Red and Green Macaws
The Tiputini Biodiversity Station is located on a bluff along the Rio Tiputini. The river runs swiftly in a narrow, steep-sided channel across much of the eastern half of Ecuador before it joins the Rio Napo near the Peruvian border. The forest is still a roadless wilderness. Meaning that transportation involves boats. There is something really different and special about traveling over water. Especially a long winding river with endless forest on each side. The station had three boats, all dugout canoes, although the term canoe seems a bit inadequate for the largest one which could hold 40 people and all their luggage. They reminded of my youth spending summers on lakes in Ontario. How exciting and grown up it was to be able to operate the outboard motor. Getting in and out on steep shores or docks. Although the environment was very different it did give me a taste of the vacations of my youth. But with exotic birds And monkeys.
The river is also the best place to see wildlife, including birds.
This white-throated toucan is just one example of a bird that is much easier to see from a boat than walking on a trail.
Of course some birds such as these white-banded swallows are species that you will only see along the river where they are a constant joy. Also along the banks were some less strikingly marked but lively birds that looked a bit like some kind of vireo.
It turns out they were Drab Water Tyrants, a kind of flycatcher. Despite their rather condescending name (the other two water tyrant species in Ecuador have rather striking black and white plumage) they were really fun birds to watch. There's a close up of this one below.
The river edge is home to more than just birds. I was going to have a really cute picture of some bats sleeping under the dock steps here but for some reason it won't show up here although it does in Photobucket. This river dolphin is a somewhat more exotic river denizen
Of course there are other places to see birds and other wildlife besides the river. The canopy tower is an excellent place that gives an even better perspective for seeing animals such as this red howler monkey chowing down on some leaves.
Among the birds seen from the canopy were Pied Puffbird
White-fronted Nunbird
Oropendula, probably Russet-backed. This is the only digiscoped picture I got.
Common Piping Guan
The station also had a small ox bow lake that attracted some different birds. Some were flying overhead like this Greater Yellow-headed Vulture (looks just like a Turkey Vulture except for the head color).
While the Hoatzins which were the real stars of the lake hung out along the sides.
The Hoatzin is a bizarre bird of uncertain evolutionary relationship although the most likely explanation is that it is related to cuckoos. They are the size of a goose and hang out in vegetation along quiet waters in the rain forest. They feed on leaves and the young have claws on their wings which they use for climbing. Mostly they make a god-awful racket and fly clumsily from one perch to another.
Afterword The title of this post is adapted from the title of the first book, "Swallows and Amazons"' in a series of children's novels written by British author Arthur Ransom in the 1930s and early 1940s. The books, which may be pretty obscure to Americans, revolve around the activities of English schoolchildren during the holidays at rural locations, most notably the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. My mother was a huge fan and saved several of the books from own childhood which lead to me eventually reading them all. Sailing is a major focus but the real joy of the books is how the imaginations of the kids transform their surroundings to a world of adventure and exploration. They captured the joy of summer holidays better than any other books I've ever read. And about half of the titles include the names of birds (e.g. 'Coot Club' and 'Great Northern?').