Day 12 - Moving through the Brevis Narrows towards Belem, Brazil Oct 25—Nov 08, 2004

Posted by Peter English

Peter-english

Peter English

Peter English became interested in birds while in the fourth grade. He graduated from Williams College in 1988 and received his Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Texa...

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Birding from the top deck

Birding from the top deck — Photo: Peter English

We were all on deck before sunrise to watch as the ship entered the Narrows, and were not disappointed. For hours we were kept busy with a wide variety of hawks, eagles, and other birds on both sides of the ship. Highlights included King Vulture, Short-tailed Hawk, Slender-billed Kite, Plumbeous Kite, Swallow-tailed Kite, Gray-headed Kite, Black Caracara, Red-throated Caracara, Slender-billed Kite, Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, Black Hawk-Eagle, Laughing Falcon, and Bat Falcon. We also saw White-throated and Channel-billed toucans; and Red-necked, Lettered, and Chestnut-eared Aracaris; Chestnut-fronted Macaws, Mealy, Orange-winged, and Red-fan parrots; and Tui and Golden-winged parakeets. Throughout the Narrows we also saw Pink and Gray river dolphins surfacing alongside the ship.
A forested island in the Narrows

A forested island in the Narrows — Photo: Peter English

After lunch we took a break from the birding to go over the list of birds seen on the trip. The final list will be mailed out to participants after it has been carefully reviewed, but some impressive numbers of species were seen including: 34 species of raptors, 20 species of parrots, 22 species of hummingbirds, 30 species of antbirds, 55 species of flycatchers, and 10 species of manakins.

Everyone voted for the favorite bird species of the trip, and the winner was… Hoatzin! Coming in closely tied for second place were Gray-winged Trumpeter and Fiery-tailed Awlbill.

The VENT leaders

The VENT leaders — Photo: Peter English

This will be the last update from this wonderful cruise. Tomorrow we dock at Belem, Brazil and begin our journeys home. We have had a wonderful time together, met new friends and reconnected with old friends, seen more bird species than anyone could have anticipated and most importantly enjoyed our time together.