Cock of the Rock
on Kate in Guyana (Guyana), 31/Mar/2010 00:57, 34 days ago
Today we had an early start, leaving at 6 am, to do quite a long walk along a jungle trail to get to the cave where the cock of the rock bird nests. This bird is very dramatic, being bright orange/red with a big crest on its head. We had a guide from the local village, who was very knowledgable about trees and their uses and birds. He was able to imitate the sounds of birds that he heard, which helps attract them to come closer. But it is still pretty difficult to see anything as the trees are so thick. Anyway, we did see lots of stuff along the way, including green and red macaw, swallow tailed kites, woodcreepers, woodpeckers, and we heard the screaming piha, which is a very loud caller but is a boring grey colour so is very hard to see. We also saw some amazing butterflies, including this bright electric blue one which I´ve seen at the other trip. It took three hours to get to the cave, but we were rewarded by seeing the cock of the rock, including going in the cave (below a massive rock) where they were nesting high up on the wall, among bats. The really interesting part is listening to how the local amerindian guide talks about the jungle trees and animals and shows such a close knowledge of the whole place. Afterwards we went to the village shop where the guide came from, where they had just butchered a cow, so there was a massive pile of raw meat on the table. I was asking what happened next, thinking that they would be distributing it around the village so that it would get used quickly, but they said they would be packing it up to go in the freezer - so that shut me up. However they do not have electricity in the afternoon here at all, so that does not sound too great. This afternoon was rest time - hit the hammock.Tomorrow we are going on another early trip to canoe to two oxbow lakes where there is good birding, but also we may be lucky and see monkeys or giant river otters. I´d like to see monkeys as I haven´t seen any yet. We have been told to cover up and use insect repellent - they only warn you after you have booked! We have a boatman to do the canoeing, but I´ve asked to take a turn. They say that the boat will go round in circles, so I´m hoping to show a bit of expertise to control that.Cheers Kate