Saturday morning, January 26, 2019

The normal daily schedule includes a short excursion (less than one hour) before breakfast, then a longer (two hour) excursion after breakfast. We return for lunch and perhaps a nap. There may be a lecture by one of the professional photographers, a naturalist or one of the other crew (we learned how to make Pisco Sours, a skill that will be used when we return home). Then, we take another two hour excursion around 4:00, returning shortly before dinner. We pick up our Pisco Sours, get a briefing about the following day, and then have dinner. Sometimes, we go straight to bed, because we know we’re getting up really early the next day. Sometimes, we manage to stay up for another hour. The days are very full.

This early morning, we visited Supay Creek, where we saw more birds, including a Plum-throated Cotinga (only from the back), Red-capped Cardinal and a female Anhinga with its beautiful feather pattern. Before today, we had only seen the graceful Anhinga flying over us.

We spotted a Green Iguana basking at the top of a tree, giving us a nice view of its underside and claws. He looked very comfortable up there. Next was a juvenile Black Hawk. A couple of days ago, we had seen one airing its wings; it, too, has a beautiful feather pattern. There was a Black-fronted Nunbird with a red beak, and a Cinnamon Attila.

The water was very calm today on Supay Creek,  mirroring the trees and vegetation in the water.

On our second excursion, this time to Iricahua Creek, we went through a school of Amazon Jumping Sardines, small fish that were very active. Then, we spotted a beautiful White-eared Jacamar, related to the kingfishers. A Black-tailed Trogon posed obligingly for us. Ficus plants grow very large, with numerous roots into the water below. They can be homes to lizards and bats. We were fortunate enough to see specimens of both, including an Olive Treerunner Lizard and a Black Spotted Skink.

Our guide picked some Mistletoe for us to examine. The seed is very sticky, so it will adhere to a bird that lands on the bush, then be carried to another area where it can drop and germinate.

A lovely pair of Blue and Yellow Macaws entertained us for a while, as did a Green-backed Trogon. As we sped back to the boat, the jumping sardines were all around us. What a treat!

A few local women stopped by the ship in their boats with crafts to sell. There were some beautiful items, both woven and carved. I succumbed to a macaw made from Tagua and Mahogany, at a price of 30 Soles, or about $7, which I considered to be a bargain.