An early start to our day this morning to beat the heat and to find and photograph birds! I don’t know about getting the worm, but we definitely got to see the birds! And what resplendent birds we saw: macaws, toucans, egrets, hawks, falcons, and parrots. Perhaps the highlight of the morning was a masked crimson tanager hidden from all eyes on a nest. Only with the greatest caution and approach could we see this bright red bird on its nest…
Our afternoon was spent in a place I have visited before: Río El Dorado. This little tributary opens into a flooded area perfect for caimans! There are four species to be found in this area of the rainforest. At barely five feet as an adult, pygmy caimans are the smallest with the largest being the black caiman that can break 12 feet in length. The time to find caimans is after sunset, when the beam of a strong searchlight will reflect red eyes back to the searcher. Our efforts were rewarded after a glorious sunset with close-up views of spectacled caimans right beside our skiffs!
