Today the plan for the morning is to take a boat cruise on the Rupununi River to look for some rare Guyana birds. So we wake up for breakfast at 5AM and then it is time to take the vans to the river. For the first time our guide is late to the meeting point and there is quite a bit of back and forth regarding what is happening until he arrives and all is right again. From the lodge we are passing again through the savanna area and are treated to a beautiful dawn as we are passing then through the village and arrive to the landing.
At the landing we have to wait for our boat and then to be boarded so we enjoy our time on the shore with the dawn illuminating the Rupununi River like in National Geographic photo. Here we find out that our guide has caught a stomach bug and hasn’t slept the whole night before falling asleep and then missing the alarm and being late for the morning start. In fact he doesn’t look so well the whole day and doesn’t eat anything for lunch or dinner.
And then it is time for our cruise. As usual we are taking two boats down the river and start exploring the shore and sandbars for interesting birds like Southern Lapwings.
There are vultures in the trees and Wood Storks and martins and swallows flying above us, overall it is a great start of the day for birding.
The sun is not yet high up so we enjoy floating on the river and exploring the trees for birds, there are some but not as many as we expected on this stretch.
Still we see Lesser Kiskadees, which are common near rivers, and lots of Crested Caracaras, something new since we reached the savanna.
There are also many swallow-winged puffbirds, we are quite used to them by now, but many of the rare birds if even heard cannot be seen in the thicket of branches.
We have more luck with caymans seeing a few in the water but the birds continue to be less forthcoming than usual in a boat tour.
But then we find in short succession a tree full of Brown-throated Parakeets, cute, and a Brown Capuchin troop passing by in the trees and are quite excited again.
The excitment remains high as we now find a rare bird, a Sunbittern that we are really happy to see. And also our first Black-crowned Heron in Guyana, they are common in US but it is a lifer in Guyana :).
We find out that we are going to land at some point so every sandbar is a potential landing spot but we pass them one by one with no stopping for now. At this point stopping would be nice as it is getting hot so some shade would not be amiss.
But then our guides hear a Crestless Curassow and we wait for it to get to the shore and it does for a short time with most people being unable to see it, unfortunately. And no chance of photos.
We can see however anhingas and Green Ibises so the stretch is quite productive, just not the Crestless Curassow that would have been quite a rare sighting.
And then it is time to land to look for the Amazonian Black Tyrant that has been spotted for the first time in Guyana in this area. After landing our boats leave and now it seems we are marooned on this sandbar with no way to return, scary.
The trail is beautiful with flowers and no mosquitoes and as a bonus we also get a few beautiful birds like a Green-tailed Jacamar and a couple of Black-crested Antshrikes being annoyed at humans passing by.
With the flowers there are also some hummingbirds but we are soon entranced by another attraction here, an Amazon Giant Waterlily glimpsed through the branches.
We should not have worried, the trail leads to a pond full of giant water lilies where sit down and spend some time eating snacks and just enjoying the view.
Returning we catch a few fleeting glimpses of the Amazonian Black Tyrant but he is too far into the brush for good views or photos. That cannot be said of the cayman waiting for us near the landing side.
And then it is time to wait for the boats to return, hopefully, from wherever they went. During this time we explore the sandbar and after one hill we find a group of Large-billed Terns, quite cute. Which then get promptly scared by the top lister in our group who just has to go much closer than everyone else.
And then the boats return and it is time for the return trip which as usual is at a much faster pace. Still if something is seen the boat will slow down but with the heat bearing down on us and our guide mostly out of the action the stops are much shorter and fewer.
Soon we reach back the landing area, we can see when we approach it due the vans waiting for us cold and inviting. They are probably, except the starting hotel, the only place where we can escape the heat as both have working AC.
Returning we take a slightly different route passing through the village and seeing some of the houses and the school.
Also it seems they are now paving the road through the village, progress. It is said that the whole inland road will be paved which is both good and bad news, it will be more easier to access for tourism but also for logging. And then soon we are back at the Rock View Lodge to recuperate and lunch during the midday before the afternoon birding trip.
