The Luck of the Devil

Returning from the Guyana Space Station

there was still sufficient daylight to suss out how to get to the seashore,

which could be heard but not seen,

through the most dense Mangrove Forest ever seen but without success!

Consulting with the lady at the Guest House Reception desk even her description

sounded complicated but for the time being completing the log

and remenicing were high on the adgenda - tomorrow would take care of itself.

The luck with the Blood-coloured Woodpecker, despite a 3 days search, and the mooing 

of the Capuchinbird had me thinking that 2 out of 3 wasn't at all bad.

Although some idea of the wearabouts of the Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock colony was known

at 70Km and hit and miss as to the exact jungle track hopes were fading fast.

Something of a fillip the next morning the path to the sea was found almost immediately and already stood at the root of the   

 Small Stone Pier

with first to catch my eye a bunch of

 ROSEATE SPOONBILLs

 looking 'shocking' against the clear blue sky

 Not to miss the moment the Canon was raised with the birds quickly in the viewfinder

when a very gentle and obviously female oriental voice enquired

"are you a photographer or a birdwatcher sir"?

 Without lowering the camera I asked for her patience and after several clicks turned

to find a 'Beautiful Far Eastern Gem" before me!

This turned out to be a lady of Thai birth

 ROONG OZOUX

 The conversation was stimulating from the start with this extremely tallented lady

until she spoilt the whole show by asking,

"would you like to meet my husband"

(now wot's that word beginning with B*******!)

 JEAN FRANCOIS OZOUX
is some years senior to Roong but the lovelight which shone between them was clear.

He a notible French Architect and she a Designer of 'high-end' ladies clothing
were probable the most tallented, warm and welcoming couple I have ever met!
They were most interested to here of my Mammoth Journey and starated to relate some of theirs own from around the world. The subject did turn to the 3 key birds to which their immediate response was "oh, we can soon take you there, it is one of our favourite places".
No sooner said than underway we stopped at a number of well known sites to themselves
where among others we saw

SWALLOW-TAILED KITE

BLACKPOLL WARBLER

SCARLET IBIS

CHESTNUT-EARED ARICARI

 WHITE-LINED TANAGER

BLUE and WHITE TANAGER  
and

WHITE-BARRED PICULET
with both bursting into fits of laughter.
Having covered much of the Far East there was a very good idea of what was causing the myrth
and was right about a bird which is common across much of that regeon the

SPECKLED PICULET
Both of these beautiful people speak perfect English so the joke was not lost on them
which brings great fun when turning this into a 'Spoonerism' becoming the
PICKLED SPECULET  
The next stop was at what they called

Manakin Mound
where they informed me it was almost impossible to miss c2 species of these
diminutive and sharply contrasting coloured birds
(we missed them both!!)
fortunately "only Joking" as both were present in good numbers starting with 

GOLDEN-HEADED MANAKIN
and not far behind

WHITE-BEARDED MANAKIN

Across just about any foreign birding trip in the world the
OWLs
are always hard to find, so at a premium and "blinking heck"
(the exact words as were uttered)
they found me a
 TROPICAL SCREECH OWL
followed by the spectacular

VIOLACEOUS EUPHONIA

Beaux Oiseaux Belles Personnes

นกแสนสวย

Nk s̄æn s̄wy

but the day was far from over as we pulled ito a lay-by with 

 PANARAMIC
vies across both Grassland and Rain Forest

as Jean Fracois opened to boot to reveal a picnic fit for a king!

CAN WE GO HOME NOW - PLEASE!
The next stop started like this

Wet, Root Strewn, Slippery Path where things just got

darker and darker as we progressed downwards and eventually led to the 

Barrier and Screen 
which protected the

 HOME

 of the bizzare

 but nonetheless beautiful

GUIANAN
COCK-of-the-ROCK

 RED-BILLED PIED TANAGER

 RED-BREASTED BLACKBIRD
and

PURPLE HONEYCREEPER
these were by no means all of the Birds seen on the day,
that might take a lifetime, but just a cross section of some of the most enjoyed
Some of the images are attributed to Roong
but only the
GOOD ONES!!
It had been a full 80 days that I had been travelling alone but the time had come to be
thinking about heading home. This, as has been stated, was all planned with my only
responsibility being arrival at
Kingston Jamaica
by Tuesday 9th April 2013
the day that the mighty

 M/V Voyager
was programmed to sail for the Caymen Islands then onwards to 
Portsmouth, England via a number of other stops.
It was a strange feeling on the morning of her arrival looking across the bay towards the dock and
thinkig, "will she, won't she" but then there she was, "let go foreward, let go aft"!

Footnote:-

There are but 2 members of the genus Rupicola which are the 
Cock-of-the-Rocks
the other being

ANDEAN COCK-of-the-ROCK
(male) 

 (female)

 which was seen during a day visit to a tract of  rain forest belonging to

 Angel Paz (right) son Vinicio and Family
close to the village of Nanagaleto in Equador in 2009
and the best $20 ever spent and surely worth an airing through our pages sometime soon?

Yesterday Once More - The Carpenters

It was always going to be a warm and sunny day but the

Dawn Pea Soup'er

didn't make it feel or look like that and it also seemed to have affected the

Moth Traps

again!

Among the half dozen or so that have now become the 'usuals' was a bit of a battered single

ENGRAILED

 which was duely added to the Year List, but that didn't mean it was the end of the

Moth Trail for the day!

At the Ponds both Coot and Little Grebe appear to be thriving, with hopes of proof winging your way in the near future, but the Moorhen's seem to have no lust for procreation at all??

Along the Bridleway more good news as both

 (Common) WHITETHROAT

and

 LESSER WHITETHROAT

were in good voice with the latter not falling to the video fuction

but both added to the 2020 List

Yes, we realise we have featured 

MISTLE THRUSH

a couple of times already this year but when you capture a nifty little clip

it is difficult (nea impossible) not to include such.

It would seem that some trees are one day brown and the next shrouded in green

which was the case with the

Mighty Oak

at the gate to the Heath, but there's a thing - where was the gate????

Off its hinges and lying prostrate on the ground

 with the old wooden one, left on the ground where it fell over a year ago,
tossed over the barbed wire fence like a rag doll 
(The Four Seasons)
That was the Herdsman quickly oyked out of his bunk - well done Richard
The largest of the c5 Rare Breeds Cattle is the beefy
Old English White
which surely could not have been responsible for this so maybe we can attribute it to
VANDALS? 

"Give Me Your Answer Do"
With having been a bit of a dull Spring thus far we were not quite ready for the
Mini Bonanza 
to come as first out of the woodwork (or shold that be Heather) were a couple of daytime flyers

COMMON HEATH MOTH
and induced to follow suit by a wiff of pheromone a brace of 
far more gaudy and colourful male

EMPEROR MOTHs

 along with a female for  comparison

and only likely to be caught by netting or in a light trap

2 additions to 2020 in quick succession and

with the video clips just to give some idea of the response

It may also be of interest that these

EMPEROR MOTH EGGS
were found in one of our traps last year and taken into captivity by our friend
who has seen them emerge into adulthood this year
 Sticking with Insect kind just for a moment more, we also noted

COMMON BLUE BUTTERFLY
(male)

 and
(female)
on the wing in close proximity
Considering by recent standards that we had already done very well, we tarried a while 
by the Rare Breed Goat Compound to listen to the Blackcaps and Willow Warblers singing from cover and high perches appropriately but then to hear some unusual
Gutteral Sounds
No doubt about it a

NIGHTINGALE

only our 3rd since 2013 in usual form only showing its bill and forehead,
the image is 'borrowed'!
Not many get excited about the humble

FERAL PIGEON
but when your local and long lost bird suddenly shows up after more that 6 month, well there ain't going to be no Champagne corks popping , but nevertheless nice to see!
Fianally, and on another upbeat note, there is little dobt that

 WOODLARK

 are once again breeding on the Heath
BRILLIANT!!