Harpy Quest

Would we, could we, did we see the Harpy Eagle?

It's the bird that inspired me to take this trip, the Harpy Eagle. I always said that if I could see a wild Harpy, the world's largest eagle, found only in lowland tropical rainforest, I would die a happy woman. I had been warned that it might be a challenge to find the bird. So, being of a cautious nature, I snapped a photo of this painting in the Puerto Ordaz hotel.

Photo by Mark Watson.

This was our earliest departure, by far, of the whole trip. Promptly at 5 a.m. we assembled near our bus, only to learn that our tranportation of the day was none other than an old, beater 4WD truck with a handmade, black metal canopy with boards running along each side. Those at the far back end, had to hang on tight to ensure that they were not tipped out. Jerry T and I are full of enthusiasm as we depart, destination unknown, time of drive unknown, condition of roads unknown, but full of trust.
Mark W. and Jerry O. were similarly enthusiastic as we departed. However, our enthusiasm was rather short-lived when we realized the truck belched exhaust into the compartment in the back, burning our eyes and making it hard to breathe.
The monstrous truck that was our avenue to the Harpy Eagle site.
An indigenous family lived near the nest and the woman made coffee for us while we waited for the rain to end. Would it end? Would we have to hike in the rain? Would the rain ruin our chances of seeing the eagle?
Our Venezuelan guides: Javier is the smaller man, and he drove the equally dilapidated blue jeep. After the rain stopped, the whole group trooped off through the muck. Within about 1/4 mile, we came to a clearing in the jungle where the family was growing their vegetable garden. Looking to the west, a large bird was perched atop a leafless tree.

Photo by Mark Watson.

It was the immature Harpy, waiting for a food delivery. The not-so-little fellow or gal seemed oblivious to our presence, almost as if it saw groups of people often. It was about 18 months old, already flighted, and just learning about hunting. It would not be independent of its parents for another six months.

Photo by Jerry Oldenettel.

While we watched, the adult male flew over likely checking on the well-being of his offspring. The youngster sat patiently for what seemed like a long time before disappearing into the forest. Later, on the way out, we also observed the adult female perched about a mile from the nest. While it was a thrill to see the largest eagle in the world, I had expected it to be harder, to be a slog through the mud with voracious insects nipping at any exposed skin, something akin to the African Queen. In reality, it was more like going to visit your cousin who lives in the country, and then walking to the back of his property to see the hawks that nested there -- almost as if we didn't work hard enough to earn the experience.

Welcome to Hotel Parador Taguapire

El Palmar is the closest town to the Imitaca Forest Preserve. It is the staging area for expeditions into the preserve, particularly for those who seek the mythical and often elusive Harpy Eagle, the world's most massive eagle. We had scheduled two days in the hopes of locating one of them.
Constructed of cinder blocks, the rooms in Hotel Taguapire resembled a jail cell painted a violent shade of pea green. But, a little cheer was added with and equally violent shade of nearly royal blue, perahps a cross between indigo and hunter green. The door was built of steel. There were no worries that anyone could possibly break into your room.
We shared our room with at least two other companions, one of which was a tree frog that lived in the shower. Apparently camera-shy, capturing his image was a lesson in high speed photography. That first flash drove him right up the wall, literally, with the camera woman pointing the lens increasingly higher with each click of the shutter.
Our other companion was our spider friend that hid in the corner near Sam's bed. I assured her that he/she wasn't poisonous and would almost certainly be gone in the morning, even though I had never seen this kind of spider before and had no knowledge of its biological history. Fortunately, she was no worse for wear in the morning when, indeed, the spider was gone and it was not in her boot.
The saddest thing about traveling in a third world country is all the wasted plastic. Because we couldn't drink the tap water, bottled agua was our friend. Unfortunately, the hotel provided the agua in tiny little bottles - many of them. We suspect that there is no such thing as recylcing in the small towns of Venezuela.

Now, lest you think poorly of our accommodations at Hotel Parador Taquapire, the host and his workers were quite gracious and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. They put out fresh fruit several times daily which attracted a wide variety of colorful fruit-eating birds, including the Venzuela Troupial, a member of the oriole family. To see a photo of this bird, visit Jerry Oldenettel's website and scan through the Venezuela album.

One day, four of us decided to play hooky from the dedicated birders that comprised the remainder of the group, opting instead for a leisurely morn watching the feeders and the birds that occupied the habitat beyond the fence. Our host plied us with endless cups of coffee, soda, beer, steak and fries for lunch, smiling all the time as we practiced our novice Espanol.

Tepuy Tale

In the background of this photo two shadowy tepuyes stand watch over the Gran Sabana. The tepuye on the left, the pointed one and the saddle between them are the subject of myth. Henry tells its story, "The Gran Sabana is from a God, a woman named Macunaima who was the queen of the Gran Sabana. The tepuye on the left was a great tree with a huge spreading top. Another god was jealous and wanted to take the Gran Sabana and they fought a fierce battle. The God wanted to chop off the head of Macunaima. He leaned back and swung, but his great sword missed and cut into the great tree. The tree and its large top fell, with the top breaking Grande Tepuye into two tepuyes. The tepuye on the right is Roraima, the highest tepuye at 2730 meters. When the tree fell, breaking the tepuye which formerly held all life, the water containing all the life of the Gran Sabana flooded the Earth, bringing life to it. Roraima is suspected to hold the richest diamond deposit in the world, but is currently protected from exploration. Roraima was the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World.
Tepuyes Tramin on the left, and Ilu on the right, north of Roraima. Mesas of pre-Cambrian rock, part of the Guayana Shield and nearly 3 billion years old, the tepuyes tower majestically over the Gran Sabana. Those who have explored their summits describe them as being from another place and time, unlike anywhere else. Geologically separated for millions of years, many of the plants and animals found on the tops are endemic, adapted to weather extremes of wind and rain. The rock formations, similarly affected, have eroded into otherworldly formations. Henry once climbed Roraima with the help of a guide. It took two and a half days.

La Gran Sabana

Birding with the boys, near the top of theEscalera, just below La Gran Sabana

Sam at the waterfall

Birding the Gran Sabana

Only two stops had any crafts for sale. This young lady took a leisurely approach to marketing.

Tour leader, Jim Black, with Henry our host at Barquilla de Fresca Lodge.

City Life

Photo by Mark Watson.

They call them Chavistas, those that post the plethora of pro-Chavez signs. Toward the end of our trip, we found out that everyone who posted a Chavez sign for the referendum was paid. The referendum was a vote to allow Chavez to run for unlimited terms. In the big cities, where people have greater exposure to the outside world, the referendum was defeated. But, in the small villages, where people live on bare subsistence income, it was overwhelmingly passed. With all the wealth from oil, every Venezuelan citizen received a certain amount of money. Local industries closed and almost all goods were imported. Rural people view Chavez as the great patron of the country. Now, with the diminished oil prices, there is little money, but still no industry, and country-wide shortages of many basic items, such as sugar, which is produced in Venezuela.
Fruit for sale everywhere, especially bananas. Many of the fruit-loving birds, such as the tanagers also hung out at the fruit stands, eating their fill.

Bananas for sale.

Pink Houses

It's a Jungle Out There!

The Guayana Trail. If it looks hot and steamy, that's because it is, along with a bumper crop of chiggers! We quickly learned about protective measures when one of the guys showed up the first day with bites over all of the lower parts of his legs. This particular location is a footpath that leads from Venezuela to neighboring Guayana, within walking distance. The land belongs to the indigenous people, but we were assured it was fine for us to be here.
They grow big spiders and webs in the rainforest.
Epiphytes cover nearly every surface. In some areas, these hardy little plants even grew on the utility lines.

Photograph by Mark Watson.

As I thought about all the marvelous birds we saw on this trip, there is one that brings a smile to my face each time: the Scarlet-horned Manakin. We watched the male perform his unique courtship moonwalk dance in the style of Michael Jackson deep in the tropical forest. I’ll never forget the abandon with which he danced – as if no one were watching. Check out another manakin species dancing and then check out the shorter clip of this little fellow.

Strawberry Ice Cream Ecological Region

Henry's establishment in the little village of Las Claritas in Bolivar state, Strawberry Ice Cream Cone. Just like the name implies, he did indeed provide ice cream for dessert. He and his wife also raised and sold miniature poodles, just in case you were wondering about the dog in the photo. Check out his website, particularly the Diversity page where there are video clips of many of the birds that we saw, some even with impressive audio of their calls: Cappuchinbird, White Bellbird, Crimson Topaz, Guayanan Cock of the Rock and the fabulous Scarlet-horned Manakin.
Henry has an impressive garden with many hummingbird feeders that attract a wide array of hummies, as well as many other species. He actually has Harpy Eagle on his yard list! Here, we saw toucans, parrots, and many other treasures, including a giant morpho butterfly. (Stay tuned for bird/butterfly photos)
Even with my little zoom lens I was able to get close enough to this highly sought after hummingbird, the Crimson Topaz. Note the long tail.
Note the size of the bird relative to the hummingbird feeder. It gives a good reference to determine the large size of this fellow.

Into the heartland, El Corazon

What a view! This stained glass window formed one entire wall of the Caracas airport.
Welcome to Ciudad Guayana. From here, we would drive south to Bolivar state and the little village of Las Claritas which would be our base for the next 5 nights while we birded in Canaima National Park, the Lost World.
Angel Fall is the tallest waterfall in the world, flowing from the top of Auyantepui, the largest tepuy in the Lost World. We didn't actually get to see it, lacking a helicopter or the several days it would take to travel there, but this large mural was on the airport wall in Puerto Ordaz.

Happy Valentine's Day

I awoke to a birdsong that I had never before heard, that of the Bananaquit, which I later came to call the Banana-cute, because they were so adorable. Yes, I know there isn't a photo of one shown. My camera takes great scenery shots, but two of the guys on the trip had very nice cameras with long lens. So, we made a deal and agreed that my part would be to capture the essence of Venezuela, and they would focus on the birds. I'll post bird photos as soon as I get them.
We weren't actually staying in Caracas, which is on the other side of these mountains. We stayed near the airport as we would be flying to Puerto Ordaz on the banks of the Rio Orinoco the next day.
The Marine Iguanas were quite skittish so I was pleased to be able to capture this. The reason for their fear of humans: If they can be captured, their legs are tied behind their heads and then they are attached to a stick and held up by the person who caught them -- sold along the street - for food. Obviously, this didn't sit well with a certain wildlife afficianado.
Even though the real ones get eaten whenever possible, there are still revered as shown by this little Iguana Park.

We found this colorful lizard living in a pile of trash in the corner of the park. He was beautiful, and also skittish.