After our arrival from Georgetown via the Kaieteur Waterfall we are now at the Iwokrama landing strip waiting for someone to pick us up. Soon a van pulls up, it is our ride and not our usual minibuses that will not be available for the day. But our luggage has made it here fine, we find out, and then it is a short ride to Iwokrama Lodge. The lodge is an active research station but also has a row of cabins that are available for tourists and this is what our tour has booked. First we make our way to the main building to complete all needed information and we also get all the rules for the property and then it is time to go visit our cabin.
We are one of the two couples on the tour so we get a double cabin. Not sure if there is any difference but at least it is closer to the restaurant and main building which is good if it rains.
There are multiple beds inside so we can pick whatever we want for tonight. There is no AC but we do get a fan and otherwise the cabin looks quite nice with an en-suite bathroom and shower. It even has glass windows, something that we will learn is a luxury in Guyana.
We do not have a lot of time to enjoy the cabin as we have to return to the restaurant for lunch. We eat outside under the top roof and the whole area is quite airy and there is lots of space. Everyone sits at a big table and then it is time to see what’s for lunch.
Besides tea and coffee which are quite welcome for our group given that some drink coffee from morning to late night the lunch is buffet style. You can choose what you want and there is a server who explains what the choices are. There are some issues for the vegetarian in our group but otherwise the food is varied and there are lots of choices. We are quite full afterwards but there is no rest for the wicked, it is soon time to go on the afternoon boat trip on the Essequibo River.
The lodge has its own landing and it even has a requirement for everyone to wear flotation devices. As such we are quite hot but safe, as safe as you can be on a river patrolled by caymans. We are split in two boats, each boat has one guide and soon we are on our way to catalogue the birds of the Essequibo.
The river here is quite wide and supposedly it can get quite rough but today is a calm day which is how we prefer it. From the beginning we see lots of Kingfishers including the huge Amazon Kingfisher.
We notice that we slowly make our way to the ferry area, in fact the whole afternoon we will explore the area around the ferry crossing so we will have to opportunity to see multiple crossings. Other crossings that we see is birds, lots of them are flying over and it takes some time to get used to catching them in flight like the beautiful Black Caracara in the photo below.
In fact we already see our first ferry crossing as we look for birds on the stone islands in the river. Trucks are quite common we will notice and otherwise various vans and trucks that can survive the rutted main road.
But we are on the river for birds and not trucks. And there are a few intersting ones like the Black-collared Swallows on the rocky islands and Blue-headed Parrots flying overhead. In fact there are quite a few birds both flying over the boat and on the shore and our boat tries its best to get close to them.
On a secluded sand bar we find another bird that we really like, a skimmer. While it is the same as we have seen in the US it is the first in Guyana but unfortunately it has decided to rest instead of skimming which would be cool. And then our trip upriver is blocked by some rapids and even though some boats are braving them we are happy that our guides decide not to do that.
Even downriver there are more than enough birds and the lifers come fast and easy for us. A Capped Heron there a Large-billed Tern in the air and they continue to add up, it is quite exciting and fun to see this many diverse birds.
There are quite a few Ringed Kingfishers on the river and we meet again with the beautiful Red-capped Cardinals, there are quite a few of them here on the shore.
Our boat takes a detour on a side branch of the river and we are not sure why until we reach a set of boluders that are covered in petroglyphs. This is the worst place we have seen petroglyphs being placed, in the middle of a raging river however they are still barely visible and we do our best trying to interpret them.
It is not just one rock but multiple ones that have petroglyphs on them but most cannot be approached due to the rapids that are flowing past them. Maybe that is the reason the petroglyphs are here as the people were forced to go out of the boats and ford on foot? Who knows.
The other boat is following us close behind on this stretch and on the shore there are children playing, it seems to us like we stepped back in time and are intrepid explorers of a new river full of new birds and possibly undiscovered dinosaurs.
There are no dinosaurs but a lot of undiscovered birds, for us, remain. We add a couple in short succession, a beautiful Crested Oropendola and a Black Nunbird, both quite common here but lifers for us at this point.
As we exit the side branch of the river it is getting dark and we find out that we are waiting for dusk to see bats and hopefully some night hawks. With the sun down it is getting cooler and we get some reprieve from the sun that has bothered during the early part of the trip.
With the moon out it is quite beautiful on the river, you could imagine yourself to be anywhere in the world as we wait for the night hawks. Finally the guides decide it is time and we find both bats and nighthawks however as it is too dark neither can be photographed unfortunately. Or even seen well.
We return now full speed to the lodge and it is time for dinner. We also see a few crab eating foxes nearby, quite fun and then do a debrief of everything we have seen for the day. And then we go to bed, we are quite tired at this point and tomorrow is another busy day when we have to wake up early for another boat ride but this time to a trailhead from where we will explore the jungle and look for jungle birds.
