Grand Venezuela Part II Mar 08—19, 2009
Posted by Steve Hilty
Steve Hilty
Steve Hilty is the senior author of A Guide to the Birds of Colombia, and the recently published Birds of Venezuela, both by Princeton University Press. Other credits inclu...Related Trips
Venezuela, as always, offers visitors a wide variety of bird and wildlife experiences. In birding jargon, it is simply a "birdy" place with an exceptional diversity and many species that are relatively easy to see, at least when compared to heavily forested regions such as Amazonia. Hato Cedral, a vast sprawling ranch in the central plains or grasslands, is undeniably a highlight in itself, but a boat excursion into the enormous wetlands of the ranch exceeded even our highest expectations.
Motoring in a small flat-bottomed boat across a ruler-flat wetland extending as far as the eye could see, we viewed a spectacle of waders and waterfowl that brought to mind images of what planet Earth might have been like eons ago. Wave after wave of whistling-ducks, teal, herons, egrets, tiger-herons, terns, and skimmers erupted into the air as our skiff passed. Noisy jacanas, dozens at a time, fluttered away like bright butterflies, while more stolid bitterns watched our passage with crossed eyes and sky-pointing bills. Hundreds of slow-moving capybaras with lumbering movements and listless eyes watched too, although they seemed only dimly aware of our presence. We motored past caiman too, dozens and dozens lined up like poorly aligned cordwood along water hyacinth-crowded shores. With mouths agape revealing toothy grins and skin smooth and shiny like old Naugahyde, a few slithered quietly off the banks and into the murky water. Most stared with unblinking eyes, as if frozen in time, more like bad plastic imitations at a Florida curio shop than the wily predators they really were.
Later in the morning we entered a river system teaming with hoatzins, wood-rails, and sharp-eyed raptors, then poled our way up a narrow serpentine creek canopied by a Tolkienesque swamp of small, twisted trees, black spreading roots, and dark vines. During the next two hours we spotted five Agami Herons and a Zigzag Heron perched stoically about two meters from our boat (and later a second one farther away). We also found Pygmy, Green-and-rufous, Green, and Amazon kingfishers; three shy Wire-tailed Manakins in a fruiting Ficus tree; and a mixed species flock containing antshrikes, jacamars, woodpeckers, tyrannulets, and gnatcatchers. But our day did not end there. A giant anteater was spotted in the afternoon and we obtained photographs from only a few meters away before it swam out into a canal. It was the second of a record three giant anteaters noted in as many days. We returned to this slow winding creek again late the next afternoon and watched our boatman pull piranha from the water as fast as he could bait his hook, and then toss them to alert hawks, herons, and wood-rails that waited nearby. Returning home after dark we passed thousands of egrets and ibises roosting and arguing in noisy confusion, while on this new nighttime stage, night-herons, Boat-billed Herons, potoos, and nightjars were now principal players.
Venezuela, however, is much more than a birding experience at a large ranch. It offers mountains, seacoasts, deserts, and a wide range of habitats for birds and birders alike. With good roads, good lodging and food, a well-illustrated bird guide with detailed text, and generally easy travel, it remains a perennial birding favorite. Despite increasingly strident rhetoric between international heads of state, and an increase in government-sponsored political slogans (Uh! Ah! Chavez Si Va!), Venezuela remains friendly, business is booming, and it is a delightful place for a birding vacation. Now it is our turn to say…Uh! Ah! Tell your friends.