Birdwatching in Guyana
Guyana offers a fabulous richness of wildlife, unsurpassable by any of its South American neighbours.
On this dedicated bird watching tour we get a chance to get up close to Guyana痴 many different and exotic bird species in their natural and still largely unspoiled habitat. We travel by boat and 4x4 and will go on various small walks to bring us closer to the wildlife. At night we stay in some of the new luxurious lodges near the coast in pristine forest settings, and in the south, several ranches offer comfortable quarters close to varied and interesting savannah habitats.
Saturday
Arrive in Guyana and transfer to Georgetown. Overnight at Cara Lodge, a 150-year-old heritage building converted into a beautiful small hotel.
Sunday
We leave Georgetown for the day and fly by chartered aircraft over the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers and hundreds of miles of unbroken tropical rainforest to land at Kaieteur, the world痴 highest single drop waterfall. The Kaieteur Falls are a single, massive, thundering cataract 100 meters wide created as the Potaro River makes a sheer drop of 228 meters, nearly five times the height of Niagara. The spectacle is the more impressive for its remoteness and it is even possible that we値l be the only persons viewing it.
Here we will hope to find White-chinned and White-tipped Swifts swirling over the gorge, and perhaps we値l be lucky enough to see the astonishingly colorful Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock. Taking off again, we値l continue to the Brazilian border and Orinduik Falls, where the Ireng River thunders over steps and terraces of solid jasper, a semi precious stone. With a backdrop of the rolling grass covered hills of the Pakaraima Mountains, this is truly one of the most beautiful locations in Guyana痴 hinterland.
We return to Georgetown and overnight at Cara Lodge. (B/L)
Monday
After breakfast we are off by 4x4 through the rainforest and heart of Guyana to the Essequibo River and the Iwokrama Field Station, where we will spend the next two nights. In the late afternoon we値l take a walk on the Screaming Piha Trail near the Field Station. Some of the birds we will hope to find at Iwokrama are Blue-cheeked Parrot, Crimson Topaz and Guianan Toucanet.
Overnight at Iwokrama Field Station. (B/L/D)
Tuesday
It痴 an early start as we embark on the Essequibo River and circumnavigate nearby Indian House Island. We return to the Field Station for breakfast, then travel once more by boat for half an hour or less to the foot of Turtle Mountain. Here we値l explore the trail, visiting Turtle Ponds and climbing to an elevation of about 900 feet for a spectacular view of the forest canopy below. After lunch we値l visit Fair View, a nearby Amerindian village and finally, after dark, we値l set out on the river once more, hoping to spot caimans and listening for the voices of nocturnal birds.
Overnight at Iwokrama Field Station. (B/L/D)
Wednesday
This morning we値l walk on Woodcreeper and Greenheart Trails, near the Field Station. The first hour or more will be an experience almost entirely for the ears, listening to forest birds as they sing in near darkness, but ultimately, with stronger light, we should be able to see some of them.
After lunch travel along the trail where there is a good chance to see the elusive Jaguar. The Iwokrama forest is rapidly gaining an international reputation for its healthy jaguar populations that seem not to be troubled by the appearance of curious humans. No promises, but many have been lucky! Eventually we reach the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway. Here we can bird watch from 35 m up in the canopy. After dinner we return to the walkway to experience the canopy at night.
Overnight in Iwokrama Atta Rainforest Lodge. (B/L/D)
Thursday
We are woken by the dawn chorus from the canopy walkway. After breakfast we値l travel to the Mori Scrub, spending the morning exploring a very particular and unusual habitat: a low, sandy forest with little or no grass cover. This scrubland supports a distinctive assemblage of bird species, among them Rufous-crowned Elaenia, Black Manakin and Red-shouldered Tanager.
In the afternoon we値l continue our journey to the Rupununi and Rock View Lodge in Annai. The Rupununi Savannah is to Guyana what the Gran Sabana is to Venezuela, an extensive area of grassland with termite mounds and scattered or riparian woodland. Needless to say, the birdlife here is remarkably different from that of the rainforest.
Overnight at Rock View Lodge. (B/L/D)
Friday
With its tropical gardens and flowering trees, our lodge resembles an oasis in the savannah, and attracts many species of birds, particularly nectar feeders and frugivores. Nearby patches of light forest are home to certain antbirds and flycatchers, and of course the grasslands support an avifauna of their own. We値l explore the area on foot, and as the afternoon cools we値l travel a short distance for birdwatching in the Pakaraima foothills.
Overnight at Rock View Lodge. (B/L/D)
Saturday
The morning痴 first flurry of avian activity wakes us and after breakfast we leave by 4x4 to Ginep Landing and the Rupununi River, where we値l embark for the boat trip upstream to Karanambu Ranch. This is the home of Diane McTurk, widely known for her work rehabilitating orphaned Giant River Otters.
Our birdwatching here will be largely in woodland patches or gallery forest along the river, where we値l hope to see such species as Spotted Puffbird, Striped Woodcreeper and Pale-bellied Tyrant-Manakin. When water levels are appropriate a wooded swamp near the ranch is the site of a surprisingly large colony of Boat-billed Herons, and at any season the river and airstrip provide habitat for no fewer than eight species of nightjars.
Overnight at Karanambu Ranch. (B/L/D)
Sunday
Birdwatching from daybreak to nightfall or later, we値l devote this entire day to exploring Karanambu and its varied habitats, traveling by boat to certain localities up and downstream, and by Land Rover to one or another forest patch. Double-striped Thick-knees are among the sparse inhabitants of the grasslands, and at widely scattered ponds we may find concentrations of storks and other waterbirds.
Overnight at Karanambu Ranch. (B/L/D)
Monday
A new day awaits and today we値l journey overland southward to Manari Ranch, stopping at certain wet areas along the road, visiting Pirara Creek and having a picnic lunch at Pirara Ranch. This should be an exciting day of unhurried travel and open-country birdwatching, with many herons, storks and raptors. The evening may afford an enjoyable hour or so among tall palms and mango trees near our quarters, or out in the grasslands where after sunset we may see several species of nighthawks.
Overnight at Manari Ranch. (B/L/D)
Tuesday
We travel further south, towards Lethem, the Rupununi痴 principal town, situated just across the Takutu River from Brazil. We値l break our journey to look at some marshy ponds near Makusi Village before continuing toward Dadanawa Ranch. This is the largest ranch in Guyana, covering 1700 square miles, and our first night will be at Mountain Point, the home of Shirley Humphrys, about ten miles from the main ranch buildings.
Set in the midst of vast emptiness, it is surrounded by gently rolling savannah with tawny grasses and the twisted, fire-blackened trunks of Curatella or "sandpaper" trees, and dominated by the low peaks of the Kanuku Mountains to the north and to the south by the steep spires of outlying Dukban and Shiriri.
The weathered building seems altogether improbable here yet gives the impression of having endured forever with its thatched roof and tiny orchard, and the birds frequenting this little oasis have grown almost fearless, even the normally timid ground-doves. After settling in we値l take a walk to a shallow reedy pond and narrow strip of light forest nearby.
Overnight at Mountain Point. (B/L/D)
Wednesday
We値l spend this morning birdwatching around the pond and visiting the nearby Sawariwau River. Later on we値l make the short trip to Dadanawa Ranch, a cluster of raised wooden buildings surmounted by a towering Brazil nut tree and more or less surrounded by low gallery forest along the Rupununi River.
From here we値l travel eastward and pass several shallow ponds before reaching Towa Towan, a high, rounded outcrop of blackened granite with a Jabiru nest near the summit and a small pond at the base with dense mucca mucca, a giant arum. We値l look for certain flycatchers in surrounding Curatella glades and in late afternoon we値l hope to see nighthawks on the wing and witness the roosting of Yellow-crowned Parrots.
Overnight at Dadanawa Ranch. (B/L/D)
Thursday
Today we池e off on an all-day trip to some of the ranch痴 outstations and several extraordinarily beautiful sites, with lightly forested mountainsides and high, black domes. We should see a variety of raptors and other open-country birds, but our particular object will be Red Siskin, recently found to occur here. Our route may also permit us to visit a "bush island", or isolated patch of heavier forest, home to an interesting aggregation of bird species.
Overnight at Dadanawa Ranch. (B/L/D)
Friday
We値l have time this morning to explore riparian woodland and thickets near the ranch, as well as the muddy margins of a shallow pond and some paddocks that may contain standing water. After lunch we値l retrace our steps to Lethem, birdwatching en route at several localities near the Takutu River.
Overnight at Manari Ranch. (B/L/D)
Saturday
Morning birding on the savannah and along the river before flying to Georgetown. This afternoon we値l take a tour of the city to see its extraordinary wooden architecture and to shop at its exciting markets and craft shops.
We値l conclude at the extensive and beautiful Botanic Garden, where, if we are lucky, the trip痴 ornithological finale will be Blood-colored Woodpecker, an astonishingly colorful Veniliornis found only in the Guianas and even there almost wholly limited to the narrow coastal plain.
Overnight at Cara Lodge. (B/L)
Sunday
Transfer to the airport for your departing flight. (B)
Our price includes:
Airport transfers, double or twin accommodation, camping equipment, meals as listed, all road and river transport, internal flights, local guides, activities as described, local bar at Rock View, Karanambu & Dadanawa.
Please note: In most cases we will have double or twin rooms with private facilities. However, depending on the size of the group, at Mountain Point and Iwokrama there may be some dormitory accommodation with shared facilities. Single accomodation provided where possible.
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