Guyana Birding Adventure

Guide: local guides and Richard Knapton

Guyana is one of the world’s last virtually untouched wildernesses and hosts seemingly endless tracts of Amazonian rainforest. Excitingly, it is still poorly-known, and we may still discover new birds to science here. Surprisingly, in this remote and sparsely-populated country, there are some truly excellent lodges providing access to the vast forests and waterways of this region. Bird-wise, Guyana provides a friendly, English-speaking alternative to Venezuela (and may currently be a better place to start one’s birding exploits of Northern South America than Venezuela). In addition, Guyana also hosts a plethora of Guyanan specials found only in a very small part of South America. On our tour, we seek birds such as Harpy Eagle, Red Siskin, Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock, Guianian Red Cotinga, Crimson Fruitcrow, Capachunbird and many other spectacular, localized and rare birds. We also have a very real chance of finding Jaguar and other exciting mammals.

Photo:Tony Thorne

Day 1 - Arrival in Guyana
On arrival at Cheddi Jagan airport in Guyana, we transfer to our hotel in Georgetown. Our route to our hotel and the hotel grounds will introduce us to many familiar birds – Cattle, Great and Snowy Egrets, perhaps Southern and Yellow-headed Caracaras, Southern Lapwing, Pale-vented Pigeon, Orange-winged Parrot, Brown-throated Parakeet, Tropical Kingbird, Southern House-Wren and Gray-breasted Martin. Time permitting, we visit either the Georgetown Botanical Gardens or the “Garden of Eden” for our first opportunity to find some choice species. Overnight Georgetown.

Day 2 - Botanical Garden/Arrowpoint Nature Reserve
We have an early start where we greet sunrise at the Botanical Gardens, a marvelous area of palms, mature trees, waterways covered in lotus blossoms, and many special birds, from Snail Kites, Limpkins and Donacobius to many parrots and macaws including both Red-bellied and Red-shouldered, Black-crested Antshrike, White-bellied and Golden-spangled Piculets, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Festive Parrot, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Turquoise Tanager, and perhaps the star bird of the gardens – Blood-coloured Woodpecker, a very scarce endemic limited to coastal Guyana and Suriname.

We then transfer by boat up the Demerara and Kamuni Rivers to Arrowpoint Nature Reserve, a charming rainforest lodge with sandy beaches set in open savannah and seasonally flooded swamps on Pokerero Creek and operated by Arawak Indians. Here we walk trails and canoe along calm backwaters, looking for Greater Yellow-headed Vulture, Green Ibis, Sungrebe, Point-tailed Palmcreeper in the Moriche Palms, Green-tailed Goldenthroat and the spectacular Crimson Topaz. Mixed-species flocks could contain Chestnut-rumped Woodcreeper, Black-headed Antbird, Cinereous Antshrike, Zimmer’s Flycatcher and White-crowned Manakin. Short-tailed and Band-tailed Nighthawks forage for insects along the river in the evening. Overnight Arrowpoint.

Day 3 – Arrowpoint and transfer to Iwokrama
We spend the early morning birding Arrowpoint, and then transfer by boat and road to Ogle Airport and fly to Kaieteur Falls, stopping to admire this amazing spectacle, where the Potaro River plunges 741 feet in the single longest drop of any waterfall in the world. We walk around this interesting area, with its unique flora of heaths and giant ground bromeliads (with its golden frog). The splendid Guyanan Cock-of-the-Rock occurs here, as do the striking White-tipped Swift, which nests behind the waterfall, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, Orange-breasted Falcon, Sunbittern, Red-shouldered Tanager and noisy Coraya Wrens.

Leaving Kaieteur Falls, we fly over miles of unbroken tropical rainforest to land at Iwokrama Airstrip, and transfer to Iwokrama River Lodge. The lodge is situated along the Essequibo River, where Cocoi and Capped Herons, Black Skimmer, Pied Lapwing, Large-billed and Yellow-billed Terns and Anhinga occur. Trails at Iwokrama support Gray-winged Trumpeter, Spix’s Guan, Crestless Curassow, Collared Trogon, Chestnut, Golden-collared, Golden-green and Waved Woodpeckers, Eastern Slaty-Antshrike, Amazonian Antshrike, Olivaceous, White-chinned, Strong-billed, and Amazonian Barred Woodcreepers, Sooty-headed Tyrannulet and Tiny Tyrant Manakin. This afternoon we bird trails close to the field station, perhaps the aptly named Screaming Piha Trail. An evening boat ride should reveal several Black Cayman and white Ghost Bats, and we look for Ladder-tailed Nightjar and perhaps a Potoo – Great, Common, the rare Rufous and White-winged are possible. Night at Iwokrama River Lodge.

Days 4 – 5 - Iwokrama
We have two days to explore the Iwokrama Forest Preserve and adjacent attractions. One day we travel by boat to Turtle Mountain. Along the way King Vulture, Gray-headed, Double-toothed and Plumbeous Kites and Black-faced Hawk may fly over. Green-and-Rufous Kingfisher hunt along backwaters. At the mountain, we have a chance of Green Aracari, White Bellbird, Little Chachalaca, Black Curassow, Black-bellied Cuckoo, Eastern Long-tailed Hermit, Blue-crowned Motmot, Collared Puffbird, and several antwrens including Pygmy, Spot-tailed, Rufous-bellied and Brown-bellied. On another day, we travel along the road through the heart of the Iwokrama Forest, where there is a chance to see the elusive Jaguar. We stop at the Mori Scrub, an area of sandy forest that has a unique suite of species including Black Manakin and Rufous-crowned Eleania. Roadside birding could turn up Blue-backed Tanager, Olive-green Tyrannulet, Rufous-winged Ground-cuckoo and Marail Guan. Our tallies at the end of each day should be quite impressive; five species of tinamou, Black-tailed, Amazonian Violaceous and White-tailed Trogons, Black-necked Aracari, Guyanan Toucanet, Paradise Jacamar, Black-spotted Barbet, the splendid Guyanan Red Cotinga, Spangled and Pompadour Cotingas, Spotted Puffbird, Painted Parakeet, Reddish Hermit, Dusky-throated Antshrike, Spotted Antpitta, Rufous-capped Antthrush, White-plumed and Rufous-throated Antbirds, Golden-headed Manakin, Helmeted Pygmy-Tyrant, Rufous-tailed Flatbill, Musician Wren, Green Oropendola and Red-rumped Cacique. Both Howler and Spider Monkeys are frequently encountered. Nights at Iwokrama Lodge.

Day 6 - Atta Canopy Walkway and Iwokrama
We leave early and travel to the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway. The superb metal canopy walkway is a series of suspension bridges and decks up to 30 m in height and 154 m in length. In this area are some especially choice species, from Harpy Eagle to Jaguar and Puma. We have the opportunity to see several canopy specialists such as the diminutive Dusky Purpletuft, Purple-breasted Cotinga, Todd’s and Guyanan Streaked Antwrens, Guyanan Puffbird, Dusky and Caica Parrots, and a variety of woodcreepers, woodpeckers, honeycreepers, tityras, toucans, aracaris and more. Trails to and from the walkway support a rich diversity of tinamous, foliage-gleaners, antshrikes, grosbeaks and other goodies. The clearing at Atta is an excellent location for Crimson Fruit-Crow.

In the afternoon we walk the Cock-of-the-rock Trail, an easy 20 minute walk, to enjoy more Guyanan Cock-of-the-rock. Then we transfer by road to the Macushi village of Surama, where the open savanna supports the local Finsch’s Euphonia, Straight-billed Woodcreeper and White-winged Becard. Overnight at Surama Eco-Lodge.

Day 7 - Surama
A walk along trails across the savanna and into the forest to the Burro Burro River should reveal an array of new species: Black-banded Woodcreeper, Great Jacamar, Golden-sided Euphonia, Red-and-green Macaw, Red-fan and Blue-headed Parrots, Scale-backed, Ferruginous-backed and Dusky Antbirds, and Lesser and Plain-crested Elaenias, Wedge-tailed Grassfinch and Double-striped Thick-knee. Our local guides paddle us by canoe along the river for possible opportunities to observe Giant Otter, Brazilian Tapir, Black Spider Monkeys, and a wealth of birds. If there is an active nest of Harpy Eagle, then we will plan on visiting the site. Overnight at Surama Eco-lodge.

Day 8 -Transfer to Karanambu
We transfer by boat along the Rupununi River and along the foothills of the Pakaraima Mountains, to our next location, Karanambu Ranch. At Karanambu Ranch, we will be greeted by Diane McTurk and her remarkable rehabilitation facilities for orphaned Giant Otters – and we may indeed be met by one of her orphans!. Karanumbu Ranch is an area of rainforest and savanna, and as such has an interesting assortment of wildlife, from Giant Anteaters to Capuchinbirds. We spend our time here searching forested trails, open savannas and the rivers and backwaters close to the ranch. Possibilities include Black-chinned Antbird, Striped Woodcreeper, Pale-bellied Tyrant-Manakin, Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Bearded Tachuri, Bicolored Wren and White-tailed Goldenthroat. Waterbirds include Jabiru, Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Ringed and Amazon Kingfishers, Purple Gallinule, the superb Agami Heron, and Wattled Jacanas walking on amazing Amazonian Water-Lilies. Night rides can be productive for eight species of nightjar inhabiting this area including Least Nighthawk and White-tailed Nightjar. Overnight at Karanambu Ranch.

Day 9 - Karanambu and transfer to Lethem
After morning birding at Karanambu, we transfer by vehicle to Lethem with birding along the way. In the afternoon we bird around Lethem and along the banks of the Takatu River. Possibilities include Spotted and Painted Tody-Flycatchers, Cinereous Becard, Black-faced Dacnis, Yellow-rumped Cacique with attendant Shiny and Giant Cowbirds and Piratic Flycatchers, Cayenne Jay and Epaulet Oriole. Overnight at Lethem.

Day 4 – Rio Branco and Ireng River
Two range-restricted species, Hoary-throated Spinetail and Rio Branco Antbird, occur in gallery forest along the Rio Branco and tributaries. The spinetail is classed as endangered and the antbird near-threatened. We take a boatride on the rivers to reach habitats where each occurs; we should also encounter a fine array of waterside species such as Black-collared Hawk, Muscovy Duck, kingfishers, herons, Pale-legged Hornero and maybe Capybara. Night near Lethem.

Day 11 – Transfer to Georgetown
After a pre-dawn breakfast we bird around Lethem. We look for species not found so far, and then after lunch we fly back to Georgetown for a celebratory evening meal. Overnight Georgetown.

Day 12 - Departure
We head for the airport for our departure flights home.

What to Expect

You can expect some early morning, before breakfast excursions as well as a couple of very early breakfasts (about 4.30 AM) so we can be in the field for dawn. Everywhere in the tropics it is desirable to be in good habitat by daybreak when bird activity and song are at their peaks. We concentrate on “edge” birding until the light is good enough to enter forest trails. Often we return to our lodge around noon for lunch and a siesta. We bird in the cool of the late afternoon. We also have both night drives as we travel along roads in the Iwokrama Forest Preserve, and night boat rides at Karanambu Ranch.

Our tour includes in-country air flights and several boat trips as we travel from one destination to the next. On days that we drive, we travel short distances in order to maximize our time in the field. Most birding will be from quiet roads, wide trails, boats and the marvelous canopy walkway at Iwokrama. The trails we walk are mostly flat and easy to moderate, with some short steep sections. You can expect hot weather, sometimes humid, with a mixture of sun and cloud and occasional rain. Stout, waterproof footwear is an advantage and a light rain jacket and waterproof hat are recommended. A small umbrella is also very useful. Mosquitoes and other biting insects should not be a problem on this tour, but it is advisable to bring insect repellant.

Accommodations vary from simple to modern; all will be comfortable. Our visit to the Macushi village of Surama will be a fascinating experience. Most meals are taken at lodges; on some days we have picnic lunches prepared for us in order to maximize our time in the field and allow a more flexible schedule. In the evening, after dinner, we discuss the day’s events and sightings, list the birds and other wildlife seen, and prepare for the next day’s itinerary.