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The
Wildlife of Guyana
Guyana is a
little known, and little visited, country whose wildlife is one
of the richest for its size in the world. Tucked away on the tropical
shoulder of South America, it shares the features of its two large
neighbors, Brazil and Venezuela, with coast, rainforest, isolated
tepuis and dry savannah. The variety of habitats allows for about
225 species of mammals and 800 species of birds, many of which are
endemic to the Guyana Shield. Moreover, the compactness of Guyana
means that this variety can be discovered in small area. Though
tourism in Guyana is new and very small – just about 2000
tourists visited in 2009 - over the last few years birding tours
have started visiting, and Guyana is making a positive effort, following
the Costa Rica model, to preserve and protect its natural areas
– which is much of the country – and develop nature-based
tourism as an alternative to logging, extractive industries and
agriculture. So while conditions are still relatively primitive
– don’t expect air conditioning outside the city –
travel there also very rewarding.
While
covering much of the same ground, our tour differs from the birding
tours in that we are looking at the whole picture, not just chasing
as many birds as possible, ticking them off and moving on. While
our guides are expert birders – and birds will be an important
part of what we are looking for – we are moving at a slower
pace, spending more time at each site to give ourselves more chance
of seeing a greater variety of wildlife. For example, the road from
Iwokrama to and beyond Atta is known for its jaguar population,
but other tours pass by just once, if at all, during the time jaguars
are active. We have three mornings and two evenings here, and most
importantly we have a vehicle to drive the road in search of jaguar
and other wildlife. We also spend an extra day at Karanambu, in
the savannah, to give us a better chance of seeing Giant Anteater
and other savannah specialties, including capybara. We also include
Kaieteur Falls, with its impressive 741ft single drop and 300ft
width, in the middle of pristine rainforest only accessible by plane.
A
tour, especially a wildlife tour, is more than a list of destinations,
and most important of all is the quality of the guides. For this
tour we have Wally Prince,
one of the most sought-after guides for professional birders, documentary
teams, and scientific expeditions visiting Guyana. Wally is not
just a top birder, but has seen, worked on and studied Guyana's
mammals, reptiles, insects and plants. Click on his name to see
his full profile. In addition to Wally the tour is accompanied by
Pat and David Beebe, a husband and wife video and still photo team
whose work most recently appeared on National Geographic TV's "Hunt
for the Shadow Cat;" you can see a short excerpt of their work
here: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/national-geographic-channel/.
More can be found on their own website www.b2gallery.com/photos/index.html
and on Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZkGlIYTeWs.
Their technique of combining video and stills makes for riveting
viewing. Both Pat and David are friendly, very knowedgeable, and
sharing, and will be available to assist with your own photography,
be it still or video. David is an expert in Photoshop™ and
other darkroom/manipulation programs, so this tour is sure to increase
your total photographic skills. While not a photo tour per se, we
know that most of our clients take photos, and have allowed plenty
of time in all locations to both see wildlife and take photos -
there's no "tick it off and hurry along" on this tour.
So
we’re confident birders will add a very satisfying total to
their life list, including many elusive species as well as the spectacular
Guianan Cock of the Rock, Capuchinbird and other sought after species,
including, hopefully, Harpy Eagle. For those who want to see birds
while not chasing every species possible, but also see mammals,
reptiles, butterflies and the rainforest itself; those who enjoy
sitting patiently at dusk watching a giant water lily slowly unfold
its beauty, with time for photography along the way (all the itinerary
photos were taken by amateurs on one tour except the jaguar and
anteater), this is the tour for you.
After
you read the itinerary complete tour information can be found
here.
Itinerary
Day
1 – Thursday, September 6: Miami or New York/Georgetown, Guyana
Depart Miami at 2.20pm on Caribbean Airlines for Georgetown, arriving
at 9.45pm
(via a short stop at Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. There
is no change of plane). We are met and transferred to Cara Lodge
in the capital, Georgetown. Cara Lodge is a very comfortable boutique
hotel, built in the 1840s, and originally two adjacent grand houses
stayed in by kings, princes and presidents. For those who prefer,
there is also a flight from New York on Caribbean or Delta, which
depart about midnight/1am and arrive in the morning. Choosing this
flight means you will have a day at leisure today; touring to the
city sights, including the Demerara Rum factory, will be arranged,
as will your airport transfer. The Delta flight is only weekly,
so using this flight means an additional day in Guyana after the
birding extension.
Day
2 – Friday, September 7: Georgetown/ Kaieteur Falls/Iwokrama
An early start this morning as we head to the Botanical Gardens
for some excellent birding, and a bit of a mammal morning as well.
The gardens, 184 acres in the center of
Georgetown, are a former coffee plantation converted for conservation
purposes in the early 20th century. The gardens are famous for their
birds, including numerous parrot species, toucans, piculets, and
the sought after blood-colored woodpecker. (Fuller bird lists for
each day can be found at the end of the itinerary). We’ll
finish our time here coaxing a manatee or two from the bottom of
a pond with tempting fresh grass, and maybe see some “liberated”
brown capuchins taunting their caged cousins in the adjacent National
Zoo. We return to our hotel for 
breakfast,
then head to Ogle Aerodrome for our charter flight to Kaieteur Falls.
Our flight takes us over a great expanse of rainforest before we
land on the grass strip adjacent to the falls – both arrival
and departure enable us to get photos for the falls from the air,
regardless of which side of the plane we sit. We walk to the falls,
a short distance along a track through the forest, and can view
the falls from a short distance away, and also from the overflow
itself. With luck we’ll see a Guianan Cock of the Rock here,
but will certainly see the world’s largest bromeliads, which
are home to a bright golden frog that spends its entire life on
the plant. 
Swifts
live in indents in the vertical rock face of the falls, and we expect
to see them swooping about. We have about three hours here exploring,
then continue inland to the Iwokrama River Lodge & 
Research
Station. After settling in to our rooms we have the remainder of
the day to explore the rainforest trails. Over 450 species of birds
have been recorded here, plus a range of mammals and reptiles, plus
of course colorful butterflies and beetles. Particularly noteworthy
is that the large macaws – Blue and Yellow, Red and Green,
and Scarlet - are quite common here. Tonight
at dinner we’ll learn about the important conservation and
research mission that is at the heart of the research station, and
afterwards look for nocturnal wildlife close to the lodge.
(BLD)
Day
3 – Saturday, September 8: Iwokrama
After some coffee and fruit we head out a little before dawn for
Turtle Mountain. The first part of the journey is a boat trip along
the river, then into a side arm. During this part we’ll hear
the tropical dawn chorus, and bird from the boat. Breakfast will
be a brown bag affair, taken along the way. We’ll be on the
lookout for 
sloths,
armadillos, late to bed opossums, capybaras, and caimans. We may
be fortunate to see arapaima, a huge, ancient fish 
that
can reach over 8ft long and 400lbs, and which has an important place
in Guianan culture. Muscovy Duck is also a good possibility along
the river. Once at the foot of the mountain we’ll leave the
boat and begin a leisurely 2 hour trek to the summit. Once again
we’ll bird along the way, and watch and listen for monkeys
and colorful squirrels. Black Spider Monkeys are most likely, but
the petite Golden-handed (Midas) Tamarin is also possible. It’s
high, bird-like chirps often give it away before it is seen. There
are a couple of manakin leks along the route, and we expect to have
a nice increase to our bird list before the walk is over. We’ll
end the upward walk at 900ft, allowing for stunning views across
the rainforest canopy, where no sign of humaan activity can be seen.
We’ll scan for raptors, including King Vulture and Harpy Eagle
– there
are two nest sites in the area. We then return down the mountain
and boat back to the lodge in time for lunch. After a morning or
reasonable exertion some may want to avoid the heat of the day in
a hammock on your cabin’s river-facing porch, perhaps catching
up on the wildlife seen so far and m
aking
notes. However, we’ll also offer a visit to the Amerindian
village of Fair View to learn a little about traditional lifestyles,
cassava cultivation and local history. We’ll also have an
opportunity to visit the butterfly farm, a sustainable business
venture operated by the village residents. Late
afternoon we’ll both refresh ourselves and absorb a bit of
the local culture when we travel by boat across the river to Michelle’s
Island, where we can take a dip in the gentle rapids, then watch
the sun set with coconut shell sundowners. After dark we’ll
take to the river to spotlight the banks in search of three kinds
of caimans, Cox’s Boa, tree vipers, capybara, any other mammal
we can find; we also hope for the unusual sight of Black Skimmers
fishing by night. Evening calls of Guianan Red Howler Monkey may
be heard as they settle down; we’ll be seeking this monkey
in the mornings as well.
(BLD)
Our
Guyana Wildlife Tour continues >>>>>
