Otter as her animal marking.

It was a nice outing. We bought chocolate and hand-made baskets and other items. Fifteen school kids joined us on the ride back to Sani Lodge, saving the school boat a run. Little did we know that the next day’s trip on the Rio Napo back to Coca would be much more hair-raising.

Sani Lodge – Boat Trip

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On day three, we trekked over to Rio Napo, by canoe, then walking, to board the big motorized boat to see some parrots. We had to leave very early because there is only an hour window or so when parrots come to the clay licks for feeding. They eat a variety of berries and toxic fruits- the clay counteracts toxicity, acting as an antidote and antacid.

The clay licks are a riot of color and noise as hundreds of birds come and go.

We stopped on an island to view the parrots on the clay cliffs across the river.

We saw Blue-headed Parrots, Yellow-crowned Parrots, Mealy Parrots, Dusky-headed Parakeets, and White-eyed Parakeets. Image courtesy Napo Wildlife Center

Heading upriver, we passed the “school boat” picking up students for the Sani Community School.

We then motored a little further, disembarked to explore a small island in the river where we got a little exercise trudging through sand and saw a number of good birds.

An adult Black Caracara and a juvenile watched us patiently as we photographed them.

This far-off Oriole Blackbird was stunning through the scope.

The group and the guides

Our next stop, which I’ll cover in the next post, was a stop for lunch at the Sani Community Center.

Sani Lodge – Observation Tower

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As I mentioned in the last post, I am a pilot who is afraid of heights. No fire tower climbing for me, thank you, and I have to watch out for any hikes that have drop-offs, and I usually drive in the center lane of big suspension bridges. So in reading about the trip, I was concerned about the tower at Sani. It’s “only” 100 feet tall, next to a big Kapok tree, nothing to it. Not!

We left by boat for a 30 minute paddle.

It was interesting traveling

Followed by a relatively short walk to the tower.

The first glimpse of the tower did not inspire confidence.

Nor did the second one

I was about the last to climb and it was challenging. The higher I got, the more of a death grip I had on the railing. But I made it, crossed the final catwalk to the platform and once there, was able to relax a bit and enjoy the scenery and the birds.

No hanging over the rails to see birds down low

In the far distance, we and heard Howler Monkeys

These Many-banded Aracaris were typical of the many birds we saw from the tower.

This Gilded Barbet was another lovely find.

We saw and or heard over 90 species in the five hours we were out — including a rare Harpy Eagle (spotted by our guide, Olger Licury.) It was a great outing.

Sani Lodge

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After a three hour bus ride to the city of Coca, a gritty city built up in the 1990’s oil boom, we waited around for other passengers who would make the 3.5 hour trip down the Rio Napo to the Sani Lodge. The long covered boat was tiring at the end of a long day, and then we to the fifteen minute walk on boardwalk to a small tributary where indigenous paddlers brought us to the lodge – which is perched on the water and deep in the rainforest.

The Sani Lodge is owned and operated by the Sani Community, a group of 500 indigenous people who live along the river.

Here is an interesting writeup on the lodge.

Our guide was intense but an expert at spotting birds – and after birding, very interesting and funny. 

You travel by boat to get anywhere from Sani Lodge.

Our native guide took one boat and Chip aptly handled bird-finding in the other

The stillness in the Amazon basin is amazing at both ends of the day. No airplanes, traffic noise, just birds, bugs, and other creatures.

We saw a lot of birds from the canoes — as well as a Caiman, monkeys, a sloth, and for a few, a big otter.

A Hoatzin, a pretty noisy large bird that has to be seen to be believed. Pronounced “watson”

A young Rufescent Tiger-heron close to the lodge.

The next post will tell how a pilot, afraid of heights, climbed a 150-foot observation tower – for the birds.

Isidro -2

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This was not a “roughing it” trip — no sleeping on mats or eating rice and beans.  We birded pretty intensely at times but always returned to great meals and nice beds. Even the box lunches were pretty amazing. Isidro was particularly special.

The light-filled bedrooms were surrounded by jungle and birds.

The artwork and decor was striking.

There is a wide variety of birds around and hummers everywhere.

On one of our outings, we stopped at a nearby village to bird and relax.

On a Sunday afternoon, kids and adults play futbol on the playground.

The local elementary school

Rest for the weary

I generally do not take pictures of food but the meals we returned to deserved some documentation for their artistry and taste.

An appetizer on the last evening

The entree

That evening, after a unproductive owl prowl, we rested for a long travel day by bus, boat, and canoe to the Amazon Rainforest and four exciting days with a whole array of birds and other wildlife.