The wake up time today is again 4AM as there is a long drive to the Red Siskin area near Sand Creek. This time we don’t take our vans because we need 4×4 cars. In fact 3 of them arriving at 4AM each with one local guide. With luck we get situated in the best one, the driver is the organizer, and called the unofficial mayor of Lethem and knows lots of interesting details. We also knows the birds best so many times during the day we will be the first to the bird area and the top listers don’t get a chance to scare them away as usually. In fact we do pass through Lethem and then on dirt roads through many small villages at night before arriving at the Red Siskin area which is quite nicely arranged with a picnic area for breakfast.
While waiting for the Siskins we do eat breakfast, we didn’t eat in the morning so we are quite hungry and the food is quite good really this time. The covered picnic area is also quite good during the bouts of rain which come and go during this time.
With the dawn come a few birds, not the Siskins but some hummingbirds and our first White-throated Kingbirds.
The area is quite beautiful especially with the fog and the clouds ensuring the sun does not hit us directly. And the hills covered in fog and trees are magical.
And then between a couple bouts of rain a Red Siskin appears but only briefly, we see it but there is no time for good photos. The guides now decide to change tack and try the feeding grounds of the Siskin maybe we can see them closer and for a longer period of time.
HIking through the wet grass is fun even though we will be wet for some time and even though we do not see any Siskins on the way we find a beautiful group of Red-shouldered Macaws which are quite active and vocal in the nearby palm trees.
At the feeding grounds there are quite a few Red Siskins but hidden in the undergrowth and difficult to photograph. We get lucky though and one flies up in a tree and stays there for a while for some good photos.
Happy now we continue exploring the area while trying to avoid the rain as much as possible. We see a few more interesting birds on the way like a Yellow-Olive Flatbill and then we find out that actually we are going one way and the trucks are going to wait on us at the other end of the trail.
We continue following the trail arriving at a burnt area which is the place where we set up camp for a while looking for any interesting birds.
Some interesting birds here are the Purple-throated Euphonia and Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet between many honeycreepers and other birds.
But the bonus, right next to our cars is a Brown Vinesnake doing his best twig impression and almost succeeding but failing in the end with so many eyes looking for birds in the trees.
On the way back we stop a few times finding a few more beautiful birds like a colorful Spotted Puffbird pair and a White-barred Piculet exploring a dead tree.
Another fun find on the way is a Red-breasted Meadowlark singing from a branch and watching us and then a Rusty-winged Antwren carrying a bug, quite interesting.
It is time for lunch now but on the way we stop at a shop to use the restroom. This is needed because as we find out the lunch spot does not have a working toilet. So while the SUVs are waiting we file into the bathroom before the short drive to the lunch spot.
The lunch is served in the community center by the local group of volunteers protecting the Red Siskin. The food is quite good and there are many choices and we really enjoy it.
Being a community center it has the trinity of the government over the main door where a dog is waiting patiently for any scraps. It is quite an interesting lunch as we also talk a bit with the locals and understand the efforts they put in to protect the Red Siskin.
And then it is back on the road as we explore a few more lakes and rivers finding a few Jabiru as it starts to rain again and we get drenched before returning to the SUV.
In the prairie we also find a beautiful Double-striped Thick Knee pair, they are quite interesting to watch as they sneak through the grass.
Next we stop near two lakes, according to our driver, who tells us to explore both of them. The first one is dry, not really that interesting with not a lot of birds and we are not sure why he was so excited.
Between the lakes we find a few more birds including a Savanna Hawk and a new bird, a Wedge-tailed Grass-Finch, quite a beautiful one.
As we arrive at the second lake we understand why the guide was so insistent for us to explore it. There is a pair of Sharp-tailed Ibises here, something quite rare in Guyana and seen only once or twice per year if at all. So quite a find.
And then it is time to return slowly towards the accomodation with a lot of stops on the way. The first one yields one more interesting bird, not rare in general but usually seen only as a domestic bird, a Muscovy Duck. Fun to see them in the wild.
As we pass through the savanna our driver starts scanning for a new bird, the Bearded Tachuri. He stops a few times and walks into the fields listening and trying to find it with no luck at first.
But then at the third or forth stop he hears something and everyone files out of the SUVs and gets great views of this specialty of the Rupununi savanna.
We pass through multiple villages along the way and now we can see them in the sunlight, as usual there are all the party flags flying and traditional houses, very interesting.
We pass near the only shop and explore for a short while the village waterhole but there are only domestic birds and animals unfortunately.
Next our driver stops at a few palm trees and with some difficulty we coax a Point-tailed Palmcreeper to show for us. It is a beautiful bird and again quite rarely seen on a tour.
The last major bird and lifer on the tour is a group of Brazilian teal on a pond by the side of the road just as the sun starts to fall below the horizon.
We then pass through Lethem, a fast growing town but with relatively little history. All the buildings seem to be new, with many supermarkets for the Brazilian border crossers as Lethem is a border town.
In fact exactly one house looks historic on the route that we take and likely it is a store too. As we exit there is a disaffected barricade with a guard post nearby and our driver remarks that this was the Covid checkpoint, a blast from the past.
Arriving back at the lodging we decide to explore the grounds on our own a bit to see the turtle and also if there are any interesting birds. We find the usual birds and a group of beautiful parrots just enjoying the dusk and cooler temperatures.
And then it is time for dinner, we are the first ones insides so we can explore the ranch house a bit before everyone else can arrive.
The food is quite good and we especially enjoy the fried plantain which somehow seems to be the least preferred food in our group. No problem, more for us!
Dinner ends with ice cream as requested by our group the previous day with some eating more than one serving after the hot day out. And then back to the room to pack as tomorrow we will return to Georgetown after one more birding outing in the morning.
