PeterHG's eighth BY

[PeterHG]

Some more from the Bigi Pan area:

 

116 / SU 84. Neotropic Cormorant. Bigi Pan, February.

 

117 / SU 85. Cocoi Heron. Bigi Pan, February. Common in the area, but seen only once in the rest of the country.

 

118 / SU 86. Roseate Spoonbill. Bigi Pan, February. The only one, we saw. Very distant, so a large crop.

 

119 / SU 87. Greater Yellowlegs. Bigi Pan, February. Only seen here. We also saw some lesser cousins, but no change for a photo.

 

120 / SU 88. Magnificent Frigatebird. Bigi Pan, February. One of the boat trips through the creeks took us to a spot close to the sea. A few minutes wading through the mud gave us the only sighting of this bird.

 

 

121 / SU 89. Pale-vented Pigeon. Bigi Pan, February. Perhaps not really pigeon country, but it always seems any area is pigeon country.

 

 

122 / SU 90. Carib Grackle. Bigi Pan, February. 

 

123 / SU 91. Wood Stork. Bigi Pan, February. The only area we saw this species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

WOW on the scarlet ibis. such a brilliant colour

[PeterHG]

Thank you @Kitsafari. This was definitely my favourite bird of the trip!

 

From Bigi Pan we drove back to the little village of Groningen, named after our city in the north of the country. After the very basic accommodation we had opted for a little more luxury for two nights, meaning half of this apartment. A very nice place, with delicious food and the possibility of a boat trip on the river. On our last day we booked a river cruise, but the rain made sure we saw almost no birds. Still we liked it here and we did get a few new ones for the list.

 

 

124 / SU 92. Piratic Flycatcher. Groningen, February. Probably the eye-patch that inspired the name.

 

125 / SU 93. Little Cuckoo. Groningen, February. Seen from our terrace and only this once.

 

126 / SU 94 Black-tailed Tityra. Groningen, February.

 

127 / SU 95. Spectacled Thrush. Groningen, February. The pale-breasted thrush was by far the most common thrush, but we did see its spectacled cousin in several locations.

 

128 / SU 96. Plain-crowned Spinetail. Groningen, February. Already the third spinetail species I managed to take a photo of.

 

129 / SU 97. Crested Caracara. Groningen, February. Much rarer than the yellow-headed caracara. I think we only saw it twice. Both times far away.

 

130 / SU 98. White-throated Toucan. Groningen, February. We heard it calling for some time and finally we spotted it in some distant trees. A lifer, so worth the effort.

 

131 / SU 99. Greater Ani. Groningen, February. The light eyes (and the size) distinguish it from the smooth-billed Ani, the most common variety.

 

132 / SU 100. Barred Antshrike. Groningen, February. An unmistakable antshrike. First the male:

 

And then the female:

[PeterHG]

 

For our last few days we returned to the Commewijne area, east of the capital. A different location though, the 'Hotel de Plantage'. A very nice place close to the jingle with basic, but adequate accommodation.

 

133 / SU 101. Greater Yellow-headed Vulture. Commewijne, February. Probably almost as common as the Lesser Yellow=headed Vulture, but pretty hard to distinguish, especially when high up in the sky. So this was the first positive ID.

 

134 / SU 102. Cream-coloured Woodpecker. Commewijne, February. I had hoped to see one here and fortunately we did, but not a great picture unfortunately. A lifer, though.

 

135 / SU 103. Little Hermit. Commewijne, February. Only seen once, on a short jungle walk. Another lifer.

 

136 / SU 104. Striped Woodcreeper. Commewijne, February.

 

137 / SU 105. Green-tailed Jacamar. Commewijne, February. A beautiful forest bird, hummingbird-like, but much bigger.

 

 

138 / SU 106. Western Sandpiper. Commewijne, February. On the mudflats along the river.

 

139 / SU 107. Little Blue Heron. Commewijne, February. We saw them in several locations, though never in great numbers/

An adult:

 

And an immature:

 

140 / SU 108. Turquoise Tanager. Commewijne, February. A colourful member of the tanager family. A lifer.

 

141 / SU 109. Black-collared Hawk. Commewijne, February.

 

 

142 / SU 110. Ash-throated Crake. Commewijne, February. Seen on our last morning. Another lifer.

 

This concludes (I think) the Suriname collections. I managed to ID about 140 species. This is lower than I had expected, but 55 of these were lifers, which wasn't bad at all. Better weather conditions and some good guiding would undoubtedly have led to more species, but we thoroughly enjoyed our trip anyway.

 

[michael-ibk]

The Turquoise Tanager is really beautiful! Did you have to attract the Crake or did it pose voluntarily? That's a pretty skulky species I found. Thanks for sharing your Surinam photos, I greatly enjoyed seeing them. Sorry about the amount of rain you had, but that's what we get for traveling to rainforest areas. 🙂

[Galana]

Thanks for taking us along with you.

A remarkable trip indeed.

What an odd plumage variance between young and adult Blue Herons.

[PeterHG]

Thanks Miichael and you are right, of course about the rainforests. Before the ever-increasing effects of climate change, this was supposed to be a dry period, with the occasional short shower. But the once familiar rhytm of the seasons has changed everywhere. It won't stop us travelling, though 

42 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

Did you have to attract the Crake or did it pose voluntarily

It volunteered. Just walked out into the open from some dense undergrowth and showed itself for some minutes. We were amazed, too.

[PeterHG]

Thank you, Fred for tagging along.

Just now, Galana said:

What an odd plumage variance between young and adult Blue Herons.

Yes, it looks like a different species altogether, doesn't it?

[pedro maia]

Lots of great pictures as expected, Peter, thanks for posting them.

[Peter Connan]

Such beautiful photos, and so many new birds! Thank you.

[Soukous]

A terrific collection Peter. The Barred Antshrike is certainly a striking bird, whether male or female plumage.

[xelas]

Excellent count and birds, @PeterHG!  However, you've said 140 IDs but has only posted 110 ?!

[PeterHG]

Thank you @pedro maia @Peter Connan @Soukous @xelas

 

4 hours ago, xelas said:

However, you've said 140 IDs but has only posted 110 ?!

Rub it in, rub it in...! I know, I have not been able to photograph all the birds I managed to ID. A sure sign of getting old....

[Soukous]

2 minutes ago, PeterHG said:

I know, I have not been able to photograph all the birds I managed to ID. A sure sign of getting old

 

Don't be too hard on yourself Peter. That has to be better than not being able to ID the birds you've photographed. 

[PeterHG]

10 minutes ago, Soukous said:

That has to be better than not being able to ID the birds you've photographed. 

That is a comforting turn of phrase, Martin, thank you! 

Edited April 17, 2023 by PeterHG

[Galana]

9 hours ago, Soukous said:

That has to be better than not being able to ID the birds you've photographed. 

If I could I would give that comment three 'likes'.

[PeterHG]

After returning home it was time again to visit the local patches. Fortunately the godwits had already returned. I noticed that I have doubled nr 135, so I'll skip a number and continue with:

 

144 / NL 34. Black-tailed Godwit. Arkemheen, March.

 

145 /NL 35. Canada Goose. Arkemheen, March

 

146 / NL 36. Common Redshank. Arkemheen, March.

 

 

147 / NL 37. Common Kingfisher. Amersfoort, March. We've got a pair nesting about 300 metres from where I live. Unfortunately some photographers ( I don't see them as birders) venture to close to the nest, so I hope they won't leave the site. I have sometimes politely asked them not to do that, but to take photos from behind the hedge at a safe distance, but mostly this is not appreciated.

The male:

 

and the female:

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

How beautiful to have a pair of Kingfishers so close to your home. Hopefully they won't be scared seas and give up their brood! 

[Peter Connan]

Wow again...

[Kitsafari]

beautiful images. good on you to tell them, whether they like it or not. 

[PeterHG]

Thank you @michael-ibk @Peter Connan @Kitsafari

 

A morning walk in the local wetland area brought a nice surprise.

 

148 NL 38. Northern Goshawk. Arkemheen, March

 

For the first time in several years we had some tenants in the garden.

149 / NL 39. Blue Tit, Amersfoort, April

 

 

150 / NL 40. Eurasian Oystercatcher. Arkemheen, April

 

One of my favourites from the brambles along the dyke in the wetland area. 

151 / NL 41. Common Linnet. Arkemheen, April. 

 

 

Mr and Mrs Linnet

 

152 / NL 42. European Stonechat. Arkemheen, April. The stonechat can only be found here when passing through. Like a flycatcher it was trying to catch insects in the air, using the reed stems as a perch. Great to watch and, of course, an irresistable challenge in trying to capture the action.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

Fantastic in flight shots, these little guys are really tough. Bravo Peter! 

[PeterHG]

1 hour ago, michael-ibk said:

these little guys are really tough

Thanks Michael, they are and that’s why it’s so much fun to try and grab them. Of course I’m happy my camera is up to the challenge and to find a mosquito in the shot when you see it in the computer is a bonus!

[Soukous]

6 minutes ago, PeterHG said:

Of course I’m happy my camera is up to the challenge and to find a mosquito in the shot when you see it in the computer is a bonus!

 

Oh Peter, what you should have said is that you were photographing the mosquito and got photo-bombed by the Stonechat 

[pedro maia]

It allways amazes me how the damn birds seem to freeze in the air for your pictures.

Edited April 20, 2023 by pedro maia