Perfectly Framed

Candy Bergeron, of Baton Rouge, sent this charming photo of a perfectly framed Barred Owl. Barred Owls often are more cooperative and visible during the daylight hours than other owl species. This was a great sighting. Way to go, Candy!

The Road to Carupano

Stopping at a bridge over an unknown stream, we found a group of children playing in the water. One girl had a pair of swimming goggles and was diving into the clear water. We waved and they waved back. As I moved on, Mark remained behind snapping photographs. Shortly, he joined the birding team, followed soon after by a stream of Venezuelan kids. It was clear that Mark was the hero of the day to this small band of adventurers. As they crowded around, I ran back to grab my camera and capture the image. The fish near Mark's head; well, that's another story.At one point, Mark leaned over and whispered quietly into my ear so as to not be overheard by the hard core among us, "I also am interested in things other than birds". To me, it was like the sweet sound of fresh raindrops on a drought-stricken desert. Another team member who shared my passion for all the sights and sounds of our surroundings. So, when the birding bus pulled over at yet another stop and the group strolled down a dirt road in search of avian rarities, we remained behind, in the shade, checking out other forms of wildlife, like this anole couple. The female is peeking out from the safety of the burrow.

Just a beautiful butterfly

Photo by Mark Watson

We came upon this truck with a religious figure painted onto the back of box. Imagine our surprise when we passed them and discovered it was a refrigerated container filled with fish.

Photo by Mark Watson.

Man with donkey. Photo by Mark Watson.

After the Harpy

Our little entourage moved on to the Imitaca Forest Reserve dominated by rampant vegetation accompanied by particularly thick muck. Those in the back of monster truck from Hell were nearly thrown out the open back when the truck hit an especially large ditch which our driver plowed through. It proved to be the road collapsing over a broken culvert and now we were on the wrong side of the only road out. Everyone walked back and waited to see if the trucks would make it.
As the day grew longer, Sam opted for a snooze.
Followed by another member that needed to take a load off his feet,
and his legs.
The day grows long when it begins at 4 a.m. Along about noon, or later as the rain forest heats up and the sun beats down relentlessly, a siesta is just the right thing to do. Mark opted for the blue jeep for his nap. I, on the other hand, was skulking through the jungle, searching for an elusive antbird. It took a while, but we finally found him, walking on the ground beneath the vegetation, circling us continuously while singing his territorial song. I didn't capture the little Ferruginous-backed Antbird on film, but intrepid photographer, Jerry Oldenettel posted the image on his Flickr page.
The trees in the Imitaca, with higher water levels than other areas we had been, had an even higher number of prop roots supporting the trees. In fact the main trunk of most trees no longer reached the ground.
Leaf cutter ants built huge mounds in the forest
and the ants were busy carrying bits of leaves across the road, always in perfect ant formation.
The structure of many of the plants is simply superb.

Ice Flow

Photograph by Steve Elkins

This year, my friend, Steve, resolved to take one photograph each day of the year. He has been publishing them on his website
each day, even on days when he has been sick in bed. Check them out. I think you will find inspiration, and a very talented photographer.